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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Cover photo:

WRC members during an exposure visit to a raisin processing factory in Herat Industrial Complex, January 2013.

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

CONTENTS

ABOUT DACAAR

BASIC FACTS

MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

INTRODUCTION FROM THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

DACAAR’S BENEFICIARIES

DACAAR’S COMMUNITY BASED APPROACH

STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

DACAAR’S ACTIVITIES IN AFGHANISTAN

DACAAR’S APPROACH AND AREAS OF INTERVENTION

DACAAR’S CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL PLANS

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH)

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (NRM)

SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (SSED)

WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT (WE)

NATIONAL SOLIDARITY PROGRAMME (NSP)

ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

USE OF FUNDS

THE FUTURE

Reproduction:

Content of this publication may be reproduced with prior permission.

Access full PDF downloads of this report on:

www.dacaar.org/resources/annual-report

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

ABOUT DACAAR

DACAAR is an apolitical, non-governmental, non-profit development/humanitarian organisation that has been

working to improve the lives of the Afghan people since 1984.

DACAAR works in rural and peri-urban areas and aims at improving livelihoods through sustainable activities that

engage Afghan communities to be agents of their own development process.

DACAAR employs a holistic approach to all rural development activities in order to ensure long-term sustainability

of projects. Although a bulk of DACAAR’s programming is development focus, the organisation continues to

maintain a strong humanitarian presence in order to respond to the various humanitarian needs across its

geographical areas of intervention.

Over nine million Afghans across 29 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces have benefited from DACAAR development

and humanitarian activities since its establishment.

BASIC FACTS

Organisation name:

Established:

Governing Board:

Danish People’s Aid (DPA)

Danish Refugee Council (DRC)

Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees (DACAAR)

1984

Mads B. J

rgensen

Mette Marie Honoré

Activities:

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Natural Resources Management (NRM)

Small Scale Enterprise Development (SSED)

Women’s Empowerment (WE)

National Solidarity Programme (NSP)

Staff:

Director:

Main Office:

823 Afghan employees (12% female) and 10 international employees

Gerry Garvey (left in October) and Enzo Vecchio

Golayee Wazir Abad, District 10, P.O. Box 208, Kabul, Afghanistan

Tel : +93 (0) 20 223 0752

+93 (0) 20 223 0753

Mobile: +93 (0) 700 288 232

E-mail: [email protected]

Mazar-e-Sharif, Taluqan, Jalalabad, Kabul, Herat and Maimana

c/o Danish Refugee Council, Borgergade 10, 1300 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Tel: +45 33 73 50 00

E-mail: [email protected]

www.dacaar.org

Regional Offices:

Secretariat in Denmark:

Website:

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DACAAR

MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

Internal Vision:

DACAAR is a well-known and respected NGO with a strong

anchorage in the Afghan society. It is a transparent development

organisation with clear and up to date policies and strategies

and with committed and experienced female and male Afghan

staff, increasingly in key management positions.

External Vision:

Women and men in rural Afghan communities are in an effective

and sustainable way managing local resources to improve their

livelihoods. As part of a strong civil society and with support

from governmental institutions, local community organisations

and individual women and men have access to knowledge,

education, training and social services and are able to effectively

improve their quality of life and to withstand periods of calamity

and stress.

Mission:

DACAAR is a Danish non-governmental, developmental/

humanitarian organisation that supports sustainable development

in Afghanistan through the ability of local communities to decide

upon and manage their own development process. Activities are

implemented in cooperation with civil society organisations, the

private sector and governmental institutions with a particular

emphasis on poverty eradication and assistance towards the

return and re-integration of returnees and internally displaced

people.

Values:

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

INTRODUCTION FROM THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM

On 1st January 2013, DACAAR hit yet another important

milestone by launching its Strategic Programme Framework

(SPF) 2013-2016. The plan sets out the stage for DACAAR’s

programming over the next four years under four thematic

areas of WASH, NRM, SSED and WE in addition to the NSP. In

a step to ensure donor funding for the implementation of the

SPF and to highlight DACAAR’s long-term committment to the

Afghan people at a crucial juncture, a group of DACAAR Senior

staff travelled to Europe in June to present the SPF to some of

our key donors; Danida, RNE, SIDA, and ECHO.

The year also brought DACAAR with changes in its leadership.

Gerry Garvey successfully completed his two year tenure as

Director and was replaced by Enzo Vecchio. There were also

changes in the DACAAR Governing Board as Mette Marie

Honoré and Mads J

rgensen took over from Shanna Jensen and

Allan Vokstrup respectively representing DRC and DPA.

Insecurity remained a major concern during the year with a

marked increase in the number of security incidents including

especially a record high number of incidents affecting NGOs

compared to previous years. With this backgournd, DACAAR

continued to stregthen its safety and security systems, policies,

procedures and infrastructure to ensure safety of staff and

projects. Despite these, staff turnover due to insecurity

continued to affect the organisation particularly in the remote

target areas.

DACAAR Water Expertise and Training Centre, with support

from Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology

(CAWST), continued to deliver high quality training and engage

in action research in support of DACAAR programmes and the

WASH Sector.

DACAAR was elected by ACBAR members as one of the five

INGOs on the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT). Additionally,

as a result of discussions in the WASH Cluster, DACAAR was

elected as a Co-lead for the Cluster together with UNICEF and

MRRD and endorsed by the HCT. A dedicated WASH Cluster

Co-Lead Coordinator was put in charge of DACAAR’s new role

in the Cluster. The above two new roles will enable DACAAR

to use its long -term experience of humanitarian aid and its

trusted expertise in WASH to help enhance coordination and

build capacity among relevant stakeholders.

DACAAR continued a strong relationship with its donors during

2013, maintaining a solid funding base throughout the year. Our

thanks go to our donors who have funded project expenditures

to an amount of USD 14 million reaching 680,000 Afghans in line

with the planned objectives and outcomes of SPF for the year.

The six main donors, accounting for 93 percent of the funds

were: the Danish International Development Assistance (34%),

the Royal Norwegian Embassy (25%), the European Commission

Humanitarian Office (10%), the Swedish International

Development Agency (9%), the National Solidarity Fund (8%),

and the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (7%). Eight

other donors accounted for the remaining 7 percent.

Our sincere gratitude also goes to our numerous partner

communities and the hundreds of field staff without whose

dedicated and whole-hearted efforts, the achievements made

and reflected in this report would not have been possible.

Irshad Alamyar

Head of Fundraising and

Communications

Shah Wali

Head of Programme

Ajmal Qani

Head of Finance and

Administrartion

Khalid

Head of Human Resources

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DACAAR

DACAAR’S BENEFICIARIES

DACAAR’S

BENEFICIARIES

DACAAR’S

COMMUNITY-

BASED APPROACH

DACAAR’s

community-based

approach ensures sustainability of

interventions, accountabiilty towards

end beneficiaries and a long-term

impact by engaging local community

structures such as Community

Development Councils, Village Shuras

and District Development Assemblies

from the beginning and throughout the

intervention.

This approach ensures community

ownership and enables them to steer

the intervention towards meeting their

real needs and priorities and enables

them to acquire capacity for long-term

continuation of the activities after

DACAAR has left.

Tri-lateral agreements are signed

between

DACAAR,

community

structures and local authorities.

In addition to this, maintenance

committees are established and

trained during the project to take over

the responsibility for operation and

maintenance after DACAAR has phased

out.

Targeted capacity building and well-

planned exit strategies ensure that at

project end, communities already own,

drive and have acquired the capacity

and means to continue activities

reaping the benefits on a sustainable

basis.

STRATEGIC

PRIORITIES AND

CROSS-CUTTING

ISSUES

An Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) Policy

was launched in July 2013 while efforts on

mainstreaming AGD both at organisational

and programmatic levels continued.

A draft Anti-Corruption Policy was

developed (which will be finalized and

rolled out during 2014), bringing together

into one document anti-corruption and

fraud prevention provisions from various

organisational policy documents and

emphasising DACAAR’s zero-tolerance

towards corruption and fraud.

Environmental management and protection

remained a high concern and was included

in project designs and implementation.

During the year, DACAAR continued to

help build resilience in the communities

through Disaster Risk Reduction activities

implemented as part of WASH and NRM

projects.

Communities were trained

on how to mitigate and minimise the

impact of disasters and how to report on

them. Community Based Disaster Risk

Management (CBDRM) committees were

established and linked at district level with

District Disaster Management Committees

(DDMC) which are in turn linked at provincial

level with Provincial Disaster Management

Committees (PDMC).

A number of Humanitarian Response

projects were implemented, aimed at

meeting the chronic and acute Water,

Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) needs

among several returnee & IDP populations

and disaster affected local populations in

Nangarhar, Kunar, Kabul, Balkh, Kunduz and

Takhar Provinces.

According to UNHCR, since 2002, more

than 5.8 million Afghan refugees have

returned from Pakistan and Iran, and

in addition, there are about 620,000

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

in Afghanistan

. For Afghanistan’s

many returnees and IDPs, who often

have no other option than to settle in

unoccupied rural areas, their already

bad situation is further worsened by a

dire lack of basic services, amenities

and income and employment

opportunities. In other instances,

returnees and IDPs have to settle

in rural, peri-urban and urban areas

straining the already scarcely available

local resources, opportunities and basic

services increasing the potential for

conflicts among these groups.

With this background, DACAAR’s main

beneficiaries consist of Afghanistan’s

most vulnerable rural and peri-urban

communities. This includes returnees,

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs),

and vulnerable host communities with

a particular focus on female, disabled

and youth headed households, who are

among the people most at risk. Female-

headed households are particularly

vulnerable in that the absence of a male

provider or guardian limits their ability

to provide for their families, in addition

to the general social and mobility

restrictions they face.

In 2013, DACAAR improved the lives of

about 680,000 women and girls, men

and boys, aged and disabled through its

projects implemented in 63 districts of

12 provinces.

UNHCR October 2013

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

DACAAR’S ACTIVITIES IN

AFGHANISTAN

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DACAAR

DACAAR’S ACTIVITIES IN AFGHANISTAN

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

DACAAR’S APPROACH

AND AREAS OF INTERVENTION

Lack of access to safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation, food insecurity, insufficient income, and social constraints

on and seclusion of women from social, economic and political spheres of life are some of the most fundamental poverty

problems in Afghanistan. These problems lead to poor livelihoods, health and quality of life for a large percentage of the

rural population.

To address this complex and interlinked set of problems in an effective manner, DACAAR focuses its activities on the

following four thematic areas of intervention. The activities are implemented in an integrated manner that takes advantage

of the potential for synergies between them in order to meet DACAAR's overall objective of contributing to equitable and

sustainable livelihoods for rural Afghans with a particular focus on vulnerable groups.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH):

DACAAR approach to WASH follows that of the

Afghanistan's Government’s Ministry of Rural

This includes:

Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), combining

safe water, proper sanitation and hygiene education.

Ensuring availability and usage of safe drinking water through

This approach has proved to be highly effective in

establishment of wells and pipe networking systems, introducing

reducing mortality and morbidity from water-borne

household water treatment technologies to, and building the

diseases and in enhancing quality of life.

capacity of and organizing communities to operate and maintain

them on a sustainable basis;

Improving sanitary conditions through support to communities in constructing, maintaining and replicating

environmentally friendly and sanitary latrines;

Improving hygienic behaviour and standards through culturally appropriate hygiene education;

Building the capacity of WASH sector through training, sharing of information and research, and participating

in WASH sector policy formulation.

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT (NRM):

DACAAR’s NRM activities have proven

highly effective in improving rural livelihoods

This includes:

by increasing agricultural productivity and

production through the application of

Increasing agricultural productivity and production, and rural

environmentally sustainable approaches.

income through enabling farmers to increase crop cultivation on

dry and irrigated land;

Organising farmers to

address farm production and marketing effectively and increase

productivity and income through establishment of farmers associations;

Enabling communities to achieve improved livestock productivity and production through improved animal

husbandry.

SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT (SSED):

In order to increase rural income, DACAAR

promotes small scale business development by

supporting the creation of producer associations

and small individual businesses.

This includes:

Raising income levels among rural communities through

establishment of producer associations and building their capacity

in business management and technical skills;

Increasing business competitiveness through support to association

members in product quality, market linkages and promoting their

involvement in the value chain;

Increasing opportunities for employment and income among the most vulnerable through the development

of vocational skills and establishment of small scale individual businesses.

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DACAAR

DACAAR’S APPROACH AND AREAS OF INTERVENTION

WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT (WE):

DACAAR’s

Women’s

Empowerment

interventions aim at increasing rural women’s

This includes:

sense of self-worth, their right to make choices,

their right to have access to opportunities

Organising and building the capacity of rural women to gain

and resources, their right to have the power

income and promoting their participation in community decision

to control their own lives, and their ability to

making through establishment of Women’s Resource Centres

influence social change.

(WRCs);

Increasing rural women’s basic education and awareness of rights

and health through delivery of literacy courses, and rights and health awareness-raising activities;

Supporting and building the capacity of rural women to develop women-led businesses through formation

of collectives and businesses and through building their skills in business management;

Raising women’s income through providing opportunities to develop technical skills in traditional and

non-traditional trades.

In addition to the above; DACAAR is a facilitating partner in the Afghan Government’s National Solidarity Programme (NSP).

NATIONAL SOLIDARITY PROGRAMME (NSP):

Launched in 2003, the National Solidarity

Programme (NSP) aims at promoting inclusive

This includes:

local governance and rural reconstruction and

alleviating poverty. The NSP is recognized as

Helping communities to establish female and male Community

an effective mechanism for delivery of rural

Development Councils CDCs through a democratic process;

infrastructure.

Strengthening the capacity of CDCs to identify own needs and for

planning and community management;

Supporting communities with linkages to resources and providing

them with technical support to implement projects.

DACAAR’S CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL PLANS

DACAAR's interventions follow the applicable and relevant National Priority

Programmes (NPPs) and other national plans such as National Action Plan for

Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA) and Afghanistan National Development Strategy

(ANDS) as well as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The DACAAR

Strategic Programme Framework (SPF) for 2013-2016 is already linked to the

objectives of these plans and has been aligned with the broader aims reflected

in the strategic vision for the Transformational Decade, subscribed to at the Tokyo

Conference. In addition, DACAAR contributes to the provisions of the Mutual

Accountability Framework accompanying the Tokyo Declaration.

At the operational level DACAAR enters into specific MoUs with relevant line

ministries such as MRRD, MoLSAD, MoWA, MAIL and MoE and ensures direct

dialogue, coordination, capacity building and reporting with relevant directorates

at sub-national level. In addition, DACAAR's implementation methodologies

and guidelines for different thematic areas are made fully in line with those of

the relevant line ministries. For example, DACAAR's WASH interventions follow

the MRRD's WASH Policy and Implementation Guidelines, DACAAR's Vocational

Training Programmes follow the established guidelines and policies of MoLSAD

and DACAAR's literacy programme follow the policies, guidelines and curricula

developed by the MoE.

DACAAR's work during 2013

contributed to the following NPPs:

National Water and Natural

Resources Development

National Comprehensive

Agriculture Production and

Market Development

Strengthening Local Institutions

Integrated trade and small and

medium scale enterprise (SME)

DACAAR's WE interventions

contributed to NAPWA.

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

WATER, SANITATION AND

HYGIENE

Beneficiaries Total 220,993

Targeted (117,266 women and 103,727 men)

Geographical Areas Badakhshan, Balkh, Faryab, Kabul,

Targeted Kunar, Kunduz, Laghman, Takhar

Donors

CIDA/CAWST, ECHO, RNE, ROI, SDC,

SIDA, UNICEF, USGS

pipe schemes (of which six were solar powered).

Biosand filtration for household water treatment was

successfully introduced in 5,050 households, with women

trained to operate and maintain the filters in each

household.

To ensure operation and maintenance of community

water supplies, 15 water management committees and

1,345 water user groups were established while 15 water

system operators, four hand pump mechanics, and 1,345

caretakers were trained.

10,591 previously constructed water points were

inspected for functionality and information included in a

centralized database .

291 non-functional water points were rehabilitated,

benefitting 5,820 families.

4,014 dry vault and pit latrines were constructed.

35,321 families received hygiene education and 29,102

hygiene kits were distributed.

14 pre and 11 post Knowledge, Attitude and Practice

(KAP) studies were conducted, identifying the impact of

the WASH activities on the beneficiaries. The remaining

three post-KAP to be completed during 2014.

Active participation and knowledge and information

sharing was ensured at WASH cluster and associated

technical working group meetings at national and sub-

national levels.

15 Community Based Disaster Risk Management

Committees were established and linked at district and

provincial level. 425 community members were trained

in WASH related Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

Access to safe drinking water is a major concern and priority

in Afghanistan. Despite concrete achievements in the WASH

Sector over the recent years, a large proportion of the Afghan

population still lack access to safe drinking water. This combined

with a low knowledge of good hygiene behaviour and a lack

of sanitation facilities continues to take its toll on the health

and well-being of a large number of poor Afghans including

returnees, IDPs and vulnerable host communities. Water,

sanitation and hygiene are linked to many diseases that are

major causes of child mortality and child under-development.

To meet this major need, DACAAR during 2013 continued

to assist the Afghan rural and peri-urban populations with

provision of safe drinking water through establishment of wells

and other water systems including gravity pipe networks, solar

powered pipe schemes, and biosand filters for household water

treatment. To ensure high impact on the health and well-being

of the beneficiary communities, DACAAR combined provision of

safe drinking water with support to establishment of sanitation

facilities and delivery of hygiene education messages. This was

done in line with the common understanding of the improved

hygiene and sanitation as the process where people demand,

develop and sustain a hygienic and healthy environment for

themselves by erecting barriers to prevent the transmission of

diseases, primarily from faecal contamination.

To ensure quality of drinking water in line with the requirements

of Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD)

and Afghanistan Drinking Water Quality Standards, DACAAR

undertook bacteriological, physical and chemical tests on the

wells established during the year.

Additionally, DACAAR, as of 1st April 2013, was elected as Co-lead

for the Cluster together with UNICEF and MRRD and endorsed

by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT). This enabled DACAAR

to continue to play an important role in influencing policy and

building capacity of WASH Sector. DACAAR’s Water Expertise

and Training Centre supported by Centre for Affordable Water

and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) continued to undertake

action research and deliver high quality training workshops with

the aim of building capacity of the Government, private sector

and NGOs involved in the WASH Sector.

Groundwater Monitoring:

DACAAR has a network of 228 Groundwater Monitoring

Wells (GMWs) installed in 22 provinces of Afghanistan.

These wells are monitored on a regular basis and the data

is stored in, and analysed by, a specialised Integrated Water

Resource Data Management System. As the only nation-

wide data source on the subject in Afghanistan, the system

provides significant long- term groundwater quantitative and

qualitative information and analysis for the sustainability

and functionality of drinking water points and efficient and

effective future planning for water supply project.

During 2013, the DACAAR Ground Water Monitoring Team

undertook monitoring of 195 GMWs across 19 provinces of

Afghanistan on a monthly basis, sampled and tested water

quality for these wells and stored the data on the specialised

software. Additionally, an analysis report on ”Water resources

potential, quality problems, solutions and challenges in

Afghanistan” was published and widely disseminated. A copy

can be downloaded from DACAAR website.

Achievements during 2013 included

Through the WASH component DACAAR supported

220,993 individuals. This included:

31,631 families were provided with safe drinking water

through the construction of 930 tube wells fitted with

hand pumps and 415 stand-posts supported by 15

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DACAAR

WATER , SANITATION AND HYGIENE

Noor Jahan’s Story

I am Noor Jahan and I am 40 year old. I have six children, four daughters and two

sons. It has been 3 years since my family and I migrated from Kohi Al-Borz to Tappa

Kar Malik village, Dehdadi district, Balkh province. We had to leave our homeland

due to unemployment. In the very beginning when we came to Tappa Kar Malik and

village, we had to live in a tent until slowly and gradually we were able to build a basic

shelter for ourselves. Moreover, we had to use water from the stream for drinking

and other purposes as we had no other choice. The water from the stream was very

muddy and polluted. Later on, my daughter who is 12 year old developed a kidney

problem. She was continuously under treatment and as time passed, she was also

affected by diarrhea. We were all clueless; the doctors told us that the reason behind

my daughter’s illness was drinking of dirty water. As the days went by, my daughter

grew weaker and all my attention and worries were towards her health.

However, since DACAAR’s WASH project helped us to have a well in our area we are

being blessed with pure and fresh water. Lately, I can see a change in my daughter’s

health condition, her diarrhea is cured and her kidney’s pain has comparatively

decreased. DACAAR’s Well proved to be a life saver for us and it is one of the most

valuable things we own so far.

Disaster Risk Reduction Training, Nangarhar province

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DACAAR

ANNAUL

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Water Expertise and Training Centre

(WETC)

Drawing on more than two decades of experience in

the delivery of WASH programmes, DACAAR in 2010, in

collaboration with Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation

Technology (CAWST), established a Water Expertise and

Training Centre (WET Centre) in order to facilitate capacity

building in the WASH sector. Today, the Centre plays an

important role as a reliable hub for capacity building, research

and technical support to government agencies, NGOs and the

private sector involved delivery of WASH programmes.

Embedded within the WET Centre is a fully equipped Drinking

Water Quality Testing Laboratory that provides water quality

testing services in support of DACAAR WASH projects as well

as to the WASH sector in Afghanistan as a whole.

Through the WET Centre, DACAAR achieved the following

during 2013:

•

Capacity of 751 (636 male, 115 female) NGO, Government

and private sector employees was built through their

participation in 48 training workshops on different

WASH subjects.

Awareness on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene was raised

among 374 school teachers (337 female and 37 male).

Two counts of action research on "Comparison of the

effect of diffuser plate and diffuser basin on disturbances

of bio layer and filter effectiveness" and "Solar pumping

water supply" was successfully undertaken and results

were disseminated.

•

57 counts of technical and consultative support provided

to 21 organizations.

1,287 physical, 1,899 bacteriological and 1,336 chemical

water tests for water points was undertaken in support of

DACAAR, NGOs, private sector and Government projects.

A National WASH Learning Exchange with participation of

42 representatives from 20 organisations was conducted

in December 2013.

Three DACAAR biosand filter projects were evaluated and

results were disseminated.

Key conferences attended by WET Centre staff included

WET Centres Network (WET-NET) International Learning

Exchange in Cameroon and 5th South Asian Countries

Sanitation Conference (SACOSAN-V) held in Kathmandu,

Nepal.

Six WASH training manuals and several WASH posters

were translated and two WASH videos were dubbed into

local languages of Pashto and Dari.

•

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DACAAR

WATER , SANITATION AND HYGIENE

An annual impact survey of 31 client

organisations conducted in March 2014

revealed that 87 percent of these clients

were highly satisfied with the usefulness of

the training and consulting support provided

by the WET Centre.

The survey also revealed that more than

30,000 community members have benefited

from using improved water and/or sanitation

services delivered by the clients who received

training and consulting support from DACAAR

WET Centre.

Trainees at the DACAAR WET Centre learn how to practically construct a bio-sand filter, Kabul

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

NATURAL RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT

Beneficiaries Total 21,894

Targeted (2,393 women and 19,501 men)

Geographical Areas Balkh, Faryab, Herat, Laghman and

Targeted Sar-e- Pul

Donors

DANIDA (HUM & ROI), ICCO, JICA, RNE,

and UNODC

Achievements during 2013 included

21,894 people benefited from NRM activities.

This included:

11,002 farmers benefited from DACAAR’s activities

in relation to rain-fed farming. This included;

cultivation of 1,042 hectares of land, protection

of land from moving sands by cultivation, creation

of water harvesting structures, cultivation of

pistachio, off season vegetables production in

greenhouses and drip irrigation, cultivation training

and processing of saffron, conducting of field days

for farmers and bio- engineering projects.

7,912 farmers benefited from DACAAR’s activities

in relation to irrigated land farming. This included;

establishment of fruit, non-fruit and vegetable

nurseries and orchards, training on pruning and

budding, horticulture and agriculture methods and

agro-forestry, conducting of field days for farmers

and exchange visits.

2,881 community members benefited from

DACAAR’s activities on animal husbandry. This

included; demonstration stables, mobile sheep dip

basins, training on animal feeding and messages.

In support of the above activities, DACAAR

constructed 30 small scale irrigation structures

(canal linings, culverts), ensuring irrigation of

1,439 hectares of land benefiting the above-

mentioned farmers as well indirectly benefitting

the communities at large.

12 female and 87 male Government employees

were trained on NRM subjects.

Resilience to natural disasters was improved in

the communities through the establishment of

186 NRM related Disaster Risk Management

Committees, linked at district and provincial levels.

The Afghan economy continues to be dominated by subsistence-

based agricultural and animal husbandry with 80 percent of the

Afghan population being dependent on these sectors for their

livelihoods. Despite efforts made over the past decade, major

challenges still exist including a neglected and under developed

irrigation system, degrading agricultural and pasture lands, and

the disaster-prone nature of the country negatively affecting

agriculture and animal husbandry. Despite a rapid increase in

population and the corresponding demand for food, agricultural

productivity and output have declined over the past years. This

is despite the long existing potential for raising production to a

level that could ensure food security for the Afghan population.

Agriculture accounts for 30% of GDP and could be a significant

driver for job growth through the Transformation Decade

, with

potential to improve lives for the nine million Afghans who live

below the poverty line

Proper management of natural resources, including water

management and rehabilitation and protection of pasture

lands, could increase agricultural and livestock production

significantly. Building capacity, knowledge and awareness

among rural populations, local government authorities and

other relevant local actors for improved farming techniques,

sufficient agriculture extension services and building resilience

against natural hazards can enable rural communities to

increase agricultural output.

In line with the above challenges, needs and opportunities and

following the relevant Afghan Government National Priority

Programmes (NPPs), DACAAR over the year 2013 continued to

focus its efforts on improving Natural Resources Management

and particularly agriculture, livestock and poultry raising among

rural Afghan communities with the aim to move the sector

from subsistence to semi-commercial and commercial mode of

production. This was done through involving and building the

capacity of rural communities in more efficient and sustainable

irrigated and rain-fed farming methods and practices, effective

management of natural resources, and management of water

resources including improving of irrigation infrastructure.

Activities also included training on animal husbandry including

animal housing, proper feeding, breeding, fodder conservation,

enrichment of straw with urea and enhancing capacity of

beneficiaries in general livestock management and economic

importance of livestock.

Strategic Vision for Transformation Decade, GoIRA, Kabul 2012

NRVA 2008

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DACAAR

NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Case Study: High Returns for Talib Bi

Talib Bi is a resident of Qarye Khisht in Pusthonakoot district of Faryab province. He is 53 year old and has four sons and a daughter. He owns 6 Jeribs

(1.2 hectares) of land which he uses for cultivation. Previously, Talib Bi could only produce a small amount of harvest. The sum of money he used to earn

from his harvest was never sufficient for his house expenses. This worried him all the time and was the reason behind his several attempts to travel to

neighboring countries for work.

The first time Talib Bi encountered DACAAR was when he participated in one of DACAAR’s meetings with his local CDC in 2011. The meeting aimed at

selecting a specific number of farmers in order to provide them with training and pots for growing fruit and vegetable seedlings. Talib Bi was among those

farmers who were shortlisted and 400 sqm of his land was selected for implementation of the project. After receiving the necessary technical training

and support, Talib Bi started his own little nursery.

Since 2012, Talib Bi has been able to produce different types of seedlings and have sold a large amount of them to the Ministry of Agriculture and

DACAAR projects, earning 114,000 AFN (USD 2,000) On top of that he has sold seedlings worth more than AFN 50,000 (about USD 900) to fellow farmers.

He also managed to use the seedlings he produced to start an orchard on a 2,400 sqm patch of his land which he developed over two phases.

The people of Qarye Khisht village in general are inspired by Talib Bi’s dedication and achievements. He is seen as an active person and as someone who

has truly been working like a trained farmer in the past few years. Furthermore, he keeps on encouraging his fellow villagers to pursue horticulture as an

occupation and he gives them a helping hand whenever needed.

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

SMALL-SCALE ENTERPRISE

DEVELOPMENT

Beneficiaries Total 1,795

Targeted (75 women* and 1,720 men)

Geographical Areas Balkh, Faryab, Herat, Laghman, Sar-e-

Targeted Pul

Donors

DANIDA (HUM & ROI), ICCO, RNE,

UNODC

Achievements during 2013 included

Through the SSED component DACAAR supported 1,795

persons as follows:

15 new producer associations were established and

registered with Ministry of Justice and Law and start-

up grants provided.

Nine

market

linkage

training

workshops

were

conducted

involving

producer

association members, government employees,

traders,

and vocational skill beneficiaries.

878 people (21 women and 857 men) were trained in

marketing and small scale enterprise development.

624 CDC management committee members were

trained on community management skills, basic

accounting, record keeping and procurement.

One Producer Association was linked with the

government project CARD-F (Comprehensive

Agriculture and Rural Development Facility.

33 Government staff were trained on small scale

enterprises and project cycle management.

43 members of CDCs were trained on technical

aspect.

217 persons (54 women and 163 Men) participated

in vocational training to promote employment

opportunities. This included; carpentry, motor bike

repairing, mobile phone repairing, TV repairing,

tailoring and embroidery, refrigerator repairing,

beauty parlour and metal works.

Years of conflict and a poor business climate has hampered

sufficient development of private enterprises in Afghanistan.

This combined with the prevailing poverty and lack of

entrepreneurship, knowledge and skills among Afghan rural

populations and an disconcerted and/or often non-existent

institutional support are some of the underlying causes for

an under-developed sector. On a more hopeful note, citing

the existing potentials and opportunities, promoting small

and medium enterprises has been identified as an important

objective under the Afghan Government’s Strategic Vision for

Transformation Decade.

In line with this and following the relevant Afghan Government

National Priority Programme (NPP), Small-Scale Enterprise

Development (SSED) has been identified as one of the four

main thematic areas of intervention in DACAAR’s Strategic

Programme Framework (SPF) for 2013-2016. DACAAR’s efforts

in SSED include support to communities in the establishment of

Producer Associations (PAs) and building their knowledge and

capacity through hands-on technical and management training

and providing them with start-up grants. Other efforts include

supporting the registration of these associations as SMEs with

the Government of Afghanistan, supporting market linkages and

providing on-going technical advice and assistance for an initial

period of at least 2 years.

In addition to this, DACAAR under its SSED interventions

supports employment and income opportunities among the

most vulnerable (particularly the unemployed youth) through

provision of hands-on vocational training and start-up grants

and toolkits.

DACAAR undertakes extensive socio-economic feasibility

studies in order to ensure that the above interventions

meet the needs for goods and services in the rural areas and

establishment of viable rural businesses, and employment and

income opportunities.

Afghanistan ranks 160 out of 183 economies on the World Bank’s “Doing Busi-

ness Index” 2012 indicating how easy it is to business in a country

* The number represents only the women who received training and input under SSED

component. Please read the section on Women’s Empowerment for other economic

activities targeted at women.

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DACAAR

SMALL SCALE ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

Trainee receive equipment and start up grant at the successful completion of a tailorning programme, Sholgara district, Balkh

province

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

WOMEN’S

EMPOWERMENT

Beneficiaries Total 10,923

Targeted (10,398 women and 525 men)

Geographical Areas Balkh, Faryab, Herat, Laghman, Sar-e-

Targeted Pul

Donors

DANIDA (HUM & ROI), ICCO, RNE,

UNODC

Achievements during 2013 included

DACAAR supported the improvement in the livelihoods

and capacity of

10,923

individuals organised in CDCs and

WRCs. This included;

Establishment of four new Women’s Resource

Centres (WRCs), and their registration with the

Ministry of Justice and Law and the Ministry of

Women’s Affairs.

Support to establishment of 35 women-led

businesses under the above four new and eight old

WRCs.

Organising of two conferences in Herat and Balkh

with participation of WRC members, Government

employees, women CDCs and DACAAR staff with

the aim of connecting WRCs with government and

civil society, raising awareness about WRC practices,

building the network between the respective

stakeholders, sharing knowledge and best practices,

and building awareness among stakeholders on

women's social and economic rights.

Organising of four exhibitions and best practices

discussions involving WRC members with the aim

of introducing WRC products and organising of

four market linkage workshops involving WRCs

representatives, Government employees, NGOs, local

traders and community stakeholders to introduce

WRCs activities and products.

Training in leadership, community management

skills, human rights, business plan development,

bookkeeping, accounting, procurement and literacy.

Hygiene and safe motherhood messages.

Income generation projects such as poultry farming,

handkerchief making , bed weaving, wool weaving

and training on design of embroidery, shall weaving

and colour selection.

Distribution of milking cows and sheep under a

revolving fund project.

Kitchen gardening, food security, green houses and

post-harvesting training.

Exchange visits among WRCs with the aim of exposing

them to new agricultural production methods,

and packaging and processing and marketing for

products such as saffron, vegetable and dairy.

Training on gender violence and conflict to 48

Government staff (30 female and 18 male).

In Afghanistan, socio-cultural patterns and poverty create a

strong dependency among women on the male members of

the family and limit their mobility outside home. Despite a

comprehensive legal and institutional framework and some

tangible accounts of progress, rights of Afghan women are

commonly violated with social and economic exclusion being

the norm. Progress has included an impressive increase in girls’

enrolment in schools, participation in public and political fora

(in particular by educated women) and some improvement

in women’s access to health services. Accomplishments have

however mainly been concentrated in urban areas.

DACAAR’s Women’s Empowerment interventions aim at

improving the social and economic status and condition of

Afghan women by supporting their active participation and

influence in the society. This is done through bringing them

together in self-organized collectives and creating opportunities

for their participation in income generating activities and

targeted educational and capacity building initiatives.

As a main vehicle for Women’s Empowerment, DACAAR has

since 2004 supported the organisation of rural women in

culturally accepted Women’s Resource Centres (WRCs) and

to date DACAAR has facilitated establishment of 43 of these

Centres with 27,594 members.

WRC’s are legally registered, self-organised Community Based

Organisations (CBOs) that serve as platforms for participating

women to come together in a safe women-only Centre to

train, learn, and develop leadership skills. Women at the centre

engage in small businesses and income generating activities.

The Centre further allows participating women to engage in

discussions, share insight and knowledge and generally support

each other. Each WRC provide opportunity for up to 500 women

to come together from five villages (CDCs) while leadership for

the Centre is democratically elected.

Where it is not possible for DACAAR to organise women in WRCs

(i.e. where a community is not ready enough to accept the WRC

idea), DACAAR works with the CDCs to reach vulnerable women

with economic activities such as home-based poultry farming,

food security packages and vocational training as well as social

activities such as rights and life skills training and awareness.

This is done with an eye to creating the necessary awareness

and interest in the WRC idea through continued engagement

and mobilisation over a period of time.

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DACAAR

MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

CASE STUDY: Medicinal plant distillation,

a means to a better life

Safia Khanum, who is also known as “Mother of Abdul Haq”

is from Ghoryan district in Herat province. She has been

brought up and lived almost her entire life in the village of

Barnabad. As per Safia’s, she is in her early 50s and she has

six grandchildren from her one and only son. Safia and her

family have lived a difficult life. They spent few years in Iran

as refugees but had to return back as it became increasingly

difficult for them to make ends meet.

In the recent years, Safia along with her daughter-in-

law became members of the Barnabad Women Resource

Center (WRC) and this is where they were trained for plants

distillation and how to sell the essences they produce to

the local traders. Safia knew that some people of her village

were already involved in plant distillation but she never

thought that she would be able to enter into this business.

She believed that producing essences required equipments

which no one could afford to buy individually. After joining

the WRC, Safia participated in a training workshop on plant

distillation. She chose this training because it had generated

a reasonable income in her area and also because the

equipment and facilities needed for plant distillation was

provided by the WRC. Today, Safia earns about AFN 500-

1,000 on every 20-30 bottles of essences. Her main clients

are vendors who take these products to exhibitions and then

sell them there by adding a markup. This work has finally

helped her to earn a reasonable income.

Among the plants the women choose for distillation are

peppermint, cumin and rose. The essences produced from

these plants are mainly used for homeopathic treatments.

Peppermint essence is used for stomach related problems

like gas, ulcers, nausea and for respiratory problems. It

provides relief during a regular bout of cold, cough and

asthma. Cumin essence is used for treating stomach cramps,

indigestion and low blood pressure. Rose essence is used as

an anti-depressant and also has a cooling effect which proves

helpful in summers. Safia’s favorite plant is peppermint for

its pleasant aroma. On the other, she finds cumin’s aroma

very spicy and unpleasant.

According to Safia, the WRC she works in is a half an hour on

foot from her house. Generally she works about eight hours

every day except Fridays. Safia says she enjoys having the freedom to spend her money

according to her will and desire. Among the things she has bought from her income is

one Afghan carpet and a set of dinnerware for her guests. She believes that she is now

a self-sufficient lady and she likes being able to earn on her own income and take part

in paying for the house expenses.

People in her neighborhood have observed positive changes in Safia’s life as a whole

and inside her house after she became a member in the WRC. Safia says that in general

people of Barnabad were optimistic about opening a centre for women. She also thinks

that the weekly meetings held in the WRC has proved helpful in solving some of the

issues and problems which the women encounter from time to time inside or outside

the centre.

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

NATIONAL SOLIDARITY

PROGRAMME

Beneficiaries Total 423,629

Targeted (209,468 Women and 214,161 Men)

Achievements during 2013 included

344 CDCs under Repeater Block Grant (RBG)

were supported for successfully undertaking

reconstitution and re-election for its leadership in

Alingar & Alishing districts of Laghman province

and Andkhoy district of Faryab province while the

supporting mechanism is ongoing.

Capacity for planning and management for 7,658

CDC members (6,579 male & 1,079 female) was

enhanced through provision of training on office

bearing, financial management, procurement,

community participatory monitoring, social

mobilization

and

participatory

community

empowerment.

Technical assistance in planning, development

and implementation of infrastructure projects was

provided to 344 CDCs. This resulted in 285 CDCs

producing 384 proposals for infrastructure sub-

projects, out of which 211 projects were approved

by PMU and successfully implemented.

Geographical Areas

Faryab, Herat, Laghman and Parwan

Targeted

Donors MRRD/NSP

DACAAR is a Facilitating Partner (FP) in the National Solidarity

Programme (NSP), a national programme of the Government

of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA), executed by the

Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and development (MRRD).

With NSP, DACAAR supports and strengthens Afghan

communities to establish their own democratically elected

women and men Community Development Councils (CDCs)

as effective institutions for local governance/community

management and social-economic development as well as to

enhance the ability of the local communities to access locally

available resources.

The number of beneficiaries reflect the assumption that all community

members benefit from the NSP intervention

Dost Nazar CDC members meet to discuss their Community Development Plan (CDP), ,Andkhoy district, Faryab province

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DACAAR

NATIONAL SOLIDARITY PROGRAMME

Water Supply Network in Safaidan Sufla village of Pashtun Zarghoon district , Herat province

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

ORGANISATIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

The year 2013 saw a marked rise in the level of insecurity in

the country compared to previous years. Staff safety remained

a major concern and therefore, a number of solid steps were

taken in order to strengthen DACAAR safety and security

systems. A short-term safety consultant was hired who helped

build capacity within the safety team and assisted in upgrading

DACAAR safety and security protocols, policies, procedures,

plans and overall safety infrastrcuture. Safety focal points were

hired for five regions, trained and made responsible for safety

and security management at regional and field level in close

consultation with the regional managers, and safety manager

and team in Kabul.

With the DACAAR Strategic Programme Framework (SPF)

for 2013-2016 in place and operational as of the beginning

of the year, efforts on upgrading the M&E system to support

the achievement fo the SPF objectives were initiated and will

continue into 2014 with the expected hiring of an external

consultant. Furthermore, work on upgrading sub-strategies and

implementation guidelines for various DACAAR thematic areas

of intervention has been undertaken and completed to a large

extent. These sub-strategies and guidelines, once finalised in

2014, will provide field staff with practical step by step guidance

to project implemenation. They will be especially useful to

the many new field staff regularly hired in the light of the high

turnever due to insecurity in and remoteness of a large number

of DACAAR’s target districts.

DACAAR’s HR Department continued to facilitate in-house

and external capacity building and training of DACAAR staff in

line with the needs of the staff as identified in the last year’s

performance appraisal process. In total 686 counts of short-

term training were provided to staff members on various

subjects including but not limited to Project Management,

Financial Management, General Management, M&E, and Safety

and Security etc. DACAAR also provided partial financial support

towards higher studies for 16 staff members during the year.

The Female Internship Programme was continued during the

year with the aim of introducing talented and motivated young

female graduates into the workspace on a competitive basis. The

programme aimed at providing the interns with hands-on training

and coaching on various vital skills including administration,

finance, accounting, book-keeping, communications, etc. 9

females graduated from the programme during the year and

as of 31 December the internship programme was on-going

for another 6 persons. Out of the graduates for the year,

one succeeded in finding a job in DACAAR while the rest were

supported in applying for jobs with other organisations.

Furthermore, a new and improved website was launched

during the year to ensure easy public access to and increase

transparency on DACAAR’s work with the Afghan communities

including newsfeed, pictures and videos from DACAAR’s

operation in the field.

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DACAAR

USE OF FUNDS

Funds spent during 2013 per donor (%)

(USD 14 million)

ICCO

CIDA/CAWST

NORPLAN

JICA

UNODC

USGS

DRC/DIASPORA

UNICEF

Funds spent during 2013 per thematic area (%)

*Management and Administration

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DACAAR

ANNUAL REPORT 2013

Appreciation letters granted to DACAAR during 2013

From the Provincial Governer, Takhar

From Dawlat Abad district authorities, Faryab

From the Provincial Governer, Faryab

From Minister of Women Affairs

From Laghman RRD Director

From the Director of RRD, Parwan

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DACAAR

MISSION, VISION AND VALUES

THE FUTURE

With the presidential elections and the expected complete

withdrawal of international combat forces from Afghanistan,

insecurity is expected to continue to be a major concern during

the coming year. In this regard, efforts will be made to further

consolidate on the improvements made during 2013 on safety

of staff and projects. This will include continued training and

awareness building among staff on safety and security, further

up-grading of the physical safety of various office compounds

and consolidation of the various safety and security systems,

policies, protocols, procedures and plans into one joint safety

and security manual.

An M&E consultant is expected to be hired during 2014, who will

facilitate the process for upgrading DACAAR’s M&E system to

support the implementation of the SPF 2013-16. The upgraded

system is expected to ensure systematic collection of data and

information and their analysis and utilisation for the purpose

of facilitating organisational learning, sound decision making,

improvements in policies and strategies and accountability

towards stakeholders (especially DACAAR’s beneficiaries).

Thematic sub-strategies and implementation guidelines will

also be fine-tuned and finalised. Furthermore, commissioned

by DACAAR’s largest donor, Danida, a comprehensive study on

returnees and IDPs and the reasons behind their decisions to

settle in rural or urban areas will be conducted during the next

year, informing not only DACAAR programming but also that of

the wider aid community.

A review of the DACAAR Strategic Programme Framework

(2013-2016) will be undertaken at its two year marker to ensure

it continues to be in line with the changing realities on the

ground. Active engagement with the donors and fundraising in

support of the SPF will also be continued.

2014 will be the year of hopes, fears and uncertainties for

Afghanistan. It will also mark 30 years of DACAAR’s existence - a

good chance for celebration, reflection as well as renewal of the

organisation’s unwavering committment to continue to work

side by sid with the people of Afghanistan.

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DACAAR MAIN OFFICE KABUL

Golayee, Wazirabad

PO Box 208, Kabul, Afghanistan

Phone: +93 (0) 20 223 0753

+93 (0) 20 223 0752

Mobile: +93 (0) 700 288 232

E-mail: [email protected]

DACAAR SECRETARIAT COPENHAGEN

c/o Danish Refugee Council, Borgergade

10, 1300 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Phone: +45 33 73 50 00

E-mail: [email protected]