Resilient Livelihoods

Enhancing livelihood capacities of communities to prevent, withstand and cope with economic, environmental and social adversities by equitably and sustainably accessing resources and services.

1. Food Security

We work to ensure the food security of communities by increasing food production, promoting sustainable agriculture practices and building knowledge and skills for their use. We focus on increasing access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. We also promote the conservation of plant species, adaptive crop varieties and efficient farm technologies.

2. Diversification of Economic Opportunities

We work with communities to diversify their farm and off-farm enterprises by enhancing their knowledge and skills. We support and link them to financial institutions to increase their ability to diversify their income sources and make them able to cope with economic, social and climatic adversities.

3. Access to Market and Services

Market networks are crucial for communities to empower them economically. Therefore, UMN facilitates vulnerable communities to access profitable markets. We support value chain actors and lobby enablers to increase the marketing and profit of subsectors.

4. Environment and Climate Resilience

We support vulnerable communities to enhance their resilience to cope with the impacts of climate change. UMN gives technical and financial support for climate adaptation and mitigation. We help vulnerable people anticipate, adapt and absorb climate-induced stresses and shocks such as drought, flood, epidemics etc. We build partnerships and network among stakeholders to support collective action and shared learning. We also work with local governments advocating for the inclusion of the environment and climate resilience in their plans, policies and practice.

5. Social Empowerment

UMN builds greater economic independence and resilience of marginalised groups such as Dalits, women, persons with disabilities, youth and migrant communities. We empower these groups through group mobilisation and link them to local government services. This increases their access to livelihood opportunities improving their income and restoring their dignity.