Quick Facts

Project Budget: US$ 6 Million

Partner Entity:  

Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs

Project Background and Summary

There are in excess of 180 Indigenous communities located across Guyana but concentrated in a geographic space referred to as the rural interior/hinterland. The population of those communities range between 150 and 5,000 inhabitants. The poverty levels in the rural interior where most of the indigenous communities are located are high, combined 78.6 percent according to the household budget survey of 2006.

The Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) will be established to provide funding to support the socio-economic development of Amerindian communities and villages, through the implementation of their Community Development Plans (CDPs). CDPs were identified and developed by the Amerindian Villages themselves which proposed their priority projects to be financed under the GRIF ADF. The CDP must be approved by a village general meeting, via consensus or by majority vote. All residents are encouraged and entitled to participate in the entire process. The proposed projects vary in nature but can be categorized into the following broad sectors: Agriculture including processing, Village Infrastructure, Tourism, Manufacturing, Village Business Enterprise, and Transportation.

The ADF financing will be streamlined into a transparent and accountable mechanism to support community development projects. This would entail setting up a framework for the easy access to financial resources for indigenous communities, taking into consideration lessons learnt from existing mechanisms. Additionally, the existing planning, managing, and implementation capacities will be strengthened for the sustainable livelihood activities undertaken by indigenous communities.

Status Update

Six regional inception seminars were held from November 25, 2014 to January 3, 2015. The regional inception seminars marked the beginning of the full implementation of the Community Development Plans (CDPs) under Phase 2 of the ADF-GRIF Project.

In February 2015, the first set of scoping missions commended in the North Rupununi and the North Pakaraimas, while the the scoping missions were conducted to determine the Villages interest in the initial CDPs that were developed in 2011.

To date 161 Villages that comprise of ADF phase 2 have been scoped, with 150 villages signing their Micro Capital Grant Agreements (MCGA)

ADF Phase 2 CDP comprises of 87 villages actively involved in Agriculture (Crops, Livestock and fisheries),  21 Village Shops were established, 17 acquired equipment for Transportation, 12 have embarked on Tourism and Hospitality initiatives,  12 have established Small Scale Manufacturing Services, while 1 has embarked on ICT.

Eleven communities are yet to finalize their CDP Projects.

Disbursement

The Micro Capital Grant is disbursed in two tranches, based on the initial activities of the CDP and the final activities as outlined in their respective budgets and work plans.

The second and final tranches are disbursed based on the completion of the first tranche activities and the submission of three reports, Financial Report, Cash Book and a Narrative reports.

At at December 2016, 131 Villages received their first tranche, while 42 Villages received full disbursements.