Resilient Livelihood and Sustainable Food Security (RLSFS)

BackgroundNepal, Bangladesh and India in South Asia witness and share the same degree of food insecurity and climatic risks among socially excluded groups namely Dalit, Tribal, women, aged, and disabled persons. The region is ranked as the second most undernourished, malnourished, food insecure, and climate sensitive region in the world by World Food Programme. In these countries, 260 million people lack access to basic health facilities; 337 million lack safe drinking water; 830 million have no access to basic sanitation facilities; and over 400 million people go hungry every day. Some of the important causes of these problems include low human development priorities, gender inequality; social exclusion and inequitable opportunities in accessing rights, entitlements and services; weak governance of pro-poor policies and programmes; poor infrastructure; and recurrent disasters affecting livelihoods and causing loss of lives. As a result, the necessity of disaster risk reduction and food security remains palpably evident.

Programme Overview DCA’s regional Resilient Livelihood and Sustainable Food Security (RLSFS) Programme in South Asia represents the second phase of our former Right to Food (RtF) Programme (2006-12 with 2 year extension) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Programme (2008-12), and is currently being implemented through partners in three countries: Nepal, India and Bangladesh. This holistic merged strategy is an attempt to develop a model of synergy between thematic programmes of DCA in South Asia and could demonstrate the path for an effective integrated replicable approach across other DCA regional offices and countries and also bring in learning for other organisations.

The programme intends to address the following problems that obstruct food, livelihood and nutritional security of the most vulnerable communities in Nepal, Bangladesh and India:

4 Structural inequality and exclusion (based on caste, class, gender, and cultural practices) leading to high food insecurity and climatic risk among socially excluded groups

4 Limited participation and capacity of communities in local governance to claim food rights/entitlements and protection from climatic and disaster risks.

Programme Brief

4 Inequitable access to land, chronic livelihood and food insecurity, and unsustainable farming practices

4 Changing climatic effects and frequent unpredictable disasters;

4 Weak governance

At National and Regional level, DCA also works on policy advocacy on DRR, CCA and Food security/livelihood issues through representation in executive committees/membership in networks/forums like AIN/ DPNET in Nepal, Sphere India and Disaster Emergency Group and Cluster approaches in Bangladesh. ACT alliance forums in all three countries have taken up the issues at national and cross-border level around preparedness, contingency planning and addressing resilience in context of food security.

Our Programme Strategies4 Review and analysis of existing polices and plans4 Supporting formation and strengthening

organizational capacity of CBOs4 Strengthening climate coping capacities of

excluded groups4 Promotion of social and gender equity4 Networking and Alliance building of CBOs with

other civil society organizations

Resilient Livelihoods and sustainable food security of excluded and marginalized women and men in disaster prone and food insecure areas in Nepal, India and Bangladesh.

Our Impact GroupIn Nepal, the programme targets women, Hill and Tarai Dalits, and tribal communities. The hill Dalits in the reference area are Vishwakarma, Mijar, Pariyar, Baadi, and Gandharva. The Tarai Dalits include Mushahar, Harijan, Passi, Kosi, Dhobi, Khatik, and Tatma raidas. The Dalits include Haliya-the freed bonded labourers, socially untouchables as well as tribal communities mostly from Magars and Tharu (Ex-Kamaiya-the bonded labourers) in mid west and far west regions.

In Bangladesh, it works with farmers groups belonging to Garo, Santhal, Oraon, Hajongs, and Manipuri tribes, minority Hindu Dalits and extremely poor Muslim fishing communities in Netrakona in Northeast regions and Thakugaon and Panchagahr in Northwest region and Chittagong region.

In India, it includes Dalits (SC) and Adivasi communities (ST) in Rajasthan, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh.

Immediate Objective

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE 1: Pro poor policies and laws regarding food security, natural resource management and disaster risk reduction realized by resilient communities through strengthened governance and effective response.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE 2: Empowered, excluded and marginalized communities in food insecure and disaster prone areas have access to livelihood and food security rights through strengthened community based organizations and their alliances.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE 3: Sustainable and replicable farm/non-farm climate resilient livelihood models created and promoted to enhance food security of excluded and marginalized communities for long term policy engagement.

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE 4: DCA’s and partners’ organisational capacity is increased to empower excluded and marginalised communities.

Development Objective

4 Participation in local self governance 4 Strengthening and supporting community based

advocacy4 Social watch and audit4 Developing and promoting models that link

indigenous knowledge to relevant sustainable technology

4 Affirmative action for universalization of social security coverage

4 Affirmative action for pro poor agrarian reforms

Expected Outcome 4 Increased percentage of excluded and

marginalized women and men access entitlements on food security, natural resources, disaster mitigation, preparedness, and response

4 Increased participation of excluded and marginalized women and men and their community organizations in policy dialogue with duty bearers on reforms & formulation of pro poor policies/laws related to food security, natural resources, DRR & Climate Change Adaptation

4 Excluded and marginalized communities have formed and strengthened CBOs and built organizational capacity to dialogue with and influence duty bearers and CSO networks.

4 Increased legitimate representation and active engagement of excluded and marginalized communities including women by 50% of the targeted rights holders in relevant local decision making bodies.

4 Excluded and marginalized communities are using and promoting climate resilient livelihood models reducing the food insecure periods from 150 to 50 days per year (Models’ strength: low cost, replicable, easy to manage, innovative)

4 Local authorities acknowledge and promote climate resilient livelihood models in their development programmes

4 DCA and partners have documented accountable and transparent governance (management systems, human resource development, policies and strategies)

4 Increased number of partners with long term advocacy strategies on programme related issues

Our Working areas

Nepal: Achham, Doti, Kailali, Kanchanpur, Banke, Kapilbastu, Udaypur, Saptari.

India: Food insecure and most disaster prone pockets in states of Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

Bangladesh: Borguna and Sathkhira in the southern delta region Netrakona and Sunamganj in the north-east, Rangpur, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat in the north-western region and Sirajganj and Jamalpur in the central region.

Nepal

India

Bangladesh

Our Working areas

OUR CONTACT ADDRESS

DanChurchAidSouth Asia Regional OfficeGPO Box 4844, JhamshikhelWard No-2Lalitpur, Kathmandu, NepalPhone: +977 1 50 13 550Email : dcasouthasia@dca.dk

DanChurchAidIndia Office14, Palam Marg,Vasant ViharNew Delhi-110057, IndiaPhone: +91-11-26148279/80

DanChurchAidBangladesh OfficeHouse#83, Road #23Gulshan-1, Dhaka-1212BangladeshPhone: +88 02 8834343

Our Partners

Nepal

Forum for Awareness and Youth Activity (FAYA)Lutheran World Federation (LWF)Indreni Rural Development Centre (IRDC) Nepal National Social Welfare Association (NNSWA)

Bangladesh

RDRS BangladeshDushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK)Friends in Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB)

India

State Advisor- Orissa

Astha

Centre for Equity Studies(CES)

Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS)

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)

Society for the Promotion of Rural Education and Development International (SPREAD)

Lutheran World Service India Trust (LWSIT)

Regional Centre for Development Cooperation (RCDC)

DISHA

Mahatma Gandhi Seva Ashram (MGSA)

India Development Foundation (IDF)

Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA)

SAHNIVASA

About DanChurchAid

DanChurchAid is a faith-based, non-missionary relief and development organization. Our everyday work strives to help the oppressed, neglected and marginalized groups in our focus countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to strengthen their possibilities of a life in dignity.

In Nepal, Bangladesh and India, we are involved in several thematic areas with our work focusing on disaster risk reduction and climate change, resilient livelihoods and food security, active citizenship and migrants’ rights, among other projects.

www.danchurchaid.org

Funding Source

DaNiDa75%

gift Catalogue2%

eU/eCHo23%

DaNiDagift Catalogue

eU/eCHoTotal

8,979,547.94 289,452.00 2,691,422.00 11,960,421.94

Country wise Programme Budget

Bangladesh2%

Nepal12%

india59%

regional 27%

Financial Information

Nepalindia

Bangladeshregional

Total

1,427,466.63 7,084,858.68 195,674.63 3,252,422.00 11,960,421.94