Projects International

The ASTHA project in Bangladesh aims to improve basic medical care in rural areas. At the same time, it reduces the high number of unemployed young people. To achieve this, young people first receive two years of training as a community paramedic. Afterwards, they can either be employed in local health centers in the countryside or work independently.

Swisscontact’s “Dynamic Markets – Sustainable Cocoa and Honey” project supports smallholder farmers and beekeepers in Uganda in the production of cocoa and honey. This enables them to significantly increase their production volumes and the quality of their products, which gives them access to regional and international markets.

COMACO trains small-scale farmers in Zambia in sustainable agriculture. This enables the farmers not only to secure their yields on their fields, but to increase them sustainably. They use fewer chemicals for fertilizing and clear less forest for new farmland. This protects soils and forests – also for future generations.

Help for pregnant women in Kenya is now available digitally. Thanks to modern communication technology, women receive support anytime and anywhere. Specialists provide advice regarding all aspects of pregnancy and newborns. This saves them exhausting journeys, hours of queuing and high treatment costs.

Edulution supplements the overburdened state school systems in Zambia and South Africa with so-called learning centres. There the children can learn after the regular lessons – basic knowledge in mathematics and English is taught by means of tablets and special learning software. Each child is given its own account. This way they can learn individually, actively and at their own pace. The children are attended to by specially trained coaches.

The textile industry in Bangladesh employs over four million workers and was largely cash-based until a few years ago. Workers need access to formal financial services such as savings, insurance and credit products. This will enable them to cushion financial shocks and achieve savings goals. In addition, interested women receive training in entrepreneurship.

In Tanzania, young men and women who dropped out of school receive short, practical training courses. Currently, they learn the necessary skills and competencies in eleven occupational fields – such as electrical installation, bakery, cosmetics or beekeeping. This makes it easier for them to find suitably paid employment on the labor market and permanently improve their living conditions. In addition, interactive learning units enable self-study via cell phone at the participants’ own learning pace.

HarvestPlus provides healthy meals for school children in India. The children receive a cooked, hot meal every day. The food is prepared from fortified crops and is particularly rich in nutrients. As a result, the children are not only healthier, but stay in school longer. In order to be able to source the food locally, farmers are trained in terms of variety selection and cultivation methods. The farmers, in turn, can secure their income. This creates a value chain from seed to school plate.

People in rural areas of Cambodia receive clean drinking water thanks to so-called “water kiosks”. These are innovative micro-enterprises that sell drinking water in 20-liter bottles. The clean drinking a positive impact not only on health, but on the entire economy of the region.

The smallholders in the highlands of Laos should be able to secure their incomes in the future through sustainably gained non-timber forest products such as resin and spices. To this end, they learn the technical, organizational and entrepreneurial skills. By establishing stable value chains, the economy in the region can thus be set up in a fundamentally sustainable and environmentally friendly way.

Smallscale farmers in remote areas in Nepal jointly shift to market-orientated agriculture. Among other things, they receive technical support for production and help in marketing selected agricultural products. The establishment of cooperatives is intended to create stable value chains for fruit, vegetables and livestock, thus securing the smallholders’ income in the long term.

HarvestPlus aims to counteract the consequences of malnutrition through foods enriched with iron, zinc and vitamin A. Through so-called biofortification, staple crops such as corn, potatoes, beans, etc. are further developed. The focus is on switching to nutrient-rich, high-yielding and climate-friendly varieties. In Zimbabwe, a biofortified food basket (iron beans, vitamin A corn and vitamin A sweet potatoes) is going to be distributed via commercial markets, also using a digital plattform.

Helvetas’ InELAM project further develops the successful ELAM project (2017-2020). It promotes the establishment of small businesses in Nepal with local resources and on the basis of developed value chains and market analyses. In this way, the potential of returnees and remittances from emigrated workers can also be used optimally and jobs can be created in the home country.

Small farmers in the Karnali region of Nepal cultivate their fields under difficult climatic conditions. The sale of walnut oil opens a way out of poverty for them. Thanks to specialized machinery, the oil can be produced and sold much more efficiently. The additional income significantly increases the quality of life of the small farmers and their families.

Abalobi is a smartphone application for small-scale fishermen in South Africa. The small-scale fishermen and their families live in great poverty. Using the Abalobi app, they can sell their catch simply and directly to restaurants, hotels, etc. in the region. This considerably increases their sales opportunities in competition with large suppliers, thus providing them with a secure income and cementing their place in the regional value-added chain.