Sustainable Livelihood Domain
In line with the thematic premises and strategies this programmatic domain guides all of our livelihood interventions towards sustainability.
The Goal of the Sustainable Livelihood Domain:
Ensure sustainability of the livelihood of the poor and marginalized population through economic empowerment and employment.
For poverty alleviation our livelihood initiatives, focuses in building skills and capacity of the programme participants, boosting income with small and medium scale on farm and off farm enterprises, providing inputs, transferring appropriate technology, equipping with coping and recovery mechanisms from shock/stress, and retaining inputs and assets. All livelihood initiatives contribute to the mission with outcome and impact. Under this domain, we facilitate programmes/projects on savings for capital formation, skills and entrepreneurship development, technology transfer, inclusive finance, micro-finance support, agro-farming, crop diversification, livestock farming, promoting cash crop, micro-enterprise development, agriculture credit, intermediary service development, agro-processing, marketing and value chain development and organizing and grooming women, farmers’, producers’ and traders’ along with their respective organizations.
Strategies for sustainable livelihood Domain:
Facilitate feasible livelihood interventions by providing skills, inputs, technology and finance along with using innovative production process, expanding market base and building organizations.
Programs and Projects under this Domain
Poverty and Hunger Eradication Program
The most significant aspect in poverty alleviation is to ensure employment for all eligible women-men. Even so, employment opportunities in both formal (government, private, non-government etc.) and informal sectors are not generating accordingly. Though agriculture sector plays a key role in the country’s economic growth, as of now, this sector is considered as an informal sector, because it lacks permanent employment opportunity throughout the year. In the context, self-employment generated in different informal sectors including agriculture, small business & enterprise and local transportations become as major support, where capital is the first requirement. In Bangladesh, supply of capital or loan provided by government-private banks and financial institutions in case of informal sector is too little. In this backdrop, collateral free microfinance, a worldwide milestone program developed by the NGOs of Bangladesh contributes in economic development generating self-employment. WAVE implements its Poverty and Hunger Eradication Program to ensure self-employment through promoting socio-economic development of poor and lower-middle class people living in both rural and urban settings. Under this program, 4 major loan products and various sub loan products play important role in agricultural production, livestock development including Black Bengal goat, local transportation, small to large scale business, enterprises and economic development in different sectors of organization working areas. The program emphasizes development of extreme poor and skill development training for program participants and technical assistance & medical services for their livestock development. In addition to financial services, WAVE intends to ensure integrated development of the program participants through incorporating health and education services along with awareness raising activities on social issues. Savings and micro insurance are one of the major activities along with loan support. Apart from this, WAVE has been working on cluster-based production and value chain development. This program intervention uplifts self-employment to formal employment that eventually contributes in our national economy.
Pathways to Prosperity project supports extremely poor people to connect with mainstream economic growth and jobs for sustainable development. The objectives of the project are to enable two million people (500,000 households) to exit from extreme poverty for good and support the development of stronger national institutions & systems to deliver services for the targeted group to become resilient and prosper; and increased GoB investment in quality service provision to extremely poor households in the targeted communities; and GoB increases funding for programmes for livelihoods of extremely poor people. It is a holistic multidimensional development project with 03 major components i.e. Resilient Livelihood; Nutrition and Community Mobilization including 03 crosscutting issues of inclusion of Person with Disabilities (PWDS), Gender Equality and Climate Justice. WAVE Foundation is implementing the project in two vulnerable south west districts named Magura and Patukhali with the support of PKSF funding from the UK aid and the European Union. WAVE will directly serve more than 8000 extremely poor households in the selected vulnerable districts in the first phase (2020-2025).
Community Finance Program
WAVE continues and expands community finance program to ensure that it increases it outreach geographically and within the existing community it is serving through enhanced inclusion. Community finance plays a vital role towards transforming WAVE Foundation a sustainable institution for local communities. Through its multifaceted interventions under this program, WAVE aims to enhanced outreach, coverage and inclusion, increased economic involvement and financial self-reliance, new and successful businesses in agriculture and other sectors.
WAVE has been implementing microcredit in both rural and urban areas through its branch offices with the financial support from PKSF and commercial banks. The products of microcredit are:
Major Products | Sub Products | |
a) General Microcredit b)Micro Entrepreneurship c)Microcredit for Ultra Poor d) Agriculture Credit | Supplementary Loan Product | Specialized Loan Product |
· Seasonal loan · WASH Loan · Disaster Management loan
| · Black Bengal Goat Rearing loan · Spices Cultivation Loan · Sheep Rearing loan | |
WAVE has launched its Micro-entrepreneurship Program aiming at extending financial services to the progressive members of microfinance program for undertaking income generating activities that require bigger amount of capital. Micro-enterprise policy of WAVE is formulated based on assessing the needs and demands of the micro-entrepreneurs. Apart from progressive members of microfinance program, Micro-entrepreneurship Program provides financial services to all micro-entrepreneurs for accelerating employment generation. Any business activity that has investment up to BDT 1.5 million (excluding land and building) is considered as microenterprise. An individual micro-entrepreneur can take loan up to BDT 1.0 million for his enterprise under this Program. In order to have a comprehensive impact on the lives and livelihood of the entrepreneurs, this program also imparts business development skill training and facilitates market linkage for the products produced by entrepreneurs through market system inclusion. In essence, this program intends to support and uplift the aspiring entrepreneurs in their pursuit of creating employments and income towards creating a prosperous Bangladesh. Components under the projects are as follow:
- Business Development Skills
- Financing
- Market Linkage
The country’s poverty rate came down at 21.8 percent while the poverty rate, as per the lower poverty line or people living in extreme poverty, came down at 11.3 percent in 2018 . Uplifting the socio-economic status of the poor remains at the heart of microfinance program but so far it has been successful in reaching the moderate poor. The extreme poor is left out of the mainstream microfinance program because of the pre-conceived notion that they are vulnerable to loan repayment. On the contrary, the ultra-poor people voluntarily exclude themselves form microcredit at times because of the fear of not being able to repay in time and getting further indebted. This realization has inspired WAVE Foundation to introduce specialized credit for extreme poor. Under ‘Micro Credit for Ultra Poor’ component, WAVE is providing flexible microcredit to the extreme-poor people. In addition to the financial service, WAVE is also providing different non-financial services like primary health care, technical services for implementing income generating activities of the poor people, capacity building support at the time of disaster, training, awareness building on nutrition and social issues. The main objective of this project is to support the extreme-poor people in such a way so that they become capable to create sustainable income opportunities and human dignity as well as they can lift out of extreme poverty.
Agriculture being the driving force of our economy deserves dedicated attention. However, this sector lacks the attention of financial service providers. The high degree of risk involved in this sector is considered to be the reason of this aversion. Particularly small and marginal farmers who constitute the majority of the farmers have hardly any access to financial service. In order to increase yield and transform the socio-economic condition of the farmers uninterrupted flow of capital is imperative to solve the crisis associated with long-held conventional manual farming and unavailability of quality input.
Agriculture Credit is dedicated to the sustainable development of agriculture sector of our country. This dedicated programme of WAVE offers flexibilities and has become a prominent core programme of the organization covering a major share of the yearly loan disbursement. Since its inception, this unique program has created tremendous impetus for the investment of different IGAs such as crop cultivation and processing, livestock, fisheries, agro-forestry, agro-processing etc. The provisions of the loan repayment are based on crop and livestock product cycle. The single instalment after the sale of the product has made it very popular among the borrowers, especially those engaged in beef fattening and crop cultivation.
Agriculture Credit offers comprehensive training program for the farmers. In order to make a sustainable impact special emphasis is given to ensure quality input supply and technology transfer to the farmer level as well as establishing market linkage. Adequate attention is given to research, development of high-yielding seed, and management of irrigation, mechanized and technology-based farming, and vocational education to farmers. Angkur Seeds and Angkur Agro Machineries have been working as complementary forces to achieve the desired objective of this program. Components under Agriculture Credit are;
- Finance
- Skills Development Training
- Input Supply and Technology Transfer
WAVE has been providing savings and credit risk management services in both rural and urban areas through its 127 branch offices with the financial support from PKSF. The products of micro insurance are:
- Microfinance Insurance
- Livestock Insurance
- Crop Insurance
- Health Insurance
- Life Insurance
This component is dedicated to ensuring safe home for poor people who cannot build it by themselves. People who find it hard to ensure three meals a day cannot make savings for future. Building safe house causes huge expenses that people cannot afford. Many poor people are surviving without home which is a basic human need while many are at risk to be homeless. The amazing benefits of housing loan have helped many people in our working area to build their own home which was once their dream. The long-term housing loan at low interest-rate has been contributing significantly to rehabilitate homeless poor people. WAVE implements the project in Chuadanga district. The project is supported by Bangladesh Bank
Participants of WAVE’s Micro-finance Program can broadly be divided into three categories; ultra-poor, poor and micro-entrepreneurs. Due to their socio-economic status, these people cannot afford to purchase water and sanitation facilities with cash payment. However, the importance of safe drinking water, hygiene practice and sanitation facilities need not to be exaggerated. Poor sanitation and water facilities negatively affect the health, income and expenditure of the people. Considering these circumstances, WAVE Foundation has launched WASH Loan under mainstream loan program. There are several projects under this segment as follow;
Complementary Services
Apart from the program, projects, products and services under Sustainable Livelihood Domains mentioned above, there are few essential complementary services aimed at making the lives and livelihood of the targeted people sustainable. The services are as follow;
Health
This service has been implemented targeting specific group of participants, gradually it will be expanded. The services are as follow;
Education
This service designed for program participants’ kids. The services are as follow:
- Accelerating Sustainable Water and Sanitation Facilities for All- ACCESS Project
- Output Based Aid Sanitation Microfinance Program (OBASMP) Project
Complementary Services
Apart from the program, projects, products and services under Sustainable Livelihood Domains mentioned above, there are few essential complementary services aimed at making the lives and livelihood of the targeted people sustainable. The services are as follow;
Health
This service has been implemented targeting specific group of participants, gradually it will be expanded. The services are as follow;
- Satellite Clinic at the community level
- Static Clinic at the office level
- Door to door service for maternal and neonatal health
- Special Camp on various health issues
Education
This service designed for program participants’ kids. The services are as follow:
- Pre-primary Schooling
- School-supportive Education
- Education Stipend for program participants’ Kids
Agro Biodiversity & Value Chain Program
The relevance of agro-biodiversity for agrarian Bangladesh is not just as an issue rather preservation and development of its rich agro-biodiversity heritage holds the future of agriculture sector in the age of climate change, rapid corporatization, boom of hybrid monoculture and disappearance of indigenous agro practices. As agro-biodiversity implies all the components that complement and make agriculture happen, it greatly influences the production of foods and other agricultural goods and the benefits these produce to the population including food security, nutrition and livelihoods. Alongside preservation of agro-biodiversity, other priorities to make agriculture sector sustainable are; facilitating farmers’ access to required capital, input & agro-technologies; transforming the conventional manual agro sector into eco-sensitive mechanized practices; establishing market linkage for the assured sales of agro products and developing & engaging skilled human resources. While government initiatives to develop agriculture sector are mostly confined to allocating subsidies in fertilizer and irrigation, there are scattered yet inspiring initiatives at different levels aimed at preserving agro-biodiversity and making agriculture a sustainable sector.
Bangladesh has resources, techniques, and good examples, but we need integration and patronization of good practices particularly when the negative impact of climate change is evident. Booming the production of particular products would not yield sustainable outcome. Government and NGOs should work hand in hand for a blending of revitalized indigenous agro practices and contemporary agro techniques that are sensitive to agro biodiversity. We should encourage and support farmers to adopt techniques of sustainable agriculture system like mixed farming systems, organic agriculture, integrated pest management, organic fertilizers such as legumes, crop rotation, recycling crop and animal wastes, no-till or minimum tillage agriculture, inter or multi-cropping, cover crops, rejuvenated livestock rearing and value-chain development of potential agro products. WAVE Foundation intends to be a change agent in this journey. To that end, Agro Biodiversity and Value-chain Program is dedicated. There are several Projects under this program as follow:
Bangladesh has resources, techniques, and good examples, but we need integration and patronization of good practices particularly when the negative impact of climate change is evident. Booming the production of particular products would not yield sustainable outcome. Government and NGOs should work hand in hand for a blending of revitalized indigenous agro practices and contemporary agro techniques that are sensitive to agro biodiversity. We should encourage and support farmers to adopt techniques of sustainable agriculture system like mixed farming systems, organic agriculture, integrated pest management, organic fertilizers such as legumes, crop rotation, recycling crop and animal wastes, no-till or minimum tillage agriculture, inter or multi-cropping, cover crops, rejuvenated livestock rearing and value-chain development of potential agro products. WAVE Foundation intends to be a change agent in this journey. To that end, Agro Biodiversity and Value-chain Program is dedicated. There are several Projects under this program as follow:
The innovative project implemented under Learning and Innovation Fund to Test New Ideas (LIFT) Project of PKSF from July 2015 in Chuadanga District. The aim of the project to sustainable development and capacity building of the farmers through quality Drought Tolerant Variety Rice Seeds Production and supply for Aus and Aman season. The purpose of this project is to ensure availability the drought tolerant variety rice seeds, cultivation of the varieties and extend the rice seeds & technology in drought prone areas for ensuring maximum production. Under the project to provide useful, modern and environment-friendly production technologies, capacity building supports and establish market linkages of local commodities.
The project is implemented under ‘Promoting Agricultural Commercialization and Enterprises (PACE) Project’ of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF). PACE covers three complementary components- financial services for micro-entrepreneurs, value chain development and technology & product adaptation aimed at increasing the income and generating employment of entrepreneurs through year-round onion cultivation in a sustainable manner. The project implemented by WAVE follows the strategy of combining financial & non-financial services and transfer of technologies to the micro-entrepreneurs involved in year-round onion cultivation and value chain development. Its specific objectives are; increasing the income of project participants of year-round onion cultivation by ensuring availability of quality seeds & saplings; reducing the post-harvest wastages & production cost through establishing cost-effective commercial storage system at the farmers’ level and creating wage-based employment through expansion of year-round onion cultivation. The project is implemented in Mujibnagar Upazila of Meherpur district with the support of IFAD through PKSF.
The project is implemented under ‘Promoting Agricultural Commercialization and Enterprises (PACE) Project’ of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF). PACE covers three complementary components- financial services for micro-entrepreneurs, value chain development and technology & product adaptation aimed at increasing the income and generating employment of entrepreneurs through year-round onion cultivation in a sustainable manner. The project implemented by WAVE follows the strategy of combining financial & non-financial services and transfer of technologies to the micro-entrepreneurs involved in year-round onion cultivation and value chain development. Its specific objectives are; increasing the income of project participants of year-round onion cultivation by ensuring availability of quality seeds & saplings; reducing the post-harvest wastages & production cost through establishing cost-effective commercial storage system at the farmers’ level and creating wage-based employment through expansion of year-round onion cultivation. The project is implemented in Mujibnagar Upazila of Meherpur district with the support of IFAD through PKSF.
Making the proper utilization of available household resources is the key for the development of agrarian Bangladesh. However, consequences of climate change and ever shrinking house resources as a result of rapid population growth require adoption of new technologies for maxim yield. Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Unit dedicates itself for testifying potential new technologies in agriculture, fisheries and livestock through setting demonstration at the beneficiary level for wider replication. The main purpose of the project is to extend sustainable technology and capacity building supports to the doorsteps of farmers with a view to increasing farming productivity and ensuring food security of the peoples. Supported by Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation-PKSF, this project extends both technical and financial support to the beneficiaries. Currently, this project works with 400 families.
In 2008, WAVE Foundation started implementation of “Genetic Conservation of Black Bengal Goat and poverty reduction through increment of its productivity of family and breeding farm level” Project under LIFT project of PKSF. At the organization level, a goat breeding farm was established following Open Nucleous Breeding System (ONBS) to maintain and produce pure breeds of Black Bengal Goat while at the beneficiary level, the practice of scientific goat rearing was followed using semi intensive Macha method. The project was implemented during 2008 to 2010. Since then, Black Bengal Goat rearing has been incorporated with the mainstream microcredit program of WAVE and products have been designed based on the learning and insights of the project. One of the important features of this project was introducing & practicing practices the Semi Intensive Macha Method of goat rearing and ensure timely deworming & vaccination for goat which reduced goat mortality rate significantly from 40% to 10%. Another contribution of the project is scaling up of commercial Black Bengal Goat rearing at the beneficiary Level. In this regard, the project ensured door step veterinary services, breeding (buck) service, fodder cultivation and training of beneficiaries on scientific goat rearing management. As a result, a new project namely “Alleviation of Poverty through Genetic Conservation and Increasing Productivity of Black Bengal Goat at Family and Breeding Farm Level” has been allocated in 2015-2016 fiscal year under LIFT of PKSF at Jamirtta, Manikgonj. Overall the project will contribute to reduce the goat mortality rate and increase the goat population as well as transformation into commercialization of Black Bengal Goat. WAVE implements the project in Chuadanga and Manikgonj districts with its own fund and support from PKSF.
The project aims to contribute in national economy by creating employment and generating income through producing quality Black Bengal goat and preserving the genetical purity. Objectives of the project are to engage the poor people in Black Bengal Goat Rearing, supply quality buck & doe and ensure service of quality Black Bengal buck for breeding at beneficiary level to preserve the genetical purity of Black Bengal Breed, creation of employment opportunity, improve/develop skill in commercial goat rearing and establish a profitable small and medium goat farm at rural, semi-urban and urban areas. WAVE implements the project in Chuadanga Sadar, Alamdanga, Jibonnagar and Damurhuda Upazila of Chuadanga district with the support of PKSF.
The aim of the project is to ensure food security of the poor and the hardcore poor through self-employment. Objectives of the project are to conduct necessary adaptive research to make the goat rearing profitable at household level and Demonstration farm level; to conserve the genetical purity of Local Improved and Hybrid Sheep; to help for developing the successful micro-credit borrowers as micro entrepreneurs in establishing small and medium-sized goat farms and to make the self-sufficient breeding farm at organizational level for providing training and technical assistance to the poor & the hardcore poor on a sustainable basis. WAVE implements the project in Pirojpur Union (Baradi Unit) of Meherpur Sadar Upazila in Meherpur district with the support of PKSF.
The project aims to ensure food security of the poor and the hardcore poor through self-employment. Objectives of the project are to conduct necessary adaptive research to make the goat rearing profitable at household and farm level; to conserve the gene of Black Bengal goat; to help to develop the successful micro-credit borrowers as micro entrepreneurs in establishing small and mid-sized goat farms and to make the self-sufficient breeding farm at organizational level for providing training and technical assistance to the poor & the hardcore poor on a sustainable basis. WAVE implements the project in Patuakhali district with the support of PKSF.
- BBG Rearing (PACE)Project
The aim of the project is to ensure food security of the poor and the hardcore poor through self-employment. Objectives of the project are to conduct necessary adaptive research to make the Dumba rearing profitable at household and family farm level and to help to develop the successful micro-credit borrowers as micro entrepreneurs in establishing small and medium-sized dumba farms and to make the self-sufficient breeding farm at organizational level for providing training and technical assistance to the poor & the hardcore poor on a sustainable basis. WAVE implements the project in Damurhuda Upazilla (Koshaghata Unit) in Chuadanga district with the support of PKSF.
The aim of the project is to promote availability of indigenous and high value fish species of Bangladesh like: mola, native singh-magur, pabda-gulsha etc. as well as some extinct fish species like: Aire, Shoal, Gojar, Taki, Black Carp etc. The focus of this project is also to extent and develop sustainable fish culture technology in the rural area for generating additional employment opportunities in fisheries and ancillary sectors to alleviate poverty as well as improvement of farmer’s socio-economic conditions. The project will help to create strong linkage among WAVE, GoB Fisheries Department at Upazilla & District level, others NGO, research institutions and local fish farmers. During the project period (03 years) demonstrations of indigenous and threatened fish species will be established at field level and soft loan will be provided among two hundred farmers for commercialization of different fish species. While at the organization level, a fish hatchery has been developed to preserve the indigenous fish species to preserve the fish variety as well as disseminate the valuable indigenous fish species in the beneficiary level. It is expected that it will be helpful to meet the local protein demand as well as making contribution to all over economy of the country. WAVE implements this project in three unions of Alamdanga Upazilla in Chuadanga district under LIFT Program supported by PKSF.
The overall goal of the project is to achieve sustainable livelihood of 1,500 smallholder farmers mainly through goat and beef value chain interventions by 2021.The activities are targeted to fulfilment of the targeted families through increase income and asset as per living income benchmark; increase availability and access to nutritious food; build resilient communities to combat climate change effects; empower women at family and community level and build social capital within the community. The project is implemented Hujuripara & Horipur Unions under Paba Upazilla in Rajshahi district and supported by Heifer International, Bangladesh.
The overall goal of the project is ‘to achieve living income of marginalized and smallholder farmers by 2022 through developing beef and goat market system and creating self-propelled and sustainable producer’s organizations. The activities are targeted to achieving of ‘Market oriented production and productivity enhanced from baseline by the end of the project cycle; Increased awareness of improved hygienic processing and consumption of meat in the project locations within the project duration; Ensuring BDS for value chain actors through creating a one stop HUB and facilitating entrepreneurship within the producers’ organizations by the end of project; Enhanced capacity of community – based organizations for accelerating agro-enterprises by the end of project and Increased availability and access to nutritious food and improved sanitation by the end of project duration’. Since April 2018, the project has been implemented at Godagari Upazilla in Rajshahi district with the financial assistance of Heifer International Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, roughly half the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. However, farmers face many challenges to earn a living. One of the challenges is access – access to technology, finance, markets, information related services and public goods. Another challenge is the lack of awareness of individual farmers of their basic rights. Collective voices & initiatives of farmers’ alliance have the potential to address these challenges, increase & diversify production, marketing in a sustainable manner, improve food and nutrition security and act as major agents of change in Bangladesh. The goal of Agro Entrepreneur Alliance-AEA is to make the livelihoods of the smallholders sustainable by enhancing access to quality service, developing business sense and create awareness on the rights & entitlement of the farmers through collective actions. The project is being implemented in Chuadanga district.
