Photo by Erin Patrick, Women’s Refugee Commission. Stove Cooking, Thailand.
The term “livelihoods” refers to the capabilities, assets and strategies that people use to make a living. Livelihoods actors work with beneficiaries to enhance self-reliance through vocational training or income generating activities (IGAs), for example. When people are displaced for long periods, livelihoods activities also focus on ensuring food security through food-for-work, animal husbandry or agricultural programs. Women and children, predominantly girls, spend a significant amount of time and labor securing cooking fuel, which limits their ability to engage in safer, more productive activities such as earning an income or attending school. Moreover, as refugees are often not allowed to work legally, women are frequently dependent on the collection and sale of firewood as their only means of earning money. When access to resources is limited, families may have no choice but to sell or trade their food rations to garner income or to pay for cooking fuel, leaving them at risk for malnutrition and causing familial tensions within the family, including domestic violence stemming from disagreements over household economic priorities.
Livelihoods and Food Security Resources
Foraging and Fighting: Community Perspectives on Natural
Resources and Conflict in Southern Karamoja
Reports
Author: Feinstein International Center
at Tufts University & Save the Children in Uganda
Date: August 2010
Synopsis: This report presents the findings
of qualitative research examining the intersection between natural resources
and conflict in Southern Karamoja, Uganda, from the perspective of local
communities.
Safe Access to Firewood and alternative Energy in Kenya: An
Appraisal Report
Reports
Author: World Food Programme (WFP)
Date: July 2010
Synopsis: This report, part of a series
of assessments conducted by WFP and the Women’s Refugee Commission based on the
IASC Task Force SAFE guidance, appraises fuel scarcity in Kenya and the ways in
which it negatively impacts the protection and health/nutrition of displaced
populations, as well as the environment. It concludes with a summary of
existing responses and WFP’s strategy to promote energy efficient technologies
and fuels to reduce adverse environmental impacts and create livelihoods
opportunities to alleviate the economic burden of purchasing fuel and bartering
food rations.
Safe Access to Firewood and alternative Energy in the North
of Sri Lanka: An Appraisal Report
Reports
Author: World Food Programme (WFP)
Date: June 2010
Synopsis: This report, part of a series
of assessments conducted by WFP and the Women’s Refugee Commission based on the
IASC Task Force SAFE guidance, appraises the effects of fuel scarcity on the
protection, environment and health/nutrition of WFP beneficiaries in
conflict-affected North Sri Lanka. The report concludes with a proposed
approach to fully integrate cooking energy needs into the assistance provided
to conflict-affected returnees in the North.
Cooking Fuel Needs in Haiti: A Rapid Assessment
Reports
Author: Women’s Refugee Commission
& World Food Programme (WFP)
Date: March 2010
Synopsis: In February 2010, the Women’s
Refugee Commission and WFP undertook the first rapid needs assessment on Safe
Access to Firewood and alternative Energy in Humanitarian Settings (SAFE) in
Haiti. This document describes the food/fuel situation in Haiti
post-earthquake, and the related protection, livelihoods, environmental and
camp management concerns. The document concludes with recommendations for a
coordinated, multi-sectoral fuel strategy to address the immediate, medium and
long-term energy needs in Haiti.
Safe Access to Firewood and Alternative Energy in Uganda: An
Appraisal Report
Reports
Author: World Food Programme (WFP)
Date: November 2009
Synopsis: This report, part of a series
of assessments conducted by WFP and the Women’s Refugee Commission based on the
IASC Task Force SAFE guidance, appraises fuel scarcity in the Mbarara and
Karamoja regions of Uganda and the ways in which it negatively impacts the
livelihoods, protection and health/nutrition of displaced populations, as well
as the environment. It concludes with a summary of existing responses and WFP’s
new strategy to ensure safe access to cooking fuel focused on physical and
environmental protection and the promotion of alternative livelihoods options
that are not woodfuel dependent.
Safe Access to Firewood and Alternative Energy in North
Darfur: An Appraisal Report
Reports
Author: World Food Programme (WFP)
Date: October 2009
Synopsis: This report, part of a series
of assessments conducted by WFP and the Women’s Refugee Commission based on the
IASC Task Force SAFE guidance, appraises fuel scarcity in North Darfur and the
ways in which it negatively impacts the livelihoods, protection and
health/nutrition of displaced populations, as well as the environment. It
concludes with a summary of existing responses and WFP’s new strategy to ensure
safe access to cooking fuel that focuses on physical and environmental
protection, the creation of alternative
(non woodfuel dependent) livelihoods opportunities, reducing firewood
dependency in schools and piloting innovative fuel technologies.
Destitution, distortion and deforestation: the impact of
conflict on the timber and woodfuel trade in Darfur
Reports
Author: United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Date: November 2008
Synopsis: This is the first study by
the UNEP-supported Environmental Technology Task Force (ENTEC) in Darfur,
created to inform humanitarian programming and preparation for future
post-conflict recovery efforts regarding the use and promotion of alternative
energy and construction technologies. This report details the impact of the
conflict on timber/woodfuel and livelihoods, domestic energy needs and the
current policy context, as well as recommendations for the future
Market Assessment Toolkit for Vocational Training Providers
and Youth
Tools/Manuals/Handbooks
Author: Women’s Refugee Commission
& Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA)
Date: October 2008
Synopsis: This toolkit provides
resources, questionnaires and activities to assist Vocational Training (VT) providers
and youth, themselves, in gathering information on market demands and
translating that information into programming that better aligns market forces
with youth livelihoods needs.
Youth and Sustainable Livelihoods: Linking Vocational
Programs to Market Opportunities in Northern Uganda
Reports
Author: Women’s Refugee Commission
& Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA)
Date: July 2008
Synopsis: This report analyzes
Vocational Training (VT) programming in Northern Uganda and offers concrete
recommendations for programming at each stage of the VT cycle including best
practices, case studies and lessons learned. The report describes how VT
programs can both meet the educational/livelihoods needs of youth, while
supporting broader strategies for economic and social restoration. The executive summary is available here .
Income Generation Activities Manual: Returning “Profit” to
IGAs
Tools/Manuals/Handbooks
Author: CHF International
Date: 2007
Synopsis: Born out of CHF’s experience
implementing IGAs in Darfur, this manual uses case studies to introduce
concepts and tools for strengthening basic business skills and community
structures around sustainable IGAs, to address, in part, the fact that women
and girls are often forced, out of necessity, to engage in IGAs that lead to
increased risk of GBV.
Livelihood Options in Refugee Situations: A Handbook for
Promoting Sound Agricultural Practices
Tools/Manuals/Handbooks
Author: United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Date: December 2002
Synopsis: This handbook presents
options and approaches for crop production, with a focus on securing the
nutrition and livelihoods of refugee/returnee populations, while minimizing the
environmental degradation that often accompanies agricultural activities in
refugee-related settings.
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