Livelihoods for Resilience Activity builds on the best practices and successes of Graduation with Resilience to Achieve Sustainable Development (GRAD), a USAID-funded project also implemented in Ethiopia by a consortium led by CARE International, with SNV providing technical expertise and leadership, from 2012 to 2016. Livelihoods for Resilience Activity will further refine and scale up the successful elements of GRAD, while also introducing new approaches, including an emphasis on youth employment, off-farm income generation, and addressing social barriers that have traditionally constrained women from income-generating activities. 

The project will strengthen the capacities of women, men, and youth to build resilient livelihoods by empowering them with improved agricultural and financial skills, access to loans and startup capital, market information, and high-quality inputs (such as fertilizer, veterinarian products, and tools). The project will also help households make forward-looking and informed decisions about their livelihoods, adapt to changes and opportunities, and effectively manage risk. Targeted communities are also strengthened through the establishment of VESAs (Village and Economic and Social Associations), and trainings in financial literacy, gender equity, nutrition, and climate-change resilience strategies. 

Within Livelihoods for Resilience Activity, SNV contributes technical expertise and leadership in market systems analysis, value chain selection and development, agricultural extension innovations, and private sector engagement, while applying gender equity, climate change, and nutrition lenses. SNV joins CARE in providing senior leadership to the consortium and is actively involved in collaboration and learning.

The project is being implemented from December 2016 to October 2021, and is working closely with Government of Ethiopia, other USAID supported projects and programs, capacity building organizations, and the private sector.