Enabling job resilience and protecting decent work conditions in rural communities affected by Syrian Refugee crisis in North Lebanon

The project addresses two key issues in creating livelihoods for vulnerable Lebanese and Syrians alike: 1. Inefficient and partially ineffective provision of employment services as well as the need for technical assistance to Cash for Work programmes, and 2. the need to create employment due to labour supply exceeding demand and increase income generation opportunities while fostering social cohesion to avoid escalation of tensions between refugees and host communities. The project is based on the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach in order to ensure sustainability of economic gains and employment created for the poor and vulnerable. The M4P approach entails enhancing the capacity of local service providers to cater for the needs of market/value chain actors, rather than providing externally arranged services. This allows market or value chain actors to build a sustainable network, which in itself builds resilience and increases preparedness against shocks. The project incorporates institutional strengthening of its partners. It acts as a facilitator, focusing on technical assistance, coordination, networking, and information. By adopting this approach, the project develops its partners’ capacity to do and deliver, rather than to do and deliver directly. The project targets vulnerable groups in North Lebanon who are negatively affected by the Syrian refugee crisis – Lebanese host communities and refugees alike, in particular vulnerable farmers and agricultural, often refugee workers in the selected value chains as well as other vulnerable groups who are part of the selected value chains. These vulnerable groups will be recipients benefitting from targeted value chain interventions such as training or creation of market linkages. The project’s direct recipients are the international and local NGOs and municipalities implementing Cash for Work programmes, employment service providers as well as local economic development stakeholders such as municipalities, local government institutions/representatives and civil society (in particular relevant local NGOs) who benefit through targeted technical assistance, institutional development and capacity building interventions.

Project symbol

LEB/14/02/ITA

Admin unit

RO-Arab States/DWT-Beirut

Start date

05/02/2015

End date

31/12/2016

Total allocation

434706

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

434706

Development Partners

Italy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

Country/Countries

Lebanon

Outcomes

Decent work in the rural economy