The story of Shambob
Practical Action
• sorghum could be grown;
• grazing and the soil is good for settlement i.e. not clay which is detrimental to their
livestock;
• during the summer season nearby sites, such as an island in the middle of the river
Gash, some two or three kilometres away, also offered grazing and water.
Declining natural assets
A declining natural asset base and new agricultural practices have been forcing changes in
livelihood strategies. Deforestation and desertification has resulted from increasing
occurrence of drought. Droughts are recorded as having happened in 1948, 1973, 1984–5,
1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1997 and 2000. The residents of Shambob can remember the
times when lush greenery covered the dusty tracks that now traverse the sandy scenery.
The semi-nomadic life continued until 1960 when small-scale irrigation was introduced to
the area, the sawagi began, using the traditional water wheel for lifting water from shallow
hand dug wells. A significant change in access to the natural resource base was brought
about by sedentary agriculture, as land started to be enclosed.
Livestock, a declining livelihood
Madani Mohamed Ahmed was born in 1962 and, like many of his neighbours he did not
receive any education, a main factor in determining his choice of occupation. Madani’s sole
occupation when he was growing up was tending livestock, but in 1972 he combined this work
with labouring in brick production.
Of 13 men from Shambob who participated in a focus discussion group, only one now owns
livestock comprising ten cows. He sells milk which only provides a good return in the rainy
season; in the dry season the income generated is spent on fodder to keep the cattle alive.
Other members of his family, his brothers, support him during the dry season.
By 1966 the island grazing site was completely out of reach. New locations for grazing were
used. Forests on the river edges were not ideal due to the presence of harmful insects.
Grazing was then confined to the village surrounds in the rainy season and the nearby
mountain ranges which now form the border with Eritrea. The increasing pressure on land in
turn took its toll and a new threat was introduced. The mesquit tree, said to have been
introduced in an attempt to combat desertification, began to prove problematic. Now
considered a widespread menace in eastern Sudan, these thorny trees cause health problems
for livestock and have reduced the availability of grazing. As land becomes inaccessible to
those people who previously exercised their customary rights of use, livestock declines.
Sporadically in the years of drought entire livestock herds are wiped out and people are
unable to replace this productive capital base. Livelihoods in Shambob became more
vulnerable.
Seeking new sources of income
Having lost their cattle, many of the Beja people of Shambob turned to working as piecemeal
labourers for local brick companies, serving the growing demand from the nearby town of
Kassala. Men began to work in brick production after 1966, especially when the size of
families grew and resulted in surplus male labour who could work for merchants. After 1980
sedentarisation was complete, even the few families who used to roam, settled, with this the
livestock number began to decrease. Nonetheless the drought of 1984 had a significant
impact upon the population of Shambob, reducing grazing and tree cover in the area to the
extent of desertification.
An occupation which provides the men of Shambob with some income is mediation in the
livestock market, assisting buyers to locate sellers with the appropriate stock. Kassala market
is where the men buy goods to meet their consumption needs, but otherwise people feel they
2