The UNDP Communities Programme support 100 community based organizations - Jamoat Resource Centers (JRCs) to improve rural population’s access to resources such as microfinance, business advice and new agricultural techniques.

In order to see firsthand, the results achieved by the EU-UNDP projects in Tajikistan, the ELS delegation visited the project sites in Vorukh, Ovchi Kalacha and Kistakuz Jamoas to see small scale infrastructure sub-projects co-funded by migrants, microcredit practices meeting and meet loan recipients.

The ELS team learned that JRCs were established by UNDP at the jamoat through a participatory process involving every village. This bottom-up approach, where decisions are made by those most affected is fundamental to the development philosophy of the Communities Programme. It ensures community ownership and hence sustainability of the rural development projects and their results.

The JRCs also help rural people to access microfinance and improve their income through trade, services and handicraft. Together with local entrepreneurs, civil groups and local government officials, the Communities Programme supports the establishment of local networks that can deliver effective training and advisory services.

While Tajikistan’s economy is recording double digit annual growth, the demand for skilled labour in construction and the service sectors is on the rise. In order to address the demand for skill development, UNDP supports the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to provide relevant training and establish partnerships with the private sector.

One of the unique approaches used by the Communities Programme is to encourage migrants to invest their remittances back into local communities. Migrants’ households can use part of their remittances to contribute to the financing of community priorities such as schools, bridges, telecommunication infrastructure or drinking water systems.

The Citizen’s Information and Service Centers (CISC) set up by the ELS project under the local community based organization, the Mahalla Fund in Karakalpakstan, Namangan and Fergana regions in Uzbekistan can well utilize the know-how and the experience of the Jamoats support centers in Tajikistan.

The primary function of the centers in Uzbekistan is to support the implementation of community projects. In addition, the centers play an important role in supporting and following up on community development plans and community initiatives and encouraging dissemination of the community development approach to communities in the districts, particularly after the completion of the ELS project.

In the centers the community development approaches introduced by the ELS project are codified and further applied for mobilizing citizens, introducing participatory planning and decision making procedures, and building up local management capacities. The centers help youth, women and local communities to play a fuller role in the local development process, for example by providing training and addressing skill development needs. Training include: income generation and provision of business services, family education, health, nutrition, water and natural resource protection and sustainable management, social partnerships and fundraising, communication skills and leadership, gender equity, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

As underlined by the ELS project and the Community Programme Staff, the centres in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are an important link between communities, authorities and donors for local development.

The visit was concluded with a meeting in the UNDP office in Khudjent and a session on sharing lessons and plans for future cooperation between similar EU-UNDP joint projects in the two countries.

A special thank goes to Mubin Rustamov, UNDP Senior Economic Advisor and Parviz Akramov, UNDP Project Manager for organizing the study tour and looking after the ELS mission in Tajikistan.

For more information on UNDP in Tajikistan and projects, please see www.undp.tj