Livelihoods Development Programme - background

The aim of the Programme is to enable more effective and wider application of bamboo and rattan technologies to enable the rural poor to produce and process bamboo and rattan more effectively and to participate in, and benefit from, the market economy at reduced risks and through economies of scale in operations.

Our objectives are to:

(a) Develop appropriate and adaptable project activities and models for: institutional support; pro-poor product development; and value-addition;
(b) Develop community-owned small and medium enterprise ("SME") business models and production systems aimed at institutional, mainstream and niche markets and benefiting from appropriate policy support;
(c) Establish innovative marketing through the creation of public-private partnerships linking poor rural-community producers with developed and developing market consumers;
(d) Develop linkages with other organization's development programmes and develop opportunities for replication of projects involving bamboo and rattan;
(e) Promote institutional strengthening and South-South networking within the Recipient's livelihood development programme;
(f) Promote a market oriented focus that provides the rural poor with market access in the Participating Countries and Global Market, particularly in Europe.

The countries currently participating in the Programme, with present and/or developing direct or indirect activities are: China, Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mozambique, Philppines, Tanzania and Venezuela.