The goal of this project is to improve the quality of life in rural communities in the East of Sierra Leone through more efficient land use practices and sustainable use. The problem that is being addressed is that communities do not practice effective agriculture on their land because there is a lack of awareness of the use of their land, as well as who owns the land, and what their rights are as user of the land. This results in an uncoordinated and inefficient use of land, which, as most community members are farmers, imperils their own livelihood. In addition, with inefficient use of land, soil degradation and deforestation will occur more quickly, putting future generations at risk of not just increased food insecurity but also the effects of climate change.

The Sierra Leone government?s Medium-Term National Development plan identifies this inefficient
use of land as a threat, and says that its roots lie in not enough ?spatial understanding? of land, but
for social purposes (housing, public space) and as a natural resource (agriculture, natural resource,
water). From OneVillage Partner?s 12 years of experience working in rural areas of Kailahun district,
very few rural community members know the borders of their community?s land or who formally
owns the land that they use daily to sustain their livelihoods. This lack of knowledge results inefficient
use of land, but also in increased strife in their community.

OneVillage Partners will address this by conducting a series of participatory engagements with
community members in 30 villages in Kenema and Kailahun Districts, so that these communities might
understand the legal definitions of land tenure in Sierra Leone, become educated on the Land-Use
Policy Reforms, identify land tenure and boundaries inside their community?s land, identify current
land use, become educated on conservation and sustainable land use, and finally, identify future land
use and visions of development. Throughout, OneVillage Partners will also embark on community wide sensitization on the necessity of the government?s land-use reform process, the need to protect
parts of their land, and why more efficient land use plans will benefit all.

The community will have a series of maps of the current use of land inside their community, land owners, and the community?s land use in the future. In addition, the community will have a clearly
defined vision for community development and action plan to meet that vision of development.
In the long term, the community will have areas of land that will be conserved and protected and will
also have improved social cohesion and capital from transparently planning their collective land use.
This will lead to improved livelihoods overall, particularly in food security, and that this more efficient
system of land use will reduce unnecessary destruction of forests, degradation of soil, and mitigate
the harmful impacts of climate change that will be visited upon these communities in the future.