Project Summary:

Sustainable Liberia? Yes. Action! (SLYA) is a registered national non-governmental organization in the Republic of Liberia. SLYA works in hard to reach areas targeting women, children, and young people in Liberia to impact their lives and transform their communities. The organization?s focus is tackling the challenging needs and gaps in agriculture, environment, health, education and protection in a sustainable way with robust actions. Executive management of SLYA is delegated by the Board of Directors though a team of four senior staff (Chief Executive Officer, Program Coordinator, Administrative and Finance Officer, and Communications and Resource Mobilization Officer). The Board of Directors is a body of 9 senior volunteers, which is collectively responsible for the overall direction of SLYA. SLYA a solid foundation of experience in developing proposals and implementing donors funded community based activities.

The project is to be implemented in 5 areas in Careyburg District which have undergone serious loss of biodiversity and land degradation over the last 2 decades mainly due to chopping down trees for coal, and illegal sand and gold mining. The project is in support of the Government of Liberia?s efforts to prevent biodiversity loss and degradation of the land and poverty reduction. The project is consistent with the GEF focal area of Biodiversity Conservation. The focus is on creating alternative livelihood opportunities, market support systems and awareness and education on environmental/biodiversity issues which will contribute to curtailing the wanton destruction of the environment in the project area.

The objective of the project is to strengthen biodiversity conservation at the community level by improving the livelihoods of 100 young people in 5 communities in rural Montserrado County through snail and goat farming. At least 60% of the project beneficiaries will be women. SLYA is involved in an active consultation process with key stakeholders at the community and district levels. Community members were an integral part of the project conceptual and planning and will participate in its implementation. Gender will be mainstreamed in all project activities and appropriate indicators have been developed and incorporated into the logical framework.

The Project will have two technical components and a third management component. Component 1 is Community Groups Organization, Component 2 is Snail/ Goat Farming Development and Market Access Support, and Component 3 is Project Management. The total project cost is US$67,000,000. GEF SGP is expected to provide US$35,000 (trainings, consultancy, purchase snails and goats, food stocks for animals, project staff salary, environmental/biodiversity awareness and education activities, coordination meetings, monitoring and evaluation, and overhead costs. SLYA contribution is US$26,000 (land area for demonstration farm, office furniture and equipment, audio-visual equipment, one-4 wheel drive jeep and 1 motorbike. The community contribution is in kinds with a value at US$6,000 (land space value, labor and local materials for the construction of snails and goats pens).

1.2 Organizational Background and Capacity to Implement the Project:

Sustainable Liberia? Yes. Action! (SLYA), is a duly registered national non-governmental organization in the Republic of Liberia. In experiencing large gaps and needs in Liberia, the organization formerly known as Sustainable Liberia Initiative, was established on February 16, 2010. SLYA works in hard to reach areas. We focus on objectives that target, women, children, and young people in Liberia to impact their lives and transform their communities. The target groups we work with are made vulnerable by their circumstances, specifically poverty, disease, poor environment, ignorance, injustice and violence. SLYA?s activities fulfill five programmatic objectives that aim to maximize our impacts on our target groups rights, which are: 1) Right to Freedom from Hunger; 2) Right to Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment; 3) Right to Health, 4) Right to Education; and 5) Right to Protection.

Our focus is tackling the challenging needs and gaps in agriculture, sustainable environment, health, education and protection in a sustainable way with robust actions.