Livelihoods Support

1. AKSHARA Livelihoods Support Way Forward

2. AKSHARA Context: Trends

3. Context: Trends • Government  NGO • Staff of NGOs  Moving Out • Govt. Projects, CSR Foundations, Large NGOs, CBOs  Edge out ‘small’ • Reducing Charity; Most money for Foundations, Trusts; Venture Capital • Micro-finance and other priorities; Bank Linkages • Ideas to invest money not many • South  North; GOI discouraging small donors

4. Context: Trends • Appreciating Rupee, Weakening Dollar • Globalisation, Liberalisation • Climate Changes • Increased Pace of Life • Secure livelihoods ‘off’ • Rules/Sanctions: Bhartrihari • Huge Human Resource Gap in servicing poor

5. Context: Trends • Increasing differences between poor and rich • State withdrawal • Retail Boom; ICT shining; Real Estate zoom • More ‘Urban’; PURA; SEZs • Dying Traditional Occupations • Greying Population; Youth reluctant • New livelihoods opportunities • New divides

6. AKSHARA Livelihoods Framework

7. Livelihoods of the Poor Overarching Vision • Every individual Poor family is able to have a portfolio of decent livelihoods

8. Livelihoods of the Poor Key Principles • The Elephant • Seven Fish (The Ant) • Meta fish/skill • Equity • Contribution/Repayment • Institutions – social animals • Sustainability

9. Livelihoods of the Poor Some Questions • % of Rupee • 3000 vocations • Quality, Scale • Interaction with markets • Local Markets • Holding capacity – stamina, infrastructure • Integration with other livelihoods

10. Livelihoods Play of Six Capitals Towards Within Four Contexts Four Arrows

11. Livelihoods Framework Four Contexts Six Capitals Interventions Four Arrows Four Contexts –Ecological, Techno-economic, Distribution Pattern, Investment-Expenditure Patterns Six Capitals – Natural, Physical, Social, Human, Financial and Spiritual – Knowledge-Skills-Resources Four Arrows – Income, Expenditure, Employment, Risk - Outcomes

12. Livelihoods Livelihoods Enhancement Formula

13. Critical Concepts within Livelihoods Framework • Existing Livelihoods First • Least Cost Interventions First; Skills First • Address the entire value-chain • Collective vs Individual; Partnerships • Wage Labour – focus; Common Properties, lease, additional livelihoods! • PK+OK+OK+? in the KSR system; knowledge-skills-resources system • Best Practices within

14. Critical Concepts within Livelihoods Framework • Market (particularly local market) First • Micro-Macro Play • Feasibility, Viability, Cost-effectiveness; Productivity, Equity, Sustainability • Community Contribution; Repayment • LEAPs (Livelihoods Enhancement Action Plans) in village and at higher levels • Multiple doses of support • People’s Projects

15. Livelihood Enhancement Action Plan (village)‏ • Social and Resource Maps • Traded-in & Traded-out; • Income & Expenditure Patterns • Livelihoods, Value-chains, Farming System Analysis • Opportunities • (for Wage Labour, CPRs, NTFP, Local Opportunities for existing and new products/services, Jobs and Enterprises) Carried out by Community with support from CLFs/Activists and Professionals

16. The People’s Project Process (Timeline)‏ Organise Community  Project ideas (PES criteria)  Prioritise  Proposal  Resources/Funders  Appraisal  Linkages  Implementation  Evaluation  Follow-up (+ use of repaid amounts/leveraging)‏ Technical Support through out

17. LF: Contours • Poor are Consumers and Buyers; Producers and Sellers • Poor can come together; add value; add new lines‏ • Livelihoods of the Poor are Risky • Poor need Market Intelligence; Sub-sector Expertise • Science can help Poor • Poor can be de-skilled and re-skilled • Poor need support of Activists/ Paraprofessionals; Human Resources for LF and their capacity building

18. LF: Contours • Some Poor can be entrepreneurs; New Micro-enterprises; New Service-based enterprises; Group/Collective Enterprises of the Poor • Meet the Credit needs; Livelihood Support Finance Mobilisation; People’s Bank(s)!?!; • Infrastructure to increase the capacity to hold • Partnerships • LF Interventions ‘Endogenous’ • State Support • Some Paradoxes • Credit; Infrastructure; Commodity Markets; Jobs

19. AKSHARA L-Vulnerabilities

20. Vulnerabilities • Changing Contexts • Ecological and Environment, NRM Status, • Climate - Melting Glaciers, Depleting Reserves, Drying Groundwater, Pollution, Changing Food Habits, Demand-Supply • Techno-economic, Technology, Economic changes, • Increasing service sector, reducing agriculture in GDP, • Competitive Edges – Chinese Goods, Indian Software, Sweden Milk, Liberalisation, Globalisation, Appreciating and weakening currencies, • Distribution Patterns, • Poverty Line Definition, Targeting • Income and Expenditure Patterns, • State withdrawal, Social security, (food, wage, employment security)

21. Vulnerabilities • Changes in Capital Structures • including Policy [Rights, Access, Commons] • Natural, Physical, Social, Human, Financial, Spiritual • Four Arrows • Income, • Expenditure (Money, Time, Energy), • Employment (no, less, skills) • Risks (Covariant, Idiosyncratic)– Life, Livelihoods, Wages, Accidents, Assets, Credit worthiness, Savings, Investments, Enterprise; Disasters

22. Impact of Vulnerabilities • Vulnerabilities – contexts, capital structures and four arrows • Impacts are higher for poor; Triple and Multiple Burden • Small livelihoods ignored/lost; diverse but small variants lost • Coping Mechanisms becoming less effective • Without Risk Cover • Multiple Livelihoods lost, Dynamic Livelihoods – at loss • More than fall in incomes, spurts in Expenditure impact • Push Migration and some times, pull migration • Inter-generation impact – nutrition for example

23. Impact of Vulnerabilities • Lack of Ideas for ‘realigning livelihoods’ • Debt-trap • Dependency , Beyond? (on state, NGOs etc.) • Scant Investment to address Vulnerabilities • Costs of coming together • ‘Enough for everybody’s need’ but not greed

24. AKSHARA L-Way Forward

25. Way Forward • Help the poor to analyse their situation and take decisions • Nothing really new – best practitioners and best practices • Diverse Livelihoods –Farm; NTFP; Non-farm; Services; Migration • Remember Multiple Livelihoods; Dynamic livelihoods • Go ‘beyond fishing’; Information, Intelligence, Knowledge, Skills, Metafishing/Metaskills • Jobs, Self-employment, Individual and Collective Enterprises • Focus on Four Arrows, including costs and risks

26. Way Forward • Look at ICT, Rural-Urban Continuum, Migration • Research – Livelihoods of Marginalized; Small Livelihoods • Livelihoods Security; Food; Employment • Risks – appreciate, prevent, reduce impact, relief, cope, restore • Institutions, institutional processes • Best Practices – dissemination for people’s informed choices • PRIs for infrastructure needs • ‘Poor’ and ‘Non-poor’ collaborations • Going beyond ‘rhetoric’ Sustainable livelihoods [PRA!] • Environment Costs – who has to put the bill! • Incremental vs Steep Shifts; Oases vs Scalable/replicable models

27. Way Forward • Generalists at the interface with people • Professionals and paraprofessionals; Staff for CBOs – CB • Livelihoods Orientation and HR at various levels – BIG GAP • Differentiate Non-profit and not-for-profit • Prosperity Paradigm • Improved access to Finance; Finance for various needs • Finance vs. Ideas • Resource Optimisation, Endowments, Entitlements, Access, Divides • Businesses for poor and by poor; Collectives

28. Way Forward • Programs in Livelihoods Management • Livelihoods Learning Programs for workers, leaders, facilitators • Occupational/Livelihoods Gurukulams • Livelihoods Orientation Campaigns • Livelihoods Support Organisations and Individuals • Field Partners and Field Stations • Collectives of L-workers • L-volunteers • L-dissemination

29. AKSHARA AKSHARA Activities

30. AKSHARA • GENESIS • To address ‘Professional’ support gap in the development sector in general and in the livelihoods domain in particular • With the Core Philosophy - “Application of management concepts, tools and techniques to development in general and Livelihoods Enhancement for the Poor, in particular, with the realisation that Livelihoods Management is potentially an independent discipline”

31. AKSHARA • ACTIVITY FOCUS • Mentoring - Identifying, catalysing, facilitating, supporting and mentoring – 5i for 5L • 5i - Ideas, initiatives, interventions, individuals, institutions for • 5L - Life, Livelihoods, Leadership, Learning and Love • Professional Support - professional tool kits/products/services • Building replicable models of development/development processes • Taking up programs that are important but not being addressed adequately at present

32. AKSHARA – Key Initiatives • Akshara Livelihoods (Consulting) • Akshara-Gurukulam – D-school • Livelihoods Learning Programs • Partnerships for field practice and livelihoods management orientation • Field Partners and Field Stations (Pochampally – scaling-up!!!!!) • Visioning of organizations • Akshara Sakthi, an independent livelihoods volunteer force • Livelihoods Life Workers • Livelihoods Support Organisations (LSOs) – LSO Network(s)

33. AKSHARA – Key Initiatives • Livelihoods (Poverty Reduction) Project Design Support • Long-term Support in livelihoods domain (lead orgns/projects) • Community Livelihoods Facilitators’ Forum • ‘Chelama’ Livelihoods Professionals’ Collective • Akshara Jobs/Jobs Exchange • Akshara Livelihoods Books, ‘Jeevanopadhulu’, livelihoods • Specific demand-based support - HR Processes, Training and Module Development • Sub-sector Analysis, Country Reports … Dairy

34. AKSHARA Thank You