The Shelter Cluster secured funding through DRC and collaborating with cluster partners and other humanitarian agencies to improve the capacity of its partners. The training was divided into two sessions: the first module focusing on the SOF and overall monitoring and the second module more technical looking into technical issues and building back safer. The training was held in Nairobi in April 2015. Three smaller field trainings took place in Mogadishu (May 2015), Hargeysa (June 2015) and Garowe (September 2015).

All presentations, literature and other documents used in the trainings can be found through the following link: Shelter Cluster training materials.

Module 1 of the Shelter Cluster Training Workshop focused on providing an overview of various aspects of the Shelter Cluster Standard Operating Framework (SOF), with a particular focus on monitoring and evaluation. The main objective of the training was for participants to have a greater understanding of the cluster program cycles and the tools, process, and concepts that could be applied to monitor and evaluate shelter projects throughout these cycles. The workshop also sought to gather feedback and guidance from the participants on the tools and processes that the cluster has produced since 2013. The sessions during this module can be divided into two types: (1) cluster frameworks, tools, and processes; (2) concepts that should be applied or integrated into these cluster-produced frameworks, tools and processes.

Module 2 of the Shelter Cluster Training Workshop consisted of topics focused on identifying local solutions to shelter assistance. The main objective of the training was for participants to understand the concepts associated with localized solutions to building back safer, with a particular focus on earth construction. The workshop was designed around a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis framework in which participants used each newly presented concept to analyze a particular shelter typology and decide what the SWOT might be when applying the particular concept.

The training was facilitated by a representative of CRAterre – an organization with decades of experience in earth construction and the promotion of local solutions to construction.