CECI Nepal 2012-2013 Annual Report

It is our pleasure to present the Annual Progress Report for the Fiscal Year 2069/70 (2012-13). During this year CECI undertook projects and activities that were focused on livelihoods improvement, governance, gender and social inclusion, and institutional development of local partners.

The two major projects that focused on income and livelihoods generation, Sahakarya and Sahaastitwa, were successfully completed during this fiscal year. Sahakarya, a bilateral project between the Canadian and Nepalese governments, supported over 67,000 families in five districts of the Mid and Far Western hills to increase agricultural productivity of cash crops and establish market linkages and skills development for enterprise development for enhancing household incomes. Similarly, Sahaastitwa, under the funding support of European Commission, supported in enhancing the production of cultural products (fibers, leather, metal, stones and bamboo) and marketing these in national and international markets. This project was implemented in 20 districts covering all five development regions. Throughout the project, 128 entrepreneurs obtained skills enhancement training, over 880 entrepreneurs benefited from various capacity building activities, and about 4,500 producers benefited from the easy and practical training manual produced and distributed by the project.

The Uniterra Volunteer Cooperation Program, funded by CIDA, has supported community forest user groups (CFUGs) in improving sustainable forest management and developing non-timber forest product (NTFP) enterprises. Over 9,000 men and women have been provided with enterprise development and business development trainings with the support of Uniterra Volunteers to the national partners. Similarly, Uniterra Volunteers have been active in supporting private sector development by supporting the selected patterns in enhancing their institutional capacity building, marketing and publicity in international level.

CECI is part of a consortium of national NGOs for the Multi Stakeholder Forestry Program (MSFP). Included in the consortium are IDS (lead organization), HIMWANTI Nepal and Ashmita Nepal. The consortium acquired MSFP Lot VI funded by DFID/SDC/Finnida. Implemented in five Mid and Far Western hill districts, this project has just begun and aims to improve the livelihoods of poor people through the promotion of forest based enterprises in a sustainable manner.

In governance, CECI is implementing Program for Accountability in Nepal (PRAN) with the funding support of the World Bank. In this project, grants are provided to CSOs to practice social accountability approaches and tools. PRAN is operating with the firm belief that empowering the citizens for their constructive engagement with service providers is the only way to make service providers accountable. CECI also has a strong focus on gender and social inclusion and supports implementing partners in developing approaches and strategies for improving the participation and representation of women and disadvantaged communities in development initiatives.

The details on the projects and program activities carried out during this fiscal year can be found in the respective sections. CECI has been supported by CIDA, EC, World Bank, AusAID, DFID, SDC and Finnida to undertake these programs. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to donors for this support. Similarly, our sincere thanks go to our implementing partners both GON and NGOs to successfully accomplish the activities. Finally, I would like to appreciate the leadership role taken by Ms. Mallika Bhattarai, Communication Officer, and for the support from Ms.Vanessa Humphries, Document Advisor, in preparing this annual report .

Keshava Koirala
Country Representative
CECI-Nepal, October 2013