What happened when resilience-building projects closed: Stories of change from Chad

This report explores what happened after a resilience-building project, implemented between 2015 and 2017 in the Dar Sila region of Chad, came to an end. Funded by the UK government and managed by Concern Worldwide under the BRACED programme, the project aimed to strengthen community resilience to climate change through climate-smart agriculture, improved nutrition, water and sanitation, early warning systems, and women’s empowerment. The report, conducted five years post-project, used interviews, observations, and community discussions across eight villages to understand which changes endured and how communities adapted the introduced innovations.

The findings show a mixed legacy. Some interventions, like improved stoves and fruit tree cultivation, were widely adopted, while collective initiatives like women’s gardening groups and training centers often collapsed due to institutional and trust issues. The most successful innovation—community grain banks—continued to function even during severe flooding, thanks to alignment with pre-existing cultural practices of mutual aid. The report emphasizes the importance of designing resilience interventions that align with local knowledge systems and social structures, advocating for a deeper understanding of the “adjacent possible”—or what communities can realistically adopt and sustain given their current capacities and contexts.