Livelihoods and Economic Development

Participative Economic Action Planning

PPT believes that the predominant  approach in South Africa to eradicating poverty and promoting economic growth by national, provincial and local government as well as non-profit organisations, tends to be supply driven; top-down and insufficiently participative; insufficiently pro-poor; and fails to build human or social capital.  As a result, the bulk of LED projects in KwaZulu-Natal are by their nature exclusionary of the residents of the areas where LED is meant to take place, and are therefore not local; and they foster dependency on outside funding and decision-making.

PPT’s methodology and approach to local economic development serves as a catalyst for sustainable, responsive, demand-driven economic growth that is driven by local residents in economically excluded areas.  The service will enable residents to have greater control over their own economic activities and will by extension contribute to sustainable livelihoods in these areas. 

PPT has been involved in a Participatory Economic Action Planning (PEAP) process in Limehill, Indaka Municipality, with the objective of participatively developing action plans for residents to improve their local economy without depending on government or donor grants to do so. Click here to read. 

Umbumbulu Agri Hub Project

PPT is involved in this Agri Hub project in Umbumbulu with the objective of improving the profitability of small farmers and community growers who have limited access to capital, land and skills in the Umbumbulu sub-node of eThekwini Municipality, by means of piloting an intervention that will capacitate and add value to loosely-arranged small farmers’ groups in the area. 

The project aims to facilitate improved access to markets, improved technical and business skills and a co-ordinated support service to farmers as well as providing infrastructure such as a storage facility, sorting facility, cold room and office facilities which will provide input functions, light processing and output functions of vegetable and niche crops. Click here to read more.

eThekwini Participative Community Aciton Plans 

Participatory Community Action Planning (PCAP) is a process that focuses on Sustainable Livelihoods interventions that seek to increase community participation and social capital formation, especially amongst poor and vulnerable groups. The project involves communites developing their own action plans for their proposed interventions, with some techcial assitance from  PPT. This support also enables these community groups to further engage with the relevant municipal line departments in order to communicate their sector plans and improve their livelihoods. Click here to read.