CASE STUDIES

 Appendix 1: Economic Growth, Poverty Elimination and Livelihoods

 Case Study 1

Vanuatu: Vanuatu, New Zealand Children’s Health and Education Trust project.

 Background

• NZAID funded project area Peskarus Village, South East Malakula, Maskelynes Islands, Vanuatu
• Work with the community started nine years ago, as a response to health and hygiene related issues in Peskarus Village;
• Have been receiving NZAID funding since 2008, though the soap making training started in 2007.
• Currently the soap is available for purchase to approximately 5000 people.

 Project goal:

To establish a viable soap making business which is self sustaining, involves the local community and produces a high quality product for use locally and across Vanuatu.

 How much aid money has NZCHET received for the project?

• $10,000 NZAID
• $4000 from NZ public

• $700 from NZCHET, (excludes labour from NZ volunteers).

 What has been the impact of this funding?

• 38 women trained as certified soap makers;
• Modern infrastructure in the form of a soap factory built in the village: “The factory gave women a centre to develop a business from”. 
• The soap factory doubles as a work centre for other village economic ventures, such as women’s sewing group. 
• Money from the sale of soap used to offset the poor returns of the only other industry, copra production;

 Health benefits

• There was no soap available in the community prior to the project; women now have something to clean with. Since its introduction to the community, the soap has eradicated scabies and helps keep lice at bay. 

 Economic growth and poverty elimination benefits

• This is the first time that many women have had financial stability and employment;
• The soap is marketed in Vila supermarkets.  The women are diversifying their product, extracting a natural antiseptic to add to the soap and producing soaps of different shapes and sizes;

There is potential for the business to grow. The women are negotiating with local resorts and hotels interested in stocking the soap as a local product to sell to tourists and use in their operations.

The Palm Project, with support from the New Zealand Children’s Health and Education Trust (NZCHET) and NZAID, has alleviated a significant health problem and boosted the economic sustainability of remote villages in Vanuatu. The Palm Project began as a women’s collective and has since grown in to a successful commercial venture benefiting the wider community.

The project is based in Maskelynes, a remote group of islands in Vanuatu, populated by approximately 12,000 people. Scabies and lice posed a considerable health and hygiene problem as the local population could not afford treatment to remediate the situation.

In year X the non-government organisation NZCHET, trained a women’s collective in Vanuatu to use virgin organic coconut oil to make soap. The collective found that adding tea tree oil gave the soap anti-fungal and anti-bacterial qualities, which is ideal for treating scabies and lice. The 36 member collective produced 5,000 cakes of the organic anti-bacterial soap for distribution to families who could not afford to purchase the product.

Research by NZCHET and the Palm Project found that there was demand for a locally produced soap from hotels and resorts in Vila. Plans were developed to expand the initiative in to a commercial venture.

Considerable public consultation was undertaken to ensure support for the project was received from the male dominated council of the area. With financial assistance from the NZAID KOHA-PICD fund, NZCHET and the Palm Project have recently completed the construction a of a soap factory in the Peskarus Village of Meskelynes. The Palm Project has since secured contracts with local hotels and resorts to supply the soap.

The economic benefits of the project stem further than the sale of the organic soaps. Builders and labourers from the village were employed to build the factory and the Project also purchases virgin coconut oil directly from local villages, ensuring a fair price is paid.

NZCHET and the Palm Project aim to use the profits from the soap sales to address community development issues in the area and reduce poverty levels. Extensive village discussions have taken place to decide how the profits should be used to best improve community livelihoods, health and education.

Plans are now in place to extend the range of products made by the Palm Project to meet the additional needs of local hotels and resorts. With assistance from New Zealand soap developer Sandra Craig, the Palm Project range will include other products such as shampoo and conditioners in the near future.