Department of Development

The Development Department of Caritas Gikongoro

The development department aims at helpping vulnerable people to access appropriate means to poverty reduction by improving their technical capacities in agricultural and livestock production, promotion savings and credit groups, capacity building in entrepreneurship to increase income, promoting rational management of natural resources with focus on water and land, as well as supporting proactive community actions for adaptation and mitigation to climate change

Projects:

1. Strenghtening food and nutrition project for 900Households in Busanze and Nyabimata sectors Nyaruguru district with the support of Trocaire for the period of 2023 to 2027.

Key Achievements:
- Demonstrations to the targeted project participants on the establishment of different types of kitchen gardens for vegetable production;
- Facilitated targeted villages to conduct an assessment of their farmland use, mapping their household’s resources and planning based on individual analyses result;
- Training of 604 targeted beneficiaries on food security and good nutrition, as well as supporting them in analyzing vulnerabilities related to food security, planning, and support in the implementation of some community actions to improve food security,
- Facilitating targeted project participants to access loan for small livestock to increase income through the SACCO microfinance institution;
- Training of youth and women project beneficiaries on different energy sources, with emphasis on improved cooing stoves “Canarumwe“, and providing financial support to 524 of the most vulnerable beneficiaries to access and use efficient cooking stoves;
- Supporting 5groups of the targeted vulnerable beneficiaries to establish beekeeping as for diversifying income sources,

2.Project for the Promotion of Agroforestry Practices in Busanze and Nyabimata Sectors of Nyaruguru District, and Mbazi and Kibumbwe Sectors of Nyamagabe District with the support of Trocaire for the period of 2023 to 2027.

Key Achievements:

Training and supporting 1,523 targeted beneficiaries in the development and maintenance of tree nursery for agroforestry and fruits trees;
Establishing and monitoring of 10 community tree nurseries for agroforestry and fruit trees;
Providing support of materials and seeds for agroforestry and fruit trees selected by the community;
Provision of training and supporting 568 targeted beneficiaries on fruit grafting, focusing on avocados, oranges, mangoes and tomato trees;
Organizing annual public complain for tree planting to raise awareness among all stakeholders on the importance of agroforestry trees in soil management, protection and food production.

3.Hillside irrigation project with gravity systems and supply of clean water to the smallholder farmers in Manwari cell, Mbazi sector, Nyamagabe district under Trocaire funds for the period of 2024-2025

The project is aiming at improving the livelihood and economic wellbeing to the smallholder farmers in Manwari cell, with the installation of a small scale hillside irrigation facilities by gravity systems on 15Ha to enable targeted farmers in the valorisation of all agriculture seasons and better planning of their farming activities

Key Achievements:

Organizing meetings with key stakeholders to inform them about the project implementation, share community commitments, and jointly define the roles and responsibilities of local authorities, targeted communities, and Caritas Gikongoro.
Discussing key steps to accelerate project implementation, including follow-up actions and necessary decisions,
Installation of irrigation facilities and capacity building of 173 farmers on its use and basic maintenance of irrigation equipment,

Supply and install domestic clean water facilities to the 443 targeted communities in Kigarama and Muhororo villages, in Manwari cell,

4.Project to Strengthen Food Security for 500 Smallholder Farmers through Sustainable Land Management Practices and Income-Generating Opportunities in five villages of Nyanzoga Cell, Cyanika Sector, Nyamagabe District. This project is funded by 8xmille of the Italian Catholic Church for a period of two years from June 2024 to May 2026.

Key Achievements:

280 Project participants were trained on Integrated Soil Fertility Management,
199 project participants were trained on installation of different types of kitchen gardens for vegetable production,
600 kitchen gardens were installed in the home of project participants with diverse types of vegetables for their household consumption and some were able to have excess to sell. 42 sac gardens and 260 Mandala gardens were installed to address the land scarcity across three demonstration sites,
2000 kg cuttings of sweet potatoes rich in vitamin A were distributed to 391 project participants,
105 organic compost heap were created by the project participants to enhance soil fertility,
230 small livestock were distributed to 230 project participants,
40 members of Village Climate Change and Water Committee were trained in vulnerability analyses risks mapping to climate change and each village developed community action plan,
37,583 seedlings of agroforestry and fruit trees were produced and planted,
40 beneficiaries were equipped with skills and knowledge in making and installation of efficient cooking stoves have started to support their community members to access and use efficient cooking stoves. To date 86 Project participants installed and are using efficient cooking stoves,
17 savings and loan groups were created among the project participants. By the end of May 2025, a cumulative saving of nine million, five hundred and seventy-one thousand Rwandan francs (9,571,000 Rwfr) has been saved by the 17 groups. They have loaned seven million, seven hundred and five thousand Rwandan francs (7,705,000 Rwfr) to 323 members; and the amount equivalent to one million, eight hundred and sixty-six thousand Rwandan franc (1,866,000rwfr) is on the bank account,
168 project participants have initiated small businesses to get money that are for other family needs

5.Youth for Project- Improving Youth Livelihoods by Strengthening Digitalization in Entrepreneurship and Promoting an Enabling Environment for Entrepreneurial Initiatives.

Key Achievements:
- Selection of 63Youth Network Agents (YNAs) in Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts.
- With the support of YNAs, selection, formation and follow up of 8785young people entrepreneurs Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru districts,
- Training on digital entrepreneurship, including recording expenses using smartphones to monitor business performance, product promotion, and accessing information from other young people across the country,
- Training of 63 YNAs on the use of the “Kayko” application, which allows tracking the progress of projects carried out by other youth entrepreneurs,
- Conduct monthly meetings with YNAs to analyze the quality of their support to other youth, identify challenges encountered, and plan future actions,
- Organizing business networking event to create linkages between the Private Sector Federation (PSF), targeted youth, microfinance institutions, and other identified stakeholders,