PROJECTS

The following are the projects outlines and key approaches:

(1). Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) Land Rights

NECO works with the criteria of IPLCs: 1) Communities are in the CPA of Provincial target areas 2) Local Communities with Forestry agreements 3) IP Communities are in the Communal Land Titling (CLT), at least identity recognition obtained 4) NECO facilitates reviewing Term of References (ToR), ground rules on customary tenure to bring into practice (Community Protocols). Outcome: The IPLCs Recognition Customary Tenure are amplified the voice of the vulnerable. The natural resources where they traditionally occupied since their ancestors are recognized, members accessed and managed safely.

(2). Community-Led Exercise Reliance on Natural Resources

NECO works with numbers of defined Community Protected Areas, corridors, Community Forestry, Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in the target areas. The project facilitates them to focus on protecting, maintaining, controlling and developing systems to be accessible and generate ecological, improved environments to prove their system is well-protected. Before every singly project starts, the study would be launched with ABCD tools and methods or IPLCs-Led Assets-Based Community Development. Outcome: IPLCs Community Adapted Traditional Activities and natural resources traditional occupations are improved. Exercising led to the Customary Tenure recognition, members are united and collective activities are in place.

(3). Improvement Indigenous Ancestral Food System

NECO facilitates communities to become self-sufficient to grow their own food, empower farmers to preserve their own food, encourage farmers to learn to trade and barter, exercise farmers to cook from scratch, and empower farmers to save their own seeds. The project will bring the ideas of integrated farming system, rotational farming, indigenous seeds conservations to re-exercise where the land and forest those they are occupying. The project will facilitate target communities to generate natural seedling and cultivar to reforest and increase food products both cultivated and uncultivated seeds. Home gardens are part of Climate Change Contributions with any innovations on Climate Smart Agriculture. The farmer-led agri-food system researches and customary tenure are applied to see how can indigenous/local knowledge engaged with the climate change and contributed to the rights of IPLCs in Community Protected Areas (CPA). Outcome: Community Strengths-based and Assets-based are brought into practice. IPLCs used their strengths to manage assets and increased food quality, seeds conserved and Climate Change is Adapted.

(4). Dependents sustaining practical resin and malva nut trees

The last remained unsure how long it can be conserved, the resin and Malva nut trees dependents are struggling by their own to protect and depend for local economic development. There are remains in Stung Treng, Kratie and Preah Vihear of resin trees while the Malva nut trees are in Ratanakiri province.  Those locals still continue to practice collection as well as protection from illegal loggers and illegal wild fruit collectors. The project will engage with the resin tapers by working through CVGM to have data from the grassroots and learning how it is important to local human well-being. The tapers will form as a network for learning, sharing and exchanging visions on the conserve and to re-grow for next generations.

The exchange visits will be conducted among the target provinces of their groups’ reps to learn on the best practice of defending and protecting resin and Malva nut trees. The projects will seek more protocol, declaration, policy. etc. to share with the dependents for policy influence and sustainable use. The projects will establish a network that would be effective to share, learning and developing strategy to project resin trees. It would be called “Resin Malva nut Trees Northeast Network-RMNN”. 

(5). Organizational Leadership and Development

The section of organizational development, N.E.C is really committed to enhance the staff and 25 CVGM (Community Voluntary Group Member) capacity on communities’ empowerment. Staff will focus on units’ capacity building: ToT, PCM, PLD-Community Facilitation Skills, Admin-finance, report writing and M&E. etc. While the CVGM will focus on multi-facilitation and ABCD skills.