Kulima Integrated Development Solutions (Pty)

We are a small consultancy of professionals committed to addressing the risks imposed by climate change and securing human development, particularly in Africa.  ”Kulima” is a word found in many Nguni languages which refers to “preparing the ground so that something can take root” – that is, a period of preparation that takes place before seeds can be planted, without which their chances of germinating and growing are very small.  We chose this as our company name as it embodies our vision: we aim to provide high quality technical inputs, and capacity building at the early stages of projects, programmes and other processes, so that a situation is enabled where they can flourish and bring about sustainable development.

Our expertise is centred around climate change adaptation, and includes the related fields of vulnerability, climate finance, and disaster risk reduction.  We are also committed to taking gender-sensitive approaches to our assignments.  Common projects that we undertake include vulnerability assessments (at a variety of scales using various methods as appropriate to the context) and proposing adaptation options – for both policy and practice.  Between us we have many years or experience in Africa, and are well aware of the limited success of imposing solutions from outside.  We are committed to a complete understanding of institutional and policy context, and undertaking stakeholder consultation processes to ensure that proposed solutions are owned by the appropriate stakeholders to ensure their continued success.  Ongoing training and capacity building is another of our strengths.

The Directors of Kulima are Katharine Vincent and Tracy Cull.  We have overlapping competencies and experience:  Katharine’s expertise is in the social dimensions of climate change especially vulnerability, adaptation and institutions and governance and Tracy is a training specialist, who has extensive university lecturing experience, as well as being accomplished in the design of bespoke training products (courses and written materials) for a variety of audiences, around climate change in particular. Our focus is on southern and eastern Africa, but we have experience across the continent and internationally.

Members

a group of women in malawi

Malawi's Youth Perspective on COP26 and its Outcomes

Read about the expectations youths from Malawi had towards COP26 and their reactions to outcomes from the event.

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Martha from Phalombe district receives 28,500 Kwacha at a humanitarian cash transfer response–Aurelie Marrier d'Unienville

The Case for Cash in Responding to Humanitarian Crises in Malawi

Learn about the case of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme in Malawi, which shows how cash transfers can be an effective modality for providing food assistance to crisis-affected populations.

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Atmosphere, ocean and land surface processes simulated in GCMs (source: US National Climate Assessment 2014)

Climate Models: What They Show Us and How They Can Be Used in Planning

Explore this guide from the Future Climate For Africa programme which provides a primer on global climate models (GCMs) and how to use them in planning.

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How to contribute climate change information to Wikipedia

How to contribute climate change information to Wikipedia

The Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) and Future Climate for Africa (FCFA) have produced a guide on how to contribute climate change information to Wikipedia.

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Meeting

Adaptation interventions and their effect on vulnerability in developing countries

Based on a review of 34 interventions, this paper shows that adaptation interventions may reinforce, redistribute or create new vulnerability.

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Book cover-Climate Risk in Africa

Climate Risk in Africa: Adaptation and Resilience

This book highlights the complexities around making adaptation decisions and building resilience in the face of climate risk, using insights from sub-Saharan Africa.

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