Report on the training program in Abyei

Final contractor report covers the period 5/78-9/81. Highly successful vocational training and support services were provided. A total of 97 people from the local community, almost all with no previous skilled experience, received on-the-job training in such skills as carpentry, blacksmithing, welding, vehicle repair, heavy equipment operation, construction and masonry, brickmaking, well drilling and maintenance, storekeeping, and painting. Of the 97, 19 reached journeyman level. Cross-training in more than one skill was attempted, but most workers resisted the idea. Training was provided in direct conjunction with support services, e.g., construction training was provided while building project infrastructure. Worker trainees produced an impressive variety of support services: 16 buildings - including a workshop complex, a warehouse, and a fuel storage facility - were constructed from bricks manufactured under the project; doors, windows, furniture, and equipment for the buildings were fabricated; 12 different kinds of vehicles were kept operable under harsh conditions; items needed for various project activities (e.g., seed dressers, oxcarts, water storage tanks) were fabricated onsite; a very successful system for ordering supplies and equipment was set up; a project radio network was established; and improved methods for producing fired clay bricks were developed. When most workers had acquired new skills, a problemsolving appropriate-technology approach was introduced. Workers designed, built, and tested several items to meet specific community needs. These items included cement storage jars, a charcoal retort, a foot-powered wood lathe, a metal bending machine, drum handling devices, and a solar panel. By 1980, work teams were able to work unsupervised, carrying out repair projects in response to community requests. Included are recommendations regarding: (1) future training (if the project is continued); (2) supply procurement in remote areas; (3) appropriate technology research; and (4) brickmaking. Tools and equipment needed to duplicate the work performed at the workshop complex are listed.