Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development

Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center, 5Capitals Toolkit for Pro-Poor Value Chain Development

Tags: Tool Development, Wealth Creation

Client Name: Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center

Client Type: Education/Research Institution

Year: 2011

Location: Peru

Shanna Ratner was invited to serve as one of three external advisors to Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) to help refine and finalize 5Capitals - A toolkit to improve impacts of pro-poor value chain development. The toolkit is for all those who are interested in understanding the context in which value chain development takes place, who are ready to question previous assumptions and make new ones about its impact, and who are able to collect, manage and assess data from multiple sources. The toolkit facilitates the development of a theory of change which outlines the pathway towards increasing assets at the household level; uses an assets-based approach that recognizes multiple types of assets; addresses both household and enterprise level impacts; allows for multi-source interventions; includes guidance on analyzing the context in which value chain development takes place; and allows stakeholders within the chain as well as service providers outside the chain to continuously improve their interactions to move jointly toward sustainable, pro-poor value chains.