Capacity-strengthening approach to vulnerability assessment (CaSAVA)

The Capacity-Strengthening Approach to Vulnerability Assessment (CaSAVA) synthesizes local and
scientific knowledge to identify existing livelihoods’ assets (human, social, financial, physical and
natural capital) and deficits at multiple landscape scales. The information for the synthesis comes
from multiple stakeholders (for example, farmers, government officers and scientists) and is designed
to enable local stakeholders (female and male farmers) to buffer and adapt to both economic (that
is, fluctuating prices) and climate-related (for example, extreme weather events) shocks and hazards.
CaSAVA is tailored for participatory approaches to collect information disaggregated by gender
and, most importantly, to strengthen farmers’ awareness of, and capacity for thinking about and
articulating, otherwise latent problems. CaSAVA further facilitates the assessment results to develop
conservation and livelihoods’ strategies to increase farmers’ resilience to shocks and hazards.