  Dwarf galaxies in the local group provide a unique astrophysical laboratory.
Despite their proximity some of these systems still lack a reliable distance
determination as well as studies of their stellar content and star formation
history. We present first results of our survey of variable stars in a sample
of six local group dwarf irregular galaxies. Taking the Leo A dwarf galaxy as
an example we describe observational strategies and data reduction. We discuss
the lightcurves of two newly found \delta Cephei stars and place them into the
context of a previously derived P-L relation. Finally we discuss the LPV
content of Leo A.
