Holistic Economic Empowerment (HEE)

Status: Complete

Period: January 2020- July 2021

Partners: IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative

The main objective of the HEE project is to improve farmers’ productivity and ultimately their livelihoods.

Impact

The programme trained 57,541 farmers out of which 28,655 were females (49.8%) while the males 28,886 (50.2%)
We implemented the HEE programme using a cascade model where 235 Tea Extension Service Assistants (TESAs) underwent TOT training and directly reached farmers using the Farmer Field Schools approach
The programme under the new Curriculum was successfully implemented with 17,284 smallholder tea farmers trained while keeping to the directives of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health
An End-line report conducted shows that of the farmers trained 98% are now keeping records and 99% are budgeting, (98.59%) assessed at end line acknowledged making savings compared to 83.49% at baseline
The programme has supported KTDA transform extension services and serves as a model for other programmes moving forward.
As a result of the project farmers have formed registered groups across different catchments and established various income-generating activities including poultry projects, dairy farming and soap-making production.
Most of the farmer groups have also ventured into Table banking. Table banking can be a catalyst for innovation and can support them in becoming small entrepreneurs in the skill sets and value chains of their choosing. There is an opportunity for partnerships with banking institutions to train these groups on VSLA modalities