Livelihoods Network is a unique opportunity for people from all over the world to work together in order to progress faster and more efficiently.
David Hogg, Chief Sustainability Officer at Naandi Foundation, from Andhra Pradesh – India
Action
Here in the scenic Araku valley of Andhra Pradesh, with the Naandi Foundation we are working with more than 11 000 Adivasi farmers to improve their yields and their environment through agroforestry and biodynamic practices. We have for example a biocenter where farmers can learn how to prepare a high quality compost to improve the fertility of their land.
How the Livelihoods Network can help local communities?
Today, many simple and effective techniques exist throughout the world to sustainably improve smallholder farmers’ yields, but they remain scattered and very difficult to access by local farmers. The network will enable us to access to these knowledge and practices to adapt and spread them among farmers groups. For example, a beekeeping project in Kenya was facing problems to attract bees in his hives. They posted a message on the platform and soon a beekeeper of Naandi exchanged with them and brought suggestions. We have knowledge and skills that we can make available to other communities, too.
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Habiba Ali, Managing director of SOSAI Renewable Energies – Nigeria
What’s your action?
At SOSAI we use market-based strategies to promote access to energy and improve livelihoods of households in our region. We deliver improved cook stoves and solar lamps to the people at a subsidized price, thanks to our partners. The improved cook stoves save fuel wood, thus protecting forest resources, as well as time and energy for the women collecting it, while the solar lamps go a long way to improve indoor air improving the lives of women and children.
How the Livelihoods Network can help your organization?
We currently are undergoing a just recently registered CDM project with cook stoves which promises to be very profitable to investors and partners alike but our organization is still not fully sustainable. We need to improve our sales and marketing strategy and our financial model to become stronger. SOSAI is a social business. We have built our activities without tools. The more we are able to show our economic ability to partners, the more we inspire their confidence. I am sure that among the Network members we can find someone who can help us develop and reach our self-sufficiency.
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Ini Damien, president of Association for the Promotion of Women of Gaoua (APFG) and co-founder of Aliniha, Burkina.
Action
We have multiple actions with groups of women: we have implemented transformation of economic activities such as production of local beer, flour. We also do a lot of awareness through theater-forum and promote agroforestry extension of solar cookers and improved stoves. Our mission is solidarity and endogenous development. Our association is fully supported by women’s groups that compose it and its aim is to give confidence (empowerment) to these women.
How the Livelihoods Network can help your organization?
With Livelihoods Network, we will begin training and awareness on improved stoves and agroforestry affecting a large group of women.
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Peter Minang, global ASB coordinator at the World Agroforestry Center (former-ICRAF), Nairobi – Kenya.
Action
I work as a senior scientist at the World Agroforestry Center, formerly called ICRAF. Here, in Kenya’s rural areas and in many countries throughout the world, we test, study and develop practices, techniques and strategies on trees and agroforestry, together with the farmers. In almost 35 years, ICRAF has built up a considerable amount of knowledge.
How the Livelihoods Network can make a difference?
A lot is still needed to be done concerning the effective delivery of all this work to the farmers, the real targeted beneficiaries. The Livelihoods Network is a wonderful tool to disseminate the knowledge generated by research institutions such as ICRAF. It will help to valorize and spread agroforestry practices to farmer communities, through local organizations.
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Rémi Heymerick, Director of SOS Sahel, France.
Action
At SOS Sahel, we have extensive experience of networking, because we’re actually a network of local associations, which each develop their projects directly with rural communities. We are working hard on improving the management of natural resources and the fight against desertification through the dissemination of traditional control techniques, and the introduction of agro-ecological practices.
How the Livelihoods Network can help your organization?
The Livelihoods Network gives us the opportunity to work with new partners as other NGOs, such as businesses. This allows us to be open to new approaches, new ways of working. The network can also open up new funding opportunities.
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Joël Lelostec, Business Development Director at Schneider Electric – BipBop Access to Energy Program, France.
What is BipBop?
Through BipBop, we supported more than 200 local company owner and allowed access to energy more than 1 million families around the world. When we start working somewhere, we first detailed analysis of all existing energy needs, whether at the level of households, village communities, or local company owners. Then we identify the most suitable solution energy: solar, hybrid, or not connected to the network, etc., there are many possibilities depending on the situation and needs.
How the Livelihoods Network can help your organization?
The Network is a great platform to link our work to other projects and find new partners. This allows us to increase our positive impact. With the NGO Oceanium Senegal and NEWS India, we study solutions to bring electricity to the villages of their areas of action.