
WHERE WE ACT
This project is active in 10 villages in Mindat District, Southern Chin State, Myanmar
WHY WE ACT IN THIS AREA
With a poverty rate of 58% (where almost 6 out of 10 people are poor), Chin represents the poorest region of Myanmar which is also a country where inequality is strong. The mountain environment, shaped by deep valleys carved by rushing streams, together with the poor road network make the Chin State one of the most isolated areas in Myanmar.
In Chin, the rural access index (RAI) is 11% and corresponds to the lowest value found in Myanmar which, globally it is only surpassed by Mali and Chad. These values offer a good parameter for understanding the daily challenges of living in these mountain areas.
Using the Multidimensional Disadvantage Index (MDI), Chin is among the 4 states where the family is unable to provide for their own minimum food needs. The nutritional situation of children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups is serious. A diet low in iron, vitamin A and iodine is responsible for the high incidence of anemia among women of reproductive age (46.3%) and for the arrest of body development in children under 5 years of age. The food crisis, however, is not only a product of poverty but is also the daughter of a rapidly changing cultural context where traditional foods (products of the earth) are increasingly difficult to find while the new products of “global nutrition” are highly sugar content have a great penetrating force and are imposing themselves as an integral part of the diet.
Agriculture constitutes the pillar of the economy of southern Chin and most of the population lives and is dedicated to this activity but, despite this absolute prevalence, numerous studies conducted in the area agree in considering the remittances from work carried out elsewhere as the most economic resource for family support. The challenge of a strong dependence on local agricultural production will have to be faced by a population with scarce means and skills in a deteriorated territory. This challenge becomes even more complex when we consider that the most enterprising component of the population is expelled from the villages in search of alternative and worthy sources of work.
PROJECT’S OBJECTIVES
The initiative aims to improve the capacities of the community of the Cho minority, occupying the marginal lands and with a high rate of poverty in the state of southern Chin, to obtain food in sufficient quantity and quality for proper nutrition and to start productive activities in agriculture that can provide economic integration to family income. The project aims to ensure that these most vulnerable groups of the population have a constant source of supply of fresh food with the best nutritional qualities and ASIA wants to launch a “pilot” model that can also be duplicated by other communities in the area
ACTIVITIES
- Organization of 10 Training and Production Centers (TPC)
- Organization of Training and Technical Assistance
- Organization of a network of family gardens
BENEFICIARIES
The direct beneficiaries of the project are 544 families of which 1,502 women and 1,580 men from 10 villages in the District of Mindat