Putting People First

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Putting People First
Exploring the Sustainable Livelihoods
Approach in Waterloo Region
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SLA Introduced in Waterloo

• 2002
• Eco Nomos invited to share their work in Canada
• Information session held in Sept., 2002
• Community partners excited to use the approach
• Pilot SLA project planned for 2003

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New Partnership formed

• Collaborative
• - Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank,
• - Opportunities 2000 and
• - YWCA of Cambridge
• Funding secured for 1 year
• The Ontario Trillium Foundation
• United Way of K-W
• United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries
• Community Economic Development Technical
  Assistance Program (CEDTAP)

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Intensive Workshops SLA in Action

• Two, 2-day intensive workshops in Waterloo and
  Cambridge
• 15 potential projects/programs with 31 people
  attending the 1st day, 23 the second day.
• 5 organizations committed to using the Approach

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Participating Organizations

• Small Steps to Success (a program of the
  Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank and YWCA of
  Cambridge)

• Cambridge Kiwanis Village

• YMCA Settlement/Integration Services, Employment
  Service

• Lutherwood CODA, Community Services

• National Child Benefit (5 sites)
• Centerville-Chicopee Neighbourhood Centre and
  Mill-Courtland Community Centre (hosted by K-W
  Counselling Services)
• Langs Farm Village Association
• Preston Heights Community Group
• Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank

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Goals for the 1 year pilot project

• Develop local knowledge and expertise
• Integrate SLA theory into practice
• Support community agencies to custom design SLA
  for their use
• Provide Staff support for 1 year

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SLA Background
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What is a livelihood?

• - comprises the capabilities, assets, and
  activities required for a means of living.

It is sustainable when
- it can cope with and recover from stresses and
shocks - and can maintain and enhance those
capabilities and assets - without undermining the
natural resource base
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SLA What is it?

• A way of understanding poverty
• Not one approach, but many
• An enhancement
• SLAs are based upon evolving thinking
• Stress is on linking micro to macro
• Some elements SLAs have in common
• Peoples own livelihood priorities brought
  forward
• Holistic analysis
• Micro/macro links considered, understood and
  communicated

Its flexible in application, but the core
principles should be compromised.
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Sustainable Livelihoods Approach Principles
Poverty-focused development activity should be

• People-centered
• Responsive and participatory
• Multi-level
• Conducted in partnership
• Sustainable
• Dynamic

SL approaches must be underpinned by a commitment
to poverty eradication. Although they can, in
theory, be applied to work with any stakeholder
group, an implicit principle is that activities
should be designed to maximize livelihood
benefits for the poor.
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The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach is simply
about

• ... putting these principles into practice
• In program/project design In evaluation and
• In policy development

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ASSET AREAS
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Example Individual/Program Evaluation
Small Steps to Success Results over 1 year
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Highlights of Our Work and Lessons Learned
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Benefits Described by Participants
Gave me a picture of what I actually have and
made me more appreciative of it.
helped me see myself more and more every time
I did it.
Financial Assets
Social Assets
Human Assets
Personal Assets
Given me the bigger picture of my life and how
it breaks down and how I need help and where.
Its definitely helped me to define what areas
were affecting my life and started steps for
change.
Physical Assets
.. Its a lesson in self-discovery and it points
our what my needs really are and it helps me to
focus on them to make the necessary change
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What are the difficulties that make it hard for
you to take a step forward towards a more secure
future?
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AREAS of VULNERABILITY
Total 183
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Other outcomes

• Tools samples of visual aids developed by some
  participating agencies (SSTS calendar)

• MS Access Database application prototype

• Asset word lists for different groups (I.e.
  adults men and women, youth)

• Forms enhancement (including any outstanding
  issues time, paperwork, subjectivity)

• Step-by-step How to guide to implementing the
  SLA into programs (including challenges that
  remain).

• work shared on the DFID web-site
  (www.sustainablelivelihoods.org)

• All the contributions/learnings from all the
  participating organizations

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SLA implementation What you can do now

• Adopt the principles
• Use the asset map in your work even if you
  simply bear it in mind
• Develop tools to help you and the people you
  support focus on assets (I.e. SSTS Calendar)
• Get in touch with Opportunities and find out
  how you can implement it
• Share your learning

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Challenges

• Buy-in from community
• Duration of project
• Not enough resources to scale up and look at
  policy implications
• No real champions lack of influence (business,
  government, non-profits)
• Changes in staff
• Changes in the partner organizations
• Simplicity versus complexity

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Update on current projects.

• Tamarack

• Canadian Co-operative Association and
  Co-operatives Secretariat Helping Co-operatives
  Build Community Assets (www.buildingcommunityasset
  s.ca)

• Canadian Web-site for Sustainable Livelihoods
  soon to be available (Eko Nomos)

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Putting People First
Exploring the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach in
Waterloo Region
Questions and Comments?
For further information and to review the
document, go to www.owr.ca