Maximizing the value of cash for work

This report describes the 20 best practices distilled from a recent Real Time Evaluation of EARLI, a cash for work program implemented by CRS in Niger. EARLI is a USAID/OFDA-funded food security and land recuperation project in which vulnerable households in Tillabéry and Ouallam are paid to dig half-moons that reduce erosion and, regenerate natural vegetation and recuperate degraded drought affected lands. The report touches on the results of the SPHERE study that proved community-led initiatives contribute to psychological and social well-being through restoring dignity and a degree of control to disaster-affected populations. The project is a response to the complex emergency in the Sahel that was triggered by shortages in the 2011 harvest due to drought, but caused by a much longer-term cycle of perpetual crises and shocks. CRS hopes this document will contribute to the growing knowledge and experience of cash for work programs by sharing good practices and highlighting new ones.