Prosperity Initiative held three launch events, composed of partner MoU signing ceremonies and value chain mapping workshops for their Bamboo Handicrafts projects in Cambodia and Lao PDR. The events took place in Kampong Chhnang province, Cambodia on 11 September, in Vientiane Province on 15 September and Champasak province, Lao PDR on 25 September.

The projects, jointly called the Results-Based Initiative (RBI) – Improving Bamboo Handicraft Value Chains for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Cambodia and Lao PDR, aim to improve livelihoods of the rural poor through development of the bamboo handicrafts supply chain, one in which women are the largest group of financial beneficiaries.

The RBI is a partnership between UNIFEM, the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), the World Bank, Prosperity Initiative and provincial partners (see http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/women_poverty_economics/results_based_initiatives.php)

The launch events provided an overall introduction of the project and its interventions to stakeholders and beneficiaries. In both countries, these interventions include: providing bamboo splitting machines to increase pre-processing productivity; building the capacity of traders/collectors; building the capacity of producers; and ensuring sustainable use of raw materials. The events included a participatory value chain analysis to give participants an understanding of Prosperity Initiative’s market driven approach and to raise awareness among all actors of the importance of creating an enabling environment.

The ceremonies/workshops also acknowledged the Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) signed between Prosperity Initiative, UNIFEM and the various government agencies involved: the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in Kampong Chhnang and the Division of Industry and Commerce in Champasak. Participants of both events included producers, traders, village chiefs, provincial government officers, non-profit organizations, and commune and women’s group representatives. Seventy-eight participants attended the launch in Cambodia sixty and fifty-six in Lao PDR, more than half of them women.

Both events generated discussion and plans to address important issues facing development of this value chain. These included current resources, the heavy burden women shoulder compared to men, the need for improved pre-processing technology, an interest in new markets and their requirements, and how the RBI project will address these issues.