This research aimed at exploring the process of empowering adults for natural resourcesrnconservation in Dendi Woreda in the case of sites where GIZ and SLM projects have beenrnworking with the communities to conserve the natural resources. It followed descriptivernqualitative approach to analyze the views of the adults living in the communitiesâ€™ involved withrnSLM project and of the past GIZ project activities regarding natural resources conservation inrnselected areas of Dendi Woreda. A total of 43 participants (10 Key informants and 33 FGDsrnparticipants) were purposively selected because they had information on the studied projects.rnFGDs were undertaken with three communities namely, Boda, Galessa koftu and Kaba Bareda.rnData were analyzed descriptively using both thematic analysis and narratives. It was found outrnthat empowering adult for natural resource conservation was performed through activities thatrnengaged adult men, women and youth(above the age of 18) in problem identification andrnprioritization, in institutional formation, and through awareness creation. The study revealedrnthat among the opportunities to the activities of the SLM project include the increase in thernknowledge about natural resource conservation by the population in the study area, thernparticipation of the stakeholders such as governmental officials and agencies in the study area,rnthe participation and transparency of the community in identifying their problems in the studyrnarea, existence of ground rules established by the communities about natural resourcernconservation, and the support from both domestic and international stakeholders. It wasrnindicated however that the SLM project was challenged by issues such as illiteracy of adultrnparticipants, financial resource constraint and inaccessibility to project sites, unfavorablernpolitical environment for the project activities in Oromia region at the time of research, andrndelayed budget disbursal were all factors that impeded on the effectiveness of the SLM projectsrnin the study area. On the other hand it reveals a positive consideration from the participatingrncommunities regarding the participatory approach followed by the current SLM compared to thernpast GIZ-SLM project. The study suggests that adult literacy has to be integrated in thernparticipatory approaches for both the sustainable empowerment of adult and for both therneffectiveness of SLM project and sustainability of conservation activities.rnKey words: Empowerment, Project, Natural resource, Conservation, SLM, Oromia.