Nadine (age 35) and Theoneste (age 42), who live in rural Rwanda with their three children, have faced struggles similar to those of millions of people living in extreme poverty around the world. Their ability to grow food or earn money from working as farm laborers was dependent on the weather—if there was no rainy season, there was no work or food. Another problem, Nadine said, was their lack of livestock: “It takes manure to produce a good harvest.”

Now Nadine and Theoneste are one of the 1,400 vulnerable households participating in Concern Worldwide’s Green Graduation Programme in Rwanda. The Graduation approach aims to break the cycle of poverty through a big-push intervention that addresses multiple conditions of poverty simultaneously. Concern’s Graduation programs include comprehensive targeting, income support, training in technical and business skills, coaching and mentoring, support for access to financial services, and a capital or asset transfer. Since 2007, Concern has implemented Graduation programs in 11 countries (Bangladesh, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Malawi, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, and Zambia), reaching 172,846 people.

Through the 2023 Green Graduation Programme in Rwanda, Nadine and Theoneste received training in new climate-smart farming techniques, as well as cash transfers and other program benefits. They report acquiring a pig, whose manure they use to make organic fertilizer, which they apply in their home garden to grow beans, papaya, and mango. Theoneste also rents land to grow additional produce that he sells at the market. They state that with the income, they pay for their children’s education, health insurance, and much-needed renovations to their home. They direct any additional income they save into the village savings and loans group, which also supports other families in the community.

Similarly, indications from several of Concern’s Graduation programs show that participants have achieved improvements in areas such as asset ownership, food security, spending on basic needs, savings, ability to borrow and repay loans, investment in education, investment in health and preventative health care, and hygiene practices (Concern Worldwide n.d., 2022, 2024; Trinity College Dublin, TIME, and Concern Worldwide 2023). Further research would measure the long-term sustainability of different impacts and the cost-benefit aspects of the program.

1. This case study was prepared by Concern Worldwide. The Graduation model was developed by BRAC in Bangladesh in 2002 and subsequently adapted by many organizations, including Concern. Since adopting this approach, Concern has worked with research partners such as Trinity College Dublin and the Centre for Social Protection at the Institute of Development Studies. This research has led to innovative approaches such as the Green Graduation Programme, which includes elements that promote environmental sustainability.