connect - snv

Connect#3 JULY 2014

CONNECT IS AN ANNUAL PUBLICATION PROFIL ING SNV’S WORK AROUND THE WORLD

Financing renewable energy

Connecting farmers to business

The safe sanitation movement

GlobalHighlights insideShaping

the future of development

In this rapidly changing environment the need for innovation and scaling up in development is a given. Yet keeping pace in the development sector with change, and

finding new ways of working are not always easy. SNV works hard to come up with smart ideas and innovative approaches. But it is always a challenge to balance innovation with implementation. Taking a new approach to the next level requires a variety of tools, and the expertise of many.

Pilot programmes are a proven method for SNV to test new approaches. This is a great way to assess a new approach and adapt it further. A successful pilot programme must then be capable of being scaled up to benefit millions. SNV can’t do this alone. Our partnerships with other NGOs, civil society and private sector organisations are crucial for increasing impact.

Do we know partnerships work? Yes! There are great examples where collaboration has brought SNV programmes to scale. Look at the National Biogas programme in Cambodia where hundreds of thousands of people benefit from clean technology, at 140 Inclusive Business projects in Latin America, Asia and Africa, and the multi country programme Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All in partnership with DFID. Can we do more? Definitely! The challenge is to innovate through pilot programs on the one hand, and continue to scale up our impact on the other.

Welcome to Connect 2014Our annual publication exploring SNV’s work around the world

As progress is made towards the Millennium Development Goals, new challenges continue to emerge. Extreme poverty has fallen globally, yet youth unemployment is rising, cl imate change is threatening smallholder l ivelihoods and fragile states are fall ing deeper into poverty.

Communication technology creates exciting opportunities for scaling up SNV’s impact at relatively low cost. Mobile phones are readily available in developing countries and can be used to provide information and services quickly and cheaply. This greatly increases development impact. For example SNV have partnered with Akvo, who produce Akvo Flow. This GPS-enabled smartphone application has the potential to transform water and sanitation mapping and supply, boosting delivery to many more people.

These technologies engage communities in finding solutions to their problems, and connect development organisations to their viewpoint. Technology is changing the traditional way of providing development knowledge and services. And changing it for the better.

Innovation takes many forms. It is looking at a problem from all angles. It is about new ways to use your resources. It is about doing more with what you have. It is about how to differentiate what you do.

Over the last year, by sharing knowledge and creative thinking with our partners and those we work for, SNV benefitted almost 10 million people. By linking innovation to implementation, SNV is helping shape the future of develop-ment. This is Smart development at work!

Arthur Arnold

“There

are great

examples

where

collaboration

has brought

SNV

programmes

to scale.”

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JULY 2014 CONNECT #3

Arthur Arnold,

Chairman,

SNV Supervisory Board

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CONNECT #3 JULY 2014

Nice work if you can get itThe OYE programme is harnessing the talent and energy of unemployed young people in Sub Saharan Africa, to get them back to work.

Inside this year ’s Connect

In Focus21 Fertile Minds

22 Making every minute count

28 The life in one day of Silvia Amador

29 Girls in Control

33 Field of Dreams

34 SNV Twitter Junior Professionals

35 Turning Poo into Power

36 Meeting the climate challenge with confidence

37 Cleaning up a Dirty Business

41 Waste not, Want not

43 Getting on with Business

45 Putting down Roots

47 OUTtakes

Shaping the future of development As private sector investment becomes more and more characteristic of development funding, SNV’s CEO Allert van den Ham shares his perspective on how the development sector and private investors can work together, to deliver more than traditional aid approaches can.

A change is coming Across nine countries, SNV is spurring on the movement for sustainable sanitation.

Advocating for lasting progressSNV works for enduring reforms that keep improvements in place, and empower communities.

From small money to big changeUsing different forms of financing in smart ways, to bring clean energy to more people.

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Protecting l ivelihoods, preserving forestsForests are central to managing climate change, but are under threat from agricultural and energy use. Our REAP programme helps communities to work in harmony with their forests.

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8

Inclusive business from bean to brewConnecting smallholders to the supply chains of private companies, reaps rewards for everyone.

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30 38

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Editor: Emma BolesWords: Emma Boles, Nick Greenfield, Philip SenPhotography: Aidan Dockery, Reinier van Oorsouw, Roel Burgler, Petterik Wiggers & SNVConcept & Design: HaagsblauwPrint: NPN Printers© SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, 2014

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We believe in working for

change that lastsThat’s why we see the problem through her eyes

to understand what keeps her in poverty.

We ask the questions that matter

and we develop solutions that work.

We convince those with influence to

make reforms that keep progress in place.

We support communit ies and authorit ies

to work together.

So we start with her…

and then we work with al l those around her.

We call it Smart Developmentbecause it works!

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That’s why we see the problem through her eyes

to understand what keeps her in poverty.

We ask the questions that matter

and we develop solutions that work.

We convince those with influence to

make reforms that keep progress in place.

We support communit ies and authorit ies

to work together.

So we start with her…

and then we work with al l those around her.

We call it Smart Developmentbecause it works!


6

Shaping the future of development

Fifty years ago, when Africa was sti l l referred to as ‘The Dark Continent’, idealist ic men and women embarked on their missions to developing countries to impart their knowledge and expertise. Funded by state aid and with the best of intentions, they hoped to instigate rapid change. However progress takes t ime, and their approach was constrained by paternalist ic att i tudes, and a narrower perspective than we have today.

Allert van den Ham,

CEO, SNV


7

Fast forward to 2014 and the world has transformed. Developing countries now have a strong voice in their own advancement and the development

community realises that cookie cutter solutions are not sustainable or inclusive. In addition, the private sector and related financing have become vital in furthering development. States, in many cases, are withdrawing aid from the development field. Private sector funding brings opportunities for growth, but also expectations for defined outcomes and ‘value for money’ results.

How can we best shape the future of develop-ment? The evolving trade and aid agenda, whilst fostering the economic basis of develop-ing countries, simultaneously threatens to limit its focus to those considered promising in the emerging global market. How do we address the challenges of countries at the bottom of the Human Development Index, such as Burkina Faso or Niger? Considered geopolitically unimportant and economically unattractive, these countries struggle to attract international funding. And the gap in inequality only widens further.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Targeted integrated public and private investment does bring progress. In Zimbabwe, the development of the agriculture sector is dependent on capital financing and technical assistance. Initial SNV financing for the Zimbabwe Agricultural Development Trust programmes there came from Danida and DFID.

This became the catalyst for local banks to come on board, and provide 50% of the required funding. A great example of state aid supporting the local private sector to finance the development of small and medium agricul-tural enterprises. In Bangladesh, a country that seemed destined to remain impoverished, there is now a growing middle class, increased literacy and improved life expectancy. By combining public funding, civil society expertise and private investment, Bangladesh is now on its way to being a middle income country by the next decade. The best outcomes come from working with the different strengths of the private, public and civil sectors.

SNV strongly concurs with a results based approach to development efforts, but we acknowledge the ever changing nature of the challenges. Many demand innovative solutions, requiring long term investment, research and experimentation. For example, how does a shrinking agriculture sector, challenged by climate change, produce enough food for a growing population? How do we support an underclass who still cannot pay for basic services, in countries with an emerging middle class? How do we tackle public sanitation in sprawling cities, where rain brings sewage flooding into the streets?

In Bangladesh, of 30 million urban inhabitants, only about 42% have ‘improved sanitation’ through latrines and septic tanks and the human waste in these is regularly dumped untreated in waterways or on marginal land,

harming health and water resources. In partnership with SNV there, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and DFID are prepared to finance and try out new approaches to public sewage management, at scale. This innovative project will give 1 million Kulna city area residents access to safe public sanitation, and benefit 250,000 people with improved sanitation facilities.

So innovation is indispensable, as we seek to address growing challenges. And let’s not forget that it is innovation that established Dutch development organisations such as SNV, as the recognised players that we are today. Let’s replicate what we know will work, but continue to invest in finding new solutions.

The future of development relies upon the right balance between private sector and public funding to address the problems of a broad spectrum of countries. In 2013, 50% of new donor funding to SNV was allocated to just five countries. It is such financing that helps SNV to continue to operate there, but what about all the other countries in need? From Bangladesh to Niger, basic services that are not attractive investments for the private sector, will continue to require public resources. The international community has a responsibility to ensure that regardless of economic importance, the peoples of those countries most in need, are not left behind. This makes for a promising future for development.

Allert van den Ham

A change is coming: The movement for sustainable sanitation for all

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WASH

With the Millennium Development Goal target for sanitation fast sl iding out of reach, it ’s clear a better approach is needed. Can taking a holistic approach to sanitation make it work?

How is it possible that in 2014, over one third of the world’s population – some 2.5 billion people – still live without adequate sanitation? How is it

possible that diarrhoea is still the second biggest killer of children under five years old – taking over 1,400 young lives every day? From reducing infant mortality, to keeping girls in school, as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has emphasised “improved sanitation can contribute to all our development goals”. But however clearly we may be able to see the problem, the solution still seems far from reach.

So why has it been so hard to make progress in this vital area? SNV’s Managing Director for Water Sanitation & Hygiene, Megan Ritchie, believes part of the issue may simply come down to bad PR. In short – we still don’t like talking about toilets. “Part of the problem is bad marketing,” she says. “That is to say we haven’t shouted loudly enough about this problem, while others have shouted more loudly about other problems.” Sustainable Sanitation & Hygiene for All (SSH4A) Program me Leader in Asia Gabrielle Halcrow agrees that sanitation has been a hard sell so far. ”We’ve learned that to get people to value sanitation, there has to be momentum, it has to be a movement and then political leaders will come on board.”

Enabling the development of a drive for local sanitation has been a key factor in SNV’s growing Sustainable Sanitation & Hygiene for All (SSH4A) programme, which focuses on promoting district-wide sanitation coverage in rural areas, improving local health and behaviour change while providing the

momentum needed for national-level policy development. Ensuring sanitation is firmly on government agendas.

This movement has been kickstarted in Cambodia, where three communes in Kampot province’s Banteay Meas district have gained 100% sanitation coverage in the last year alone. Cambodia has one of Asia’s lowest rates of access to sanitation – with open defecation still the norm for some 72% of its rural population. Two years ago, Banteay Meas had one of the lowest levels of sanitation cov-erage in Cambodia – with just 19% of residents having access to a toilet.

Kob Soeurn from Trapeang Sala Khang Lech commune, was the first commune chief in Banteay Meas district to stand up in front of other chiefs and commit his commune to becoming open-defecation free. “We have received training from the SNV programme, which made us understand the importance of having improved sanitation. We have used a combination of different approaches to encour-age households to build latrines. Following the triggering events we conducted door-to-door follow-up visits. We have been working closely with the monks to promote sanitation and hygiene and included sanitation and hygiene messages in village events, meetings and ceremonies.”

Now, after just two years working with SNV, remarkable progress has been made in Cambodia, with 68% of households having access to and using a toilet by May 2014, and a strong commitment to making Banteay Meas the first fully Open-Defecation Free district in

• A Very Big Problem People without sustainable

sanitation worldwide: 2.5 billion

Child deaths per year due to diarrhoeal diseases: 500,000

Reduction in diarrhoeal diseases from improved hygiene practices: 50%

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2.2million

In Asia from 2008 - 2013, ‘Sustainable Sanitation & Hygiene

for All’ has improved sanitation and hygiene

for 2.2 million people

WASH

“DFID is excited to be entering into a new partnership with SNV to deliver improved sanitation and hygiene results in nine develop-ing countries.”

Leonard Tedd, DFID

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“Before the SNV-supported programme in my

commune, households did not know about the

options for building a toilet. The committee in my

village has worked very hard to make Trapeang

Kdolopen open-defecation free. This has not

been easy work, but we never had such strong

commitment before.”

Trapeang Kdol village chief Khun Sameth

“You can see that it starts spiralling,

in Cambodia, it’s turning into a

movement. It does take years of

investment in terms of capacity, but it

reaches its tipping point, when you see

sanitation coverage take off and you

see government support for it. That’s

sustainable change in the sector.”

Gabrielle Halcrow, SNV WASH

• SNV’s ‘Sustainable Sanitation & Hygiene for All’ programme

2014–2018 is working to enable 4.7 million people in Africa and 2.2 million people in

Asia to access improved sanitation

and hygiene.

the country. Developed from SNV’s work in Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with support from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, the SSH4A programme is now a multi-donor programme being rolled out in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Megan Ritchie says a key factor in the SSH4A approach’s success has been a focus on sustainability. “Development organisations have been talking about rural sanitation for 30 years, so had it been working there would be no problem left anymore, but previous approaches just haven’t been sustainable,” she says. “The most innovative thing about SSH4A is that it is a holistic approach. It doesn’t just depend on paying someone to build a toilet or on stand-alone demand triggering, or Community-Led Total Sanitation. You have to look at all the components together to create a sustainable solution.”

With this firmly in mind, SNV’s Sustainable Sanitation & Hygiene for All model focuses on four key pillars - sanitation demand creation, sanitation supply chain strengthening, hygiene behavioural change communication, and governance. Crucially, by taking a district-wide, local-government-led approach in partnership with local authorities rather than focusing on individual communities, SNV both increases government capacity to run and scale-up sanitation initiatives and builds local momentum to reach all with improved sanitation.

This is essential to ensuring lasting impact. “What we know from rural sanitation is that you don’t get the benefits of reduction in disease burden or hygiene problems unless you have area-wide coverage. For the health impacts of improved sanitation to be realised and long lasting we need village-wide, district-wide coverage. Without that, the impact doesn’t last” says Megan Ritchie. Vital to achieving this, however, is making sure no-one gets left behind. “To turn it into a movement, you go district-wide, but you

have to make sure you are bringing everyone with you,” Gabrielle Halcrow says. “You can have progress, but getting that last group, the poorest group, is the challenge. That’s where you need to refine and tailor your approach. As people can start to see that the models work, that they are a success, and they can start to see the impact that it has on the communities, then it gets going of its own accord.”

No change is sustainable without ongoing government support however, and building government capacity in developing and implementing sanitation policy is also a vital part of the SSH4A approach. “I think that’s one of the real achievements,” Megan Ritchie says. “If you look at some of the countries in Asia where we’ve been working, you can see clear changes in sanitation policy. So we now have sanitation policy dialogues happening at the national policy level and even sanitation policies starting to emerge in countries that didn’t previously have them at all.”

Now, with €28 million in results-based funding from the UK Department for International Development, SNV is rolling out its SSH4A programme beyond Asia to eight countries in

WASH


Africa: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Beyond just proving that SSH4A works though, expanding the programme out across more than 15 countries has its own advantages. “It creates the opportunity for an exchange between countries, between governments, so they’re not just being sold the idea in their country – they’re seeing it applied in other countries and they’re getting ideas,” Gabrielle Halcrow says. “And there is compe-tition between them – but it also creates the buy-in for it when they see other governments working with the approach and talking about what’s working.”

So while reaching the MDG targets on sanitation may yet be years off, in rural areas across Africa and Asia change is happening. And persisting. “What I’m most excited about is that it works!” Megan Ritchie says. “To go into the countries who did this three or four years ago and to see that these sanitary toilet facilities are still working and are still being used on a daily basis. That’s the part that makes it exciting for me – that it’s working – you can see it working!”

Akvo FLOW, is a mobile and online service that transforms

water monitoring data using Android smart phones.

In 2013 SNV and Akvo together signed a global

Memorandum of Understanding, to support shared efforts

to apply Akvo FLOW in a number of countries. Together we

will investigate the use of FLOW for applications such as

urban sanitation mapping, assess the potential of Akvo’s

services and tools for organisational development purposes

at SNV, and explore joint opportunities for funding and

impact. Partnering together to mobilise technology for

more effective safe water distribution.

“The biggest achievement is being able

to put an approach together that involves

the same components across a multitude

of countries, and while those approaches

need to be tailored to local contexts,

the approach is replicable and scalable

across a multitude of environments

across different continents. That is

something SNV should be proud of.”

Megan Ritchie, Managing Director, WASH

WASH

HI G

H L I G H T S

11 WASH

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Advocating for lasting progress

SNV ADVOCACY

“I don’t think advocacy work is easy or simple at all but I do think it is worthwhile.Kelly Bishop, SNV Renewable Energy team

From rural water policy in Tanzania , export market access for beekeepers in Ethiopia , to tax exemptions for solar lamps in Niger , we use evidence based advocacy in al l our work to shape an enabling environment, so people can build their own success.

With on-the-ground experience in 39 countries, SNV understands that sustainable poverty reduction at scale, requires reforms that tackle the causes of poverty. To advocate for the needs of people l iving in poverty, we work with governments, the private sector and civi l society. Together we develop policies, f inancing mechanisms, and legal and institutional arrangements that lay the foundations for lasting progress.

“SNV applies private sector development principles without losing the under-standing of the reality in which the smallholders operate.”

Hans van den Heuvel, Agricultural Counsellor, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

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Walking for hours every day to collect unsafe water that can cause i l l health

is a harsh reality for mill ions of rural poor in Tanzania. More than half of

the 34 mill ion rural poor in Tanzania lack access to clean water, and

thousands of Tanzanians die annually from diarrhoea and other water

borne diseases. Time spent collecting unsafe water or suffering i l l health,

means less time for education and productive economic activit ies.

Keeping it flowing

Nationwide there are an estimated 65,000 rural water points, of which approxi-mately 30,000 are non-functional due to

a lack of maintenance and management. The Tanzanian government had drafted rural water supply policies and laws but had struggled with buy in from district council authorities and community users. In recent years, SNV have been working with the government and local authorities to bring these vital resources back into use, to supply 7.5 million rural Tanzanians with safe water for their everyday needs. Starting at local level we sought to understand and gather evidence of the causes of limited access to water. We mapped water point

functionality and built the capacity of community water management organisations; gradually scaling up our work until we supported one fifth of the country. We used this evidence and the positive results of community management of rural water

points to advocate for this approach to district & regional officials and the Ministry of Water. With clear evidence of a way forward, the Ministry enabled a new rural water policy. This has given 50,000 people access to rural water supplies managed locally by 434 community organisations.

And the reform doesn’t stop there. The Ministry of Water has now adopted this approach nationally and is leading the process of establishing community organisations, monitoring progress and engaging in donor-government dialogue. Local communities are now empowered to manage their own water supply and have been linked with their local authorities, fostering collaboration. Rural water supply policy in Tanzania now has the potential to be fully sustainable and scalable, enabling cleaner water for millions more rural poor.

Through joint collaboration in Lao PDR with key partners in the sector (WSP, UNICEF and

Plan International), SNV supported the Ministry of Health and the Department of Environ-

mental Health and Water Supply to scale-up rural sanitation. This resulted in a national policy

that provides the framework for the Government of Lao PDR to take the lead in rural sanita-

tion; with a balanced approach to sanitation demand creation, sanitation supply improvement

and a reform process all geared towards an enabling environment for good WASH governance.

SNV ADVOCACY 13


WASH

HI G

H L I G H T S

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For thousands of years Ethiopians have been practising beekeeping, but

it has remained a low yield and low value activity. Over 1.5 mill ion farm

households keep bees as an additional income source, yet the honey

market only realises around 10% of its potential. Nonetheless honey

production is a promising and highly inclusive growth area for rural

households due to low entry costs and abundant natural resources.

The sweet smell of success

We set out to increase incomes and market access for rural beekeepers, targetting our advocacy efforts across

a range of factors. Recognising that traditional hives are less productive and less easily managed by women, we supported the market-ing and micro financing of low cost, locally produced modern hives. We provided training in entrepreneurship, honey processing, packaging and quality management to support the honey value chain and increase incomes through inclusive business. Sector organisations’

capacities were improved and we advocated for national standards & quality assurance schemes to improve honey quality. With an increase in quality, Ethiopian honey could be sold as speciality table honey in export markets, vastly increasing earnings for beekeepers.

In recent years we worked with beekeeper organisations and regulators to secure EU 3rd country export listing for Ethiopian honey. Access to this important market increased

incomes and encouraged expansion to others; export markets now include not just the EU but also the US, the Middle East and Japan, and the value of export markets has increased more than 100%.

Through these initiatives producers are earning on average 25% more for their product and 80,000 households have experienced an increase in income.

By advocating on behalf of beekeepers lasting improvements in practices and regulations have been instituted, securing access for honey producers to more profitable markets. Ethiopian bee keepers can now look forward to building further on their market success for better livelihoods.

SNV ADVOCACY14


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The flatlands, sand dunes and roll ing savannah of Niger are rich in one

natural power source - sunlight. Niger is a country where 76% of the

population l ive on less than US$2 a day and poverty cuts deepest for

those in rural areas. Harnessing solar as an energy resource is a smart

way to provide poor rural communities with electricity for l ighting and

telephone charging. Access to solar energy reduces the burden of high

energy costs for families and provides the opportunity for productivity

beyond daylight hours.

Light moves

How do we support an emerging market for solar energy in a practical and pro poor way? Lack of awareness of the

availability of solar lamps combined with the costs of purchase make solar lamps an unaf-fordable luxury for most in Niger. So we applied our knowledge of renewable energy technolo-gies to advocate for a tax exemption for solar lamps; facilitating lower procurement prices for suppliers, which in turn increases the availabi-lity of solar lamps at much lower prices.

In co-operation with the Niger Ministry of Energy, we provided market analysis and consumer preferences, to support a solar tax exemption for 7 brands and 23 models, including simple solar lamps and solar lamps with telephone charging facilities. We worked with our partners and the government to guide the year long process. “Niger has a very low capacity to make changes. There is a lack of quality personnel and all the work falls to a small group of people who can

actually move things forward. However we have brought solar to some standing in Niger now.” says Kelly Bishop of the SNV Renewable Energy team.

This intensive process recently resulted in the successful tax exemption of a sizeable 1,240,000 solar lamps. Securing this tax exemption lays the foundation for the growth of a pro poor solar market in Niger that is sustain-able into the future. And by working hand in hand with the Ministry of Energy we have helped to mobilise the Government of Niger towards plans for removing taxes on all solar technologies; further boosting the future of renewable energy in Niger.

In Cameroon and Benin we are

also working with authorities to

boost the solar market through tax

exemptions for Solar Photovoltaic

technologies.

SNV ADVOCACY 15


REN

EWABLE ENERG

Y

HI G H L I G H T S

RENEWABLE ENERGY

From small money to big change

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RENEWABLE ENERGY

From those l iving in poverty, to those in business and in government, capital f inance can be a major barrier to engage in renewable energy technologies such as biogas and biofuels, improved cookstoves and solar. At SNV we are addressing this through a range of innovative f inancing strategies for both small and big investors in clean energy.

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Asmart idea can be transformative, especially one that supports clean energy access for millions of people who are without the financial means

to obtain it. Renewable energy is a potent way to improve the lives of poor people; reducing expenditure on costly fuels, providing light and safer cooking and powering small businesses. But to make renewable energy technology accessible to many it must be affordable. Financing however remains a key barrier for those in poverty. We are addressing this by adapting and scaling up multiple forms of innovative financing to our programmes; from microfinancing that supports a family to buy solar lamps, to results based financing for solar energy SME’s, to strategies that support access to carbon finance.

Microfinance facilitates the provision of small loans to the very poor, who cannot otherwise access traditional financing because they lack collateral. In Kenya we targeted households with little or no assets, for access to finance for Renewable Energy Technologies that would otherwise be out of their reach. We partnered with the Visionary Empowerment Programme (VEP) a non-governmental organisation which

offers micro lending services to over 200 women’s groups with more than 7000 members. VEP members save a small amount each month, which facilitates lending within the group at interest rates as low as 1%.

The uptake of domestic biogas and solar light-ing in poor households is often driven by women. By harnessing the expertise and network of VEP, we have been able to raise the profile of clean energy and facilitate microfinancing for biogas, improved cook-stoves, solar lanterns and solar home systems. ”I was informed about the biogas project and its benefits, I took a loan from VEP and I now have an 8 cubic meter digester, providing us with adequate gas for cooking and lighting in my kitchen. I also bought a solar lantern for our main house which we also use to charge our phones. My husband can join me in the kitchen as there is no smoke and the lantern is also for lighting when milking at 4.30 am. Now our children can reach us anytime as we do not have to switch off our phones to save power like before.” says Mrs. Eddah Wambui who has used her small loan to improve quality of life for her whole family.

• Energy poverty remains a challenge

Access to clean energy has immediate benefits

for poor people: on their health, education,

income, available time and comfort, next to long term effects of reduced greenhouse

gas emissions.


1.3billion

people have no access to electricity

2.6billion people lack clean cooking facilities

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We have worked to expand both the range and accessibility of renewable energy products by considering community needs. We brokered business linkages between VEP and solar energy distributors such as Barefoot Smart Solar and D-light, and supported VEP with business plans, marketing strategies and assessments, to better adapt products and services to the needs and purchasing capacity of customers.

In addition to gaining access to small loans, some of the women’s groups have become points of sale for solar lanterns, enabling them to earn an income whilst raising awareness amongst others. We have also expanded outreach to remote areas where access can be especially difficult. Through working with the Kenya Tea Development Authority, rural tea farmers can now purchase solar technologies using a check off payment system against their tea sales.

Central to the uptake of renewable energy technologies is a sustainable market, and this depends on a balance between affordable supply and consumer demand. Household expenditures for kerosene, candles, batteries and cell phone charging in Tanzania are high - accounting for up to 45% of a family’s energy budget. To reduce monthly expenditure, consumers here are motivated to purchase small solar systems such as solar lamps, but only at the right price point. Despite the presence of an available consumer market, solar products are not affordable. Poor distribution and a lack of access to capital to buy stock at scale, leads retailers to increase their profit mark-up to recover their higher procurement costs. Higher prices result in lower turnover, perpetuating a poor sales market.

• In Mali we are helping small

enterprises to secure public-private impact investments for the

production and marketing of biofuel

briquettes.

RENEWABLE ENERGY


It may not be the most enticing substance but bio-slurry is

potent stuff. Containing organic materials and nutrients, it is

the residue of the material fed into a biodigester. SNV biogas

implementation in Ethiopia has demonstrated the many benefits

of biogas. The bio-slurry by-product can be used and sold by

food insecure smallholder farmers as fertiliser to significantly

increase crop yields and incomes. Ethiopian farmer Girma Mamo

says “Biogas is worthy of investment. I’m reaping the multiple

rewards of biogas”. Bioslurry is helping smallholder farmers to

minimise fertiliser expenses, increase their income and diversify

their agricultural products.

REN

EWABLE ENERG

Y

HI G H L I G H T S

15,450solar products

Small loans through VEP have financed the construction

of over 2000 biodigesters and the sale of 7,203 clean

cookstoves and 15,450 solar products

in Kenya.


Realising that the solution lies in working across the whole solar value chain, we have partnered with Energising Development (EnDev) program, which is managed by GiZ to build a sustainable market for Pico-Solar products through Results Based Financing. This innovative financing scheme will support suppliers and retailers to mutually develop the distribution chain for affordable and reliable Pico solar products, and benefit more than 100,000 households.

Josh Sebastian of SNV explains “What the Results Based Financing essentially does is reimburse suppliers and retailers for some of the costs incurred in investing to successfully develop the market. All funds are performance based and there are no guarantees but they are free to pursue any orientation that results in end sales to consumers. Essentially if you can sell solar, you can earn incentives. What participants seem to like so far is that they are rewarded for their efforts. What makes this very interesting is that the private sector is not referring to this as a project any longer, they are referring to it as a business proposition.”

This innovative financing project is expected to stimulate an additional EUR 3,000,000 in private sector investment to the Lake Zone in Tanzania, save consumers greater than EUR 22,000,000 in domestic kerosene expenditures, and place clean lighting and electrification services within reach for more than 175,000 off grid rural users, all over the next three years.

Meanwhile in Cambodia, rice farmer Cheng Leng used to spend hours searching the forest surrounding his Kampong Speu farm for firewood. Now when Leng wants to boil water or cook food for his family of seven, all the 60-year-old farmer has to do is flick a switch and his methane-powered stove comes to life. “With biogas we don’t have smoke in the house like when we burn firewood; it is much better for our health” he says.

“This is really challenging a lot of

our typical assumptions on the role

we play as civil society in market

development. Results Based Financing

is putting a challenge out there that

the private sector can actually do

these things if they are given the

means to do it.” Josh Sebastian, SNV Tanzania

19 RENEWABLE ENERGY

• Over the past 10 years the

Vietnam Biogas Program has been

successfully developing a market

driven domestic biogas sector in

Vietnam – to date 135,000 digesters, 700,000 individual beneficiaries and

1,000 biogas Small & Medium

Enterprises.


Leng’s access to biogas is made possible through Cambodia’s National Biodigester Programme, initiated by the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and supported by SNV.

This programme has improved local livelihoods through the building of 19,171 household biodigester units, providing clean energy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Due to this reduction in carbon emissions, the programme has received its third consecutive issuance of 69,438 tradable Gold Standard carbon credits worth EUR 416,628.

The Gold Standard certification ensures that carbon credits are real and verifiable and is internationally recognised for both the Kyoto and voluntary carbon markets. One carbon credit is the equivalent of one tonne of avoided carbon emissions and these carbon credits are sold on the interna-tional carbon market. Selling these carbon credits helps the Cambodian government to continue to finance the pro-gramme. “Carbon finance supports the nationwide, sustain-able dissemination of clean energy technology that improves the livelihoods of rural farmers” says H.E. Nou Muth, the programme director. By utilising carbon financing the biogas programme is self-sustaining, greatly improving the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of Cambodians.

From microfinance to results based finance to carbon finance; smart ways to scale up the benefits of clean energy access.

20 RENEWABLE ENERGY

• The Solar Cart is a mobile wagon with

solar panels providing portable power in

rural areas. In Benin, in partnership with

mobile phone operator MTN, SNV are

supporting micro-entrepreneurs to sell

mobile phone charging and small solar systems from

these carts, bringing solar power to approximately

300,000 people.

830 dairy farmers who form part of PROLACSA´s

milk supply chain in Nicaragua, will gain access to

biodigesters for productive and domestic use

through an SNV & HIVOS supported public/private

partnership. The aim of the programme is to boost

the uptake and knowledge of biogas for domestic

and commercial use. The dairy farmers will be able

to access credit at favourable rates and take

advantage of funds for energy efficiency projects

from the Green Initiative. Farmers can also cover

up to 30% of the biodigestor cost, by providing

manure for waste to energy conversion.

REN

EW

ABLE ENERGY

H

I G H L I G HT

S

69,438tonnes

Last year Cambodia’s National Biodigester Programme

avoided 69,438 tonnes of carbon dioxide -

the equivalent of taking 14,619 cars

off the roads.

“EnDev have observed SNV’s innovation strength in strategies for developing solar lantern and small Solar Home System markets.”

Carsten Hellpap, GIZ, Manager of EnDev partnership

Fertile minds: teaching the next generation to grow a better banana

The Honde valley, Zimbabwe is a beautiful fertile place to grow up in, but the families here were struggling to make a living from the poor quality, low yield banana

crops they were growing. To develop a banana value chain linking smallholder farmers to established market buyers and increase farmer incomes, it was clear that local banana growing practices had to change. Taking a tried and tested approach to improving banana cultivation, SNV worked with smallholder famers to establish farming demonstration sites, four of which were located at local primary schools. These demonstration plots soon became fertile forums, with school children learning the skills of better banana production. “Each student from the age of nine receives his or her own banana tree to take care of. They learn how to get the most out of it, and a certain degree of competition makes the children eager to learn new techniques!” explains Mr. Musoro, headmaster at St.Peter’s mission primary school in Mandeya. Banana trees at this school that once yielded just 15 kgs of bananas now produce 35 kg per tree. And the fruits of this initiative don’t stop here as these children, some of them future banana farmers, are taking their new skills home to improve their parents’ banana farms.

In Kenya, Ghana and Mali the Home Grown

School Feeding project, funded by The Bill

and Melinda Gates Foundation, is helping

smallholder farmers to be a part of the

school feeding procurement process.

Through skills training and a simplification

of the tendering process farmers are

gaining access to these valuable local

markets. In Kenya, this approach has

enabled about 12 farmer organisa tions to

directly bid and tender for the supply of

maize and beans to schools. In Ghana,

112 Letters of Intent have been signed

between 45 producer organisations and

131 school caterers, while in Mali 1,600

smallholder farmers were able to sell their

produce through the school feeding

programmes. Linking smallholder

producers to schools means better quality,

locally sourced produce for school children

and improved livelihoods for their

communities.

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“You can see the crop results for yourself. But what is even better is that children start to teach their parents to grow their bananas in the same way.” says the school headmaster. Building on this momentum, SNV worked with local teachers and the Ministry of Education to produce a guide to managing demonstration plots, a banana production manual, and banana school syllabus. These learning materials have been shared widely through the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Education, the Market Linkages Working Group and across other SNV programmes, scaling up the benefits of this multi-generational approach. Banana production in the Honde valley has since increased on average 30%, with crop quality up to 70% improved. This means better prices and a more secure position in the banana value chain. Farmer incomes are up by more than 60%, and this is benefitting the whole family. Mr Nyakunika, St.Peter’s agriculture teacher clearly sees the difference: “If you would have come here three years ago, you would see schoolchildren who didn’t even have proper clothes, who were so hungry they had problems concentrating. And look at them now!”

21 AGRICULTURE


22


GMT Time Zones

0 +1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +11 ±12

Making every minute count

22


[GMT+1] Niger

Aï Abarchi is coordinating the WASH Coalition

leading dialogue with the Government and

other NGOs, and working on tools to support 108 local

WASH committees to develop their own

village action plans for water management services, sanitation

and hygiene.

[GMT-6] Honduras

Rubén Gallozzi, REAP advisor, is improving the

competitiveness of the palm oil sector

in Honduras to increase its exports, and develop certified

environmentally sustainable production.

6,295000 in Water, Sanitation &

Hygiene

2,612000 in Agriculture

850,000 in Renewable

Energy

Almost 10 million

people benefitted from SNV’s work in 2013

(9,757,000)

85% of our staff are

local

We employ

1200 employees of

56 different nationalities

SNV has been building local capacity for

50 years

[GMT-4] Bolivia

Inclusive Business Program Leader

Horacio Barrancos Bellot is supporting an agricultural value chain for producers,

consumers and distributors of

improved cattle feed made out of malt

residuals.

[GMT+1] Democratic Republic of

CongoFodé Niang

Agriculture Value Chain Advisor is

working with 3,000 small holder farmers for increased food

security & incomes via rural spot markets,

access to finance and purchase contracts between producer

groups & commodity traders.

[GMT0] Ghana

Fati Bodua Seidu is Ghana Project coordinator of Procurement

Governance for the Home-Grown School Feeding (PG-HGSF)

Programme increasing incomes for 10,000 smallholder farmers,

including 3,000 women, through food supply contracts for

school feeding programmes.

23


GMT Time Zones

0 +1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +11 ±12

23


[GMT+2] Mozambique

WASH advisor Gilda Monjane Uaciquete

is working on a baseline study as part of the first phase of

a new project in Peri-urban WASH.

[GMT+6] Bangladesh

Rajeev Munankani WASH Global Sector

Co-ordinator, is working on Faecal

Sludge Management, to benefit 1 million

people with access to safer sanitation and 250,000 people with access to improved sanitation facilities.

We work with

1300 local

implementing partners

In 2013, we spent almost

€ 108 million fighting poverty

Last year, we secured

EUR 100 million

for future projects.

of capacity building to almost

2,000 organisations

from the private sector, government and civil

society

In 2013, we provided over

250,000 days

We work in

39 countries

[GMT+7] Lao PDR

Agriculture advisor Daovanh Sotouky is

improving the rice value chain in Khammouane

Province; supporting 300 rice farmer groups to build

relations between farmers and millers,

and increasing incomes for 2,500 smallholder rice farmers by 20%.

[GMT+3] Ethiopia

Selamawit Tamiru is leading a team

implementing the Menstrual Hygiene

Management project, to break menstruation taboos and improve

facilities for thousands of school girls across

Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda,

Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

[GMT+6] Nepal

Keshav Das, Renewable Energy

and Climate Finance Advisor is developing

a programme of activities in

partnership with Dutch energy utility

Eneco Energy Trading to promote Improved

Cookstoves in the Far West region.

[GMT+7] Indonesia

Agribusiness advisor Arman Ginting is

increasing smallholder farmer income by

25% through improved production, quality, and marketing

in the coconut and cassava sectors in

Lombok, Timor Tengah Utara and East

Java.

Inclusive business from bean to brew SNV’s innovative Inclusive Business approach is working to bring quality Nicaraguan coffee and cacao to new markets, and earn 5,000 smallholder farmers and their families a better price for their product.

24


AGRICULTURE

What do millions of people around the world enjoy every day at home and in the office, with their friends and their colleagues?

Coffee, of course! Coffee has become such a staple of modern life that most of us can’t imagine our day without it. Worldwide, we drink over 500 billion cups of coffee every year, with 90% grown in developing countries where over 25 million people earn their livelihoods from it. With the average price of a latte costing more than a fast food meal, coffee retailers seem to make large profits from coffee sales. But in a competitive market dominated by large traders, it can be hard for small coffee growers to secure a fair price for their product.

No less popular than coffee is that much-loved treat, chocolate. The chocolate confectionary market is an USD 80 billion a year industry, and global demand for chocolate is expected to increase 30% by 2020. Smallholder farmers produce 90% of the world’s cacao; however, most cacao farmers only earn a fraction of the retail price for their product. Low prices paid to cacao farmers means less money to invest in better farming techniques, in turn affecting product quality and yields as well as reducing its value.

In Nicaragua, through our Inclusive Business approach, we are harnessing public-private partnerships to put more money back into the coffee and cacao value chains, through a programme valued at EUR 10,750,000.

We are increasing incomes and promoting food security for 3,000 coffee and 2,000 cacao producers, by supporting access to the market of trading company Exportadora Atlantic S.A.. The capacities of 20 farmer co-operatives are being supported to increase quality crop yields through the expertise of the Foundation for Agricultural Technology Development and Forestry of Nicaragua (FUNICA), the University of Zamorano and UTZ Certified.

Exportadora of the Swiss ECOM group is aprivate coffee and cacao trading companywhich holds more than one-third of themarket share for both products in Nicaragua. The company recognises supporting farmers to improve product quality, and paying them a fair price, guarantees a better more profitable product. FUNICA is a non-profit organisation focussed on strengthening the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sectors through policy advocacy and technological innovation.

The University of Zamorano brings its expertise on integrated pest and disease management and bio-intensive family gardens to the programme. Finally, the experience of the UTZ Certified program, an international standard for coffee and cocoa, brings sustain-able agricultural practices to producers. The combined efforts of these players across six regions in Nicaragua brings smallholder producers into the value chains and earns them a better income. Our programme looks

25


• SNV advances economic development and socio-

economic inclusion through Inclusive Business models. These approaches seek to

increase the income, production capacity and well-being of low-income groups, while generating benefits for participating

companies. We have developed more than 140 Inclusive Business projects in Latin America, Asia and

Africa.

>140 Inclusive Business

projects in Latin America, Asia

and Africa

AGRICULTURE


across the whole value chain to understand what interven-tions are needed to improve product quality and reduce constraints that limit competitiveness. “By having good coffee, we have better prices and the farmer benefits”, says an SNV-supported coffee farmer in Nicaragua.

Coffee and cacao are luxuries and the best quality products achieve the higher prices for producers. Yet better quality requires more knowledge of modern farming techniques and management skills, as well as access to finance to buy quality supplies and planting material. Poor resources beget poor quality, leading to low prices which keep farmers in poverty.

Our interventions range from educating farmers in better agricultural techniques to farm management to coffee appreciation and marketing. We also strengthen farmer co-operatives in management, administration, decision- making and business alliances. “The main goal is that farmers can increase productivity to make high quality products and have an easier way to access high value markets. To achieve this we not only work with farmers to help get them certified and to implement good practices, we also work with co-operatives and their staff to strengthen them on every level”, explains Silvia Amador of SNV Nicaragua.

“We have received support and

technical assistance in the field

through SNV. This has helped to

improve the quality of our coffee”. SNV-supported coffee farmer

AGRICULTURE26

Salvadorian agroindustrial company JJ Borja Nathan is

leading Inclusive Business in the production of biofuels

through jatropha and castro cultivation. The project involves

200 farmers who will increase their incomes by 35% and will

impact another 880 people, 60% of whom are women.

Small-scale farmers are being supported by Centrolac, the

leading dairy products company in Central America. New

skills in milking best practices will increase productivity and

quality, along with training in how to gain access to a stable

market to sell milk at higher prices. This will benefit over

1,000 people through increased incomes.

Ethnic Pech and Afro-descendant farm communities battling

extreme poverty are in an Inclusive Business plan with

Dinant, an agro-industrial company in Nicaragua.

The farmers grow corozo palm which will be used to

produce energy and oil, increasing their incomes by 70%.

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One of the leaders of La Campesina, a small co-operative of cacoa producers comments. “Our co-operative is going to develop with help from SNV. The clients demand 100 tons per month. We produce only 250 tons per year. Improving productivity is one of our challenges. And we know that, with SNV, we are going to get to this goal. We strengthen productivity, the operation and the organisation and SNV helps us access better markets”. La Campesina is also working with SNV to increase the number of women in the co-operative. The co-operative members see the benefits of this Inclusive Business approach. ”We did not know any-thing about cacao, but La Campesina helped and motivated us and showed us how to start. This has made us feel very good and generated good money for us “ adds a co-opera-tive member.

This programme is also helping develop the next generation of coffee and cacao producers. Low prices and unstable markets often drive poor farmers to seek alternative crops. Working with the sons and daughters of farm families sus-tains the economies of rural communities.“I’m the son of a

producer. We know some things about farming. But the expertise that we have from the SNV courses, helps us to improve our knowledge.” says one young coffee farmer.

Young people are learning skills from climate-smart agriculture techniques to chocolate and coffee processing. “I studied a course of coffee tasting from the SNV develop-ment program SNV. Before, all I knew is that we cultivated coffee and drank it. But I didn’t know about different smells and tastes. Now that I have studied this course, I have a better vision about coffee. My ambition is to be a profes-sional coffee taster”, says a coffee student.

These smart interventions are integral parts of this Inclusive Business model. As producers of quality coffee and cacao, 5,000 small family farms are now part of the Exportadora Atlantic value chain, securing access to a stable market that pays fairly. Exportadora in turn benefit from the reliable sustainable supply of a high quality product. From bean to brew, these farmers are earning more and nurturing a fruitful future for coffee and cacoa in Nicaragua.

“In the cooperative, we are

now putting in practice what

we have learned; how to

approach and talk to the

farmers; and how to convince

them of what they should do.”La Campesina Co-operative leader

• The “Inclusive Business: Everybody Wins” Programme in Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and

El Salvador has transformed the lives of more than 20,000

low-income families by increasing their

incomes by 20% to 70%. The programme

is implemented by SNV with Inter-

American Development Bank- Multilateral Investment Fund (IDB MIF) and in collaboration with private companies.

AGRICULTURE

More than 1200 pastoralists have benefitted from improved

livestock production systems following the introduction of better

farming practices. In North and North West Cameroon, SNV

improved the functioning of nine pastoral water-points, and 600

pastoralists have adopted improved livestock systems,

establishing over 300 hectares of more resilient animal pasture

by growing more nutritious grass and making use of manure.

As resources are scarce violent disputes often occur between

farmers and cattle grazers. More than 300 alliances were

established between farmers and grazers, and 24 new village

dialogue platforms were created which are achieving good

success in mediating these disputes. Better farming practices

are helping cattle pastoralists to sustain their livelihoods and

fostering better community relations.

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>20,000 lives of low-income families have been

transformed

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JULY 2014 CONNECT #3 JULY 2014 CONNECT #3

28

“I normally wake up around 6:30 a.m, I walk my dogs Mancha and Leena, have breakfast and then drive to the office.

I immediately check my mail for responses and make a “to do list” based on project activities.

Currently 80% of my work schedule is dedicated to the programme for Access to Sustainable Markets and Food Security for Coffee and Cocoa Producers in Nicaragua. Normally my work schedule is divided 50/50 between desk work and field work, but lately it has been 3 weeks in the field and 1 week at my desk. I like this because it gives me the opportunity to get infor-mation first hand. I get to know the organisa-tions, their structure, the people and the way they work, to better coordinate our goals.

At lunchtime, if I am in the office I like to meet with friends and when I am in the field I eat wherever I can, some-times at the house of a coffee producer. After lunch, the teams share the work done during the morning. The cooperative´s teams present their work and we discuss it. If I am developing workshops,

The life in one day of Advisor for SNV Nicaragua and Honduras

The most rewarding part of my job is to know that by doing what I do, I am helping others to improve their living conditions. Every day I try to be better and to do better.

Silvia is an economist with a Masters in finance and management control, and she works with small producers of coffee, cocoa, milk and palm oil to increase income, employment opportunities, gender inclusion and access to markets and services.

in the afternoon I will travel 4 to 6 hours north to the implementations areas. Around 3:00 p.m. people start getting a little sleepy, so we all enjoy a coffee break – as is to be expected I am a real coffee lover! At the end of the day it is time for paper work and emails, this can take until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m.

Being a young woman leading in these activities can be challenging -sometimes at meetings I am the only woman! I love working with people, and for this it is important to gain their trust. I have to be reliable and ensure my work meets a high standard. This shows people the respect they deserve and demonstrates my capability to address their needs.

What I really like about my job as an advisor in SNV is that I am given the freedom to develop my work. No two days are alike, every initiative gives me the opportunity to unleash my own potential to actively contribute to our goals.”

Yes, I need a coffee!

The cooperative´s teams present their work and

we discuss it.

Sometimes at

meetings I am the

only woman!

Silvia Amador

Having access to a clean functioning toilet at

school can make a big impact on the learning

experience for primary school children. 21,000

primary school students in 60 schools in north

and far north Cameroon, will benefit from access

during the school day to improved sanitation and

hygiene facilities. SNV has partnered with UNICEF

on a programme valued at EUR1,877,378 to

improve sanitation & hygiene facilities.

This includes constructing toilet facilities and

implementing better WASH management

practices. Through these interventions the

programme aims to indirectly influence the health

and learning conditions for an additional 25,000

students in 80 schools, making it easier for these

young school children to concentrate on learning.

WASH

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Girls in Control

“I was shocked when I first had my period,” Ugandan schoolgirl Arong says. “I felt dirty and thought I had a dangerous disease.” Around the world

millions of girls like Arong suffer guilt and confusion when they first get their period. Poor education and social taboos mean that a girl’s first step into womanhood is often stained with fear and exclusion as she is confronted with harassment, embarrassment and poor health due to a lack of menstrual hygiene education and support.

“After seeing blood, I decided to escape from school and go back home. I was afraid to tell my mother about what I was going through. I instead lied to her that we had been sent home early. I was sleepless the entire night… I remained in bed and lied to my mother that I was sick. I stayed home from school until I saw no more blood.” For thousands of schoolgirls, menstruation means the end of their dreams of education. Rural African girls miss 20 to 30% of their classes every year due to the shame they feel around menstruation, while many drop out of school altogether during puberty.

29


WASH

• By working with local young women

and the private sector, SNV is

developing the supply chain for menstrual

hygiene products such as re-useable

menstrual pads – ensuring schoolgirls have access to safe,

affordable alternatives instead of unhealthy traditional solutions like rags, straw or

feathers.

Girls in Control is a new SNV initiative helping thousands of young women across Ethiopia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe not only to overcome the stigma associated with menstruation, but to stay healthy, finish school and reach their full potential.

“Girls are our future,” says programme leader Selamawit Tamiru “and only when families, schools and communities understand menstruation as a vital part of being a healthy woman, can that future be assured!”

By working with schools, communities and local authorities, Girls in Control is helping to educate schoolgirls and their families on menstrual hygiene management – breaking down local taboos around female health. By ensuring that menstrual hygiene management is included in school curricula and that all schools in the programme districts have safe, clean toilet facilities for schoolgirls when they are menstruating, the programme is working to reduce dropout rate and number of school days missed. It seems simple, but the results are crucial: Empowered, educated young women, who can become the true drivers of development they have the potential to be.

30


We want to harness the talent, energy and passion of unemployed young people in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Mozambique. In these countries poverty levels can be as high as 68%, and unemployment rates for youth are two to three times higher than those of adults. Instead of depending on insecure employment, these young people want a stable income and the opportunity for growth and professional development.

Nice work, if you can get it

Meet Isidory Faustine; a young mason from Tanzania who is now proud to call himself an entrepreneur. Isidory established his own biodigester business, following training in biogas

construction and enterprise development from the SNV supported Tanzania Domestic Biogas Programme. “Through the training I received, I’m running my own business and I get steady income, I have opened a bank account which I never had before, and I have savings. I am credible and trusted by my community members.” says Isidory.

Like many young people, Isidory is all too aware of how difficult it is to get a solid start in the employment market. Youth make up over 40% of the world’s unemployed with a staggering 73 million currently job seeking. And we know that youth unemployment is not just a problem for young people. Raising a generation that cannot find work gives rise to serious and far reaching economic and social conse-quences for developing countries. There is a link between protracted youth unemployment and social instability. Youth unemployment results in slower economic growth, reduced tax revenues, and limited resources for young families to invest in the health and education of their own children. Jobs for young people are the critical step in

30

73 million

youth unemployed


helping nations to generate their own economic resources and to lift themselves out of poverty.

In partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, we are taking up this challenge with OYE, the Opportunities for Youth Employment programme. Matching skills to market needs, and supporting young entrepreneurs in Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania, is the aim of this 5 year, USD 14.2 million programme targeting 20,500 youth.

With the private sector generating 90% of new jobs, the only sustainable solution to youth unemployment is to match skills to private sector needs, and to develop young entrepreneurs and support new private sector markets to ensure future job creation. The OYE project will provide unemployed young people living in rural areas with skills training and opportunities in the agriculture and renewable energies sectors.

To bridge the gap between knowledge and experience the OYE project is partnering with existing and emerging initia-tives in agribusiness (e.g. crops, livestock, dairy) and green energy (e.g. biogas, solar, biomass), to equip youth with technical as well as soft skills in accessing on-the-job train-

SNV IN ACTION

31


31

ing and employment. The project works to strengthen the capacities of local agribusiness and renewable energy providers in a way that ensures that training programmes remain locally relevant; further increasing the employment prospects for thousands of rural youth. OYE Tanzania recently trained private sector agriculture practitioners to educate OYE youth participants in dairy practices. Practi-tioners from livestock training agency LITA-BUHURI and private milk processing company Tanga Fresh were trained in OYE principles, and how to embed business and soft skills within technical curricula.

In Africa today young people make up 60% of the unem-ployed and 100 million more jobs will need to be created by 2020, just to maintain current levels of employment there.But quantity of jobs alone does not provide the solution. Up to 82% of African workers are ‘working poor’ - underem-ployed in poor quality, insecure, low income jobs, often in the informal economy. Economic growth and a productive workforce rely upon quality jobs which offer fair pay, advancement, are inclusive and sustainable.

OYE will facilitate internships, on-the-job-training opportuni-ties, and placements in private and public enterprises in

SNV IN ACTION

“At least 80 per cent or more of OYE

project trainees will gain employment

or start businesses in the high-growth

agriculture and renewable sectors” Roy van der Drift, OYE programme manager

these sectors. The project will develop relevant skills that fit quality roles and meet employer needs. We will enable future entrepreneurship by connecting youth to financial institutions and ensuring continued business coaching and peer-to-peer learning.

We know that opportunities like these can make a real difference. By training young people in the biogas sector in Tanzania we have already supported 60 enterprises, and created employment opportunities for more than 600 people. “I looked at the youth in our villages, and I couldn’t help them when I was a normal mason without biogas

“OYE teaches me I am not

too young to build dreams” Mugiraneza Pamphile, Rwanda

32


construction skills. But I am now happy when I look at the lives that have been transformed by training young men who finished school and didn’t have nothing much to do. They are now supporting their families and some have even gotten married,” says Isidory, whose new biodigester business has apprenticed and trained more than 50 youths, to become professional masons.

Getting out and finding a job is a job in itself, and requires its own set of skills and opportunities. OYE offers training in business development, financial and life skills to help enter-prising people like Isidory to take their skills further and to link supply with demand.

“Young people in rural communities need more than training. They need tools, networks and confidence to adapt

“Thanks to OYE, SNV and

MasterCard Foundation, I am

proud to be a girl, I can now

earn money and shape my life

by myself!” Musabyemariya Liliane, Ngororero District, Rwanda

SNV IN ACTION

and thrive in a fast-changing economy,” says Reeta Roy, President and CEO of The MasterCard Foundation. “We partnered with SNV because their programming reflects the local economic realities young people face, while con-necting them to new opportunities now emerging in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Tackling youth unemployment requires an innovative approach. By developing valuable skills for quality employment and fostering entrepreneurship in thousands of young people, OYE will promote fresh opportunities for this, and the next generation. And what does Isidory say? “I received training through SNV on business skills, business planning and management. This has truly trans-formed my life and also that of those who surround me.” To that we say - OYE!

Learning the skills to

build biodigesters

‘The meat of the poor’ or cowpea legume is a staple crop in

Niger, but poor quality post-harvest storage resulted in

smallholders losing up to 40% of their crop. In tandem, cowpea

farmers struggled to access credit. So SNV introduced the PICS

triple bag system for secure storage, and pioneered the use of

stored crops as collateral for micro financing. As a result

incomes have increased 25% for 52,000 people including 17,425

women, with 9,000 jobs in cowpea production created, including

2,300 for women. SNV strengthening the cowpea value chain,

as part of the Project for Development of Agro-Sylvo-Pastoral

Exports and Markets (PRODEX) funded by World Bank.

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CONNECT #3 JULY 2014CONNECT #3 JULY 2014

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Field of Dreams

We have placed 16 talented young graduates in diverse SNV programmes, where they are working hand in hand

with SNV advisors in the field and gaining practical international experience of a wide range of issues and approaches. “The Junior Professionals Programme gives me the unique experience of working in an international development organisation, and gaining feet in the mud experience” says Maarten Klein who is working with the Renewable Energy programme in the Mwanza area of Tanzania. Euphresia Luseka his fellow SNV Young Expert agrees “There is no academic institution in Kenya that could build my capacity on issues to do with

professionalisation and private-public partnerships. I joined SNV and I am learning to be the best I can be in Water, Sanitation & Hygiene.”

These young graduates are also benefitting from the synergy of learning together. “By listening to each other’s experiences, we learn how we can contribute to improve our host projects.” says Geert Koster who is working with SNV WASH in Benin. Rem Neefjes, Country Director Nepal/Bhutan observes “The group interact continuously, sharing their experiences and learning from each other. So they form their own team or community of practice, in the real sense of the word. By using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook they reach out to others; profiling SNV and contributing to knowledge development based on practical experiences.” Yiva Check Herman, Junior Professional with SNV Agriculture DRC agrees “I am really experiencing the saying “Learning never ends”. This is going to help me in my advisory process, as I will observe with a more critical eye for detail.”

And the learning opportunities are not just for those on the programme, as SNV have also gained considerably by bringing fresh energy and insight to existing challenges. Rem Neefjes, Country Director Nepal/Bhutan says “The programme is responding to a long felt need to get fresh blood into the organisation. In Nepal, Lynette, our Junior Professional from Kenya has quickly found her place and is a full member of the Renewable Energy team. In a male dominated team of senior staff, her arrival was quite refreshing. I, myself, now have to use Twitter much more effectively because they all

“There are very few

female technical

water experts, and the

number is even fewer

in terms of young

female Africans, so

I am very proud to

be part of this SNV

programme to build my

skills and my career.” Euphresia Luseka SNV Young Expert

“I never expected

that just after 4 months

I will feel so responsible

and concerned about

what is happening in

my sector within my

country and beyond” Priva Kabre, SNV Junior Professional.

wanted to follow me and be linked up through LinkedIn. We are connected now and they outsmart me!” SNV Nepal Renewable Energy Sector leader, Guy Dekelver agrees. ‘Having joined SNV in a junior position myself and knowing how it opened up opportunities for me as a professional, I was very happy to hear this programme would be launched. Because its a win-win. Plus we have gained a fresh view on our activities as well as insights that have already helped to improve our work.’

Giving fresh talent a chance to shine, supports a broad and evolving SNV skill set that helps us to remain innovative in our approaches. Kiriana Thomas, Junior Professional with SNV Agriculture Zimbabwe, sums it up. “Nothing brings out the potential in a person like being with the right organisation with the right tools and support “

At SNV we know that actions speak louder than words. Getting hands on experience in the development field can be tough, so we started our own two year Junior Professionals and Young Experts Programme. “It is very difficult to find a job within a development organisation, since often extensive work experience is required. This programme will definitely open up many more possibilities for us.“ says Caroline te Pas who is working as a Junior Professional in agriculture in Cameroon.

SNV IN ACTION

Koen Joosten @SNVworldSNV local capacity building is driving development in Kenyan communities #SNV_RE

Giri Raj Katri @SNVworldDevelop youth entrepreneurship through different vocational trainings and support them to establish enterprises in local market #SNV_AGRI

Caroline te Pas @SNVworld Strengthen rural value chains to generate youth employment opportunities #InclusiveBusiness

Lynette Korirer @SNVworldCreate youth jobs #OYE

Yiva Check Herman @SNVworld Peer to peer learning is easier as it comes from a familiar perspective #JPP

Geert Koster @SNVworldAccelerating our development by learning from experienced SNV professionals #JPP

Thomas Kiriana @SNVworldInculcate entrepreneurial mindset during youth training programmes #OYE

Will iam Fotsue Noumoye @SNVworldYouth training programmes help youth to gain practical experience. #JPP

Suzanne Stas @SNVworldDeveloping local markets along the value chain opens up new employment opportunities for local people #SNV_WASH

Evelien Hennekens @SNVworldLets get incentives going for companies to hire underprivileged young people #OYE

Maarten Klein @SNVworldStimulating growth of local businesses to create new youth employment in the developing world. #SNV_RE

Priva Kabre @SNVworldPeer to peer learning lets you see your own problems through another’s eyes. #JPP

SNV’s Junior Professional Programme (JPP)

34


Turning poo into power and fertiliser is the goal of the biogas plant for the Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture (KITA) in Ghana, an initiative supported

by SNV and the Centre for Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development. This innovative programme will have an impact across Renewable Energy, Agriculture and WASH, as the human waste from the institute’s toilets will be processed in the biogas plant to generate power, with the effluent by-product being used to improve agriculture.

“This biogas project is relevant to all SNV’s sectors and it is designed to provide a low cost solution to the growing sanitation problem and produce valuable by-products.” says Amanda Childress, SNV Ghana Country Director.The biogas plant will generate 3.5 kilowatts of electricity to power the institute’s computers, lighting and other services. The effluent leaving the digester, will undergo aerobic composting so that it can be used as nutrient rich organic fertiliser to boost productivity of the institute’s farms. “This project will provide all the benefits of biogas technology, and establish the institute as a climate-smart-agricultural institution.” observes Samuel Owusu-Takyi, Director of KITA.

Turning human waste into something of value; an inventive way to address sanitation challenges and improve livelihoods.

35

Turning poo into power


“SNV is committed to

finding creative solutions

to some of the most

challenging issues that

hinder development and

affect the poor in Ghana.” Amanda Childress, SNV Ghana Country Director

SNV IN ACTION

36


36


Supporting smallholder famers with both the skills to manage their product sales, and

access to markets is a potent way to improve incomes. In Bhutan, our IFAD-funded,

Market Access & Growth Intensification Project has benefitted almost 8000 people,

through group training in skills such as book-keeping and female leadership. 760

households have secured contracts to supply vegetables to more than 30 schools and/or

institutions, replacing bulk imports of low quality food from India. Further the book-

keeping and female leadership skills module has been adopted by the Government and

will constitute part of the Government’s capacity building training module. Having

learned more sophisticated farm management and book keeping skills, these farmers

have increased their vegetable sales by 26%, and related income by 35%, and can look

forward to earning a stable income from a reliable market.

AGRICULTURE

HI G

H L I G H T S

SNV is building farmers’ capacities to adapt to the negative effects of climate change and build climate resilience through innovative solutions. Snow harvesting in Nepal is

the simple yet smart idea SNV and partners introduced to apple farmers in Jumla. Farmers face extreme drought from March to June when apple trees fruit, but every winter Jumla is inundated with water - in the form of snow. SNV is training farmers to harvest the snow into pits. When the snow melts, there is a ready-made water tank to irrigate the apple trees. Combining irrigation with training in composting, mulching and pruning techniques, produces a more profitable harvest for these farmers.

In Vietnam, the Community Based Insurance initiative compensates smallholders for crop losses due to extreme weather, pest attack and crop disease. SNV is piloting the use of insurance schemes to protect poor farmer livelihoods from

Meeting the climate challenge with confidence

the impact of crop damage or failure. Farmers pay a small insurance premium and if their yield falls below 90% of the village average, they receive adequate compensation to recover their losses. 2,500 households and 30% of farmland across five communes in typhoon-prone Nghi Loc district, are now covered by Community Based Insurance.

Perfect fertiliser application helps farmers maximise their yields and thus their income, but that’s hard to do when weather patterns are changing. In Cambodia ‘on-farm’ fertiliser trials are identifying the best techniques for increasing yield while minimising fertilizer usage for different seasons and soil types. Some farmers from the trial are already implementing the recommendations, and the project is helping researchers, farmers and students to share knowledge for the future.

AGRICULTURE

37


37

From emerging towns, to some of the world’s fastest developing cities, managing human waste remains a big problem. The bulk of human waste in these cities

is dumped untreated in local waterways, on marginal land or in open drains close to people’s houses – polluting the local environment and posing a huge health risk to communities. In Bangladesh, while 42% of the nation’s 30 million urban residents have ‘improved sanitation’ (latrines or septic tanks), the vast majority of waste still goes untreated. The country has only one treatment plant, in the capital, Dhaka, servicing just 18% of the city’s 9 million people.

Without a working sewage system, for many, the only option in Bangladesh’s dense cities is waste removal by hand, a task left to the nation’s poorest and most marginalised. These “sweepers” play a vital role in managing human waste, but their jobs are poorly paid, unregulated and harmful to their health.

The problem is immediate and impossible to ignore. However, a new SNV initiative in Bangladesh is working on new solutions to both cleaning up the nation’s cities and building sustainable livelihoods in the waste business. With backing from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UK’s DFID, the Demonstration of Pro-poor Market-based Solutions for Faecal Sludge Management in Urban Centres of Southern Bangladesh project is piloting new strategies for faecal sludge management in Khulna city, and two small towns. The four year project aims to improve the living environment of more than 1 million people.

By developing faecal sludge management services, the project aims to reform human waste management, building government capacity to develop and implement waste management services and policy, and increase the productivity and protect the health and dignity of people working in this vital sector.

But it’s the innovative nature of the project that most excites project manager Rajeev Munankami. “We are not just focusing on providing access to sanitation – but ‘closing the loop’, from emptying of the pit, to safe trans-portation, and ultimately safe disposal of the sludge Currently, Khulna’s sweepers can empty one pit a day, but with the right tools and increased awareness at demand side, they can empty three to five – that’s a huge increase in income.” The project will also look into re-use of the sludge, both in agriculture and biogas generation. It may be early days for the project, but with a commitment to sustainable change and an eye to innovation there is no business too dirty to be cleaned up.

Cleaning up a dirty business


WASH

38


38

Protecting livelihoods, Preserving forests

Global temperatures have risen on average 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years, giving rise to climate change effects of rising sea levels and extreme weather events. Climate change

pressures agricultural productivity and threatens food security, particularly affecting the developing world as agriculture is the major source of income for 70% of the world’s poor.

Forests store more than 650 billion tonnes of carbon, are central to natural eco systems and contain at least two-thirds of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Yet one of the leading causes of forest degradation and deforestation is clearing for agricultural and energy use. The expansion of

agricultural land is likely to continue as global population growth and changes in consumption increase the demand for food. How do we conserve forests in developing coun-tries yet encourage pro poor agricultural practices that increase incomes and improve food security?

REAP, our innovative REDD+ for Energy & Agriculture Programme, aims to advance understanding of the linkages between agriculture and energy use across different forest landscapes, in order to reduce emissions through forest protection, whilst improving the lives of local people. Based on our evidence, we are working with farmers, communities and policy makers to develop specific tools and guides, that protect livelihoods and preserve forests.

Whilst reducing carbon emissions is the responsibil ity of all nations, the burden of carbon reduction can at times conflict with the needs of developing nations to improve l ivelihoods and incomes.

REAP

39


Our initiatives include a REAP siting or zoning tool that helps to determine areas suitable for the expansion of Palm Oil, Coffee and Cocoa farming; agricultural best management practices for farmers which reduce greenhouse gas emis-sions; and a toolkit for introducing and managing Waste to Energy practices. We are also developing a framework for understanding Agriculture to Forest relationships, a REDD+ model to support a reduction in the unsustainable use of forest wood for fuel, and innovative financing options for sustainable agriculture and renewable energy technologies.

These approaches work to balance agricultural needs with environmental benefits, empowering farmers and policy makers to work in harmony with their forest resources.

Protecting livelihoods, Preserving forests

• REDD+ aims to create a financial

value for the carbon stored in forests,

offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands

and invest in low-carbon paths

to sustainable development.

“Strategic partnerships help

us to scale up our REAP work

to achieve greater impact.

We work with more than 20

strategic public and private

partners including seafood

corporation Minh Phu, the

Tropical Forest alliance, and

the International Institute of

Tropical Agriculture.”Richard McNally SNV REDD+ Global Co-ordinator

650billion tons of carbon are

stored in forests

REAP

40


Revitalising Mangroves and Rewarding MarketsThe fish in your local market today, are more l ikely to have been farmed than to have been fished by net from sea or river. Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry, particularly in Vietnam where seafood as an export industry is worth over US$6 bil l ion; of which shrimp exports comprise over one third.

However, the development of aqua-culture in Vietnam has come at the expense of the natural mangrove forest, 50% of which has been lost

over the past 30 years. Mangroves in Vietnam protect against tidal waves and storm surges; they are vital fish nursery-grounds, provide timber, honey, and other products; and raise land levels by trapping sediment. They also have a high carbon content with total carbon storage being very high, relative to most forest types. Healthy mangroves make an important contribution to both climate change adaptation and mitigation; a fact generally not well under-stood by the aquaculture industry at large.

Ca Mau province is home to half of Vietnam’s mangroves, half of its shrimp farming area and one-quarter of its shrimp production. It is here that the SNV Mangroves and Markets programme set out to introduce integrated measures for 5,000 farmers that protect mangroves whilst supporting a viable aquaculture industry.

By working with shrimp importers, traders and farmers we have introduced integrated mangrove-shrimp farming, producing organic shrimp which has a higher market value, requires lower restocking costs, and is less susceptible to diseases common in intensive farming. We created a stable market for organic shrimp farmers by negotiating a purchase agreement for all certified organic shrimp at a

• The Department of Agriculture and Rural

Development of Ca Mau province, Vietnam recently

presented the SNV Mangroves & Markets programme with an

award for outstanding contribution to

Sustainable Aquaculture

741 farmers

received organic certification

10% price premium, with Ca Mau-based Minh Phu, the world’s second largest seafood proces-sor by shrimp export value. Research carried out in 2013 showed that the net income from selected integrated mangrove-shrimp farming was twice that of traditional shrimp culture or rice-shrimp without mangroves. A stable market and increased income from organic shrimp pro-vides a strong incentive to shrimp farmers to maintain and conserve mangroves.

Recognising that mangrove protection can only be sustained if regional and national authorities are engaged, SNV has partnered with the provincial government of Ca Mau and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) to draft and intro-duce a national policy that provides the legal basis for Mangrove protection. The policy also includes strategies for accessing carbon finance based on expected reductions in mangrove deforestation and degradation. Carbon financing will further encourage mangrove protection and help to offset mangrove rehabilitation costs. By taking a smart integrated approach to sustain-able shrimp aquaculture, we have made the protection of the Ca Mau mangroves a priority at policy level, and a necessity amongst shrimp farmers themselves.

27 shrimp

farmer groups established

1008 farmers

trained in organic shrimp certification and

mangrove restoration

REAP CASEREAP

41


Rice millers produce a lot of empty rice husks; and rice milling machines use a lot of expensive energy. The smart solution? Burn the waste husks to

produce cheaper and greener energy for milling. Through the EU SWITCH-Asia funded ‘Waste to Energy’ programme, SNV introduces clean and efficient gasification technology to Cambodia, adding value by saving millers’ costs and mitigating carbon emissionsHowever, gasifier equipment still needs to be paid for, and these set-ups don’t come cheap. That’s why SNV works to provide millers with constructive ways to access gasification technology themselves or to acquire cheap energy from other gasifier operators.

We have built networks between rice millers and several independent power producers which supply rice-husk derived energy either to the electricity grid or to private energy providers. Private company SOMA Energy aims to begin generating energy in 2015 from a 1.5 megawatt facility using rice-husk waste gathered from nearby rice mills. In exchange, those rice millers will benefit from

• In Burkina Faso, the Union of Women

Rice Parboilers Groups use rice husk gasifiers to supply energy for parboiling rice. To

make these solutions accessible, SNV develops micro-

finance products to ease the purchase of the gasifiers by the

Union.

• Cambodia produces around 1.6 million

tonnes of rice husk a year, but only about

25% is currently used as fuel biomass.

SNV and Eneco have joined forces in

remote Nepal to replace traditional

cookstoves with more efficient Improved

Cookstoves. Dutch energy utility Eneco

Energy Trading is supporting carbon

market innovation and financing for this

first ever Programme of Activities for

Improved Cookstoves in far west Nepal.

Each stove is able to reduce 1.2 to 2.4

tons of carbon dioxide, per annum; and

these emission reductions are worth real

money. “The carbon revenues will

ultimately pay for all the costs. Through

this ‘self-financing’ mechanism hundreds

of thousands people will benefit.” Utilising

carbon finance to reduce indoor pollution

and deforestation, targets benefits to up

to 150,000 poor rural households.

REN

EWABLE ENERG

Y

HI G H L I G H T S

SOMA’s lower energy prices. Purchasing something like a rice husk gasification system is costly and- most millers have to secure loans against their land or other assets.SNV and private sector suppliers are now developing direct-leasing programmes so that millers can access the technology without the risk of losing their assets if they can’t keep up payments. The direct lease package will also come with the option of gasifier installation, opera-tion and maintenance so the millers’ associations can quickly get their new technology up and running. The aim is to work with finance institutions and social venture capital organisations to create a revolving fund to upscale the adoption of gasifiers across Cambodia; in turn creating options for carbon financing. And since even clean energy gasifiers have waste products of their own, a pilot project is currently investigating ways to recycle the charred rice husks for extra income generation.From millers to financiers and power companies, SNV’s ambi-tion is to help to grow a sustainable waste to energy industry, benefitting enterprise and environment alike.

Waste not, want not

RENEWABLE ENERGY


42

“Developing a domestic biogas sector in Asia or Africa is a complex challenge. SNV and HIVOS have demonstrated the determination and flexibility required to realise this ambition, providing support and leadership in the process of building new biogas sectors.”

Frank van der Vleuten, Climate & Energy Department of the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Over the past year SNV transi-tioned to a sector led organisa-tion, no longer dependent on one

source of revenue. In 2013, more than half of SNV’s turnover was funded from sources other than the Dutch govern-ment core subsidy. SNV surpassed its annual order intake target, winning con-tracts valued at close to EUR100 million. Several high value projects were secured including OYE, The MasterCard Founda-tion funded youth unemployment

programme in East Africa, and Faecal Sludge Management in Bangladesh, funded by DFID and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. SNV has also responded to diversified donor funding modalities. Across 9 countries in Africa and Asia a EUR28 million programme, Sustainable Sanitation and Hygiene for All will be funded by DFID through Results Based Financing. Currently more than 90 donors and companies support SNV programmes.

Getting on with business

Leading SNV Donors in 2013

Dutch Ministry of Foreign AffairsUSAIDDFID

UNICEFBill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Danida World Bank

Swiss Development CooperationEnDev

European commissionIFAD

Mastercard foundationNetherlands Embassies

“At close to EUR 100 million,

SNV’s order intake is a strong

indication of continued donor

confidence. Moving forward we

have full confidence in SNV’s post-

core-subsidy future from 2016.”

Michel Farkas, Managing Director Global Support Services

“SNV Ethiopia, as part of a consortium, will implement the Climate Smart Initiative because of its long standing experience in Ethiopia with the development and implementa-tion of food security and climate adaption projects.”

Wout Soer, The World Bank

“We partnered with SNV because their programming delivers the training, tools, networks, and confidence needed to thrive.”

Reeta Roy CEO, The MasterCard Foundation

SNV IN ACTION

43


Tackling big challenges demands collabora-tion. Pooling expertise and resources for greater outreach, SNV partners with private

companies Friesland Campina, DSM, Eneco, Ecom and Vitens; development organisations including BoP Innovation Centre, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and AgriProFocus, and knowledge institutes Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), IRC and Wageningen University. By working together we can do more in capacity building, advocacy, inclu-sive business and innovative financing.

Partnering for impact

SNV Expenditure 2013• Countries EUR 92.797.267• Global Support EUR 11.985.868• SNV USA EUR 1.759.541• Corporate projects EUR 1.347.646

FinanceIn 2013 SNV invested almost EUR 108 million on sustainable development programmes and services.

SNV Sector Expenditure 2013 • Agriculture EUR 56.578,000 • WASH EUR 29.008,000

• Renewable Energy EUR 22.304,000

SNV Regional Expenditure 2013• Africa EUR 86.540,000 • Asia EUR 13.342,000 • Latin America EUR 8.008,000

SNV IN ACTION


44

SNV Management Board Dedicated Delivery

Michel FarkasManaging Director Global Support Services

“In the Netherlands,

development aid has a

bad reputation, people

think it is a waste of

money, is not relevant

and doesn’t lead to

anything. I really want

to prove people wrong.

I believe in the fact

that at SNV we don’t

just tell people what to

do, we believe in people and in what they can do for themselves.”

Andy WehkampManaging Director Renewable Energy

“What drives my

passion for develop-

ment is to be part of

the renewable energy

momentum. Energy is

central to any develop-

ment process. It is great to have the opportunity to join forces with likeminded partners and colleagues, and

leapfrog with innova-

tive, practical sustain-

able energy solutions

that address the real

needs of people with

low income, particularly

women, and achieve

results at scale.”

Tom Derksen Managing Director Agriculture

“My drive to work in

development comes

from a love of working

with people, a love of

travel and my natural

focus on opportunities.

When I travel, I realise

again and again how

we are all much more

similar than we are

different. We all have the same needs and aspirations, but often not the same opportu-nities. Working on

those opportunities and

seeing them realised, is

what makes me tick.”

Allert van den HamCEO

“I am driven by curiosity.

The curiosity to find

out why things are

organised the way

they are, why not

different ly, and what

we can do about it?

How can we induce

changes that put

people in the driving

seat and realise their

own ambitions, now

and in the future.”

Megan RitchieManaging Director WASH

“You can’t work

productively, or go to

school successfully, if

you or your family are

consistently unwell

from poor quality water

or unsafe sanitation

and hygiene. I see the work we do in WASH making a real difference to the lives of millions of people – and

therein lies the

ambition to strive for

even bigger, longer

lasting impact.”

SNV IN ACTION

45


Putting down roots: sustaining Balkan community forestry beyond SNV’s legacy

The SNV Balkan forestry programme began in 1999 in Albania to support communal forestry - local people managing and using their forest and natural resources sustainably. Starting small, there were just three SNV advisors, working with three local governments and their communities.

From the ground up, the team promoted forest ownership and tenure rights of local people, and supported sustainable management of forest products, and of

forest services such as carbon sequestration. Of equal importance was women’s participation in forest management, rural community development and income, and good governance in forestry.

The programme took root and gradually grew, and in 2003 had engaged with 30 local govern-ments, 30 forest users’ associations, and a newly established regional federation of forest users. Crucially the programme also supported community forestry policy through strong working relationships with the Ministry of Forestry.

The programme expanded further in 2005, to work with local governments, communities and forest users’ associations across Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. In 2010 community forestry was boosted across the whole region, with the establishment of a Balkan forestry network organisation, now with members from 7 Balkan countries.

Following SNV’s strategic decision to focus on 3 sectors only, it was agreed that the valuable work of the forestry programme must continue nonetheless. The programme team and activi-ties transferred to independent foundation

“The programme’s success

is due to a clear focus on

supporting local communities,

combined with innovative

knowledge. Just like growing a

tree, you must know which tree

you want to grow, be flexible

and patient. Stay faithful to

your vision, and support and

protect it for the future.” Peter Kampen, Director CNVP

CNVP - Connecting Natural Values & People. The CNVP programme has since scaled up, to work with over 110 organisations across the Balkan region. This includes 5 Ministries, 18 government forestry agencies, and 60 organisations with over 40,000 participants - and still expanding!

From humble beginnings, the legacy of the SNV forestry programme continues to pay dividends; now a self-sustaining family forestry and rural development programme, benefitting 392,000 households.

40,000 participants

and still expanding

SNV IN ACTION

46


Girl powerAround the world, SNV staff rallied for International Menstrual Hygiene Day. This global initiative draws attention to the importance of menstrual hygiene manage-ment and education in break-ing down menstruation taboos to support young women to stay in education. From an Advocacy Walk to Uganda’s National Parliament, to Ethiopia’s first national Menstrual Hygiene Day, events in collaborations with govern-ment ministries in Tanzania and South Sudan, and Zimbabwe’s first very TV show on menstrual hygiene - SNV staff worked hard to break the silence around this vital topic.

OUTtakesWhat have SNV people been up to over the past year?

Here are just some highlights of our activit ies to raise awareness and share our knowledge of development challenges across Renewable Energy,

Agriculture and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene.

Cycling carbon free Guy Dekelver, SNV Nepal’s senior Renewable Energy advisor donned his cycling shorts and grabbed his bike for the Eneco Co2 Tour to raise aware-ness of climate change. Guy and 40 others cycled 150 kilometers from Eindhoven, The Netherlands to the Carbon Expo in Cologne, Germany. Once at the Expo SNV, with Eneco, Dutch energy utility, co-organised side event Developing Clean Cook-stoves Projects – Experiences from the Field. This shared experiences and key challenges for climate finance and markets, low-carbon technologies and climate change resilience.

Feeding the changeFor EU Development Days in Brussels, Belgium, SNV collabo-rated with GIZ, UNIDO and ColeACP to host High Level Panel discussion ‘Feed the Change: Boosting Resilience, Food and Nutrition Security through Innovative Partnerships’. SNV was also officially welcomed as Dutch member of the Practi-tioners’ Network for European Development Co-operation; fostering exchange of experience and good practice among European development agencies and institutions with a public mandate.

COP 19SNV’s REDD+ team were actively involved at the 19th Conference of Parties in Warsaw, Poland, presenting on a variety of topics including REDD+ for a Green Economy; Rights, power and equity in the design of REDD+; Ecosystem conservation & restoration for healthy and productive landscapes’; and Rule of Law, Climate Change and Sustainable Development.

SNV IN ACTION

47


Super StovesMrs Mai’s Noodle shop in Savannakhet Lao PDR, now has a super stove! SNV and partners are developing a commercial market for these eco-friendly cookstoves that use 20% less wood and charcoal, and emit less smoke than traditional stoves. By 2016, the programme aims to produce and market 100,000 stoves, with carbon emission reductions equivalent to 20,000 fewer people flying from Lao PDR to The Netherlands and back.

Climate smarts SNV’s Adrian Enright showcased some of SNV’s Climate Smart Agricul-ture work in Asia, at a side event for the Annual Conference of the Society for International Development in Washington, USA. To this gathering of 600 development practitioners, Adrian illustrated how SNV are developing ways to boost farmers’ resilience to climate change through new income opportunities from off-season horticultural practices.

Top of the classIn Kenya recently, SNV were delighted to take part in two local award ceremonies. The events were held to award the best performing schools in their respective counties. At the event SNV’s Mathews Wanjala was proud to award prizes to outstanding schools and students. But, the students weren’t the only ones receiving praise. At the event SNV was also recog-nised for its role in linking small farmers to school feeding programmes.

Empowering ProgressWhat is the Netherlands doing to promote access to sustainable energy for all, in the developing world? SNV, Philips and develop-ment bank FMO, in cooperation with DGIS, joined forces last year for ‘Empowering Progress’ an event promoting cooperation between Dutch players to increase sustain-able energy investment and business in developing countries. Following the event, SNV and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation agreed to join forces in project and business development.

Marking a milestoneTo celebrate 10,000 biogas digesters built and 50,000 lives improved in Kenya alone, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Ms Lilianne Ploumen, recently paid a visit to beneficiaries of the SNV/Hivos/DGIS supported Africa Biogas Partner-ship Programme (ABPP) which has improved access to clean energy for 175,000 people so far.

SNV IN ACTION

SNV USA office

SNV head office

5

SNV Head OfficeDr Kuyperstraat 52514 BA The Haguethe NetherlandsTel: +31 70 344 02 44Email: [email protected]/snvYoutube.com/snvworld

@SNVworld

SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation. Founded in the Netherlands 50 years ago, we have built a long-term, local presence in 39 of the poorest countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Our global team of local and international advisors work with local partners to equip communities, businesses and organisations with the tools, knowledge and connections they need to increase their incomes and gain access to basic services – empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development.

www.snvworld.org

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