Mid-term review of the Ta Trach Resettlement Project

Background

The program was implemented in October 2004 as a consequence of the construction of the Ta Trach hydroelectric dam and flood control system for the Thua Thien Hue province. It includes 580 households, whereof 160 of ethnic minorities, in four resettlement areas; Ben Van, Binh Thanh, Huong Son and Phuc Loc. The overall goal of the project is to contribute to a livelihood improvement for vulnerable people, particularly ethnic minorities and marginalized groups being resettled. The program components are on- and off-farm income generating activities, water and sanitation, education and capacity building. One activity, weaving, aims to restore this traditional trade for women of the ethnic minority Van Kieu. As the program consists of two phases, whereof the first was completed in December 2006, it was decided to carry out a mid-term evaluation. The phase two will start in January 2007 and last until December 2008.

Purpose/objective

The objectives of the evaluation were to:
- Assess the impact of NAV's project on the livelihood, living conditions and the ideas of the resettled people and stakeholders in the project areas.
- Look into the skills and knowledge acquired by the NAV staff on the management of resettlement areas. (This objective was in the end not addressed by the evaluation team with the reason of lacking a basis for comparison.)
- Assess the implementation of project activities in terms of quality and quantity and working approaches that contribute to secure sustainability.
- Gather examples of good practices and lessons learned in order to provide input to the future activities and strategies.

Methodology

1. Participatory evaluation with four BoMs and members from 16 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with the use of a questionnaire prepared by the evaluation team with input from NAV.
2. Independent evaluation by two external experts in four villages representing the four resettlement areas. The experts used direct observations, semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and review of project documents.

Key findings

Achievements:
- The evaluators rated the programme near to very satisfactory in terms of overall performance.
- The NAV initiated structures of BoMs, Self-Help (SHGs) and Interest Groups (IGs) involve villagers in a more democratic manner in project planning and management. BoMs have been expanded from the government stipulated two to between 6 and 13 members. Capacity building activities have equipped the BoMs and leaders of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with participatory management skills.
- Villagers demonstrate active participation in the project and are able to voice their concerns. Women are well-represented and participate actively.
Findings:
- The villagers have been able to supply their basic needs. Still the challenge remains of escaping poverty in a sustainable way through improved agricultural production and diversified income generation.
- Capacity building is the strongest point of the project with a range of trainings, meetings, field trips, field visits and demo-farms.
- The position of the Village Development Worker has functioned very satisfactory. They have been able to monitor and facilitate project activities, collect vouchers and data, and assist in organization of trainings, workshops and study trips.
- A lack of water for two resettlement areas has reduced the impact of the latrines.
- It is too early to measure the impact of both the on- and off-farm income generating activities. However, the report rates the impact of the goat-raising activity as weak, and the swine raising from satisfactory to very satisfactory.

Recommendations

- Further capacity building of the 16 SHGs and 39 IGs as long-term structures to coordinate development efforts and to sustain the livelihood projects once the program is over.
- Capacity building of Village Development Workers on community organizing.
- Closer follow-up and capacity building on the on-farm income generating activities. This should include establishment of more demonstration models.
- Replication of the long-season training that was carried out successfully among the indigenous households in Phuc Loc to address problems of hygiene and sanitation.
- Introduce farm records to enable all stakeholders to assess the benefits of each income generating activity.
- Improve the detailed planning and monitoring with stakeholders.
- Organize a training/workshop on gender and development.