CLP :: Social Protection

Reducing Environmental & Economic Risk: Offering Social Protection

The Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP) implements a range of short-term social protection activities to act as safety nets during the transition from extreme poverty. They are designed to reduce the need for households to resort to negative short-term coping strategies, such as distress sales of assets, and prevent people from slipping even deeper into poverty.

Social Protection during CLP-1

Between 2004 and 2010, the first phase of CLP (CLP-1) distributed more than 15,000 erosion grants of between Tk2,000 and Tk3,000. 2,400 households also received corrugated iron roofing materials from CLP, and more than 2,000 people were brought into the Community Safety Net (CSN) project. The IEP scheme generated more than 5.5 million person days work for 132,000 people, and 9,700 IEP safety net grants were awarded.

Under CLP-1, all 55,000 core participant households received a monthly family maintenance grant of Tk350 for 18 months and an asset maintenance grant of Tk250 for six months. CLP-1 distributed cash grants varying from Tk800 to Tk2,000 to those unable to participate in the IEP scheme. In addition, during the devastating floods in 2007 more than 129,000 households received food rations. During the 2008 food price spikes, the CLP provided temporary food grants to more than 112,000 people and in response to the cold wave in 2010 more than 13,500 households received warm blankets.

Social Protection during CLP-2

CLP-2 aims to strengthen safety nets for the extreme poor and reduce social vulnerability. The project plans to provide 70,000 people with employment during the monga season and add a further 2,680 beneficiaries to the CSN project. Under CLP-2, the erosion grants project has been absorbed into a new Emergency Grants stream, which will benefit up to 18,250 households. Up to 24,000 households will also benefit from the IEP safety net project. All 67,000 core participant households (CPHHs) will receive family maintenance and asset maintenance grants

Employment Creation During Monga

During monga, the seasonal period of hunger, employment opportunities on the chars are scarce and char households face increased food insecurity. To address this, CLP has created the Infrastructure and Employment Project (IEP), a cash-for-work project that uses local labour to construct raised plinths for homesteads. Employment is self-selective, and local partners are used to identify the neediest households if more people are available than are required. IEP reserves at least 35% of job cards for women, and the working week is limited to five days, to allow for rest days and domestic activities.

Emergency grant beneficiaries with warm blankets donated by CLP during a recent cold period

The IEP Safety Net

IEP employment is vigorous physical work, and the CLP recognises that many of the most vulnerable households may not have members capable of participating – households headed by the elderly, disabled or pregnant women for example. In response to this, the programme provides a weekly grant for households in IEP working areas which do not have adults physically capable of participating. The grant is worth Tk200 per week for between four and ten weeks, depending on the duration of IEP work in the relevant village.

Cash Stipends

When CPHHs receive their assets, they also become eligible for a monthly family maintenance grant of Tk350 for 18 months, which provides them with cash to increase and maintain their food consumption and face crises such as health shocks. The stipend reduces the need for households to sell their assets in crisis periods before those assets have matured to generate a new income stream. In addition, participants also receive an asset maintenance grant of Tk250 for six months, to help maintain the new assets before they begin generating income.

Emergency grants

Over 18,500 grants of Tk2,000 each will be made available to core participant households for a variety of emergencies such as homestead erosion, cold periods, cyclones, droughts and fires. These can be in cash or in kind, such as direct provision of improved roofing materials or warm blankets.

Participants Becoming Donors

The community safety net (CSN) is a voluntary collective donation made by a group of CLP participants to a vulnerable person of their choice. The donors, recipients of support from CLP themselves, are encouraged to take ownership of the safety net, deciding how they wish to support the CSN beneficiary, and across what time period. Over 2,680 households are expected to benefit from this during CLP-2.