NGO "ANOTHER WAY" (STICHTING BAKENS VERZET), NETHERLANDS, SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATED SELF-FINANCING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGIES

This Model for ecological sustainable self-financing integrated development projects for the world’s poor is the intellectual property of the NGO Stichting Bakens Verzet, 1018 AM Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The Model has been placed in the public domain. It is available for bona-fide non-commercial use by interested parties free of charge subject to fair citation as follows:

“This project has been drafted using the Model for self-financing, ecological, sustainable, integrated development projects for the world’s poor the intellectual property of and made available free of charge by the NGO Stichting Bakens Verzet, 1018 AM, Amsterdam, Netherlands.”

The citation should be included in formal documents, publications, and websites relating to projects drafted under the Model.

The Model enables interested parties, at their own risk, to draft their own complete self-financing, ecological, sustainable, integrated development projects and make applications for seed finance to cover their costs.

NGO Stichting Bakens Verzet will, on request, prepare draft projects under the Model and funding applications for them on the basis of information supplied by the interested parties. For this service interested parties must raise and pay in advance a fair (but modest) contribution towards the out of pocket costs of the preparation of the project documents.

Protection of the Model

This Model has a high social and moral value, which must be maintained and protected. The Model cannot itself substitute for poor quality project preparation and management. Projects prepared by third parties under the Creative Commons Licence must therefore be submitted for review free of charge by Stichting Bakens Verzet before implementation. Reviewed projects together with review comments may be published at the sole discretion of Stichting Bakens Verzet at this website. Project review will take place within 30 working days of receipt of the project documents. ( For contact information, see above)

ONG Bakens Verzet reserves all rights of action in any way deriving from illegal, abusive or incompetent project implementation of any project under this Model directly or indirectly bringing this Model into disrepute. The law applicable is that of the Netherlands. The competent court is that of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The Model

The Model helps you write your own integrated development project.

The model is built into your main project index. The index leads you step by step through the preparation of your own self-financing, ecological, sustainable integrated development project. The files in the index contain possible texts for your project. You may be able to use some of them without making many changes. Where necessary, the texts have to be changed to suit the needs of the people living in your project area.

The model programme, your project index, is divided into several sections. All the sections put together form your project. You can complete the sections of the programme in any order. You can complete the files within each section in any order.

The main project index gives you an overview of your project files. The files are interlinked to help you find your way from one project document to another. You can directly open any file.

Introduction.

Self-financing, ecological, sustainable integrated development projects under the Model lead to a general improvement in the quality of life of all of the people in each project area. The provide a general coordinated approach to development problems. An important role is reserved for women and for productivity development in project areas. A social security system is built into the project structures, reinforcing solidarity within each community.

Each project area has 50.000 to 70.000 inhabitants. It can coincide with all or part of an administrative district, for example the area where the project coordinator is active and well-known. There is nothing critical in the number of inhabitants, which happens to be similar to that of the ancient Greek city states. The population in the project area must be large enough to support the various structures created, yet small enough for each inhabitant to be able to associate with the structures and participate in them if they wish to so.

A cooperative, interest-free, inflation-free, local economic environment is set up in each project area. (See parts 3. The local money systems - introduction and 4. The local money systems : more details in section 3 the financial structures of the fourth block the structures to be created.

Local economic systems are created where financial leakage is blocked. (See Section 1. Analysis of the causes of poverty of the first block poverty and quality of life). The limited amounts of formal money present in project areas stay in the project areas, where they are continuously recycled. (See parts 5. The interest-free micro-credit systems: introduction and 6. The interest-free micro-credit systems : more details of section 3 the financial structures of the fourth block the structures to be created.

The projects directly mobilise 10% of the adult population in each project area. The remaining 90% of the inhabitants are indirectly involved. Unemployment in project areas should be eliminated within the first four years of operation.

Applying the compensation principle, the monthly contributions made by inhabitants into their Cooperative Local Development Fund are covered by savings on their current living costs. For example, the costs of families who spend a large part of the income on wood for cooking, on drinking water, or on the purchase of medicines will be greatly reduced once the project structures in their areas are in operation. Formal money means of families can then be made available to pay for other things. Wood will no longer be used for cooking. It will be replaced by mini-briquettes produced under the local money systems set up. Water-related costs and the cost of maintenance of water structures are already covered under the monthly contributions. Improvement in the general quality of life (hygiene education, drinking water supply, sanitations, elimination of smoke in and around homes, a more varied diet(etc) should lead to a major reduction in disease and to a reduction of the amount of medicine needed.

Some project activities lead to reductions in CO2 emission. The main one is the use of high efficiency cookers. Others are the replacement of kerosene with solar home systems and the replacement of some water structures by advanced solar pumping systems. These activities qualify in principle for CER emission reduction certificates under the Kyoto treaty, which could be traded in industrialised countries. The value of the certificates could even cover the cost of the projects. The problem however is that compliance costs and complicated procedures under the Treaty have tended to exclude small-scale emission reduction projects.

How to start a project.

An NGO (usually one which is already active in the project area in question and known to , and which has the confidence of, the populations there) sets up a partnership with a larger national or eventually international organisation with access to donors and financial organisations. The partnership answers to donors and financiers for the project. It nominates a project coordinator, who, during the period of execution of the project may not be a member of the original NGO or of the partnership. The partnership and the coordinator are counter-parts : the coordinator is responsible for the execution of the project (with the role of “government”) while the partnership is controller (or the “parliament”) The Model gives full details of the auditing structures set up. Once the project (“the law”) has been adopted by the partnership (“the parliament”) it is passed to the coordinator (“the government”) for execution. From that point on, the partnership controls correct execution, but is not itself directly involved in the execution of the project.

A project under the Model is based on information provided by answering a questionnaire with a list of information required. This information can be supplied by the coordinator in a few hours, as he-she should have a good personal direct knowledge of the project area. The coordinator (with his-her assistants) can then draft a first version of the project documentation, which remains subject to modifications eventually requested by the local populations.

The project documentation is adopted by the partnership, which will then seek initial finance within the framework of a country programme between a donor partner and the country where the project is to take place, or by a partner of the partnership, or by an international agency. Projects under the Model comply with all internationally declared and recognised development priorities relating to development aid. They enable nearly all of the Millennium Development Goals to be met (and surpassed) in project areas.

Financing may be in the form of a ten-year interest-free loan. Obviously, financing by way of gift would allow more rapid local integrated development in project areas over the middle term.

First formalities

Drawing showing the first formal steps needed to start a project up.

Statutes for the NGO (partnership) responsible for project execution

See part 07. The cooperative for project execution of the section division of tasks in section 2 of the third block on the division of responsibilities at the three project levels.

Information needed to draft a project documentation.<

To prepare a first edition of a project application under the Model, the local party (usually the future project coordinator ) will need to supply general information on the project area, on the local economy, and on the quality of life of the inhabitants there. No detailed research is necessary. The information needed should be known to anybody with a good knowledge of the project area. Detailed statistics are not need. What is needed is a general view of the quality of life in the project area.

The first edition of the project documentation needs to be discussed with inhabitants and with local authorities before a more final version for submission to donors and financing parties can be finalised.

The following five basic conditions have to be accepted by the users. Without them the self-financing conditions of the project cannot be satisfied.

They are:

1 Acceptance of the Health Clubs. These offer basic hygiene education courses. They also serve as a platform for women, so that they can organise themselves and participate and play an important role in the various structures foreseen. The health clubs therefore help address the so-called "gender problem". ". (See 1. Health clubs in section 2 the social structures of block 4 the structures to be created.)