Sri Lanka Community Development and Livelihood Improvement "Gemi Diriya" Project

The Community Development and Livelihood Improvement "Gemidiriya" Project (known as Gemidiriya) started in three villages in Polonnaruwa district.  In the year 2000, a small pilot initiative funded by the Government of Japan within the World Bank-funded Mahaweli Restructuring and Rehabilitation Project brought a new approach to poverty reduction in Sri Lanka. This pilot, known as the Village Self-help Learning Initiative (VSHLI), started with the assumption that communities in Sri Lanka can take decisions, plan and implement development investments, and manage funds. The VSHLI ultimately grew into the Community Development and Livelihood Improvement Project, also known as Gemidiriya.

PUTTING THE VILLAGE AT THE CENTER OF DEVELOPMENT 

“It was different to other programs we have experienced in the past where the politicians and the officials were decided and selected beneficiaries. In Gemidiriya the villagers got together and decided who should receive assistance.”—observations about Gemidiriya by Thilakapali in Ella Ihalagama village, Galle District

Gemidirya’s vision is economically and socially empowered rural communities, and it achieves this vision by:

• promoting inclusive and self reliant village institutions;
• building the capacity of communities to become self reliant;
• financing village organizations for capacity building and investment activities;
• devolving decision-making authority about development investments to village organizations; and
• promoting the role of women, youth, and the poor in villages by developing their capacities.

When Gemidiriya enters a village, it works to help villagers organize.  Villagers can form small groups, which are common interest groups or affinity groups within the community. An important quality for these groups is that the members trust one another.  The small groups can then join the Village Organization (VO) and elect one member to represent them at the VO. The VO is central to the project because it ultimately oversees the process for deciding how development funds are distributed within the village.  Members of the VO elect a board of directors and committee members from the VO membership.  Within the broad framework of the VO, villagers can participate in savings and credit activities by forming savings and credit groups, which form clusters that then form a Village Savings and Credit Organization (VSCO).

Figure 1 The Village Organization or People’s Company

Gemidiriya signs a financing agreement with village organizations which allows them to transfer money for a Village Development Fund (VDF), the size of which is determined by the total population of the village. The VDF has three primary funds for different activities—capacity building, community and social infrastructure, and livelihoods.  The livelihoods fund three additional subcategories—one-time grants for the poorest, a savings and credit fund, and loans for skills development.  A village is not homogenous, and the design of the VDF helps ensure that all of the target groups within a village can benefit from the program. 

Figure 2 Gemidiriya’s Village Development Fund

The Village Development Cycle

The project is implemented by the Gemidiriya Foundation (GDF), which sets the strategy and the procedures for the program, oversees technical support and capacity building, manages communications, and monitors program implementation. However, the village is at the center of Gemidiriya.  GDF has a network of operational offices at the district and zone levels that follow a well-defined process—illustrated in the Wheel of Village Development—which organizes and empowers villages to manage their own development. 

Figure 3 Gemidiriya’s Wheel of Village Development

The process outlined in the wheel starts by organization villagers into institutions of the rural poor.  Through careful, participatory planning, capacity building, and learning by doing, the villagers ultimately develop their own proposals, manage the use of fund, buy goods and services, and maintain accounts. 

One particularly innovative aspect of Gemidiriya is that it nurtures particularly skilled and dedicated community members, providing them specialized training so they can become community professionals (CPs).  The CPs now provide hands-on support to villages on every aspect of the wheel of village development, for which VOs pay them a small feel.  The CPs have now federated at the national level and are working to bring in more skills that will benefit Gemidiriya villages. 

Beginning with Good Governance

When Gemidiriya enters a village, one of its first messages pertains to good governance.  Gemidiriya introduces the projects Golden Rules, which are non-negotiable principles to which the villagers must agree:

1.     We must contribute to our development. Every one in the village must work as a team and contribute time, money and labour to plan and implement Gemidiriya activities to improve the living conditions in our village.

2.     We must have confidence in ourselves and practice self-help.  We must learn to manage our affairs by ourselves in a sustainable manner and be self-reliant to reduce dependence on others.

3.     We are accountable to the village for all our actions. We have full freedom in our decision-making process and management of financial resources, and hence must be responsible and accountable for all our actions.

4.     Good governance is key to success. Gemidiriya is built on the principle of trust among all the villagers and between the village community and other partners. Any breach of trust can result in cancellation of funds and support.

5.     Let us develop our village step-by-step. Development is a gradual step-by-step process and we must plan what we can afford and successfully manage.

6.     Cost effectiveness pays. Treat the funds provided under GEMI DIRIYA as our own funds. Realize that, if we can avoid wastage of funds, we will be able to take up more programs for the village.

7.     Be open and transparent in our dealings. Everybody should have access to all the information related to village development activities. Any misuse of Gemidiriya funds by anybody in the village shall be immediately reported and punished.

8.     Uphold the principles of equity and inclusion. It is our responsibility to ensure that, all members of the village, especially those who need support the most, like the landless, the women, the unemployed youth etc. are involved in the development process and equally share the benefits of development.

9.     Act timely and ensure quality.  We must strive to complete implementation of development activities as per planned time schedules, maintaining national standards and specific quality, so that we become eligible to receive subsequent installments of project funds.

10.  Seek help when required. Seek timely support from Gemidiriya partners like, divisional facilitation team, divisional coordinators, divisional community facilitators, line department officials, NGOs etc., before problems and issues grow to unmanageable proportions.

Gemidiriya also has built-in procedures at the village level that help ensure accountability and transparency.  Each VO has a procurement committee with five to seven members handles all complex situations in community procurement to ensure prudent transactions. A finance committee with five to seven members, which is headed by a Finance Director who is a member of the VO Board of Directors, supervises the financial functions transactions of the VO.  A social audit committee performs a periodic audit function to ensure equal distribution of benefits and compliance with the Golden Rules.

The project also creates incentives for good governance by VOs through the Village Incentive Fund.  This is a fund that VOs can access once they prove they have met and continue to honor the Gemidiriya principles and Golden Rules. 

Figure 4 The Village Incentive Fund reinforces good governance for advance VOs

From Empowerment to Economic Growth: Making the Link

Gemi Diriya’s Livelihood Improvement Support Fund—including the Skills Development Fund, the VSCO financing, and the Special Programme for the Poorest—are stimulating much needed economic activity. Livelihood activities start small and build on the productive assets of the village and its surrounding areas, but the village producers soon need to access market outlets beyond their locality.  Gemidiriya has developed a strategy to identify potential partnerhips with the public and private sector that will allow producers to sell their goods at a fair price.  Already, the project has helped forge almost 50 such partnerships, which are bearing economic fruit. In one such example, 68 families in 9 village organizations have earned Rs. 10 more per kilogram, for a total income of Rs. 10 million, through a continuous deal with Cargills Ceylon, Ltd. to provide potatoes.  In a deal with Prima, 3875 households are providing 11,025 tonnes of maize at Rs. 23/kg for an expected income of Rs. 250 million. One hundred thirty-three households have earned Rs. 499,500 providing vegetables to Expo Lanka and IFCO.