Presentation on Empowering Women on

the chars: Increasing resilience to

disaster and building sustainable

livelihoods

January 2015

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing resilience to

disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

Funded by DFID and DFAT

Duration 1st Phase: 1st July, 2004 – 31st March 2010

2nd Phase: 1st April 2010 – 31st March 2016

Executing Ministry Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives

(Rural Development and Co-operative Division), GoB

Management agent Maxwell Stamp PLC

Working area 1st Phase: 5 north western districts, 2nd Phase:8 NW districts

Clients Island char households, especially extreme poor households

1st Phase: 55,000 CPHHs, 2nd Phase: 78,000 CPHHs

HH selection criteria 6 criteria: i) Living at least six months on the char, ii) no ownership to

land, iii) no regular source of income, iv) not own more than two

goats/sheep/ten fowl; or one shared cow, v) not have an outstanding

loan and vi) not be receiving cash/asset grants from another

programme.

Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP): Aims to improve the livelihoods, incomes

and food security of at least one million people at remote chars areas of Bangladesh

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing resilience to

disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP): Aims to improve the livelihoods, incomes

and food security of at least one million people at remote chars areas of Bangladesh

Funded by DFID and DFAT

Duration 1st Phase: 1st July, 2004 – 31st March 2010

2nd Phase: 1st April 2010 – 31st March 2016

Executing Ministry Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives

(Rural Development and Co-operative Division), GoB

Management agent Maxwell Stamp PLC

Working area 1st Phase: 5 north western districts, 2nd Phase:8 NW districts

Clients Island char households, especially extreme poor households

1st Phase: 55,000 CPHHs, 2nd Phase: 78,000 CPHHs

HH selection criteria 6 criteria: i) Living at least six months on the char, ii) no ownership to

land, iii) no regular source of income, iv) not own more than two

goats/sheep/ten fowl; or one shared cow, v) not have an outstanding

loan and vi) not be receiving cash/asset grants from another

programme.

Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP): Aims to improve the livelihoods, incomes

and food security of at least one million people at remote chars areas of Bangladesh

Reducing vulnerability

to floods and shocks

Providing water,

sanitation and hygiene

Supporting health and

nutrition

Influencing social

norms

Enabling markets

Livelihoods – Asset

Transfer

Group Saving - VSLG

Homestead

Gardening

CLP’s Approach – The Core Package

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

The Evolution of CLP’s Monitoring System for Women’s Empowerment:

Women’s Empowerment Scorecard

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

Mean Empowerment Score by Group

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

CLP-1 Cohort 2.3 2.3 Control

Me

an

Em

po

we

rm

en

t S

co

re

Percentage of Empowered Women (women with an Empowerment

Score of five or greater) by Group

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

CLP-1 CLP 2.3 2.3 Control

Pe

rce

nta

ge

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

The CLP has a sustainable impact on Women’s Empowerment:

Results – Mean and Percentage

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

The Evolution of CLP’s Monitoring System for Women’s Empowerment:

Results – Individual Indicators

Percentage of women achieving each indicator

0

50

100

Joint Decision Making

Own income source

Cash KeepingOwn Savings

Investment Decisions

CLP-1

CLP 2.3

Control

c

Percentage of women achieving each indicator

0

50

100

Committee Membership

Resolving Conflict

Attending MeetingsProviding Advice

Invitations to Social Events

CLP-1

CLP 2.3

Control

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

The Evolution of CLP’s Monitoring System for Women’s Empowerment:

Results – Community Indicators

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

The Impact of Chars Livelihoods Programme on the Disaster Resilience:

Results – Community level

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

The Impact of Chars Livelihoods Programme on the Disaster Resilience:

Results – Men and Women level

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods

The Impact of Chars Livelihoods Programme on the Disaster Resilience:

Results – in different cohorts under CLP

Conclusion

• CLP has a substantial impact on women’s empowerment: both

within the household and in the community level;

• Increased income makes women more powerful in the household,

changing the existing balance of power between male and female

household members;

• Increased knowledge makes women’s opinions more highly valued

in both the household and the community;

• CLP has a considerable impact on the disaster resilience in both the

household and the community;

• Women’s disaster resilience is greater than men after the CLP

support package.

Empowering Women on the chars: Increasing

resilience to disaster and building sustainable livelihoods