WORK STREAM

Democratisation of Governance

TCOE works with rural , peri-urban and farming communities to democratise governance, using research as a central strategy to inform movement building and lobbying for policy changes. Our Democratisation of Governance stream works directly with communities, organising information sessions on policies related to land, commonage, tenure and water and supporting communities and movements to exercise their rights as active participants in decision-making processes. The stream also provides targeted support around land, water, food and evictions issues by offering timely information and advice to communities and Inyanda affiliates.

Research

The Democratisation of Governance stream also acts as the research pillar of TCOE’s work on movement building and lobbying for policy changes. Our research centres on issues of land, water and governance within communal areas as well as commonage land as well as on municipal commonage land, and aims to understand the challenges that smallholder farmers face in gaining access to and use of land and other natural resources. The knowledge developed through research empowers members of the movements to challenge injustices such as land evictions, land grabs and more, and helps communities challenge land governance issues by various institutions, such as municipalities, traditional authorities and the private sector. TCOE applies a participatory action research approach to involve participation from below.

Community Support

The Democratisation of Governance and Research stream also provides targeted support to communities and movement through providing timely advice and information to address specific questions around land and governance. In some cases, our efforts have combined timely research with practical support to help resolve immediate challenges faced by communities and movements.