Livelihoods handbook launched today!

“People in poverty must be part of the solution in efforts to tackle
poverty and inequality. Sustainable Livelihoods provides a tried and tested approach to working with poor communities to develop
sustainable bottom up solutions to the problems they face.”
Toby Blume, Chief Executive, Urban Forum

“Seeing your life in front of you ...seeing it all together, it can be a real eye-opener really, it does make you think afterwards ... a couple of weeks later .... it stays with you.”
Caroline from Cardiff

“The Sustainable Livelihood approach focuses on what people have, instead of what they don’t have. This Handbook takes learning from the experience in the developing world and applies it in an innovative and relevant way to this country.”
Tim Bissett, Chief Executive, Church Urban Fund

The Handbook is intended to introduce community development workers and local activists to the Sustainable Livelihoods approach - an exciting and innovative means of researching the opportunities for change within our households and
communities.

The Handbook is also relevant to academics and policy-makers who are interested in finding out more about how the approach can be used more generally within research and policy development on poverty.

The Sustainable Livelihoods approach

The Sustainable Livelihoods approach was originally developed by international development organisations such as Oxfam and the Department for International Development. It takes as its starting point not deprivation but assets: the strengths and capabilities of people living in poverty and the strategies they use to get by. Connections are made between people's own strategies and the wider context. This information is then used to plan and prioritise possible actions to bring about positive change in people’s lives.

Since 2005, Oxfam and Church Action on Poverty have been working to pilot the approach in the UK - primarily at our Thrive project in Stockton-on-Tees. On the basis of this work, we believe that the approach is as relevant within a rich (yet unequal) Northern country as it is in poorer Southern countries. We hope this Handbook will encourage others to use the approach within their own neighbourhoods and communities.

Oxfam's Julie Jarman is in today's Guardian, talking about the approach and the Handbook: 'Small shocks that can derail the climb out of poverty'.

Handbook contents

The 48-page Handbook includes:

• an overview of the Sustainable Livelihoods approach, and where it has been used to date in the UK;
  
• the key concepts involved;
  
• suggested methods for how to use it; 
• 14 livelihood tools with practical hints and photocopiable sheets;
• a 12-minute DVD including interviews with people involved in case studies described in the Handbook.
  

Ordering details

Discounted price for voluntary and community groups: £4.95 (plus £1 p&p).
Full Price: £14.95 (plus £1 p&p)

You can order a copy by emailing Church Action on Poverty.

Free download

Download the Handbook (minus the DVD) here