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LuxDev, Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency

• 2019
• • 7 February
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  MYANMAR - How to operate and maintain a water distribution system

  The project MYA/002 proceeded with setting up village water committees in the 6 villages that benefitted from the  installation of a household water distribution system  in 2018. These water committees will be in charge of its own operation and adequate maintenance of those systems.

  

  Village Water committee of Che Nar Dea

  Each of the 6 water committees was trained on how to draw their water distribution system map, the general functioning of the water distribution systems, the use of the tools and spare parts in the maintenance kit, and also the chemical and physical characteristics of water.

  

  For some it has been a long time since they sat in a class room

  

  Drawing the map of their water system

  

  Given that most of these villages are located in a very remote area and access to education is very limited, the training was delivered in an applied learning by doing approach. Also, many villagers have never used tools such as wrenches or screwdrivers and need to get familiar with their use first.

  

  

  

  Checking the pH level of the water

  Apart from the schematics and the mechanical aspects of the water distribution systems did the project’s Operation and Maintenance expert also focused on team building and managerial aspects of the new water committees. Villagers are used to working with members of their family and have yet to fully understand the concepts of communitary work on common assets belonging to the village as a whole. The sharing of responsibilities and working in a team will be crucial for the proper maintenance of their respective water distribution systems.

  

  Pulling on one string to achieve the common goal.

  

  Water Committee of Ba Ngoo village

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• 2018
• • 17 December
  • By Mone SYSAVATH
  • 
  • Asia Office LAO/030
  • Socio-economic development
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  LAOS - 7 reasons why the Local Development Programme LAO/030 uses village development funds to overcome poverty

  In late November 2018, Regional Office in Vientiane Laos, as part of the mid-term evaluation team, visited several villages in Bokeo province (north of Laos) where the programme LAO/030 is working with 52 poor and multi-ethnic villages to improve better livelihood through Village Development Fund approach.

  On the way to the target villages, we spoke to Mr Sisouk Khounvithong who is the Provincial Programme Coordinator about the village development funds and its planning in general.

  Question: Why are village development funds supported by LAO/030 programme important in improving people’s live in the target villages?

  Answer: In my view, they are, in many ways because:

  1. Each community decides to use the fund based on their real need in a transparent and democratic way; 2. Each community decides, in consensus, to use the fund to help the poorest of the poor in their villages; 3. Each community selects representatives themselves who they can trust and handle the funds; 4. The fund directly meets community needs based on village development potential (geographically and local knowledge); 5. Village planning and its identified activities come from voices of all group (adult men, women and the poor) of people in each community; 6. The village development fund benefits both poorest of the poor households and community as a whole. So, no one is left behind;

  7. Each village manages the funds with direct technical support from district authorities.

  Village Development Fund Committee member explains the village activities implementation plan to the Mid Term Evaluation Team at Khae village, Parktha District, Bokeo province

  

  

  Villagers vote for their Village Development Fund Committee and its activities, Piengthueng village, Pha Oudom District

  

  

  Village Development Fund Committee selection result and village activities priorities and ranking, Piengthueng village, Pha Oudom District, Bokeo

  Most of the villagers in Tor Lae, Bokeo province are raising local bees as part of their income generating activity from generation to generation.

  Mr Sisouk Khounvithong, on the front row second right, is the Provincial Programme Coordinator and the Deputy Director General of Provincial Planning and Investment Department of Bokeo.

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• • 11 December
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  MYANMAR - Staying healthy through personal hygiene

  One of the aims of project MYA/002 is to provide villages in the 5 Tract area of Keng Tung township in East Shan with access to water. Already in six villages efficient door-to-door water distribution systems were installed and the villagers are very happy to have access to water at their doorstep. The efforts to provide more villages with door-to-door water systems from protected sources will continue next year. Access to water gives the project the opportunity to organise personal hygiene awareness campaigns. Improved personal hygiene decreases considerably the most common bacterial infection and causes of diarrhea in children.

  

  

  Apart from installing village water distribution systems, project has also recently started with the construction of decent toilets and handwashing stations in the public schools operated by the Department of Education in the 5 Tract area. The aim is to provide all 17 government schools and some monastic schools with such improved facilities.

  

  The works for these WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) facilities is currently ongoing in the villages of Wan Kong, Nar Paw, Ah Maw Dea and Mong Lu. In the meantime, the project team decided to already launch in those 4 villages a Personal Hygiene Awareness and Demonstration training to the students of the public primary schools. The public school teachers assisted the project team in their efforts to discuss and raise the awareness of the needs of proper personal hygiene amongst the students. The students were gifted a set of soap, toothbrush and toothpaste to become ambassadors for personal hygiene and set examples to their siblings and parents.

  

   

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• • 5 November
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  MYANMAR - Village Veterinarian Extension Services

  After the project had trained the 5th batch of village veterinarian extension workers (village vets) in August 2018, it was time to introduce the 65 trained village vets to the concept of extension work. The project team put together information leaflets on the most common diseases in cattle, pigs and poultry and trained the village vets on how to approach the villagers and share the knowledge.

  

  

  The village vets should approach the villagers in small groups and introduce them to the signs shown by animals if infected by any of the most common diseases. The villagers are then invited to contact the village vet immediately if those signs occur so that the animal can be treated or put under quarantine to avoid further spreading of the disease.

  

  

  

  Although the information leaflets are in Burmese language and many of the villagers are illiterate, the fact that the village vets provided information in their local ethnic language (in these shown cases La Hu) and explained in detail the pictures, the villagers are able to recognize and react appropriately.

  Upon a recent follow-up mission the project team and the field coordinator visited villagers and asked about the leaflets and their purpose. Many households were able to provide the information that was shared with them and even showed the coordinator which diseases they had already come across. They were also very happy to have a village vet who provides the medicine and can thus even cure their animal.

  

  For the moment, MYA/002 project is supporting the village vets with the medicines/vaccines free of charge. The payment of the medicines/vaccines will start once the village vets have completed their full training and also when the project has provided further support to the farmers in improving their husbandry techniques and are able to create an income from their livestock. For now the importance lies on training the village vets and the farmers alike in preventing and containing most common diseases to avoid outbreaks and loss of valuable assets to the farmers’ livelihoods.

  

   

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• • 10 October
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  MYANMAR - Improving Basic Agricultural Knowledge

  Since August 2018, the MYA/002 Agricultural Production Support team in close collaboration with the Department of Agriculture improved the knowledge in basic agricultural techniques of 45 participants from 21 villages of the 5 Tract area of Kyaing Tong township.

  

  Identifying the most common diseases in paddy rice

  Over the course of 3 days, the participants were introduced how to recognize the different types of soil and the most common diseases and pests in paddy crops. The training further included practical exercises in how to set up a compost heap to produce natural fertiliser as well as how to mix natural pesticides from garlic and soap for instance. As many of the farmers work on mountainous terrain, the technique of how to plot a sloping land using an A-frame was very informative to them.

  

  The trainings were delivered in Burmese with a translation into the local dialect of either La Hu or Shan. Information cards were handed out to the participants to support the theory with pictures and images so that even illiterate farmers are able to understand the information more easily. The trainees are invited to share their knowledge with their peers.

  

  Finding the bug in the rice field

  Besides the training sessions, the project team visited those initial 21 villages and recruited farmers interested in setting up a vegetable garden (called home garden) as well as model farms with long term crops such as tea, coffee and/or fruit trees amongst the most common long term crops. The response from the villagers was phenomenal as more than 450 people are interested in setting up home gardens and 91 volunteered to try out the model farm concept. Home gardens are not very common in the villages as they are always ravaged by free ranging chicken and pigs but also most farmers are not very familiar with the needs or techniques of growing vegetables properly. The villagers would however be very happy to also see a change in their diet and are happy to learn how to grow them.

  

  Visiting a farm in Loi Mwe growing cabbage and tea in a mixed plot

  To wrap up this initial training, the project invited the trainees to a learning trip to the Loi Mwe area to visit the model and research farm from the Department of Agriculture, the famous tea village of Ba Wei (with over 70 year old tea plants), a farm/home garden plot as well as a multi crop (elephant foot yam, pineapple and pine trees) plantation on sloping land. For some this trip was also an adventure as it was the first time for them driving in a bus and also to have slept in a guest house. However, such learning trips are so important to help the trainees to better understand the theory as well as to exchange with other farmers in the area.

  

  Ba Wei tea master showing how the fried green tea needs to be macerated before drying

  In the upcoming months the project will support the volunteers with the necessary seeds, seedlings, tools and other material to set up their home gardens and model farms. The MYA/002 team and its partners are looking forward to soon be tasting those homegrown vegetables in a few weeks time.

  

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• • 17 August
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  MYANMAR - 371 households have access to water

  Over the last five months, 371 households have seen their livelihoods improved by having access to water right at their house.

  In very close cooperation with 6 villages of the 5 Tract area of Keng Tung township in Eastern Shan State, the testing phase of installing door-to-door water distribution systems has been successfully completed.

  

   

  A total of 5 water tanks of a capacity of 20 000 l have been constructed.

  From the main water tanks, a distribution system supplies inox tanks of a capacity of 3 000 l located at strategic points in the village. A maximum of 10 households are connected to one secondary tank. This means that each household has now at least 300 l of water at their disposal.

  

  In comparison, the previous cement cylinders had a maximum capacity of 700 l and sometimes up to 40 households were connected to one cement tank.

  

  The success of this testing phase has been tremendous and much of the credit goes to the villagers who have put volunteer work on top of their very busy agricultural schedule to get rice fields ready for planting. During the start of the rainy season, when roads and tracks became impassable, the villagers hand-carried the water distribution material from the nearest drop-off point to their village which could sometimes take 2,5 hours one way.

  

  

  In the 6 villages, over 7 000 pipes have been placed and buried at least 50 cm deep in order to protect them from exposure to the elements and roaming animals.

  

  Many lessons learned have been collected from this testing phase and the project has already identified the next batch of 6 villages to benefit from a door-to-door water distribution system.

  

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• • 25 June
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  Myanmar - 24 village animal health care workers are ready to keep animals safe and healthy in their villages

  In May and June, the Veterinary Department of Kyaing Tong township with the support from the MYA/002 project, conducted two 3-day training sessions for veterinarian workers in the target villages of the 5 Tract area.

  A total of 24 participants from 12 villages were successfully trained on how to identify the most common diseases in cattle, buffalos, pigs and poultry. Each trainee received a bag with a medical kit comprised of tools, generic medicine, and vitamin complexes to treat the livestock in their respective villages for free. The trainees were also invited to support the veterinary department in completing the livestock census as well as contact the department in case they notice an unusually high number of common diseases which could be an underlying cause for a more serious outbreak. 

  Each trainee was tested before and after the course on their knowledge and understanding of animal health care and treatment. They all worked very hard during the training and passed their tests with flying colours. 

  The project was particularly proud that Mrs Daw Na Maw became the first female certified animal health care worker. Mrs Daw Na Maw was very pleased with the training and the knowledge that she gained. At first she was not sure if she would be allowed to bring her toddler but it turned out he quickly made friends in the hosting village.

  The organization and translation from Burmese into La Hu language was ensured by MYA/002 Cluster Field Coordinators, Mr Da Ye La and Mr Ha Ma.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

   

   

   

  ↑ To the top
• • 10 May
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  Myanmar - Building water tanks requires teamwork

  A month ago, project MYA/002 launched its very first activity in 5 villages of the mountainous 5 Tract area in the township of Keng Tung, Eastern Shan State, Myanmar. These 5 villages were selected for their priority needs with regard to water. Under the project’s Result 1, the outcome is to provide the villages in the target area with access to safe and affordable water. This will be achieved by constructing a 5 000 gallon (approx. 20 000 liters) water tank as per the standards of the Department of Rural Development under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation. From this main tank, the water will be distributed to secondary water tanks and from those a door-to-door system will ensure that each household has a water tap at their doorstep.

  ^{Preparing the ground for the foundation}

  The village of Che Nar Dea, the most remote and difficult to access of the five selected villages, does not have a water tank and the villagers have to walk downhill for at least 20 minutes to the nearest small spring to fill their cans and carry them back uphill again. As one can imagine, a lot of energy has to be put in to cover the daily water needs for drinking, cooking, washing, watering the vegetable garden and maintaining livestock.

  ^{Fetching one's water for the day}

  The joy was great when the villagers were informed that they would be the beneficiaries of a water tank and a door-to-door water distribution system through project MYA/002. However, it was made clear that this activity would also require support from the village as well. It was agreed that the villagers would collect sand from the river (and this time they had to walk for 30 minutes one way), provide big rocks for the foundation, gather a daily crew of at least 5 villagers to work hand in hand with the masonry team during the construction period, including the digging of a 4-mile-long ditch in which the water pipes from the water source to the water tank will be buried. The village also provides accommodation and cooked rice to the masonry team of three skilled workers. All of this was also agreed upon in the other selected villages.

  ^{Sand and rocks collected by villagers}

  ^{Collecting water for the construction}

  The project provided all of the construction material. A total of 49 truck loads carrying between 3 and 5 tons of materials were used to deliver the construction material to the different locations. To build a single 5 000-gallon water tank, one needs up to 8 000 bricks, 3 tons of gravel, 150 bags of cement, 60 iron reinforcement bars, 30 metal roofing sheets and so on. In the specific case of Che Nar Dea and because of the deplorable condition of the track, the initial 5-ton truck loads had to be dropped off and reloaded on to a 2-ton truck which made the journey 10 times, breaking down twice.

  ^{Slowly making their way up the hill}

   

  ^{Rough riding makes for tough luck}

  The MYA/002 project team knew that only with an exemplary participation from each village was the water tank activity going to be a successful.

  ^{Everyone lent a hand or two}

  ^{Although the projected suggested to have only 5 helping workers a day, the villagers were eager to participate}

  Each of the 5 villages lived up to the task: sand, rocks and water were provided, wood was cut from the community forest, villagers organized turns in cooking for the masonry crews, they showed up every day to help with the construction and learned some basic masonry skills – all of this whilst also having to plough their fields. Even when the tracks had to be improved and trucks pulled out of ditches or up the hill, the villagers were there to help. They truly showed ownership and willingness to provide whatever support they could give.

  Now, one month later and nearing the finalization of the construction of the 5 tanks, the team is very impressed with the outcome and is looking forward to the installation of the door-to-door water distribution system.

  

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• • 17 February
  • By Sandrine THINNES
  • 
  • Asia Office MYA/002
  • Socio-economic development
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  Myanmar - Launching Ceremony Eastern Shan State Rural Development and Inclusion Project

  On Friday 16 February 2018, the Eastern Shan State Rural Development and Inclusion Project (MYA/002) celebrated its launch ceremony at the town hall of Kyaing Tong city. High level delegates from the Government of the Union of Myanmar, the Shan State Parliament, the Military, representatives from Luxembourg, local administrations, institutions, political parties, ethnic tribes and most importantly beneficiaries from the targeted villages all came together to take part in the kick-off of this 10 000 000 EUR rural development project. Over the next 5 years, the implementation will be concentrated in about 100 remote villages of Kyaing Tong and Tachileik township in Eastern Shan State of Myanmar.

  
  Registration of participants

  Each distinguished speaker emphasized in his statement the importance of the development of capacities and infrastructure in rural areas as this will contribute in the long run to the economic development of the country.

  The project will more specifically improve the means and resources for legal livelihood activities of the local population in the targeted area. The aim is to bridge gaps by providing the communities with easy access to villages, safe water, electricity, modern agriculture, education and literacy for all as well as a good telecommunications network. 

  
  High level delegates posing in front of the ideal representation of a well developed village in the rural area.

  The Department of Rural Development (DRD), under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation will be the project owner and technical assistance will be provided by LuxDev on behalf of the MYA/002 project. This particular set-up marks a first in the implementation modalities of the DRD and thus close cooperation and coordination between the DRD and MYA/002 technical assistance will be essential.

  The launch ceremony was brought to life by performances from the Shan, Lahu and Akha traditional dance groups which also represent the majority of the ethnic tribes present in the project’s targeted area.

  
  Akha traditional dance group

  Performance of the Lahu traditional Dance Group

  The MYA/002 project team is also composed of representatives from each collaborating country and ethnic tribes from the Shan State. The team is eager to start their collaborative work with their colleagues from DRD. The team also counts on the support of many other relevant stakeholders to improve the livelihoods of the beneficiaries. For any further enquiry or information please contact the project via email: mya002@luxdev.lu. 

  MYA/002 Technical Assistance Team

  

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• 2017
• • 10 April
  • By Peter Kurt Hansen
  • 
  • Asia Office LAO/030
  • Socio-economic development
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  Laos – “Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced”High-level field visit within the scope of LAO/030 Local Development Programme in Laos

  The Lao Luxembourg Cooperation Programme will launch the “Local Development Programme for Bokeo, Bolikhamxay, Khammouane and Vientiane Provinces – LAO/030” in May 2017. This 23 million EUR programme will support poverty reduction in more than 200 villages in the poorest districts of the four target provinces. The project is based on the highly successful Bolikhamxay Livelihood Improvement and Governance Project - LAO/021 Project carried out in 2010-16, which contributed substantially to improving living standards in 60 target villages through innovative poverty reduction strategies.

  To help the new programme get off to a good start and to create a common understanding of the planned principles and modalities, the Bolikhamxay provincial authorities arranged a four-day field visit to the LAO/021 project area, including discussions with people in eight of the former target villages.

  The participants included representatives from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), the four provincial planning departments of LAO/030, staff from three districts visited, and project staff. Notably, the Director General of MPI’s Planning Department, Madame Phonevanh Outhavong, and the Director-General of LuxDev, Mr Gaston Schwartz, participated in the visit, along with the LuxDev Regional Representative, Mr Olivier Hecquet.

  At a practical level, the study tour gave an opportunity to observe some of the tangible results of the LAO/021 project, including village development funds, credit schemes, district micro-finance institutions, and rural infrastructure such as schools, water supply schemes, and bridges. This established a framework for discussions on the innovative principles for decentralisation, participation and empowerment at province, district, and village levels. Through these mechanisms, the LAO/021 project delegated 56% of its budget to Lao implementing partners, used Lao government structures throughout the project and spent 72% of the funds on village-level interventions with a direct poverty focus. Moreover, the project promoted capacity development through learning-by-doing, supported by targeted training, coaching and technical assistance. These modalities will be adopted and further developed in the new LAO/030 programme.

  While decentralisation, participation and local democracy are firmly embedded in the Lao government’s policies, their actual application requires further advocacy and practical examples to ensure that the implementing government agencies have full confidence and understanding of their use. In this regard, the field visit offered an excellent opportunity for discussion among the group of  composed of both strategic decision makers and practical implementers. The presence of the two Director-Generals gave further weight to the importance of building LAO/030 on shared values and principles, which is essential for executing a highly decentralised and multi-sectorial programme.

  The LAO/030 programme will, over the coming 5-6 months, develop action plans to align the support with the local development plans of the four target provinces. Guidelines and initial capacity development will also be carried out in order for practical activities to commence in earnest at the start of the dry season in September, when the remote target villages are accessible and farmers have completed their busy cropping season. 

  

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