A Short Introduction

Sustainable Livelihood Action is a non-for-profit development initiative bringing together expertise and experience at grassroot level, at science institutions, at NGOs and at consultancy companies.

Based on a long working relationship among the partners involved in SLA, this not-for-profit European Grouping (EEIG) was established in 2001 as a formal partnership for structured collaboration and joint projects' implementation related to sustainable resource management for livelihood improvement.

SLA’s emphasis on working with local NGO partners in project implementation is aimed at institutional development and human capacity building of these partners.

Sustainable Livelihood Action’s founding partners include:

• University of Huddersfield, an academic institution in the UK
• Inter-Actie Foundation ,  an international NGO based in the Netherlands 
• RDP Livestock Services BV, a Netherlands-based consultancy, a role later taken over by Capricorn Projekt BV .

Specific elements of SLA's approach include multi-stakeholder processes, participatory research and extension, livelihoods approach, ecosystem approach, action-learning, local institution building, policy development. With our experience in many other projects SLA can contribute to the strategic planning and management responsibilities at head office and field levels.

Based on its core partners and staff, SLA has a longstanding experience in the field of community based natural resource management, in forest, agro-forest, wetland / catchment environments, among other countries also in Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia.

Currently, Sustainable Livelihood Action in conjuction with the University of Huddersfield and Ethio-Wetlands and Natural Resource Management (Ethiopian NGO) is implementing two EC projects in south-west Ethiopia in participatory forest management in non-timber forest management  and in conservation of wild coffee.

Most recently, SLA was involved under the name Wetland Action with the University of Huddersfield and Self Help Africa as well as with NGOs in Malawi and Zambia, in projects supported by DGIS and Wetlands International in the context of GAWI development (Guidelines on Agriculture Wetlands Interactions ).