Recent EIIP involvement

Rural employment for poverty reduction

In 2011, the Ministry of Planning and Investment requested the ILO to assist in preparing an integrated approach for rural employment promotion for poverty reduction to achieve the goals set out in the National Social Economic Development Plan. 

A comprehensive approach was developed comprising of an immediate income support component and a longer-term livelihood improvement component comprising a combination of different interventions including community asset development, skills improvements, value chain upgrading, small enterprise support and OSH. It was agreed to demonstrate and pilot test the approach in Sekong Province. The objective of the fieldwork was threefold:

·     At village level demonstrate the impact of the integrated approach.

·     Build capacity at provincial/district level to integrate the use of the rural employment approaches and tools.

·     At national level influence national policies and strategies to mainstream rural employment approaches for poverty reduction.

EIIP provided support to community infrastructure works component making the link to increased employment opportunities in rural areas. Through consultations with local authorities and communities, priority was given to improvement and maintenance of existing rural access roads and constructing fishponds for improving nutrition and income generation.

In 2015, poor households in the selected villages were offered jobs carrying out routine road maintenance. The activities were carried out with support from the Department of Public Works and Transport and the Rural Development Office. The road works offered additional income earning opportunities during the dry season that could be combined with agriculture or other economic activities. Equally, fishpond development was identified as a priority area to support local income generation and food security.

Past Activities

Dating back to the early 1980’s, the ILO has a long history of providing technical support to rural infrastructure works in Laos.  During the 1990s, the ILO through the EIIP, were the first to support the Lao government in building up local capacity to both plan and implement rural infrastructure works. As part of this support, guidelines, manuals and training materials were prepared relating to Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning (IRAP) and rural road construction applying employment-intensive work methods.

In the 2000s, the ILO worked closely with the ADB, providing technical assistance to the road works components of the Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Pilot Project in Houaphanh Province and the Smallholder Development project in Champasack Province. The ILO collaboration focussed on (i) technical inputs during the survey and design stage, (ii) supervision support during the works implementation, and (iii) strengthening of local capacity to undertake similar work in the future.

Rural roads

Starting in 1993, the ILO labour-based rural road works project in Savannakhet and Oudomxai introduced a comprehensive strategy for the construction and maintenance of rural roads in Laos. The viability of these policies and implementation strategies were clearly verified through the road works activities carried out in the two provinces. The main recommendations as regards to the viability of using labour-based technology in the road sector were described in a strategy document prepared by this project. The project also documented in a technical manual how labour-based technology can be applied in Laos.

Through the Savannakhet/Oudomxai project, the ILO established close working relationships with various training institutions in Laos. Their involvement in project training activities, allowed these institutions to disseminate project experience to a wider audience by incorporating labour-based technology in their regular training courses. As a result, the ILO was involved in the development of appropriate training material on labour-based road works technology for the School of Transport and Communications in Savannakhet and the Vientiane Polytechnic.

In 2003 and 2004, The ILO provided technical assistance to the ADB-loan-funded Shifting Cultivation Stabilisation Pilot Project in Houaphanh Province. This support consisted of (i) technical inputs for the survey and design of new rural roads, (ii) assistance in contract supervision for the implementation of the road works, and (iii) strengthening of local capacity to undertake similar work in the future.

The ILO was also involved in the detailed formulation of the infrastructure component of the Smallholder Development Project, which commenced in 2005. As a result ADB requested the ILO to provide technical assistance to the construction of provincial and district roads in Champasack Province and train local contractors.

Local level planning

The "Rural Access Planning and Infrastructure for Basic Needs Project" started in 1995 with UNDP funding, and was executed by the Lao Government with technical assistance from the ILO. In 1997, the Swedish government started co-financing this project. The main components included:

·     development, promotion and institutionalization of local level access planning;

·     training Government counterpart staff;

·     establishment of data bases and preparation of maps;

·     Identification of priority projects and the formulation of project proposals;

·     development of a community participatory process for planning and implementing rural access interventions;

·     development and establishment of a rural road planning framework.

Policy level work

Since the 1990s, the ILO has continued its dialogue with the Lao Government on various topics relating to the effective provision of rural infrastructure, more recently addressing the topic of rural road maintenance. This subject was first reviewed in detail during a study in 2004 and has re-emerged in relation to recent initiatives by the Poverty Reduction Fund to secure adequate maintenance arrangements.
 

Reference literature 

Strategy Document for a Labour-based Road Works Programme in Lao PDR - Bjorn Johannessen and Geoff Edmonds, ILO Vientiane 1996


Technical Manual Labour Based Road Construction Methods - Bjorn Johannessen, ILO 1997


Labour Based Road Construction and Maintenance Technology, Course Notes for the National Polytechnic Institute - Bjorn Johannessen, ILO 1997


Access and Income Generating Activities, IRAP Laos Issue Paper 1 - Chris Donnges, ILO 1998


Guidelines on Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning, The Laos Experience, IRAP Laos Issue Paper 2 - Chris Donnges, ILO 1998


Integrated Rural Accessibility Planning and Community Participation in Rural Infrastructure Development, IRAP Laos Issue Paper 4 - Chris Donnges, ILO 1999


Review of Rural Road Maintenance in Lao PDR: Current Status, Issues and Options - Kirit Vaidya and Pisit Tusanasorn, ILO 2004


The social and economic impact of the construction of the Nam Ham and Nam Ven Roads, Houaphanh Province, Lao PDR - Chloe Pearse, ILO 2006


Technical Assistance to the Smallholder Development Project, Final Report - Pen Sonath, ILO 2009