*Written for the Grameen Foundation blog, Creating a World Without Poverty: http://grameenfoundation.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/seeing-is-believing/.
After what seemed would be a third year of dry spells during the critical monsoon season, the rains have finally come in Gaya district of Bihar, India. Agriculture is one of the primary revenue sources for both farmers and wage earners, like the 200 households that the Grameen Foundation is reaching through the Integrated Livelihoods Model for the Poorest (ILM) pilot project being implemented in partnership with BASIX/The Livelihood School. The rains bring increased wage earning opportunities, which, translates into enhanced income and food security for most rural poor households here.
To mitigate the risks of volatile and erratic income generating opportunities, the Solutions for the Poorest (SfP) team aims to gradually enhance the skill sets of the primary breadwinners of our households and link them to more stable livelihood activities. These activities include daily wage activities, which are often seasonal and low skill, and entrepreneurial or productive activities, which lend to higher income generating potential and often require increased skill sets and start-up capital. Through our project, livelihood promotion will be sequenced to first enhance existing or introduce new daily wage activities that can rapidly increase household income while enhancing clients’ self-confidence and trust in our project team and partners. Subsequent to this is the introduction of new, productive livelihoods that generate higher incomes and can sufficiently fill gaps in income flows throughout the year. Examples of these include goat rearing, poultry farming, and vegetable vending. This approach moves away from creating an immediate dependency on credit to meet daily consumption needs and avoids disrupting clients’ existing livelihood patterns.
Over the past month in Gaya, we’ve engaged our clients in exposure visits as a means to enhance their understanding of new livelihood activities- both wage-based and entrepreneurial. Exposure visits entail visiting actors and observing processes along entire supply chains of the activities we will link households to. This deepens their understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with each activity and better informs their decision to commit to the “right” livelihoods for themselves and their households.
This past week’s exposure visit was to the neighboring village of Orr, where our clients met with women of the same socio-economic background and have successfully engaged in kitchen gardening, a method of small scale vegetable production that involves very little or no land and mostly organic inputs. Home grown vegetables significantly increase nutritional levels while also contributing to income through the sales of excess produce. Our clients also received a demonstration on gunny bag gardening, which is essentially a garden in a bag that grows along creepers against the walls and roof of the house. Prior to the visit, our clients expressed self-doubt in their capacity to start new activities, but after seeing how their peers have engaged successfully in these, they claimed, “Now that we have seen them do it, we know we can do it too! And, we are ready to start!” Seeing really is believing.
To mitigate the risks of volatile and erratic income generating opportunities, the Solutions for the Poorest (SfP) team aims to gradually enhance the skill sets of the primary breadwinners of our households and link them to more stable livelihood activities. These activities include daily wage activities, which are often seasonal and low skill, and entrepreneurial or productive activities, which lend to higher income generating potential and often require increased skill sets and start-up capital. Through our project, livelihood promotion will be sequenced to first enhance existing or introduce new daily wage activities that can rapidly increase household income while enhancing clients’ self-confidence and trust in our project team and partners. Subsequent to this is the introduction of new, productive livelihoods that generate higher incomes and can sufficiently fill gaps in income flows throughout the year. Examples of these include goat rearing, poultry farming, and vegetable vending. This approach moves away from creating an immediate dependency on credit to meet daily consumption needs and avoids disrupting clients’ existing livelihood patterns.
Over the past month in Gaya, we’ve engaged our clients in exposure visits as a means to enhance their understanding of new livelihood activities- both wage-based and entrepreneurial. Exposure visits entail visiting actors and observing processes along entire supply chains of the activities we will link households to. This deepens their understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with each activity and better informs their decision to commit to the “right” livelihoods for themselves and their households.
This past week’s exposure visit was to the neighboring village of Orr, where our clients met with women of the same socio-economic background and have successfully engaged in kitchen gardening, a method of small scale vegetable production that involves very little or no land and mostly organic inputs. Home grown vegetables significantly increase nutritional levels while also contributing to income through the sales of excess produce. Our clients also received a demonstration on gunny bag gardening, which is essentially a garden in a bag that grows along creepers against the walls and roof of the house. Prior to the visit, our clients expressed self-doubt in their capacity to start new activities, but after seeing how their peers have engaged successfully in these, they claimed, “Now that we have seen them do it, we know we can do it too! And, we are ready to start!” Seeing really is believing.
Our members touring the kitchen gardens of the women in Orr village**
Despite the heavy rains, the women stuck through the entire visit
Our lovely hosts of Orr village bid us goodbye
**Unfortunately, due to the heavy rains, supporting photos are limited.
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