Background

IFAD and India's state government of Meghalaya have been exploring options for reducing poverty in this state, which is one of India 's poorest. Given the complexity of the issues involved in developing this mountainous area, a number of studies and workshops were conducted in 2000 and 2001. Among these was a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) analysis that IFAD organized in order to gain an understanding of the views of poor people regarding their own situation. The objective of the SLA analysis was to interact with rural poor people in order to help IFAD and the Government of India (at national and state levels) to understand the strengths they possess, the obstacles they face and the vision they have of their future. The report that resulted from the analysis translated the villagers' understanding of their own situation into language that is appropriate to an international financing institution, and that could be used later when the project was being designed.

An SLA analysis was selected because it is a holistic method that is able to capture the different aspects of rural livelihoods, ranging from the strategies that poor people use to overcome poverty, to their strengths (human, social, physical, natural and financial capital) and achievements, to their aspirations, and to their capacities to help themselves to achieve their dreams. Focusing the enquiry on their own livelihoods and visions encourages them to take a more positive and proactive approach to their development, whilst the use of ‘appreciative enquiry' helps the villagers to think in terms of their own capacities and strengths, rather than their weaknesses and needs. This makes it easier to help them find solutions that are based on their own abilities, and improves their confidence in their ability to do so.

Preparation

The mission to Meghalaya took place from 14 to 25 November 2001 , approximately one month before the project's formal inception mission was to begin. The total cost of the mission was USD17,000. This did not include fees for the IFAD Technical Advisor on Sustainable Livelihoods who lead the mission.

One day was spent in a local hotel to clarify team roles, determine the methods to be used during the analysis, and agree on the types of outputs that the team should try to obtain. It was agreed that facilitated dialogue would be used to consider the vision; a resource map would be drawn on paper to stimulate appreciation of strengths; and a Venn diagram would be used to identify obstacles.

Seven to eight days were spent conducting the SLA analysis in the three areas that IFAD's Country Programme Manager for India had chosen. One researcher and technical adviser went to each area, where local research assistants were then identified. The analysis was conducted in two villages in each area. The teams lodged near the communities, in the communities, or with the poor people themselves. The researchers made a conscious effort to involve men and women from different age groups. When women were not participating in the discussion, special, separate discussions were held with them. In this way, the entire range of views was heard.

A special process for everyone involved

The SLA analysis was special as it contributed to the capacity building of a broad spectrum of people.

• The researchers were exposed to the special features of SLA and the appreciative inquiry method. They expressed satisfaction at having learned a new approach to understanding village communities.
• For the first time, the research assistants found themselves playing a valuable and productive role in discussions between the researcher and the village community.
• For the villagers and their headman, analysing their strengths and understanding their relationships with different institutions was a new and positive experience. They created reports (in their language) about the discussions they had participated in. In this way, they established ownership of the process.

Instead of the usual process in which researchers obtain information that is necessary for their own purpose, the SLA analysis consisted of dialogues that helped the villagers to understand their own situation.

Lessons learned - limitations of the approach

The following issues had some bearing on the mission's results:

• Seasonal bias. The mission took place after the harvest and during a month of low rainfall. Consequently, food supply was good and the health of the people was at its best. These favourable conditions may have caused the more critical periods to be underplayed.
• Travel time and workload . Not all of the mission time was spent on the analysis. Travel time consumed many hours, and in some cases villagers were not available during the day. For example, the mission coincided with the end of the harvest in some areas. As a result, only short meetings were held from 19.00-23.00, with the rest of the mission time used for individual discussions with people remaining in the village.
• Experience of researchers. Although the researchers had some previous relevant experience of social enquiry in rural areas, they did not have sufficient experience to manage on their own. This may have caused some misunderstandings with the people during discussions. While this area of error was somewhat countered by the presence of technical advisers, they were not always able to intervene.
• Civil strife. Due to politically motivated conflict in one of the areas, the team was not able to remain in the surveyed communities at night but stayed in a more secure village. This limited opportunities for building rapport with the villagers. In addition, members of a political group intervened during one meeting and it had to be cut short.

Relevant points for project design

The SLA analysis recommended two major actions for reducing poverty in Meghalaya:

• Supporting the poor to use and improve existing village institutions in ways that they choose . Capacity building of village institutions and individuals (such as the headman, durbar or village council) was recommended in order to address the people's needs, especially access to resources. Capacity building of government institutions outside of the villages was also recommended so that they would be more supportive and responsive to poor people's institutions. Capacity building across these levels is essential to create bridges between those who make decisions and those whose lives are affected by the decisions made.
•  Promoting agricultural growth. A gricultural growth needs to be promoted by helping poor people to have access to new goods, knowledge, power and information. Here the idea is not to provide technical inputs directly but to ensure that the demand that develops as a result of the first action is supplied in a free and fair way. (Many interventions are needed on the supply side as well as on the market institutions themselves.)

The analysis highlighted that these actions would have a significant impact on reducing poverty and food insecurity. Moreover, they are easy to implement. The analysis also emphasized that these actions - whether at the village, state or national level -- would succeed only if they were steered by the poor people.

Impact of the SLA analysis on project design

The recommended actions in the SLA analysis were included as the first components of the project proposal in its Inception Report. These components are summarized below.

Capacity building of communities and participating agencies

The primary objective of this component is to facilitate community-level decision-making and to strengthen the capability of communities to take responsibility for managing their own development. The specific objectives include:

• establishing and strengthening village institutions to promote community self-reliance
• further integrating women into community decision-making
• reorienting the local power structure so that it reflects the interests of marginalized groups
• helping government service organizations and NGOs to focus their efforts on developing alternative livelihood activities for community members

Livelihood enhancement activities. The overarching goal of this component is to provide viable opportunities for the poorest people to increase their incomes. All of the activities will be based on the following criteria to ensure that they provide viable and realistic opportunities. The activities must:

• have an established market for goods and services they generate
• provide adequate remuneration to participants
• be substantially directed toward women and serve as substitutes for less remunerative and more labour-intensive work
• incorporate local knowledge
• make use of existing skills or provide training
• be environmentally sound

At appraisal (June 2003), the recommended actions were incorporated in a number of ways. The eight-year project was divided into three phases: a six-month pre-implementation phase, followed by a three-year and a five-year phase. The three-year phase will concentrate on capacity building activities for the self-help groups, other community-based organizations and support organizations. The five-year phase will focus on livelihood enhancement activities.

The SLA analysis, along with the other studies, workshops and field visits conducted with experts from many economic sectors and government departments, resulted in a much broader livelihoods agenda. They clearly demonstrated that there are multiple opportunities for poor households in Meghalaya to improve their economic security. The subsectors go beyond the traditional paddy cultivation and include organic agriculture, horticulture, livestock, aquaculture and forestry-related activities (timber and non-timber forest products). At the same time, the actual selection of activities will be made by the poor households.

In addition, the SLA analysis and other background studies brought to light the need to explore the issue of access to land. Any livelihood strategy would be compromised if some solutions to tenure security and access to land were not developed alongside the livelihood enhancement activities. To respond to this need, the project proposes to include a Land Bank pilot initiative that promotes long-term tenure arrangements through purchase or long-term lease of productive land. The pilot will work with individual households, self-help groups and village and district institutions. The underlying objective is to increase the motivation of the cultivators for making greater investments of their time, labour and capital.