PATHWAYS FROM POVERTY Building Economic Empowerment & Resilience for Extreme Poor Households in Riverine areas of Bangladesh funded by shiree/eep: a GoB and DFID partnership Pathways from Poverty (PFP) Building Economic Empowerment & Resilience for Extreme Poor Households in Riverine areas of Bangladesh The Pathways from Poverty: Building Economic Empowerment & Resilience for Extreme Poor Households in Riverine areas of Bangladesh (PFP) project is a shiree/eep funded project built on successes and lessons learnt from Practical Action Bangladesh's (PAB) the Disappearing lands: supporting communities affected by river erosion (REP) project. The PFP project aims to improve livelihoods of 50,550 women, men and children (16,850 households), and increase their resilience to natural disasters and extreme poverty in four northern districts. The extreme poor in the project are mainly assetless and displaced people living in flood protection embankments. The project goal is to graduate 50,550 extreme poor women, men and children (16,850 households) from extreme poverty. Considering the multidimensional nature of poverty, the project has undertaken a holistic approach which will enable the extreme poors to graduate out of poverty. The outputs will be obtained through tested and established approaches of Practical Action Bangladesh. The benefits of the project will be reaped by the extreme poor in general, female headed households, women, children, disable people living across the project areas, migrant groups and their children as well as other secondary stakeholders. The project understands and acknowledges the social, economic, institutional processes and complexities exist in the working area as well as some of the proposed interventions. Institutional support, though limited, have a potential role to play in moving the extreme poor out of poverty. There will also be indirect benefits for people of other well-being categories through market actors and service providers, small traders, suppliers and institutions. The outputs contribute to the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) set out by GoB, UN MDG 1-5, DFID country strategy, GoB long and short term monga mitigation strategy, and other poverty alleviation strategies of donors including the EU. Project at a glance Goal Graduate 50,550 extreme poor people (16,850 households) from poverty in rural areas. Purpose Improve livelihoods of 16,850 vulnerable char land households with better livelihoods and increased resilience to natural disasters. Duration April 2009 to March 2012. Location Gaibandha, Rangpur, Lalmonirhat and Niphamari districts. Beneficiaries 16,850 households (approximately 50,550 extreme poor women, man and children). Funded by shiree/eep: a GoB and DFID partnership. Project outcomes 1. 120 flood protection embankments in four northern districts adjacent to the Brahmaputra and Tista rivers will be come under the project interventions; 2. 8,000 extreme poor households will be capable in securing operational access to sandbar and underutilised land; 3. 16,850 extreme poor households will secure market access and increased income; 4. 90 percent of target households get supported with asset protection strategies which would increase their resilience to disaster and seasonal food crises; 5. Extreme poor households will have stronger influence over decision making process of local government, line departments and private service providers; 6. 8850 households will increase their annual income by 50 percent undertaking fisheries, livestock, small business, food processing and light engineering activities. Implementing partners OVA (Own Village Development), JSKS (Jhanjira Samaj Kallyan Sangstha), UDPS (Uttara Development Program Society), GUK (Gana Unnayan Kendra) and AKOTA. Strategic partners PPRC (Power and Participation Research Centre) and HI (Handicap International). Practical Solutions to Extreme Poverty For more information: Practical Action Bangladesh House 12B, Road 4, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205. Phone: 8650439, 9675236, 9675243, Fax: 9674340 E-mail: practicalaction@practicalaction.org.bd www.practicalaction.org www.practicalaction.org
