Results: The community has successfully managed to design sustainable coping strategies to minimize the impact of climate. An array of strategies was reported and central to all was

livelihood diversification. The people managed to move away from rain water fed crop agriculture to animal husbandry. Conservation farming has led to improved yields in the absence of fair rains. Remittances from family members and the CAMPFIRE programme have contributed to an improved household food security. The coping strategies adopted were mainly influencing by a blend of IKS, culture and technical assistance from donors as well as coordination from the government. However, the role and commitment of the governmenthas been questionable. Lack of funds to support climate change initiatives, poor information dissemination and top down approaches were noted as barriers to construct long lasting and sustainable climate change coping strategies

Conclusion and Recommendations: Communities residing in semi-arid regions are faced with multiple challenges in their quest to cushion and reduce the impact of climate change on household food security. Despite, faced by such insurmountable obstacles, they have managed through their local social infrastructures and craft competence to design sustainable coping strategies which have managed to minimize the shocks and stress posed by climate change. Long term extensive and comprehensive approaches both at local and national level, with emphasis on empirical evidence and sustainability should be put in place in order to mitigate the impact of climate change on the people’s livelihoods.

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