RCDA

Rural Communities Development Agency

Country:	Georgia
City:	Mtsketa
Address:	Village Misaktsieli, 3300
Home page:	http://www.rcda.ge
Email:

22.10.2014

A Non-Governmental organization Rural Communities Development Agency was established in 1997 by a group of small farmers, farmers’ credit unions and farmers’ co-operatives, CBOs and NGOs, which are the main stakeholders in its activities. The members of the organization are 1200 physical persons and 74 legal entities.

Mission
Helping Build Empowered Sustainable Communities through fulfilling the potential of people by enlarging their capabilities, and enabling them to participate actively in their own development.

Vision
RCDA envisions a rural community development in which organized groups of local residents, both women and men, are responsible stewards of their resources. As groups and as individuals, they posses rights of ownership and responsibilities, and utilize ecologically sound methods in producing, processing and marketing their products to maximize returns to the community.

RCDA aims to protect and promote international human rights standards and values, build and strengthen civil society groups in rural areas, and support rural poor, refugees, migrants, IDPs, youth, media, local governments, the private sector and other NGO/CBOs through advocacy, participation and educational activities.

Activities and services
    Mobilization of communities
    Provision of safe drinking water and basic sanitation
    Introduction of environmentally safe production, processing, practices
    Building skills and capacities of communities for sustainable livelihoods
    Implementation of alternative income generation activities in rural areas
    (off-farm activities, small businesses, transfer of affordable technologies-AT), post-harvest handling of crops through organizing collecting centers.
    Transfer of affordable technologies
    Assistance in regional, district, community development planning
    Diversification of agricultural production according to local and regional market demand
    Support in value-added production chain
    Support of women business initiatives
    Support in Agro, Eco tourism development in communities
    Sustainable management of natural resources: Utilization of Renewable Energy Resources
    Waste management
    Information Dissemination

RCDA carries out its activities in cooperation with different institutions active in rural areas of Georgia. Principal institutional partners Ministries of Agriculture, Environment and Nature Protection, Health and Labour, Green’s Movement of Georgia, Tbilisi Technical University, Tbilisi Agrarian University, NGOs in different parts of Georgia, Georgian Mountain Federation (GMF), Ecological Farmers Association of Georgia (SEMA) ,Farmers Servicing Centre (FSC).

RCDA permanent staff is comprised of 9 officers. Experts in rural farming systems, planning and management, irrigation specialist, social worker, marketing experts, environmental experts, experts in renewable energy and post-harvest handling of crops and value-added chain. Over 20 volunteers from different scientific and research institutions experts in various fields are involved.

RCDA carries out its activities through affiliated offices and partner organizations in Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Racha, Shida Kartli, Kvemo Kartli, Samtskhe Javakheti, Guria and Kakheti Regions of Georgia.

Since January, 2008 within the framework of ELA (Empowerment and Local Action) program a project “Support of rural people in selected communities to overcome the poverty, and sustain the livelihoods through building their skills and capacities in environmental sanitation and economic development by transfer of knowledge and affordable technologies” that is financially supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is carried out in cooperation with Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), Netherlands.