North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project for Upland Areas

The overall objective is to help the poorest rural people in several hill districts in the region improve their livelihoods through environmentally sound management of their resource base.

Most households in the project area depend heavily or solely on jhum cultivation, a system of cultivation under which a tract is cleared by fire, cultivated and then abandoned for another tract, which is similarly treated. The project will particularly benefit women and unemployed youth, as well as jhum cultivators in 1,000 villages, and it will help communities establish village development committees. In the long term, project activities will generate on-farm employment for about 6,400 people. Project activities include:

• building the capacity of communities and other participating groups
• promoting income-generating activities to support on-farm investments
• promoting community-based biodiversity conservation
• improving access to safe water, health services and education
• improving village roads and rural electrification
• promoting participation in project management

Source: IFAD