USAID Ethiopia Urban Gardens Program
Location
In 2004 DAI began implementing the USAID-funded Urban Agriculture Program for AIDS affected Women project which focused on training AIDS affected women on how to set up and maintain household and community nutrition gardens as a means to improve overall household nutrition and increase household incomes.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Nancy
Last Name
Russell
Website
Organization
DAI
Country
Ethiopia
Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name
DAI
Organization Website
Organization Phone
301-771-7600
Organization Address
7600 Wisconsin Ave. Suite 200, Bethesda MD, 20814
Is your organization a
For‐profit
Organization Country
United States
Your idea
Name Your Project
USAID Ethiopia Urban Gardens Program
Country your work focuses on
Ethiopia
Describe Your Idea
In 2004 DAI began implementing the USAID-funded Urban Agriculture Program for AIDS affected Women project which focused on training AIDS affected women on how to set up and maintain household and community nutrition gardens as a means to improve overall household nutrition and increase household incomes.
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
We work through a tiered approach to deliver training to households and OVC. DAI's staff train extension officers from local community-based organizations to provide HIV/AIDS-affected orphans and vulnerable children and their caregivers with the training and tools to develop household and school nutrition gardens, who then train gardeners. By working through CBOs, we promote greater sustainability and greater program outreach, while ensuring that local communities gain access to global best practices from DAI's 40 years of experience in agriculture.
The new program which began in 2008 also promotes sustainability and self sufficiency from the start. Beneficiary gardeners work with the program for a year before moving to our transition program which prepares them for sustaining these activties into the long term.
We also promote the creation of informal savings and loan groups which allow those individuals with no experience with formal financial services to gain the skills and experience in savings and lending. Especially entrepreneurial groups may later be linked with microfinance institutions who can provide longer term access and larger loans to those who have the capacity to repay.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
From 2004-2008 DAI was able to reach 38,000 women and children in 6 urban cities in Ethiopia. During the first year (2008-2009) of the new program, we have reached 15,000 OVC and more than 5,000 households in 6 cities.
Problem
The primary focus of our project is to increase the nutritional status, income generating capacity, self reliance and food security needs of households with orphans or vulnerable children. Secondarily, we are working to address environmental concerns by improving access to water sources (municipal water and shallow wells), improving the quality of the often marginal land donated by the municipalities and introducing new crops that are less likely to absorb contaminants while still providing low labor, high nutrition and high income to beneficiaries.
Actions
In addition to working through 23 community based organizations in the 6 municipalities (with plans to expand to 6 additional sites in 2010), we are linking with a variety of health and education programs that are providing support services to mothers, improving the quality of schools and education and improving the overall health services available for women, vulnerable children and orphans.
We are also working at both the national and local level to engage community and government leaders to extend services (extension, water, health) to these communities and take an active role in the program so as to ensure long term sustainability and local ownership.
Results
We expect by program end to:
*improve the nutritional status of progam beneficiaries
*increase OVC school attendance
*increase family income of participating families
*improving savings and long term access to financial services.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
In 2010, we are ramping up our focus on improving sustainability and self sufficiency and on developing our group savings and loan program. This will mean really defining, rolling out, modifying where needed and institutionalizing techniques, training and mentoring relationships for existing beneficiaries in such a manner that at the end of the program they will be less dependent on food aid and other hand-outs.
In 2011 and 2012, our focus will be on geographic expansion into new regions, namely Tigray, an area with significant challenges in terms of access to water for agriculture. We will also be challenged to maintain quality while expanding services to new beneficiaries.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Lack of governemnt and community support, severe drought
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
In what country?
Ethiopia
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
DAI
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Our most critical partnerships are with:
* local government mayors and muncipalities who facilitate access to land for the beneficiaries, who play a key role in ensuring access to clean water and who host field days where program beneficiaries can sell their wares and share their accomplishments;
* comunity based organizations with whom we work and without which this program has no long term potential for sustainability;
* agricultural input suppliers such as the drip irrigation manufacturers, seed companies and others who participate in trade fairs and program events with the beneficiaries to allow them to learn about new technologies;
* Corvallis, OR Sister City Program (with Gondar, Ethiopia) who will be providing funding for new wells at three schools in that city in 2009-2010
* other PEPFAR program partners including Save the Children and Jhpiego who are partnering with us - linking their health program's beneficiaries (most through schools) to the program; and
* many volunteers who have come and wanted to donate time and expertise to improve the program
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
1) Improving internal learning so that we can improve program materials, share challenges and innovations from different regions to improve peer learning, standardize operations and enhance results and innovations;
2) Improving the knowledge and experience of beneficiaries in scoping, accessing new opportunities and selling into new markets so that they continue to increase their potential for increased income;
3) Continuing to link with programs and organizations that operate both in the health and nutrition sphere as well as in the agriculture and food security sphere so as to improve monitoring, more accurately access results and develop the evidence base and to share the results of integrated development
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
This program was brough to Ethiopia from a successful program developed in Zimbabwe in 2001-2005. USAID liked the idea and decided to give us a modest budget to test out the idea in Ethiopia. Without this opportunity, we would not have been able to expand this innovation.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
There were two key individuals involved: Don Greenberg who managed the program in Zimbabwe for DAI and Joan Parker who with Don took the idea to Ethiopia.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Email from Changemakers
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
 | Naveen Shakir said: On January 18, 2010 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers Improved Nutrition: Solutions through Innovation competition ... about this Competition Entry. - 734 days ago read more > |
| USAID Ethiopia Urban Gardens Program has been chosen as a finalist in Improved Nutrition: Solutions through Innovation. - 745 days ago |
| Naveen Shakir said: “Thanks so much for your entry! Would you mind providing more of a discussion on how your initiative relates to nutrition, overall? How ... about this Competition Entry. - 763 days ago read more > |
| rgulick updated this Competition Entry. - 800 days ago |
| rgulick submitted this idea. - 800 days ago |
