Teaching through play: New game educates rural communities on risk

Abstract

Climate change Earth sciences consultancy Umvoto Africa has developed a game, called Riskopoly, as a facilitation tool to discuss risk and preparation for climate change in rural communities. It can be adapted for use in any community dealing with natural hazards, and is particularly useful where literacy levels are low, as it is experiential. Article by Paula Hay and Rowena Hay. The southern African region is considered one of the most vulnerable in Africa to climate variability. Temperature records in Southern Africa reveal that over the last decades the region has experienced a warming trend. In part this is due to the region’s high social vulnerability and low adaptive capacity. In South Africa, the most common natural hazards are floods, storms, wildfires and drought. South Africa hasan average rainfall of less than 500 mm per annum, which is comparatively lower than the world average of 860 mm. As this rainfall is unevenly distributed, 65% of the country receives less than 500 mm of rain annually. This is considered the minimum for successful dry-land farming.

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