Here’s a way we don’t usually measure project success: hugs. But one woman in Laos uses that as the way to describe how much the project impacted her life: “I am so happy with the help I have received from the staff I could hug them.” That’s a pretty satisfied person.
Hugs still aren’t our official definition of impact (although maybe we should consider it), so it’s worth noting the project had lots of other benefits. Farmers are more resilient to climate change, have better access to information, and women are a lot more involved in decisions.
Northern Uplands Promoting Climate Resilience was funded by the EU in Laos for $2.7 million. Between 2014 and 2018 it reached 2,460 people directly and 17,220 people indirectly. The project partnered with the Comite de Cooperation avec le Laos (CCL) and SAEDA.
What did we accomplish?
- Farmers are planning for the future: Farmers are 74% more likely to have long-term livelihood plans, and 64% more likely to invest in long-term planning to ensure that they can support themselves for years to come.
- People are planning for unpredictable weather: Farmers are 88% more likely to use weather information for planning.
- People have better access to information: Farmers are 54% more likely to be able to access information on climate resilient agriculture and get support on how to do it. They’re also 47% more likely to have access to weather information.
- Women and men are sharing the work: Families are 55% more likely to share labor equally between men and women.
- Women are more confident: Women are 49% more likely to be confident and have increases in their skills and abilities.
- Loans are cheaper: Using VSLAs, women can get loans 3 to 6 times more cheaply than they can from banks and informal money lenders. This helps them invest in their future livelihoods.
How did we get there?
- Get communities involved in planning: The project helped communities create Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Assessments and adaptation plans for how to see the risks of climate change and take action to prevent problems.
- Provide options: instead of promoting just one or two interventions, the project provided 12 different options for families and communities to improve their resilience. These included growing tea and spices, fish farming, growing mushrooms, and other options.
- Connect farmers to markets: The project set up a voucher system to farmers could work with private sector sellers so they can choose and buy their own tools, seeds, etc. That way they don’t wait for CARE to bring them supplies, and can make informed decisions about what works for them.
- Invest in information: The project helped 30 villages buy loudspeaker systems so that they could more consistently communicate weather information in a way that everyone could access. They also partnered with national research agencies to produce better and more useable weather information.
- Consider gender equality: The project not only held initial gender trainings, but also conducted follow up meetings, and helped communities create action plans for how to improve gender equality. One training isn’t enough, but follow ups and support really worked. One woman amusingly said, ‘Now I’m the boss of the family and I make my husband work more than me.’
Want to learn more?
Read the evaluation.