This manual is a collaborative effort with the Local Capacitates for Peace Project (LCPP) of over three years, during which period local and international staff of various aid agencies worked to trace the impact of aid programmes on conflict, and identify options and alternatives for working that support local capacities for peace. Drawing on field experience and written for and by aid workers, this lessons-learned manual explores how aid given in conflict situations interact with the conflict, and attempts to understand how aid is misused by people interested in pursuing political and military advantage, to prevent its occurrence.