Use
of Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches
The
Western India Rainfed Farming Project (WIRFP) aimed to improve
the livelihoods of tribal people in parts of three Indian
states – Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. This
region is one of the poorest, environmentally degraded
and rainfed regions of India.
The project had two key phases. The first phase focused upon
farming systems development – the introduction of new
crop varieties, micro-irrigation, improved livestock breeds,
joint forest management, tree planting and soil and water
conservation. Demand-led technologies were encouraged through
collaboration by farming communities and agricultural research
institutes.
The second phase of the project expanded from a focus on natural
resource based livelihoods to a more holistic and sustainable
understanding and support of people’s livelihoods. The
project also scaled out to cover 275 ‘core‘ villages
and 550 proximal villages.
One of the livelihood strategies of the area
was found to be seasonal migration, which made a critical
contribution to local incomes, and was embraced as positive
development within the project. A migration support programme
aimed to reduce the risk of exploitation of migrants and worked
closely with local government, NGOs, the police and the recruitment
intermediaries (mukkadams).
A Livelihoods Asset Status Tracking technique was
developed within the course of the project to support ongoing
learning. It focused on the assets of the poor (natural, physical,
capital, social, human) and tracked these assets as a proxy
for impact. (Further information available in paper below)
A Livelihoods Summit was held towards the
end of the project in 2006. It aimed to share experiences
and research findings on ways to improve the management of
natural resources from a livelihoods perspective. A key conclusion
was the importance of bridging the gap between macro policies
and micro interventions. The summit paper is below.
The
work of the project also links directly with the DFID
Rural Livelihoods project
|
