Laos Integration Livestock and Environmental Management Project (LILEM)

Project Number: 22-0510-07

Project Period: 2006-2010

Project Holder: Heifer International Thailand

Heifer Thailand is the representative office of Heifer International in Thailand, and mentor of Heifer projects in Laos. Heifer Thailand has successfully been in partnership with Youth Volunteer for Action on Development (YFA) and National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Services (NAFES). Each project partner’s background and history is summarized as below:

YFA is a non-profit volunteer organization working at a grass-roots level to help alleviate critical social issues and offer integrated sustainable development opportunities for disadvantaged youth and marginalized groups in Lao PDR. YFA was established in August 2001 and is led by its founder, Vanpheng Singharad. The organization has a total of 6 full-time volunteer members and over 100 part-time youth volunteers from different education institutions and communities within Vientiane, Bolikhamsay, Savannakhet and Luang Nam Tha provinces.
YFA operates both in the capital and provincially – it has carried out projects relating to HIV/AIDS, drugs, migration, trafficking issues and integrated income generation – and has been a member of the Working Group on HIV/AIDS/STI in Lao PDR from July 2003 to the present day. Past funding has been awarded by The British Embassy BKK, NZAID-New Zealand Embassy BKK, UNICEF, UNFPA, The World Bank, Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED), Schmitz-Hille-Foundation Germany, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and ADRA.

NAFES is a project holder whose function is to execute, supervise and monitor the project implementation at the district and village level. NAFES is a National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Service under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The mandate of NAFES is to develop extension systems and disseminate appropriate technologies to farmers and producers in order to improve agricultural productivity and thus increase their income. NAFES has representation at the provincial level (PAFES) and district level (DAFO). According to the decree issued in 1999, DAFO is and interdisciplinary extension center where most of the staff are pluralistic extension workers.

NAFES is currently working with Heifer Thailand through the Sustainable Agriculture with Livestock and Training (SALT) project, and has worked on previous livestock projects with Heifer as well.

Project Profile:

Most farmers in Lao PDR are struggling with extreme poverty and poor living standards. Overall, Laos is one of the world’s least developed countries and the least developed in Southeast Asia. Through livestock production, agricultural development and savings group education, this project will directly benefit 500 families in five provinces. Collectively, these families will be provided with 342 cows, 288 goats, 272 pigs, 540 chickens, 48 water buffalo and 50,000 fingerling fish.

In addition to livestock, this project will provide assistance with creating savings groups, biogas production stations, and training (in animal management and healthcare, improved agricultural methods, the cornerstone model, gender equity, etc.)

Project areas: Bolikhamsay, Luang Nam Tha, Luangprabang, Attapeu and Oudomxay provinces, LAOS

Local Conditions:

About one-quarter of Laos’s people live in mountainous regions, while the rest live in upland valleys or on the flood plains of the Mekong and its tributaries.  Over three-quarters of the population live in rural areas, although the proportion of people living in cities is steadily increasing. A large majority of the population still engages in subsistence agriculture with labor intensive work farming. Industry is limited to small-scale manufacturing of consumer products and government revenue is insufficient to cover expenditure and investment in infrastructure development, leaving the deficit to be met by foreign aid.  The principal aid donors are Japan, France, Sweden, and Australia. 
Laos is the most underdeveloped country in the region. Its people continue to face many problems, especially with regard to extreme poverty. The poverty in remote and mountainous villages is even worse as a result of poor transportation and limited communication, lack of school and public health service, malnourished children, very low income, and limited opportunity to interact with outsiders.

Most of the farmers in rural areas are doing primitive agriculture and shifting cultivation which requires intensive labor from family members in preparing new rice fields every 2-3 years. Along with the limited income generation, these agricultural practices are destructive ecologically. Apart from economical and ecological problem, Laos currently face with HIV/AIDs that are spreading rapidly from high risk groups to the general public due to the capital development boundlessly. The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDs is 0.5% , and being increased every year. This problem affect to communities in many aspects, especially economical and social problem. 

Opportunities for Assistance:

Heifer Thailand will provide livestock for the purposes of income and food generation, accompanied by training in livestock development and health. Addressing environmental concerns, training in improved agricultural methods will be provided, along with the creation of biogas stations and fishponds within kitchen garden projects. Finally, the project holder will help villagers to create savings groups which will help fund cast-generating activities. Decisions will be made by community groups with equal representations of men and women, and in HIV/AIDS-afflicted villages, positive discrimination will ensure that at least 20 PLWHA are present and provided with roles and activities.

Project Goal:

Project participants will have improved quality of life and environmental conditions

Objectives:

• To increase annual income by 30% through animal-based holistic development and integrated agriculture.
• Local environment will improve through land management and construction of biogas systems.
• Communities will have established savings groups within three years.

Passing on the Gifts:

Each participating family will pass on the first off spring (1:1 ratio) to another family. If the first offspring is male, then it will be sold and proceeds will be used to purchase female animals for passing on the gift.

Participants will also pass on the skills and knowledge learned from the project to the new recipients through the group discussion and individual interaction. In addition, other inputs such as seeds and other will also passing on the gift.

Funding source:  Heifer Project International