Livelihoods Development Programme - Africa

With the millenium development goals in mind, the Livelihoods Development Programme is focussing more attention on working in Africa. Bamboos and rattans grow in a swathe cutting across sub-saharan central Africa either side of the equator, and extend down to Mozambique in the south. Many of the bamboos exist in pockets of biodiversity in east and west Africa but have cultural associations to local peoples and are utilised in daily life. Rattans have been used for a long time for furniture but overharvesting and forest destruction is severely limiting the resource supply. Cultivation of bamboo is rare, and cultivation of rattan non-existent. Improvements in management and processing technologies, design and market access, funding access and policy are seen as the major opportunities for developing livelihoods based on bamboo and rattan in many African nations.

Pipeline activities

Market based development with bamboo in four East African nations - project under development with UNIDO

Ongoing activities

Ghana - Action Research Project

Tanzania - Action research project

Completed activities

Uganda - Market based development with bamboo in East Africa - workshop

Studies/evaluations

Cameroon Production to Consumption system (rattan)
Ethiopia Production to Consumption system (bamboo)
Ghana Production to Consumption system (rattan)
Kenya Production to Consumption system (bamboo)
Nigeria Production to Consumption system (rattan)
Tanzania Production to Consumption system (bamboo)
Uganda Production to Consumption system (bamboo and rattan)