Empowering Women for Prosperity & Stability with Value Chain Development & Entrepreneurship in Sudan n/a In 4 years, the project improves the sustainable income, leadership and inclusion among 3,028 vulnerable women and 1,010 men (2S,876 indirectly) in 18 clusters of villages in North and South Kordofan engaged in NTFP (gum arabic, desert date, christ thorn, tamarind, baobab, honey) and cash crops (hibiscus) value chains through association building, enhanced human and institutional capacity, and improved market inclusion, collaborative and conflict-sensitive NRM and entrepreneurship. To address discrimination and economic exclusion, we will implement activities to engage and organise women: (1) mobilise 18 communities and form 18 committees of producers, local leaders, representatives, and change agents, (2) recruit and build the capacity of 26 local field agents embedded into the operation of associations and functioning as master trainers in community mobilisation/outreach, women economic empowerment, business development and NRM/NTFP productivity, and (3) development and an initial operational support; the performance-based through workshops, learning-by-doing, systems will focus on (1)technical and organisational capacity, (2) management and business skills, (3) gendered pro-poor market and value chain development, (4) micro-franchising, (S) local conventions and land use planning management, (6) participatory and gendered MEL, (7) safeguarding, protection and SGBV, (8) accountability/transparency and (9) financial management - involving a total of 131 training days (including 3S ToT training days) and ongoing coaching, learning-by-doing and systems development. Further, to promote gender equality and social change, we will implement activities to build associations' capacity to: (1) lead gendered/conflict-sensitive value chain diagnostic exercises, (2) implement S4 advocacy campaigns, (3) engage associations in 36 replication trainings each year, (4) facilitate 28 roundtables and 16 cross-sector initiatives to address barriers to sustainable/equitable productivity and market access, and (S) develop and disseminate 4 knowledge products aimed at delivering, sustaining and multiplying comparable pro-poor market development programmes. Moreover, to improve women entrepreneurs' access to markets and market information, we will implement activities to build associations' capacity to (1) conduct annual rapid market/VC analysis and cluster-level diagnostic exercises in Y1 and Y2, (2) improve facilities, demonstration sites and peer-to-peer skills in aggregation, storage and transport through 20 multi-topic demonstration sites, 18 facilities and 30 ToT training days, (3) develop systems to analyse and forecast demand/supply and prices, and (4) facilitate vertical linkages through facilitated mapping of support functions and 28 roundtables and regular sales agreements with improved contract terms and conditions leading to at least 18 new and/or improved collective agreements and engagement with at least S (at least 3 new) large processors, wholesalers or exporters. Furthermore, we will support associations: (a) to increase women entrepreneurs' knowledge of specific value chains and commercialisation strategies (e.g. farmer as an entrepreneur, farming as a business and business planning, horizontal organisation and vertical linkages, variable costs and efficiency, marking and markets, managing risks, profitability and growth plans, budging and financial management) through training, peer learning and group coaching and (b) to develop value added products under harmonized brands by (1) developing micro-franchising and standard operating procedures, harmonized brands and services, (2) organising open calls for micro-grant awards/franchisees and incubation for 36 micro- franchisees, (3) improving peer-to-peer skills in value addition, sustainable harvesting and handling through 30 ToT training days and facilitated replication and coaching, and (4) developing extension services and implementing 36 demonstration sites on value addition. Finally, to improve and increase productivity, reverse depletion of natural resource base (e.g. water, forests), and prevent localised conflicts over NRM, we will convene local leaders, state actors (i.e., NFC, MoA, HAC, WES), and representatives from markets, civil society and producers/processors to collaboratively develop 18 LCPs/CLUMPs. We will also work with and support associations to: (a) build peer-to-peer skills in water conservation/harvesting, tree planting,forest regeneration, uncontrolled fire protection, and natural resource projects that benefit multiple groups through 30 ToT training days and 144 facilitated association-led training days, (b) develop extension services and implement 18 multi-topic village-level demonstration sites on sustainable NRM, (c) establish S revolving funds organised at S clusters for households to spend on alternative fuels, tech, and activities that reduce the depletion of forests (e.g. butane gas stoves, brickmaking, forest fire defence) and lessen time demands on working women, and (d) implement 36 NRM projects (2 per community) benefiting multiple groups and improving sustainable production (i.e., agricultural water, regeneration and sustainable use of forests, and conflict prevention). Most women in target villages depend on NTFP (gum arabic, desert date, christ thorn, tamarind, baobab, honey) and other cashcrops (hibiscus) for income as producers and processors (contributing 30% on average of household income and as the main or the only source of cash income for about 8S% of producers). They are small-scale suppliers - dispersed, isolated and with limited ability to negotiate or access market actors in the upper level of the VC; 60% live below the poverty line; 3% are IDPs; and NTFP is their sole source for income generation during the dry season, agriculture off-seasons or during crop failure. Local and international demand for Kordofan's NTFP and hibiscus (particularly for high quality grades; the Kordofan grade reference is the highest internationally for hard gum and hibiscus in global markets) are increasing, yet lack of extension services, value addition, commercialisation strategies, unsustainable NRM techniques and poor market linkages limit NTFP and crop potential to reduce poverty for producers. Costs associated with inefficient harvest, production, and marketing are high among producers with no access to horizontal linkages. Supply for local consumption is adequate but insufficient for regional or, for gum arabic, baobab, and hibiscus, international demand. Lack of reliability, sustainable access, quality/quantity, by-products and uniform grades are primary constraints to competitiveness, market access and profits; not producers' selling price. For women, these factors are exacerbated by gender norms and a lack of organisation, bargaining, and decision-making power; they earn 80% less than men (even though 72% of those involved in NTFP activities are women), occupy lower VC levels as collectors, and few are engaged in trading and mediating where profits are higher. Producers seldom process, upgrade or add value to their products before marketing them, which reduces income and shelf-life and exposes them to seasonal supply fluctuations. They have limited technical and financial capacity to develop and manage sound NTFP businesses and limited access to market information and their capacity to analyse the market and the product is very limited, weakening their negotiation positions with traders. No rule systems govern access to the shared NR base, which is being depleted via unsustainable harvest, uncontrolled fire, overgrazing, and demand for firewood and charcoal. Exploitation surpasses productivity, with a 30% loss of forested land over the past S years. Frequent localised conflicts over NR exacerbate instability. Kordofan's high-quality NTFP and hibiscus present a unique opportunity for poverty reduction, women's economic empowerment and economic growth, as well as NR protection and resilience due to their drought tolerant characteristics and contribution to forest cover. NEF-UK's experience with a 2.S year pilot programme resulted in a 42.5% increase in income. The project facilitates sustainable positive social and political behaviour and practice changes on 3 levels: (1) Individual (women improve their decision-making/bargaining behaviours, control over business income and assets practices, and leadership/engagement in sustainable NRM and conflict prevention and management); (2) Community (household and community members improve attitudes towards women's leadership in targeted VCs and improve their practices to reverse the depletion of NR); and (3) Institutional (community leaders, change agents, and market actors increase individual and organisational behaviour and practices to deliver and sustain comparable pro-poor market development programmes). Financial sustainability is an essential criterion for women to achieve agency, independence, and self- reliance. We will provide women with tailored support to sustainably enhance their market inclusion, profits and long-term perseverance, self-reliance and financial viability, and link them with new or improved markets and market actors and enhance contract terms and conditions that can enable longer-term investments and planning. We will form/strengthen and work with women-led cooperative associations, market actors, local leaders and supporting functions to address market bottlenecks and constraints, reduce conflicts and out-migration, and advocate for women's economic inclusion, aimed at institutionalising change and sustaining results. We will build sustainable structures (women-led cooperative associations that are institutionally and financially sustainable (target: 80%) through profit sharing, trading and membership fees) that will facilitate replication and scalability by building on enhanced capacity of local associations and regional networks that can provide peer-to-peer education. Environmental sustainability is promoted by ensuring the project has minimal environmental impacts and carbon footprint. We will build capacities of associations to adopt best practices to avoid over-exploitation, protect forest resources, and protect/restore water and soil resources. Participatory environmental screening will be carried out for all NRM projects and integrated into project designs. Supported projects do not include the use of pesticides, waste or toxic substances. Furthermore, promotion of NTFP creates an economic incentive to protect and expand forest resources, increases the food/economiccontribution of drought resistant and locally adapted "crops", and can diminish pressures to clear new land for traditional agriculture. We will involve relevant bodies (ie. WES, NFC) in assessments, approvals and oversight. This VC approach promotes systematic and market-driven change, linking supply and demand through interventions that address underlying constraints and leverage incentives to facilitate future cooperation among VC actors. Built VC relationships and linkages will endure beyond the project life and enable an optimal end-of-project transition