The project's goal is to ensure sustainable market-driven silk production for 250 HIV+ mothers in Mojo and Wolenchiti, thus strengthening their economic ability to retain gains made by Mothers' Support Groups (MSGs) in PMTCT activities under the PC3 program. Women in participating MSGs have been effective in implementing HIV care and support activities. However, economic hardship due to loss of familial and community support following disclosure of their HIV status threatens to reverse those hard-earned gains. Many of these women, most in single-headed households, must depend on high-risk survival strategies to meet their families' basic needs. Anecdotal evidence suggests some have returned to commercial sex as a means of providing for their children, despite knowledge of attendant risks to self and child. Income advantages for MSG members will be accrued through meeting current unmet market need for silk products and their attendant inputs.

In FY 2009 and COP 2010 ROADS II identified and selected an initial 250 participants from an MSG membership of 500+ using socio-economic profiling, self-screening and group consensus-building. In COP 2010, ROADS II will work through a local contractor, Consult Line Professional Services, to continue to provide technical assistance to these 250 women in all aspects of silk production, including feed production and plantation management, silk worm breeding cycle for uncut cocoon production, and sound group and individual business management skills. A performance-based approach will be used to ensure that the women have the necessary commitment and aptitude to meet stringent market quality and volume standards. This will likely decrease membership down to 150-175 participants and confirm the business orientation. Additional training for new members will level participant numbers at 250. Silk stations will be developed at Mojo & Wolenchiti to maximize group learning, stabilize initial quality, and provide a consolidation point for business development and market linkages. By the end of COP 2010, the project will have 250 reliable producers of quality uncut silk cocoons for market. Group cohesion to produce reliable quality and quantity uncut silk cocoons will drive market negotiation, but individual performance will drive financial rewards (payment will be made based upon the amount and grade of silk each member produces).

In FY 2011, ROADS II will manage activities to strengthen capacity in silk production and processing both horizontally and vertically, thus initiating an exit strategy. As competence and confidence increases at individual and group levels, members will increase production through multi-harvesting of cocoons each month; this is the core platform for improving income levels. Continued consolidated production at the silk stations will also strengthen group bonds between the MSG members, thus further strengthening peer exchanges on PMTCT and safe motherhood issues. Participants will be assessed for home production potential, dependent upon performance in castor plant maintenance, the vital food source for silk worms.

Silk station management will be transferred to the members, including verification of individual production sources, for added marketability. An estimated 50 to 75 producers will gain skills in producing cut cocoons and spinning yarn, providing additional income potential as they move vertically up this new value chain. When their skills in market negotiations and business management are developed enough, participants will deal directly with the initial purchasing company, Sabahar, based in Addis Ababa, and will source additional markets for longer term sustainability. Relationships with the local administration will be strengthened to sustain leverage of local resources, predominantly land access. At this point, knowledge transfer from existing participants to new members will be expected to occur, as the MSG members become owners of the enterprise, to build a local network of silk producers. This effectively reduces unit costs and builds sustainability, driven by quality producers meeting market demand. It also engages HIV+ women with an emerging value chain with distinct growth potential at this critical early stage, thus empowering them to become leaders in the production end of that chain. This will reduce stigma as MSG members develop new identities as successful business women and producers. Relationships will be developed and maintained with 'TransACTION' implementing partners to identify opportunities for increasing involvement of new participants in this initiative (upon funds availability).

Process monitoring will ensure activities meet agreed upon work plans. These include establishment of sites, trainings provided, number of women trained, and specific events, such as purchaser meetings. Outcome indicators will track the volume and quality of production per site, per group and per individual, as well as sales. Impact indicators will include the levels of income per producer derived from this activity, levels of asset bases per household of producers involved, and key expenditure patterns per household (such as food, health and education) to determine whether the activity is adding to their resiliency against cyclical or irregular household crises.

Narrative:

The project will help support an estimated 600 children of HIV+ women. The program will also provide comprehensive ABC messaging for HIV+ women to ensure their ablility to live healthy and prevent the further spread of HIV. The program will use existing materials developed under other PEPFAR funded programs working with PLWHAPLWHAA. This activity will combine OVC and prevention funding to provide economic opportunity and social services for women living with HIV/AIDS and their children. It will build on evidence from LifeWorks activities in the DR Congo which demonstrated improved health status and increased risk reduction behaviors among program participants. Evidence further shows income earned was used to improve education and health for the children of the participants. Ethiopia would like to increase the evidence base for this intervention.

ROADS II will use COP 2010 funds to continue to strengthen the capacity of 250 HIV+ mothers from community-based groups in Mojo (125) & Wolenchiti (125) in silk production, providing economic support to their households. The activity will enable participants to continue to adhere to the educational and behavioral gains made in PMTCT under the Mothers' Support Group Initiative, and avoid alternative HIV risk strategies for economic gain.

A local contactor, Consult Line Professional Services CLIPS, will continue to provide the specialist technical assistance. Training and site supervision will increase production volumes and quality, as well as business management skills to enable participants to sustain the initiative. Castor plantations will be maintained, using locally-provided land, with silk stations providing a hub for coordination and quality control. Seventy-five high performers will receive additional training in spinning, adding value to the silk. This entails increased supervision and coordination. CLIPS will provide daily operational supervision and technical assistance, with quarterly technical visits by FHI regional staff guiding strategic implementation and communication. Communication updates will be provided monthly to Intrahealth, who initiated the MSG program, or the successor to this program.

Narrative:

ROADS II will use COP2010 funds to continue to strengthen the capacity of 250 HIV+ mothers from community-based groups in Mojo (125) & Wolenchiti (125) in silk production, providing economic support to their households. The activity will enable participants to continue to adhere to the educational and behavioral gains made in PMTCT under the Mothers' Support Group initiative, and avoid alternative HIV-risk strategies for economic gain.

A local contactor, Consult Line Professional Services (CLIPS), will continue to provide specialized technical assistance. Training and site supervision will increase production volumes and quality, as well as business management skills to enable participants to sustain the initiative. Castor plantations will be maintained, using locally-provided land, with silk stations providing a hub for coordination and quality control. 75 high performers will receive additional training in spinning, adding value to the silk. This entails increased supervision and coordination.

CLIPS will provide daily operational supervision and technical assistance, with quarterly technical visits by FHI regional staff guiding strategic implementation and communication. Communication updates will be provided monthly to MSH.

New partners from within the TransACTION program will be sought. A film will be produced tracking the institutional learning gathered, and the personal narratives of participants; the impact on their resilience to overcome household crises, and retain household assets, a key outcome to HIV+ families with significant economic vulnerability. The project will help support an estimated 600 children of HIV+ women. The program will also provide comprehensive ABC messaging for HIV+ women to ensure they're able to live healthy and prevent the further spread of HIV. The program will use existing materials developed under other PEPFAR funded programs working with PLWHAPLWHAA.