A livelihood is said to be sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base (DFID 2001). The project will ensure that there is a balance in the management of natural resources (tree species and wildlife) critical in craft production, through development and implementation of natural resource management plans, while maintaining income levels for vulnerable households through high value market linkages for the crafts. The major outcome and impact of this project will be the increase in small scale farmers? real income from craft products as well as business development and marketing skills to engage in other activities. Vulnerable households involved in crafts will have viable and enduring relationships with the private sector partners and linkages with the markets, and hence derive sustainable livelihoods. The income realised from crafts sales will contribute to covering food deficit gaps when granaries run dry as well as diversifying nutrition sources. This development will result in new job opportunities and skills acquisition by the grantees, ensuring sustainable livelihoods for them

Because craft shops were not completed due to the shortfall in our budget amounting to P43, 156.20 which was caused by the fluctuation of exchange rates, we do have plans to scale up through non- GEF grants.

Community beneficiaries and their leaders will be directly involved in the project right from project inception,participatory monitoring and evaluation to completion. Local gorvement departments such as Tourism and Wildlife and Foresty will also be involved in planning and actioning of the project. The establishment of self-managing local business institutions and associations will ensure that rural communities continue to support each other and undertake the livelihood strategies facilitated under this initiative. The capacity building efforts will ensure that the local institutions such as XNRCT and associations have internal capacity to organize and run their own affairs as well as to maintain and negotiate partnerships, agreements and contracts with private sector partners. Exchange vsisits for information sharing, sharing experiences, lessons learnt, successes and challenges of craft production will be facilitated for beneficiaries with other established craft weavers in and across the borders

If possibilities exist, we can take the opportunity.

If we are able to fundraise for the completion of the project and increase the demand for craft products, then we will be in a position to scale up to a medium ?sized GEF grant.

PTB will work in partnership with Xwiskurusa Natural Resource Conservation Trust, a community based organization in the settlements, in the implementation of the action as a way to ensure sustainability, expand the scope and scale of programming, and build capacity within the Trust and the community in general. The partnership will promote capacity building initiatives for XNRCT to manage development programs, improve quality of life through sustainable service delivery, better responsiveness to local development needs, and upscale scope of the program. Permaculture will develop skills in XNRCT in project quality management and community participatory approaches. PTB will undertake collaborative learning activities with XNRCT in: ? Participatory monitoring and evaluation (including participatory impact assessment) ? Mainstreaming HIV/AIDS, gender and environment protection ? Integrated programming approach ? Managing business partnerships ? Donor reporting (financial and narrative) Training will also be given to craft producers in quality control and business development, and natural resource management for raw material supply sustainability.

Project sustainability will insure that the project activities are replicated to other settlements, more so that majority of the settlements communities are skilled in craft production.

The project strives to create an enabling environment for those most vulnerable, particularly women, by ensuring equality in craft opportunities and their representation in decision-making. Generally women are mostly involved in craft making at household level, the intervention will therefore benefit mostly women, who also see the day to day supply of food in the family. Business and resource management structures will incorporate women in key positions to maintain the natural resources in the areas

The project will promote dialogue and advocacy issues among the grantees, to lobby for enabling policy environment and briefs regarding the management of natural resources, especially cutting down of trees and hunting down of ostriches which provide egg shells for traditional craft making

The project will provide a platform to publicize and launch craft products emanating from natural resources, promoting awareness on the importance of Community bases natural resource management (CBNRM) as a strong rural livelihood alternative and community development initiative, both in community based and national showcases. The critical role played by the Global Environmental Fund - SGP program towards environmental management and community involvement in natural resources will also be raised through awareness meetings and other gatherings for the project to promote public awareness on the importance of the global environment. PTB will also share knowledge and practices through its participation in relevant national and international forums including Botswana Network of NGOs, Slow Foods/Products Conventions

This will be ensured by a number of measures incorporated in the design. Firstly, for small-scale natural resources based enterprises the major emphasis is on setting up enterprises that produce natural products that have ready local and export markets. The training and mentoring in business management during the initiative should ensure that the entrepreneurs have capacity to run viable businesses. This will entail consistent production of quality crafts products and regular sales to markets. Given the growing tourist markets for craft products this should be possible to achieve. Secondly, where additional working capital may be required, partnerships with CEDA, LEA, banks, micro-finance institutions and private sector secondary or tertiary processors will ensure that the enterprises access financial resources for continued operation. Institutional arrangements and the adopted benefit sharing mechanisms that will be facilitated by this action will ensure continued availability of the resources and crafts products produced thereof. Different crafts produced competetitvely will promote directly or indirectly a healthier economic society in the targeted communities so that activities will still be able to run, even when the grant ends.