The dusty, potholed road is scattered with the remains of ambushed vehicles, interspersed by the occasional tank, stark reminders of 27 years of conflict in Angola. In 2002 the government and UNITA rebels signed a peace agreement which ended the combat but left a hidden enemy - landmines.

Angola is one of the most densely mined countries in the world. Away from Luanda and the shiny office buildings of oil and diamond companies lie thousands of kilometres of uncleared land, despite international and government operators working alongside each other for several years.

I am travelling to Luena, the capital of Moxico province - the most heavily mined province in the country - to work with Mines Advisory Group (MAG) a British agency that works on demining around the world. Luena is in the east of Angola, on the border with Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo, at an altitude of about 1360m (4,500 feet).

It has a distinct European feel, with wide, tree-lined avenues. But look closer, and you see what years of conflict can do to the place that was once a summer holiday location of choice for the Portuguese. There's a swimming pool with a diving board (empty), a cinema (semi-demolished) and a huge train station (without any tracks) interspersed with mine fields.

MAG has been working in Angola for the last 12 years, and its operational base is in Luena. It works with local communities to identify minefields and prioritise the next area to be demined. It's an intricate process to ensure the different needs of the community are taken into account and the area's chosen first will have make the biggest impact. The process is complicated by a battle with poor infrastructure which often needs to be cleared and de-mined itself before work can start near the affected communities.

Evy van Weezendonk, MAG's community liaison manager, says: "Demining is absolutely vital in the recovery and development of communities. It (helps people get back) to agricultural land and their buildings, and allows communities to return to areas they had to flee."

I'm AlertNet's map officer, and I'm here representing MapAction along with Jonny Douch, a consultant in geographical information systems (GIS), to work with MAG staff in improving their map making. This will help them map the areas they're currently working in and will make it easier to establish what areas should be priorities in the future, by allowing the combination of data from technical mine surveys with data from the affected community. This should make it possible to reduce the areas currently identified as mined so de-mining will be accurately targeted in the future.

As the sun drops low in the sky, it's impossible to escape the reality and the effects of this conflict, but with a few more days' training and plenty of practice we can help them in their vital tasks of locating and documenting the last remaining mines, those hidden enemies.

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