The Jubba Environmental and Socioeconomic Studies (JESS) are jointly funded by the government of the Somali Democratic Republic (GSDR) and USAID. Technical assistance and JESS management are being provided to the Ministry of Jubba Valley Development (MJVD) by Associates in Rural Development Inc. (ARD). This report describes activities that occurred in the early part of Phase II of JESS, during an ARD consultancy by Dr. William R. Jobin of Blue Nile Associates.