Supporting Sustainable Livelihoods: Lessons from Five Case Studies

This study aims to document and share the knowledge of local strategies and successes at achieving food security through sustainable livelihood. It documents five case studies from India, and highlights the close partnership that WFP and IFAD enjoy with the civil society institutions in this country.The study emphasizes that the lessons from these case studies are relevant for current and future project design in livelihood promotion. Some of the lessons are:

• Well defined strategy of forward and backward linkages in the project contributes to the success of any livelihood program;
• Importance must be given to building participatory and democratic institutions, investing in capacity of the clients of a program, and in creating strong links to financial services;
• Addressing equity issues satisfactorily is the most important factor in determining the long term sustainability of a livelihood intervention.

On comparing the cases across various parameters, the study concludes that there is no single approach to successful livelihood promotion, but a combination of approaches and factors must be considered and adopted.