External evaluation of Extending

Fairtrade Gold to Africa project

Jan Joost Kessler, Aidenvironment (Amsterdam), in collaboration with:

Thomas J. Ndaluka, The Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy, Tanzania, and

Eleanor Fisher, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK

Commissioned by

The Fairtrade Foundation

3rd floor Ibex House 42-47 Minories

London, EC3n 1 DY

September 2015

Aidenvironment, Barentszplein 7, 1013 NJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

www.aidenvironment.org

i

ii

Table of contents

Abbreviations i

Executive Summary ii

1. Introduction 1 1.1 Evaluation scope and purpose 1 1.2 Project objectives, scope and partners 1

2. Approach and Methodology 2 2.1 Evaluation phases 2 2.2 Evaluation framework 3 2.3 Evaluation methodology 3 2.4 Limitations of the methodology 4

3. Results 5 3.1 Theory of change 5 3.2 Context changes 6 3.2.1 Kenya 6 3.2.2 Tanzania 7 3.2.3 Uganda 8 3.2.4 Main similarities and differences between the three countries 9 3.3 Results achieved per project component 10 3.3.1 Objective 1: Small-scale miners mine gold in a fair manner 10 3.3.2 Objective 2: Creation of African knowledge network on ASGM 17 3.3.3 Objective 3: Influenced policy and decision-making towards ASGM 20 3.3.4 Objective 4: Jewellers commit to source Fairtrade certified gold from Africa 22 3.3.5 Objective 5: Increased awareness of consumers on Fairtrade gold 23 3.4 Project management 24 3.4.1 Project organisation 24 3.4.2 Monitoring and evaluation 25 3.4.3 Reporting 26

4. Conclusions and recommendations 27 4.1 Relevance 27 4.2 Efficiency 27 4.3 Effectiveness 29 4.4 Impacts 30 4.5 Sustainability 32 4.6 Recommendations 33

Appendix 1: Terms of Reference 35

Appendix 2: Persons met and interviewed 41

Appendix 3: Questionnaires and checklists 47 Level 1: Gold miners 47 Level 2: Community level 48 Level 3: ASMO level 48 Level 4: Local Support Organisations and network 50

iii

Level 5: Gold sector key stakeholders and context 51

Appendix 4: Community wellbeing Analysis Tool 53

Appendix 5: Ethical considerations 55

Annex 6: Theory of change 56

Appendix 7A: Case study report Kenya (in separate file) 59

Appendix 7B: Case study report Tanzania (in separate file) 59

Appendix 7C: Case study report Uganda (in separate file) 59

i

Abbreviations

ARM Alliance for Responsible Mining

ASM Artisanal and Small-scale Miner

ASGM Artisanal and small-scale gold mining

ASMO Artisanal and Small-scale Mining Organisations (supported by this project)

CANCO Community Action for Nature Conservation

CR Comic Relief

EWAD Environmental Women in Action for Development

FGD Focus Group Discussions

FT Fairtrade

FT / FM Fairtrade / Fairmined

FTA Fairtrade Africa

FTF Fairtrade Foundation

KII Key Informant Interviews

LSO Local Support Organisations

SECEAC Solidaridad East & Central Africa Expertise Centre

SGI Structured Group Interviews

Sol NL Solidaridad Netherlands

STI sexual transmitted infections

MTL MTL Consulting Ltd

ii

Executive Summary

In 2009, Fairtrade International set up a program for Fairtrade Gold and Precious Metals (hereafter

‘Fairtrade gold’) and developed a Fairtrade and Fairmined standard and corresponding consumer

label. The consumer label empowers miners to improve their livelihoods and contribute to the social,

economic and environmental development of their communities. A three year project has been

funded by Comic Relief ‘Extending Fairtrade Gold to Africa project’ with the overall objective to

improve livelihoods and working conditions among artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM)

communities by testing the application of the Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Precious metals in

East Africa. The project started in May 2012. The project has supported a total of nine Artisanal and

Small-scale Mining Organisations (ASMOs) in three countries in East Africa: Kenya, Uganda and

Tanzania. The project was managed by the Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade Africa, and worked

with several partners: Solidaridad Netherlands, Solidaridad East & Central Africa Expertise Centre,

MTL Consulting Ltd and Environmental Women in Action for Development.

The evaluation covered the activities executed by the project from May 2012 until July 2015,

following a no-cost extension of the project by a few months. The evaluation was carried out in

accordance with the Terms of Reference (see Appendix 1) and the inception report. The purpose of

this evaluation was two-fold:

1. Accountability to donors: evaluate relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability

of the project.

2. Institutional learning and continuous improvement: identify lessons learned for project partners

and recommendations for future engagement in the ASM sector in East Africa.

The evaluation was carried out from May to September 2015. Field visits took place in July-August

2015, during which ASMOs were visited in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and interviews were held

with relevant stakeholders. Three types of methods were used to acquire information during

interviews and field visits:

1. Key Informant Interviews: individual interviews with key persons, mainly public officers and

community workers.

2. Structured Group Interviews: interviews with the leadership of ASMOs and ASM networks.

3. Focus Group Discussions, with members of ASMOs, using a Mining Livelihoods, Skills and

Employment Analysis Tool, conducted separately with men and women. Where possible miners

were sampled randomly for inclusion in the FGD based on ASMO membership lists.

Apart from these qualitative methods, use was made of quantitative data as provided according to

monitoring and reporting by the project. The mix of methods allowed conclusions to be drawn on the

contribution of the project and on plausible impacts, as well as success factors, lessons and

recommendations, taking into account the variable context. It was not possible to replicate the

evaluation methodology with comparison groups, at ASMO or community level, as this was found to

be inappropriate given that alternative miners’ organisations are not present in the ASMO

communities, and that the ASGM context is characterised by conflicting relations and lack of trust.

Instead comparisons were made through interviews with community leaders and individual miners.

The following conclusions are structured by the main criteria of the evaluation framework.

Relevance

The activities undertaken by the project are highly relevant, as based on: (i) the positive potential of

ASGM as a generator of rural employment, household income, and local economic development;

(ii) the current negative social, health and environmental impacts of gold mining, both direct (on

miners) and indirect (on the wider communities); (iii) the receptiveness of miners to most of the

iii

improved practices proposed by the project; and (iv) the changing national policy/legislative

contexts where government representatives start to become more open to ASM issues (notably in

Kenya and Uganda, in Tanzania a positive attitude to ASM is already more established).

Efficiency

The process of selection of countries and ASMOs included in the project has been good. Moreover,

despite important country-level contextual differences, project implementation in three East

African countries simultaneously has created beneficial synergies and successful knowledge

exchange.

The Project’s management system was disrupted by the fact that the organisation Alliance for

Responsible Mining (playing a key role in the project) pulled out at an early stage. The project

adequately responded to this disruption.

The process of building up expertise has been partly one of learning-by-doing, in close interaction

with the ASMOs, as would be expected from a pilot study. Feeding into this has been the fact that

experience on ASM gold mining had to be transposed and applied from Latin America to East

Africa; we believe that the difference between these two regions was seriously under-estimated at

the project start.

The project partners made efficient use of resources to train and support ASMOs. The collaboration

between partners was effective and efficient, with use being made of mutual expertise. However, it

is uncertain whether this leads to building up capacity in each of the 3 countries on all issues

related to sustainable mining. For instance, knowledge on productivity aspects may still be less

developed.

The quality of training provided is appreciated by the ASMOs, and also by many other

stakeholders. The M&E system is difficult to understand. Considerable resources have been spent

on a baseline measurement but the resulting data has not been used. The current M&E system

generates some useful results, but does not provide easy insight into progress per ASMO, and does

not capture critical issues such as ASMO leadership and internal cohesion. Many indicators are not

very useful, for instance what does it mean that 39 stakeholders are engaged in the ASGM network?

The annual reports are very informative and the narratives provide useful information on

processes, learnings and new insights that have emerged.

We have doubts about the usefulness of continuing the need for quarterly reports, which puts a

high burden on limited human resources.

Annual conferences have been useful and appreciated by all project partners, and were important

in order to streamline experiences and thinking on how best to achieve the project objectives. Peer

learning and follow-up visits by respective leaders to ensure practices have been applied have been

effective. Workshop-based learning also has been effective and welcomed.

The time horizon of 3 years is appropriate for a pilot phase. The project has achieved value for

money in terms of acquiring a wealth of knowledge on this new theme for Fairtrade in East Africa,

as well as capacity building for the selected ASMOs, commitment among several jewellers to

purchase Fairtrade gold, and organised advocacy in the 3 countries on ASGM issues. Nevertheless,

beyond piloting, a longer time horizon is essential to sustain the results and realise more full-

fledged impacts and upscaling.

Effectiveness

Overall, progress has been slower than expected because the expectations for this project were

based on experiences in Latin America and the assumption that in East Africa conditions would be

similar, which is not the case: small-scale gold mining in East Africa is more informal and

unorganised, within a wider institutional context that has severe resource and capacity constraints.

Expecting ASMOs to get organised, trained and certified in only 3 years is unrealistic.

The project has contributed to an increase on the ground in awareness and change of practices

reducing the risks and unsustainable practices related to ASM. Training by the project has met with

iv

a good response, and has led to several changes in attitudes and practices by ASMO members,

especially among ASMOs that already have a history of being organised.

A mock audit was conducted in November 2014 and 4 ASMOs were found to be ready for being

audited.

There are three optional conclusions on effectiveness which depend upon the defined expectations:

o The project has successfully piloted an approach of building up an ASMO with internal

governance and introducing practices to improve livelihoods and working conditions for artisanal

and small-scale gold miners, based on the FT standard on gold, with awareness and knowledge

generated, capacities built and several practices being applied.

o The project will likely realise FT certification with two ASMOs (and possibly four) within the

coming months, however there are questions about whether these two ASMOs can be considered

as representative since they are also the ones that existed and had capacity development well

before the project started.

o The project has not been able to respond to the demand by ASMOs to improve their productivity

and access to finance, which is a critical remaining gap with respect to the business model that is

required to assure sustainability of mining, the status of certification and the ASMOs. The subject

of productivity is important, because where production is low and revenues from gold mining are

meagre, groups are seen to disintegrate as miners go to work in other non-ASMO mines or focus

on other sources of income.

In relation to the work with ASMOs, the main conclusion is that although many successes have

been achieved, it would be too early to conclude that proof of concept has been achieved in terms of

the project having developed a model for sustainable artisanal and smallscale gold mining.

The project is recognised as a leading reference for responsible mining in the region and as

contributing to development of a regional network by offering a practical solution to some of the

issues that are being raised at regional and international levels.

The project has set up the foundation for advocacy into mining issues in the region through the

established networks in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. A critical reflection is needed on how these

structures will sustain and consolidate themselves without external (project) funding.

The project has significantly contributed to build up awareness among European-based jewellers

(traders) and generated commitment to purchase FT gold from East Africa as soon as it becomes

available.

Lessons learned

It takes time (at least 3 years) for a group of miners to build an organisation with internal cohesion,

trust and leadership, as a foundation to adopt measures to improve livelihoods and eventually

achieve certification;

There are constraints even for a well established ASMO to adopt the various measures to improve

their livelihoods; most easily adopted are those with immediate effects on health and safety;

Some improved practices are being copied by other ASMOs and communities, which is promising;

Productivity increases are critical for sustaining improvements of livelihoods and maintaining

cohesion within the ASMO; to achieve this investments are required to purchase equipment;

savings and credit schemes as promoted by the project are insufficient to cater for this level of

investment;

ASMOs are small and vulnerable to productivity dips by natural factors, including problems with

mine construction, with a consequence that to acquire incomes miners are highly mobile,

membership therefore fluctuates and also the number of casual/daily workers may vary

considerably;

There is a significant difference between selling gold and trading gold, it remains to be seen under

what conditions trading gold (to overseas jewelers, based on trading conditions) will be successful;

The project has so far not been able to develop an adequate response to the need for pre-financing

for the ASMOs (removing a function currently provided by local gold buyers), although initiatives

are being taken to address this issue.

v

Impacts

There is evidence that incomes have increased for ASMO members, and it is also suggested that

productivity has increased as a result of the fact that pits remain productive for longer periods.

There is evidence of less casualties due to better safety measures, of less child labour and of

improved health due to more controlled use of mercury and less labour intensive techniques, such

as the use of an ore chrushin machine, sluive box, electric pumps.

The project has significantly reduced mercury use and thus environmental impact; use of retorts

and improved practices has been adopted leading to reduced mercury purchases.

In terms of environmental rehabilitation promising results have been achieved, through tree

planting, covering and in-filling of pits, but these results are not widespread.

There is evidence of some improvement in terms of women’s roles and gender-based power

relations in mining, but there is also evidence that improvement to gender roles is more tokenistic,

with control over key areas of decision-making, such as finance, remaining under the control of

male members.

The Fairtrade project has successfully contributed to preventing children under 18 working in the

ASMO pits. However, several health, education and safety problems remain at community level.

The project has just started to affect this issue, for instance through a Child labour Monitoring

Programme in a wider ASMO community.

Future plans for Fairtrade gold mining should ensure that more synergies are created between

Fairtrade and other initiatives, including getting local government officers to attend meetings and

making linkages with relevant NGOs.

The project has contributed to advocacy at local government level on behalf of artisanal miners,

with some concrete results. There are opportunities for contributions to future policy dialogue on

behalf of artisanal miners. The project needs a public engagement strategy to know how best to

pursue these opportunities at different policy levels and in collaboration with partners.

The ASMOs supported by the project are seen as models for good mining practice. There is

evidence of practices being copied outside the ASMOs, especially those on immediate health and

safety; but it is fair to say that bad practices / lack of knowledge remain extensive in the wider

community.

Although the project is commended by district governments, ‘crowding in’ effects by government

agencies that feel strengthened by the project to improve the ASM sector are not taking place due to

institutional capacity and resource constraints within the wider governmental context.

Casual/daily labourers will remain a significant part of the workforce within the ASMOs and plans

for ASMO capacity building need to adequately recognise their rights and specific needs.

Sustainability

There is a real concern that the results will not sustain if the public policy context does not improve

(mainly in Kenya and Uganda).

The legal context varies significantly per country, but is generally becoming more favourable,

leading to opportunities for policy engagement.

Leadership and mutual trust are keys to a good functioning ASMO, and regular monitoring, peer

visits and exchanges help strengthen and maintain these. It is unrealistic to expect formation and

consolidation of ASMOs in just three years.

Financial incentives or equipment are required to increase and sustain mining productivity.

There is need to continue capacity building efforts, as so far only relatively few miners have been

reached, and improved practices have not yet been well established.

Land disputes can undermine security and sustainability of the ASMOs. In Kenya and Uganda land

issues are not resolved through mining licensing because land and mineral rights remain separate.

vi

Recommendations

The main recommendation is that we are dealing with ‘unfinished business’; currently the ASMOs

are in an initial pilot phase, vulnerable to shocks if unsupported. If the project activities do not

continue, being adjusted or expanded to take into account recommendations, there will be a major

risk of fall-back and many of the current results will not be sustained.

There is need to differentiate between a first phase of building up a coherent ASMO, with sufficient

level of internal leadership, governance and management systems, and a second phase of bringing

about changes in terms of more sustainable mining practices that can lead to successful Fairtrade

certification and gold trading. If one starts out with unorganised miners working in an extremely

challenging policy, institutional and legal environment, as is the case in East African countries, the

first phase already takes a minimum of 3 years. There is need for a system of assessing

organisational maturity to know when an ASMO is ready for the second phase.

The second phase would be one of realising a minimum of social and environmental requirements

to be met for an ASMO to get pre-certified. Also, during the second phase there is need to improve

productivity (including the reliability of production through improved mine construction), because

where production is low and revenues from gold mining are meagre, groups are seen to disintegrate

as miners will focus on other sources of income. This requires pre-financing or other ways of

assuring access to finance.

There is need for collaboration with existing governmental and non-governmental organizations

working in the same areas, which would require a Fairtrade policy engagement strategy and

financial resourcing.

There is need for an (improved/streamlined) M&E system to assess the positive socio-economic

and environmental effects following pre-certification, for accountability to the companies willing to

make investments in pre-certification, with both quantitative and qualitative indicators.

Indicators need to be significantly revised making them fit-for-purpose.

Before pre-financing is provided, there is need for an improved internal book keeping system and

savings and banking mechanisms for ASMOs; this will require further capacity building.

There is need to address wider community welfare effects through collaboration with relevant

governmental and donor initiatives, because otherwise there is a risk that the expected gold

production increase and associated cash earnings will lead to increased spending in irresponsible

activities such as alcohol, drugs and sexual relations without building longer term livelihood

investment.

There is need to explore the option of working with larger production units or partnerships (e.g.

larger gold producing companies), because small units are too vulnerable to production stoppages

due to natural factors and current mine construction techniques, can make use of costly equipment

and have better potential to meet the demands of jewelers (international traders) for large

quantities of (certified) gold. These larger units could be linked to the centers of excellence that

have been suggested.

Since casual/daily labourers will remain a significant part of the workforce within the ASMOs,

plans for ASMO capacity building need to adequately recognise their rights and specific needs.

This includes putting better mechanisms in place for extending take-up of training by casual/daily

wage labourers, many of whom have worked in mining and at the ASMO mines specifically for

significant time.

1

1. Introduction

1.1 Evaluation scope and purpose

In 2009, Fairtrade International set up a program for Fairtrade Gold and Precious Metals (hereafter

‘Fairtrade gold’) and developed a Fairtrade and Fairmined standard and corresponding consumer

label. The consumer label empowers miners to improve their livelihoods and contribute to the social,

economic and environmental development of their communities. A three year project has been

funded by Comic Relief ‘Extending Fairtrade Gold to Africa project’ with the overall objective to

improve livelihoods and working conditions among artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM)

communities by testing the application of the Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Precious metals in

East Africa. The project started in May 2012. The project has supported a total of nine Artisanal and

Small-scale Mining Organisations (ASMOs) in three countries in East Africa: Kenya, Uganda and

Tanzania. The evaluation covered the activities executed by the project from May 2012 until July

2015, following a no-cost extension of the project by a few months.

This evaluation was carried out by J.J. Kessler as the team leader from Aidenvironment, in

collaboration E. Fisher of the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading,

UK, and T. Ndaluka of the Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy , Tanzania. The evaluation

primarily included field visits to ASMOs in the three different countries, as well as participation in

the end-of-project conference in Kenya (3 days), and interviews with relevant staff of Fairtrade

Foundation (FTF), Comic Relief and the different project partners, in the period of July-August 2015.

The evaluation was carried out in accordance with the Terms of Reference for this evaluation (see

Appendix 1) and the inception report. The purpose of this evaluation is two-fold:

3. Accountability to donors: evaluate relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and sustainability

of the project.

4. Institutional learning and continuous improvement: identify lessons learned for project

partners and recommendations for future engagement in the ASM sector in East Africa.

1.2 Project objectives, scope and partners

The overall project objective is to improve livelihoods and working conditions among ASMOs by

piloting the application of the Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Precious metals in East Africa. In

order to achieve this objective the project works on five objectives and related outcomes:

1) In 3 countries, 1,100 small-scale miners are enabled to mine gold in a fair and responsible

manner in compliance with the FT standard for gold and precious metals

2) Creation of an African knowledge network that promotes responsible ASM practices, including

capacity building of Local Support Organisations (LSOs) in each of the project countries

3) Key stakeholders in governmental and non-governmental sectors are influenced in their policy

and decision-making towards ASGM

4) At least 5 jewelers commit to sourcing Fairtrade certified gold from Africa

5) Increased awareness of consumers in the UK and Netherlands on ethical and Fairtrade issues

related to gold.

The project covers three countries, with nine ASMOs located in:

Kenya: Migori and Narok Counties: 2 ASMOs

Tanzania: Geita District: 3 ASMOs

Uganda, Busia District: 4 ASMOs

2

The organizations involved as project partners in this project are the following (the indicated

abbreviations are used throughout this report):

Fairtrade Foundation (FTF)

Fairtrade Africa (FTA)

Solidaridad Netherlands (Sol NL)

Solidaridad East & Central Africa Expertise Centre (SECEAC)

MTL Consulting Ltd (MTL)

Environmental Women in Action for Development (EWAD)

The programme was established in 2009 in partnership with the Alliance for Responsible Mining

(ARM), with whom the joint ‘Fairtrade and Fairmined’ Standard and corresponding consumer label

was launched in 2011. The Fairtrade and Fairmined partnership ended in 2013, with both

organizations committing to continue with stand-alone certification and labeling schemes.

2. Approach and Methodology

2.1 Evaluation phases

Phase 1: Inception phase and report

The inception report was approved by FTF 29 June 2015. The inception report is based on a study of

available documentation sent to the evaluation team, skype meetings with FTF and FTA, meeting

with Solidaridad Netherlands and interactions with FTA. The inception report includes the project

theory of change, planning, methodology with questionnaire and checklists.

Phase 2: Field visits and interviews

The following table gives an overview of conducted evaluation activities - field visits and interviews.

An extensive list of all interviewed persons can be found as Appendix 2.

Table 1: Main evaluation activities

Field visits and interviews Date Evaluation

team member/s

Interview Solidaridad Netherlands June JJ Kessler

Participation end-of-project conference Migori, including interviews

with LSOs, FTA, FT International, jewelers and relevant consultants

July 13-15 JJ Kessler and

T Ndaluka

Field visit ASMOs Kenya, various interviews July 16-18 JJ Kessler and

T Ndaluka

Field visit LSO and ASMOs Tanzania, various interviews Aug.10-22 T Ndaluka

Field visit LSO and ASMOs Uganda, various interviews Aug.10-18 E Fisher

Interviews with Comic Relief (donor), FTF, FTA, Steering Committee August JJ Kessler

Phase 3: Reporting

The draft report including separate field reports of the country visits was finalized early September.

Feedback from the project steering committee and partners was received during the next two weeks.

The report was finalized and approved before the end of September.

3

2.2 Evaluation framework

The following framework (Figure 1) shows the evaluation criteria that were used and the relation with

the result chain and logframe logic. Detailed questions are available for each of the evaluation criteria

and will be answered in chapter 4. Note that the theory of change is at the basis of this framework.

Figure 1: Evaluation framework with criteria

2.3 Evaluation methodology

Contribution analysis

The project has an approach that simultaneously operates at different levels, with its 5 components:

Strengthening small-scale miners in 3 countries to mine gold in a fair and responsible manner

Creation of an African knowledge network that promotes responsible ASGM practices

Influencing key stakeholders in governmental and non-governmental sectors towards ASGM

Ensuring commitment of jewellers (5) to source Fairtrade certified gold from Africa

Increasing awareness of consumers in UK and Netherlands on ethical and Fairtrade issues of gold.

The evaluation team aimed to understand the relations between these different components, and how

these interact to realize impact. Given the range of external factors influencing the project outcomes

and impacts, we can assume that the project will at best contribute to certain changes. Therefore, we

adopted principles of contribution analysis, with the following key elements:

Understanding the theory of change and the impact pathways that lead to expected impacts;

Defining indicators for the elements of the impact pathways and finding supportive evidence (both

quantitative data and qualitative evidence) for changes of these indicators;

Understanding the linkages between critical elements of the impact pathways, i.e. changes in

behaviour, institutions, policies, etc.;

Understanding the ASGM sector and value chain (problems, driving forces, key actors, markets) in

the 3 producer countries and the UK and Netherlands markets;

Adopting evidence-based learning, especially focused at triple-loop learning which implies that the

validity of the underlying theory of change and its assumptions are assessed.

Mix of methods

Apart from interviews with project partners and stakeholders, site visits were made to the mining

operations of selected ASMOs: one in Kenya (Micodepro), four in Uganda (BUSMO, TIISMA, SAMA

Extending FT gold project

Results:

Impact

Context of ASGM in East Africa

Th

eory

of ch

an

ge

(To

C)

Inputs

(e.g.

funds,

expertise)

Process

(management

mechanisms,

approach)

Results:

Outcomes

Results:

Outputs

- Relevance: adequacy and coherence of design, added value in context - Effectiveness: relation results and set objectives, stakeholder involvement - Efficiency: management systems and mechanisms, results in relation to costs - Impacts: benefits for producers, producer organizations, networks, sector - Sustainability: capacity building and system changes to sustain results

Evaluation

criteria

4

and BAASIMA) and two in Tanzania (Nsangano and Umoja Lwamgasa). The mock audit report and

other project documents were used to check the extent of progress made and improvements since the

mock audit was conducted in November 2014.

During the site visits, a mix of methods was used to collect data and information from ASMOs and

relevant stakeholders, as follows:

1. Key Informant Interviews (KII): individual interviews with key persons, mainly public officers and

community workers.

2. Structured Group Interviews (SGI): interviews with the leadership of ASMOs and ASM networks.

3. Focus Group Discussions (FGD), with members of ASMOs, using a Mining Livelihoods, Skills and

Employment Analysis Tool, conducted separately with men and women. Where possible miners

were sampled randomly for inclusion in the FGD based on ASMO membership lists (by implication

FGD excluded workers because they are not on these lists).

Apart from these qualitative methods, we made use of quantitative data as provided according to

monitoring and reporting by the project. The mix of methods allowed us to draw conclusions on the

contribution by the project and plausible impacts. We compared the results in Kenya, Tanzania and

Uganda, to identify success factors, lessons and recommendations in relation to the variable context.

Using above methods, the evaluation team worked with indicators, questionnaire and checklists at

different levels. The data collection and sampling approach for each level can be observed in the

following table 2. For each level, a set of questions and a checklist was developed – see Appendix 3.

In addition, in Tanzania and Uganda, use was made of a community wellbeing analysis tool – see

Appendix 4. During all field work, we adopted our ethical considerations, especially when working

with vulnerable and disadvantaged groups – see Appendix 5. In both Uganda and Tanzania use was

made of local research assistants with local language skills. Care was taken that ASMO management

was not present with member interviews or FGD.

Table 2: Research approach at different levels

Level Selection Method/s

1. ASMO leadership At least 1 ASMO per country, leadership at management level SGI

2. ASMO members Members of at least 1 ASMO per country (men and women

separately); if possible non FT gold miners for comparison

FGD, SGI

3. Community and

public service

representatives

Selected community leaders, local health worker, teacher,

government representative; if possible non FT gold miners

community for comparison

KII, SGI

4. Local support

organisations (LSO)

Coordinator and possibly field workers KII

5. National and local

government

Selected 3-5 local and national public stakeholders, from

mining, environment and social sectors

KII

2.4 Limitations of the methodology

Following are some limitations of the methodology that was applied:

It took quite some time to understand the current monitoring and evaluation system, which has

changed half-way implying that a baseline is not available;

The Year 3 annual report (from 1 May 2014 to July 2015, being the end of the project) was not

available by August 2015, which is unfortunate because it would have provided the opportunity of

validating and completing the findings of the field visits. The evaluation team now used the

available quarterly reports;

5

It was not possible to replicate the evaluation methodology with comparison groups, at ASMO or

community level, as this was found to be inappropriate given that alternative miners’ organisations

are not present in the ASMO communities, and that the ASGM context is characterised by

conflicting relations and lack of trust. Instead comparisons were made through community

observations and, where feasible (e.g. Busia district, Uganda), KII with non-ASMO miners.

3. Results

3.1 Theory of change

There is an initial theory of change as elaborated by ARM. After ARM left the project and to ensure

shared understanding of the project and project document, it was decided in 2013 to elaborate one

overall TOC including all information and indicators of previous documents.(see schemes Annex 6)..

This final version was shared amongst learning group and approved as point of reference for the

project. Current monitoring and reporting takes place based on this theory of change. Following are

its key elements in a narrative form:

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) offers employment to an estimated 15 million people

globally (AS gold mining estimated at 685,000 in Tanzania, 25,000 in Kenya and 50,000 in

Uganda1, directly and indirectly, according to the project scoping reports);

ASM has serious environmental and social consequences, involving the use of mercury,

deforestation, child labour, poor working conditions and unfair supply chains.

The project aims to improve the livelihoods and working conditions of ASGM in East Africa by

applying the FT standard to increase sustainable trade.

Expected benefits are related to responsible mercury use, health and safety and the use of personal

protective equipment, employment rights, good governance, and a higher price for FT gold mines.

To realise these benefits, LSOs will be trained to deliver training sessions to the mining

communities to apply better, safer and more efficient practices in line with the FT standard.

FTA coordinates the sharing of knowledge between LSOs and other stakeholders with an interest in

and knowledge of ASGM. The resulting African knowledge network will be able to support the

ASGM sector in the region on responsible practices in line with the Fairtrade standard.

FTA will convene a Public Policy Committee made up of experts in the sector and policy making, to

influence public stakeholder views on ASGM. By inviting key stakeholders from governmental and

non-governmental organisations to meetings and dialogues, the aim is to inspire policies to be

more supportive to ASGM activities.

Through market development, FTF and Solidaridad NL raise interest among supply chain actors

like jewellers, importers and refiners to source African gold produced under good conditions, in

turn resulting in miners to apply more responsible practices in line with the Fairtrade standard.

FTF and Solidaridad NL will roll out a campaign in the UK and the Netherlands to inform

consumers on ethical and fairtrade issues related to gold, which will support market uptake, as

companies identify a new market they want to tap into.

Critical in the theory of change are three upscaling mechanisms to realise greater impacts:

copying by other (non targeted) mining communities who directly apply more sustainable practices

if they see the benefits among neighbouring (targeted) miners;

copying by other (not involved) market players, buying responsible gold if available on the market;

1 Given the informal nature of artisanal mining, global and national statistics are notoriously poor. . For Kenya the scoping report says

10,000 direct and 15,000 indirect. A World Bank baseline of 2005 cited in a UNEP report of 2012 says in Uganda 20,000 direct so we

estimate 30,000 indirect making 50,000 in total.

6

‘crowding in’, whereby other (not involved) actors become interested to join the initiative by also

offering services for responsible ASGM communities, because they believe this will also be in their

own interest.

Concerning the timing of above process, the project proposal states that “1,100 small-scale miners

and their communities in the 3 countries will be able to mine gold in a fair and responsible manner

according to the FT/FM standard, as pilot groups will undergo trial audits in year 3 to assess their

compliance with FT/FM standards (experience in Latin America showed the pre-certification process

to take 2-3 years).” This will lead to increased capacity to achieve FT/FM certification, enabling them

to command a higher gold price. Thus, ASMOs getting certified was not a goal to be achieved within

the project period. There will be 11,000 indirect beneficiaries. This lays the foundations for more

miners in addition to those directly targeted to improve livelihoods through FT/FM (estimated

500,000 miners in East Africa with up to 5,000,000 indirect beneficiaries).”

To achieve these targets, the proposal refers to the importance of coordinated policy change: “a

fundamental lesson from the experience in Latin America is that the formalisation process for ASM

communities is a multi-dimensional and multi-actor process, requiring integration of policies, strong

coordination between institutions, and in some areas (particularly the area of tax regimes)

harmonization of policies between countries.”

3.2 Context changes

The ASGM context in the three countries differs and therefore experiences cannot be simply

extrapolated. This is important because crucial differences in the governance contexts for ASM at

national and local levels have affected differential impacts of the project with respect to ASMO

formalization, wider upscaling and policy advocacy. Following are the main recent changes, based

on the project scoping study, the public policy strategy paper prepared by the project, and interviews

with public sector agencies during the evaluation. The case studies (Appendices 7A-7C) provide more

elaborate information.

3.2.1 Kenya

Gold mining history in Kenya is focused at Nyanza province, where in the early 1920 there was a gold

rush. Gold mining is done underground, in pits as deep as 100 feet, along a system of veins which

bear some gold. There are about 10,000 direct and 15,000 indirect ASM miners operating in the gold

sector in Kenya. The mining sector has a limited importance to the economy of Kenya.

In Kenya the current Mining Act is silent on ASM, there are no provisions and it is not very clear

what ASM are supposed to pay in licenses and taxes. Micodepro ASMO has the following licenses:

a prospecting right license, since 2005 (national government), to renew annually, cost 5,000 KSh;

a milling license, since 2013 (from the County), to renew annually, cost 10,500 KSh;

an environmental license, since 2014, to renew every 2 years, cost 10,000 KSh;

Thus total costs only for renewal of licenses would be around 20,000 KSH per year (US$ 200).

Micodepro does not yet have an export license, which has a high cost (around US$ 4000). However,

the Ministry has recently informed the project that an export license is not necessary; unless one is a

dealer an ASMO can export using the location license.

To-date the national government has had a hands-off approach to the artisanal mining sector as they

are mainly interested in large scale mining initiatives. However significant and as yet uncertain

change is taking place in respect to national policy and law on the extractive industries, with likely

impact on government approach to ASM in future. Moreover, importantly, enactment of Kenya’s

new constitution post-2010 placed fiscal decentralization at the center of policy reform, transferring

7

revenues and tax raising powers to county governments. The ongoing process of devolution has

started to open up a new vehicle for community negotiation with local government; it is stimulating a

‘crowding in’ effect of development actors at local government level, alongside unintended

consequences such as boundary disputes over land with county government revenue raising potential

(mining, wildlife, etc.)

The Nyanza province recognizes ASGM and efforts are being made to eliminate illegal miners by

pushing for their recognition in the new Mining Act. While awaiting the acceptance of this new bill,

changes are already taking place to shift responsibility to local governments. These changes are also

triggered by the increasing awareness of the negative effects of ASGM, notably child labour,

HIV/Aids and other health effects, as evidenced by the community health officer.

Land where mining takes place is mainly privately owned. Land owners can charge high fees

(payment in ore) and often change the contract regulations in their favor. This includes increasing

the monthly fees or increasing the percentage of ore payable and also the tailings that can be

recycled. Also, the pits are not under the jurisdiction of the ASMOs and land owners often insist that

the pits remain open for possible future tenants. Nyatike sub-county is an exception because this is

trust land (owned by government). A sub-county administrator from Nyatike has taken the initiative

to develop a booklet on ASM, with the aim to generate an inter-ministerial forum to support the

development of a mining location for artisanal and small-scale miners in Nyatike.

3.2.2 Tanzania

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining in Tanzania is estimated to employ about 685,000 people

according to analysis by the World Bank in 2012. Unlike Kenya and Uganda, Tanzania is amongst an

‘early wave’ of African countries that embraced the formalization of artisanal mining in the 1990s

following World Bank prescriptions for mining sector liberalization.

The 1998 Mining Act provided for the presence and development of a small-scale mining sector and

prescribed co-existence between small-scale and large-scale mining. It provided small-scale miners

with the opportunity to acquire Primary Prospecting Licenses (PPL) and Primary Mining Licenses

(PML). A PPL was granted for a period of one year, could be renewed, and authorized the owner to

prospect for minerals, provided that the selected prospecting area had not been occupied by other

mineral right holders. A PML gave the owner the right to exploit an area of up to ten hectares. It

conferred on the holder the exclusive rights, subject to compliance with safety and environmental

regulations, to carry out mining activities in the area (unlike in Kenya and Uganda where rights to

surface land are held separately, creating conflicts with land-owners)

The Mineral Policy of 2009, a statement of intent shifting mining interests towards greater

ownership by Tanzanian citizens, promoted increased integration between the mining sector and

other sectors of the economy in order to improve mining’s contribution to the national economy. The

policy also prescribes the development and increased formalization of the small-scale mining sector

in order to facilitate sustainable development.

With regards to small-scale mining, the Mining Act of 2010 constitutes few changes. It defines a PML

as ‘a licence for small scale mining operations, whose capital investment is less than US$100,000 or

its equivalent in Tanzanian shillings’. A PML is acquired subject to payment of Tanzania Shilling

(Tsh) 10,000 (US$6) each plus an annual rent of Tsh 10,000 (US$6) per hectare. It is granted for

seven years. The new mining act has a maximum of 20 PMLs or 200 hectares per PML holder.

Administrative responsibility for many sectors has been devolved to district level; however

responsibility for mining - including fiscal control of taxation and revenue generation - remains

centralized under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, with representation through zonal mines

8

offices. The assistant commissioners of minerals seated in each of Tanzania’s eight mining zones

have the mandate to sign PMLs. Holder of PML can at one point upgrade his PML status to ML by

applying to the Minister of Energy and Mineral who signs the license. Once granted, a PML can be

mortgaged, renewed or transferred to another holder. Another relevant change is the fact that

artisanal miners are now required to submit an Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) together with

an ‘environmental investigation’ and ‘social study report’. The EPP should mitigate the

environmental effects to be caused by mining operations in the licensed area’. PPLs have been

abolished in the new act, as it was claimed that many artisanal miners used the PPL to mine instead

of prospecting.

Geita region is one of the areas in Tanzania where ASM has been in operation for many years, found

in almost all its districts. More than 50% of the Geita population depends on mining activities, with

significant in-migration from outside the region. In 1993 exploration by large mining company were

resumed in the region and in 1999 Ashanti Gold Fields Mine currently called Geita Gold Mine (GGM)

owned by AngloGold Ashanti started operation in Geita Region. GGM is now the second largest open

caste gold mine in Africa and alongside the other large and medium scale companies operating in the

region, provides significant stimulation to the local economy. The allocation of land for large-scale

mining, together with formalization of AS mineral claims, has decreased the availability of remaining

mineral-rich land suitable for ASM. These mining interests are at the heart of a series of conflicts

between local communities, artisanal miners, and mining companies – over land, resources and

compensation for resettlement.

Mineral extraction methods used by AS miners in Geita is based on labour intensive techniques,

although over time there has been increasing mechanization and skills learning, albeit remaining at a

rudimentary, artisanal level (crushers, pumps, diggers, etc.). But poor knowledge of improved

production techniques, contributes to significant environmental, public health and safety risks.

3.2.3 Uganda

The number of people working in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) is between 11,000

and 13,000, but may be estimated at 50,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries. Currently ASM is

covered by the Mining Act (2003), the Mining Regulations (2004) and the Mineral Policy of Uganda

(2001), although legislation is being revised ASM can license their activities through a location

license, which is “a license for prospecting and mining operations by methods which do not involve

substantial expenditure and the use of specialized technology”. A location license is for 2 years but

can be renewed for periods of 2 years at a time. Costs for licensing: Location license UGX 850,000

(USD 228); mineral right UGX 250,000 (USD 68); gazettement fee UGX 300,000 (USD 80); per

month returns 5% royalties; small company returns UGX 75,000 annually. Operations must be

conducted in accordance with the National Environment Statute of 1995, which also requires an

Environmental Impact Assessment certificate to be renewed annually (UGX 50,000; USD 15).

Historically artisanal mining was viewed by government in profoundly negative terms. Lack of ability

to formalize until the 2000s meant that by default artisanal miners have worked illegally, with

extremely low skill and capacity levels, and weak organizational development. This extends to the

institutions governing the sector. There has also been an absence of non-governmental organizations

supporting artisanal miners or undertaking policy advocacy on their behalf (although in the west of

the country, unlike Busia district, mining NGOs are growing up, influenced by NGO advocacy in the

nascent petroleum sector). However change is occurring, as government makes constructive moves

towards greater formalization of artisanal mining; by implication 2012 – 2015 has been an ideal time

for the Fairtrade project to seek national policy influence. The Mining Act of 2003 is at present being

reviewed, with legislation intended to be presented to Cabinet by December 2015 before being passed

to the Ministry of Justice to draw up the revised legislation (i.e. before the national elections in

February 2016). The proposed legislation presents a more favorable legislative and policy approach

9

to small-scale mining in Uganda, reflecting change from the view that artisanal miners are ‘no-good

illegals’ to recognizing the value of organized small-scale mining in terms of royalty collection,

economic development, and rural employment.

Proposals in the revised mining legislation include royalty payments, with the following breakdown:

80% to central government; 10% to local administration; 7% to the sub-county administration; 3% to

land owners. Providing a royalty allocation to sub-county level and to land-owners has potential to

create a more conducive environment for artisanal mining at the local level, reducing land and

community conflicts. Land conflicts are a significant issue because ownership of land is separate from

ownership of minerals; therefore even with a valid location license, ASM must enter into agreements

with land-owners to mine on their land, with potential for conflict. While nationally there are positive

moves to addressing the artisanal mining sector, there are also tensions between institutions with

potential to destabilize ASM planning.

3.2.4 Main similarities and differences between the three countries

Similarities:

The historical legacy of ASGM is of a sector associated with illegality and problems for government

administration, rather than employment and economic opportunities for rural populations.

East Africa is a focus for rapid, large-scale extractive industries development, with governments

seeking to formalize artisanal mining as part of wider sectoral rationalisation based on models of

economic development incorporating mineral and petroleum investment.

In general, civil society and trade union support to and advocacy on behalf of artisanal miners are

extremely weak, although stronger in Tanzania than in Kenya or Uganda.

Very few opportunities exist for artisanal miners and mining communities to access finance,

whether formal (loans through banks) or informal (community banking). This extends to mining

communities that are avoided by micro-finance initiatives.

Government extension to support ASGM improvement is limited (Tanzania, Kenya) or non-

existent (Uganda).

Revenue generation and taxation from artisanal mining is limited; local government does not have

resources to address the scale of ASM-related need (health, environment, community

development) in mining communities.

Differences:

Stages of formalization differ: Tanzania started formalizing artisanal mining from the early 1990s,

whereas in Uganda and Kenya moves towards formalization are recent and not well-established.

ASGM in Geita Region has been the focus on many different donor and government initiatives to

improve the sector, whereas very little work has been done in Kenya or Uganda.

ASGM is of major economic and employment importance in Tanzania, increasingly recognised as

such in Uganda, and of relatively limited importance in Kenya.

Relevant policies recognise ASGM as of major interest for employment and for local economy in

Tanzania, less so in Uganda, and only locally in Kenya. In practice government in each country

embraces large-scale mining interests to the detriment of development in the ASGM sector.

In Tanzania, mineral sector governance remains centralised, regional mines offices function well,

but revenue allocation to district-level is limited. In Kenya there is an ongoing change towards

devolution of ASGM to county level, which alongside wider fiscal decentralisation, shifting the

locus of control over ASGM. In Uganda, governance for ASGM is centralised and weak, with no

budget allocation or capacity building at district level.

Regarding land ownership, it is private in Kenya, public in Tanzania, and mixed in Uganda. In

practice there is a separation between land rights and mineral rights in Uganda and Kenya that

creates conflict between land-owners and ASGM, whereas in Tanzania once a mineral right is

conferred this takes precedence.

10

3.3 Results achieved per project component

In the following are presented the main results per project objective / component separately, as has

also been done in the project reports. Subsequently are presented:

A. Tabular results according to the project M&E system and reporting (see section 3.4.2), referring to

achievements in year 2 (Yr2: March 2013-April ‘14), and year 3 (Yr3: March 2014 - current);

B. Selected narrative according to project M&E system (with comments of the evaluation team);

C. The findings of the evaluation team with respect to these results;

D. Analysis and main conclusions on achievements and remaining challenges.

3.3.1 Objective 1: Small-scale miners mine gold in a fair manner

A. Table 3: Results according to project M&E system for objective 1

Indicators Target Achieved

Number of Fairtrade certified ASMOs Yr3: 0

Miners are aware of the harmful effects of mercury on human health and the

environment and know that methods exist to minimize its use (retorts, pre-

concentration, burning outside human habitats, etc (% participants per country)

90% Yr2: 90%

Yr3: 95%

Miners are aware of principal methods of personal protection and know how to

avoid the main work hazards (% of participants per country)

90% Yr2: 90%

Yr3: 95%

The number of small-scale gold miners who have implemented and applied

measures for occupational health and safety as defined as responsible by the

Fairtrade standard (% of participants per country)

50% Yr2: 16%

Yr3: 60%

The number of small-scale gold miners who have employment rights which meet the

requirements in the Fairtrade standard and local law (% of participants per country)

50% Yr2: 24%

Yr3: 60%

Small scale gold miners are organised in a democratic governance structure as

required by the Fairtrade standard (% of participants per country)

50% Yr2: 82%

Yr3: 80%

Economic empowerment of miners and their families (% of participants taking part

in a savings scheme)

50% Yr2: 24%

Yr3: ??

B. Selected from project reporting narrative:

With respect to certification, 1 ASMO in Kenya (Micodepro), 1 ASMO in Tanzania (Nsangano) and

2 ASMOs in Uganda (Busia and Syanyonja) submitted relevant documents for the audit application

by FLOCERT, carried out in 2015. The LSOs played an important role in getting this organised.

A bottleneck for getting certified is that ASMOs commonly are not operational for some time if

mine shafts cannot be used (due to flooding or land title problems) so that the operations cannot be

audited. This has been the case for Micodepro, MaweMeru, Syanyonja, and Umoja Lwangasa.

The majority of members of Buteba ASMO left with only 7 members remaining and consequently

its status as a pilot ASMO is ambiguous, leaving the total of pilot ASMOs to 8.

It can be observed that some of the scores on the above indicators have increased significantly in

the third year, so that by now all scores exceed the set targets. On health and safety, the use of PPEs

remains a problem, as many workers are not using these because they are found to be

uncomfortable (and associated with external inputs that need to be provided by a donor, without

enough for existing workforce). In the ASMOs in Uganda, on average only 40% of the workers are

using PPEs.

Important challenges raised in the Yr 2 report to realize the indicators under this objective were:

Access to finance – some ASMOs started a saving scheme for household level finance

Weak leadership

Weak formalisation, internal cohesion and mutual trust

Understanding of the local institutional and legal requirements

Access to more efficient equipment.

11

C. Findings of the evaluation team (also see case study reports Appendices 7A to 7C)

1. Main findings Kenya

Kenya was added as the third country to the set of targeted countries. ASGM in Kenya has low

importance, both in terms of numbers of people involved and economic value (see context).

Of the two ASMOs supported by the project, Micodepro is well established, registered since 1999

and having a mining prospecting licence since 2005. It is being lead by a bishop with clear

leadership skills and good contacts with local public agencies. He knows the rights and duties of an

ASMO and can negotiate with government officers. He has also been elected the chairperson of the

newly established ASM network for Kenya, and has been employed for one year by the project to

train and support the other ASMO in Kenya.

The baseline survey at the start of the project showed that Micodepro had 6 criteria with a low level

of compliance. The mock audit showed that Micodepro has a limited number of core compliance

criteria that are not yet met. The ASMO seems to be working on these issues. However, it currently

does not have a productive pit available since 3 productive pits were closed last year due a decision

by the landlord and the new pit is not yet ready; it is expected to be ready for production soon.

The other ASMO supported by the project, being Lolgorian ASMO, has 52 members of which 32 are

female. Their main current problem seems to be one of leadership. This was stated to be mainly

due to the fact that there are many immigrants that move in and out depending upon the mining

situation but also the political situation. This makes leadership weak and difficult. Lolgorian ASMO

has not yet acquired all of its licenses and is less advanced in this process as compared to

Micodepro. Lolgorian projected an annual production of 3.5 Kgs of gold for 2014/15.

The baseline survey at the start of the project showed that Micodepro had 5 criteria with a low level

of compliance. The mock audit showed that Lolgorian has several core criteria that are not yet met,

as compared to Microdepro. We did not check to what extent the ASMO is working on these issues;

it seems the leadership constraint is a priority as the ASMO was considered ready for certification.

The following findings are for Micodepro and the wider community effects:

Micodepro has most of the required licenses, of which total annual costs only for renewal would be

around 20,000 KSH (US$ 200). Micodepro does not yet have an export license, but it was recently

confirmed by the Ministry that this is not required as long as one is not a dealer.

Micodepro has an up to date system of production (SYSPRO) and internal control system (ICS)

since 2013, but according to the mock audit the ICS needs further improvement.

In 1999 Micodepro had 10 members, it now has 31 permanent members (20 men, 11 women). The

management team of 3 persons has one woman (wife of the chairperson). The level of trust

between members is high. Members are being paid in cash.

Micodepro management requests additional training on entrepreneurship, accounting and

bookkeeping, and advise on developing one integrated ASMO policy including gender issues.

Micodepro gold production from November 2013 to July 2014 was 2.5 kg (triple that of the year

before). Then the 4 productive pits were closed as the lease had expired. It was expected that the

production could further double if the group owned at least a compressor by its own. For

2014/2015 Micodepro projected an annual production of 1.8 kg of gold per year.

On mercury use, Micodepro has managed to stop whole ore amalgamation, now using sluicing

boxes and centrifugal concentrator. This system has proved that besides low usage of mercury it

also yields more gold. In amalgam burning, retorts are used as a recovery technique and the

burning takes place in designated areas to protect human, animals and the environment.

The members claim that the incomes from gold mining have increased, which is probably due to

the high production in 2014.

As the main positive changes due to the project during last 3 years women and men mention:

o awareness of side effects and more careful use of mercury including use of PPE;

o no more use of motor pumps inside pits (this caused suffocation and death due to carbon

monoxide poisoning, which was a shock to the community);

12

o improved timbering – this is commonly done and copied by other groups;

o being more careful in using mercury polluted wastewater for watering cattle (women only);

o first aid knowledge and kits – used maybe once per month, also for other workers; as an

unexpected effect was mentioned that first aid knowledge was also used with a car accident;

o no more child labour – this is said to be respected.

During the field visit we did not observe signposts and also no fencing around the mine pits. The

recently abandoned pits were covered (as recommended) but not refilled (as this was opposed by

the landlord). On the use of PPE, the women admit that it takes time to adapt to their use as they

may be warm and difficult to use. The mock audit mentioned remaining safety issues.

As the main additional training needs the members mentioned:

equipment that can increase productivity and reduce labour load (crushing machines,

compressor, detector, shaking table, …);

savings and credit training;

supportive equipment to detect productive veins (this may be an illusion as such equipment is

complex and very expensive as far as we know).

Both women and men perceive copying of above mentioned ‘good practices’ by others, especially

those of timbering the mining shafts. There is also exchange of equipment, such as the retort for

recapturing mercury. The women refer to exchange of information in their SACCO (savings and

credit) group. The community perception of Micodepro is positive.

In the wider community, in recent years school attendance has improved and the school

headmaster claims there is less evidence of children attending school after having worked in mines.

This suggests that child labour in mining has declined, which is probably due to a combination of

the project and active engagement by Micodepro with the area assistant chief who is also very

proactive in eradicating child labour. Further improvement is still required as non-attendance is

still around 15% in high seasons.

In the wider community, there is evidence (by records) of other problems related to ASGM,

especially high incidence of HIV, malnutrition, sexual transmitted infections (STI), casualties and

criminal abortion. The health officer does not know what the project can do about this. The

government has a strong intention to tackle these problems.

The root cause is the fact that young uneducated miners may earn large amounts of money and

then splash it in a short time on irresponsible activities. One solution could be to assure proper

education and install a savings and credit scheme.

2. Main findings Tanzania

The project targeted three ASMOs namely Nsangano, Mawemeru (formerly Golden Hainga) and

Umoja Lwamgasa. These were willing to work towards Fairtrade certification. In Geita region

ASGM is long established, formalized, involves many people and has a high economic value (see

context).

Of these three ASMOs, by August 2015 only Nsangano was actively engaged in mining operations

and has submitted a request for the certification audit. The other two ASMOs had setbacks:

Mawemeru had internal conflicts causing one of the shareholders Golden Hainga to withdraw and

sell his shares. Umoja Lwamgasa has not had any mining operations due to lack of capital and weak

leadership..

The baseline survey at the start of the project showed that Nsangano had only 1 criterion with a low

level of compliance, and Mawemeru met all criteria (for Umoja Lwamgasa the baseline survey is

not complete).

Nsangano is an exceptional ASMO as it was established already in the early 1990s and has long

been formalised with relevant licenses and government requirements. It has strong leadership and

has good relations with public agencies. Good relations with the local community were established

by the late father Nsangano (recognised by UNEP as environmentalist of the year) who insisted

that the income derived from mining should be invested and a certain % should be taken to the

community and/or the church. Members are constantly reminded to invest their revenues in

13

productive assets. In 2005 they received a government certificate as recognition for their

environmental protection efforts. The mock audit showed that Nsangano has a good system in

place but there are some gaps in the area of organizational structure and safety aspects. They will

soon receive their FT certificate.

The mock audit showed that Mawemeru and Umoja Lwamsaga both have several remaining gaps,

but do not have running operations since 2013. Neither of them have been addressing the gaps

identified in the mock audit. For both ASMOs weak leadership appears to be a main problem,

although technical problems (of non productivity and lack of investment capital) are mentioned as

the primary causes. These two ASMOs do mention as benefits of the project the fact that they have

become more aware of mercury use, use of safety equipment and better spending of the gold

revenues. However, it is unclear to what extent these learning are being applied.

More specifically, Umoja Lwamgasa failed to raise enough capital to fix broken machinery and the

mine has subsequently been out of operation since August 2013, resulting in non-participation in

the project. MTL organised training on community banking and they have since raised the capital

to restart operations. A section of the group has started mining while others have moved to other

income generating activities as a result of training on community banking.

The following findings are for Nsangano and the wider community effects:

Nsangano has for long acquired all necessary licenses, of which total annual costs are USD 372

excluding tax and levy. Nsangano pays taxes and levies required by the government and village

authority. For the last payment in June 2015 it paid around USD 6000 as government tax, 140 as

annual mining land rent fee and 35 being 4% of the profit obtained from mining paid to TMAA.

Nsangano still sells gold and ores to local traders (brokers and ore buyers); they do not trade to

international buyers.

Nsangano received support from several projects and donors before the FT project intervened, by

UK DFID, UNIDO, UNDP, amongst others covering training, productive/processing improvements

and equipment, as well as how to engage with external experts to understand project expectations.

From 2010 to 2014 they entered into a mining collaboration with a mining company from Korea,

but this seems to have failed. They receive university students for field training on gold mining and

have informed many international academic and consultancy studies.

Nsangano has a board of directors comprising of 5 directors, out of which 2 are female. It has 75

permanent and 20 casual workers. Members are being paid in ore, which they seem to prefer.

Payment is according to the set contracts, which is not the case for many other miner groups.

In 2012 Nsangano was not productive, in 2013 there was one pit (0.5 kg of gold per month), by now

there are 4 pits with a monthly production of 1.5 kg. This increase in production is partly due to the

FT project which has rationalised pit construction and safe mining hence making mining constant

and increasing working morale. Nsangano has improved record keeping and strengthened ICS.

At Nsangano amalgamation is done in built ponds which protect mercury from spilling. The use of

mercury has declined. Environmental protection has increased and mercury controlled from

spreading to the environment. The project has introduced internal controls which provide

monitoring and checks, which has not been the case with other projects, where awareness is

created with no internal enforcement mechanisms.

In the wider community miners are still using a lot of mercury without safety measures.

The members claim that the incomes from gold mining have increased, as a result of increased

production. There has also been a diversification of incomes, which was supported by

entrepreneurship training by the project. Contrary to other mining groups, workers with Nsangano

are more permanent due to better conditions being provided.

Project training has been received on safe mining, entrepreneurship, child labour and mercury use.

These have contributed to eradicate accidents and injuries in the mine. In the past the ASMO

would experience 2 to 3 accidents annually.

In 2014 they used their equipment (e.g. compressors, pump and pipe) and labour force to rescue

those who were stuck in a neighbouring pit. They also contributed in cash.

14

Nsangano is also involved in community development initiatives: they contributed 40 bags of

cement and cash in the construction of two secondary school buildings, donated desks and

contributed to a village health centre.

Nsangano members state that the impact of the training could have been more noticeable if there

had been pre-financing support. The ASMO now lacks modern equipment such as jack hammers,

submersible pumps, crushing machine, wheel roller and geological knowledge and skills, which

require major investment.

As the main positive changes due to the project during the last 3 years women and men mention

the use of protective gear. The ASMO bought PPE for its workers who are all obliged to use while at

mining site – this is an improvement as compared to the mock audit stating that workers did not

use the PPE and their were no safety measures taken.

As the main subjects with remaining training needs the members mentioned:

o Although entrepreneurial skills have been mentioned as a positive contribution, it is also

mentioned as a remaining demand, including book keeping, savings and writing business plans

o Skills on marketing gold, knowing what are good markets

o Equipment to increase productivity (crushing machines, compressor, detector, shaking table, …);

o Training from mining engineers on how to detect productive veins.

Other gold miners in the region copy the new skills, e.g. safe mining skills, the use of PPE, first aid

skills. But they mention as a barrier to copying these measures the lack of capital and the instability

of mining groups due to movement of workers.

There is no evidence of ‘crowding in’ effects, meaning that other support organisations join the

efforts of the project, which is understandable as in fact there were already many ongoing projects.

In the past there was more free mining land, but currently most mining land has been allocated.

The scarcity of mining land has forced people to learn other skills and get involved in other income

generating activities. There are claims that the position of women in the mining business has

improved but there remain many inequalities.

In the wider community, the interviewed school teachers claim that school attendance has

improved recently, now up to 70-80%, and truancy and dropouts are also lower. Child labour has

declined due to joint efforts by many different actors (government and non-governmental),

including during recent years the FT project.

In the wider community, there is evidence (by records) of other problems related to ASGM,

especially high incidence of HIV, malaria, sexual transmitted infections (STI) and casualties (only

in July and August 10 casualties). The health officer would expect the project to do more about this.

3. Main findings Uganda

Initially the project sensitized communities in both Karimoja and Busia but for logistical and

security reasons turned to focus on 4 ASMOs in Busia region (1 of which is dominated by women).

One of these 4 ASMOs has only 7 members remaining and its mine is not productive. Members who

left undertook training but became disillusioned due to the equipment needs and lack of resources,

others simply dropped out of the ASMO but remain locally. At present the ASMO is not functional

although they have a potentially rich gold mine. If a mechanism had been established to enable

miners to access inputs, ASMO ‘implosion’ may have been prevented by the project.

The evaluation focused at two ASMOs (although visits were made to all 4 ASMOs): BUSMO

because the mock audit showed it to be moving significantly towards realizing certification

requirements in Uganda. Secondly, TIISMA, being within the same 13.2 hectare location license

held by BUSMO but identified by the mock audit as less advanced towards certification, therefore

it was considered a good basis for comparison. Syanyonja had a collapse of its main pit in 2015 due

to flooding, which is a common practice in the locality. The ASMO members are working hard to

open up a new mine and get back on track.

Compared to Tanzania, and Kenya, the Mine Doctor baseline scores for the 4 selected ASMOs are

by far the poorest, with low level scores for 13 to 47 (!) criteria (BUSMO was scoring best). This

shows that the organisation of ASGM in Uganda was lagging behind the other two countries, very

15

unsurprisingly given how recently the ASMOs have been established, the negative institutional

context for ASGM, and lack of capacity building prior to the Fairtrade project For the two visited

ASMOs the mock audit showed remaining gaps, which could be addressed. It appeared during the

evaluation field visit that one of ASMOs was not making significant progress in addressing these

gaps (BUSMO) so that it would be too early to carry out a certification audit. TIISMA had made

good improvements since the mock audit, and as an ASMO has good leadership and democratic

principles. Members are inexperienced dealing with government and relevant mining actors.

Bookkeeping and office management skills need significant capacity development.

The following findings are indicated for both BUSMO and TIISMA, and the wider community:

BUSMO’s organizational structure includes 3 male directors. There is internal division with a

fourth director who is in charge of a currently non-operational pit and has gone to mine elsewhere.

A fifth director left due to ‘financial irregularities’. They started mining at the site in 1998. They

were registered as an association in 2011. A location license is held for 13.2 Hectares, it was first

obtained in 2012, renewed in 2014, with plans to apply for a 21 year mining lease in 2016. The costs

associated with a location license and productive mine were around USD 450. For annual renewals

the costs would be around 1 million UGX.

BUSMO has 37 male and 13 female members, and in the dry season the number of daily labourers

can rise to 25-30 (although many have long experience of working there). ASMO members are

divided into 3 groups (according to the pit they mine). Members in the 3 groups share dividends

and the costs of work. At present one group/mine is not operational due to the exit of its director.

The directors are the landowners for land across the site, they accrue 20-30% of profit from

members, which is lower and better controlled than it is for many other miner groups.

In 2014 BUSMO reported gold production was 3kg (although there is also unreported production,

quantities not known). The gold is being sold to Indian buyers in Kampala. They do not trade gold

nor do they have an export license.

BUSMO leadership appreciated the training provided through the project, especially on mercury

exposure dangers, record keeping, child labour, gender balance, protective clothing, environmental

recovery and finance. BUSMO members highlighted as main benefits: (i) mercury exposure; (ii)

safety and protection; (iii) building steps to go safely into the mine; (iv) use of retorts; and (v) signs

and fencing (vi) land reclamation.

Training on mercury has changed practices inside the ASMO: ore concentration through sluicing

boxes now proceeds amalgamation and retorts are used in mercury recovery. BUSMO reported that

since the introduction of the retort, they recycle the mercury they recover. The processing areas still

need to be better rationalised, at one a sluicing pond has been built but is yet to be used, another

has recently been started with the river being used. There are few sign-posts or fences.

BUSMO has 27 protective outfits, although according to observation use of PPE appeared non-

existent at the BUSMO site. The directors argued that people take protective clothing home and

don’t wear it. Weak management / leadership authority appears to feed into this issue.

Remaining demands for training were on finance mechanisms and equipment to improve

production.

Following the study visit to Tanzania, BUSMO purchased two ball mills (elsewhere ore is crushed

manually with a metal pestle and mortar); a concrete sluicing pond has also been constructed.

Aside from mechanising the crushing of rock, the ball mills have enabled management to have

better control of production and traceability (moving a single quantity of ore from store to ball mill,

rather than rocks being crushed in small quantities with opportunities for loss).

Recent pit reclamation (in-filling) has taken place aided by mechanical plant, demonstrating the

positive influence of the project.

Both ASMOs have rationalised their system of production (SYSPRO) and developed an internal

control system (ICS), as a result of the project. Basic record keeping remains a challenge: record

books are kept in boxes and policies/membership lists are pinned to the walls.

16

TIISMA are registered as an association and have an MoU with BUSMO who own the location

licence covering the TIISMA site. They also have a MoU with the land-owner and give 25% of

profits to him.

TIISMA came together from four groups and 51 members (21 women, 30 men) in 2011, but many

men dropped out and now membership is 6 men and 16 women. One pit has 20 casual labourers,

another 14-15 (the term casual is deceptive; they can be employed under written contract for up to

2 years but get paid daily). TIISMA has an executive committee consisting of a chairman, vice

chairman, secretary, vice secretary, treasurer, mobiliser, and advisor (4 men, 3 women).

Female ASMO members have established a savings group (SACCO).

The trainings were much appreciated and practices have changed, especially on: gender aspects,

child labour aspects, mercury use, benching, creating steps, observing danger signals for mine

cracks, protective gear, traceability and environmental protection. The status of first aid training is

unclear; a report refers to 120 people having been trained, however no reference was made to it by

members of the ASMOs and some members said they would like to be receive first aid training.

They would like to be trained in mining, sluicing, using a crusher in order to improve their mining

skills. Their aspiration is to buy their own crusher to hire it out to others.

The TIISMA mine site is well rationalized, with fencing, clear signage, warning ropes at the mine

and an organized processing area. Improvements were made since the mock audit in Nov. 2014.

Last year there was a delay in production so they only produced 15gms, this year it will be more,

this is not due to the project.

Being members of TIISMA has helped to increase household income. Being involved in mining as

members of the ASMO is perceived to be empowering with opportunities for future development.

This is because of the opportunities the project provided for members as a group of women miners.

On management of toxic substances, TIISMA has sluice boxes to concentrate ore, followed by

panning, and amalgam burning using a retort in a designated area.

The main benefits of the project include more controlled mercury use, women involvement in

mining, no child labour, less accidents and higher production due to the fact that pits are

rationalised and therefore remain productive for longer.

However, it seems too early to conclude whether practices are being copied outside the ASMOs.

Members reported that there was copying, but interviews and observations suggested this was

weak. Moreover, gold buyers still commonly visit houses to amalgamate gold taking the mercury, a

spoon and gas with them, do it in the open air and tell local people to stay clear.

In the wider community, there is evidence of significant ASGM-related morbidity and mortality,

with health problems including an especially high incidence of HIV, sexual transmitted infections

(STI), mercury-related health defects and cancers, lung infections, and physical disability.

At schools there is still evidence of child labour in mining and processing activities (outside the

ASMO mines). There are child labour by-laws and these are adhered, however for some poor

children there are no other options. The Chairman of Tiira Village stated that children (youth)

from child-headed households may ask permission to mine and he accepts when this is their only

hope of an income. In his view telling children to go to school does not tackle the root of the

problem. There are other non-governmental and donor organisations working on child labour

issues plus national and local level leadership to tackle child protection, including exploitation in

mining. It would be preferred if the project collaborates with them.

D. Main conclusions

In all three countries, for the selected ASMOs the project has significantly contributed to awareness

and practices on issues related to mercury use, safety, pit construction, first aid, gender aspects and

child labour. These effects are probably greatest in Uganda, where initial awareness on these issues

was lowest. However, on several ‘technical’ aspects application across all three countries remains

weak and requires more support to be sustained.

17

On organisational and management aspects within ASMOs there have also been significant

improvements.

Although certification was initially not a project target as such, it has become an implicit target, as

it could serve as a reference for good practices and because of the expected higher revenues from

FT trading and the FT premium. Gradually, a shift took place from training on sustainability issues

towards training on the FT standard. The trainings have focused on the core requirements of the

FT Standard – i.e. those requirements which the auditor will be checking for during their first

audit. Other requirements, including ‘development’ requirements which become effective at a later

date were de-prioritised until the core requirements are met.

In Uganda, BUSMO and SAMA were audited 31 August – 5 September, with results yet to be

released. In Tanzania Nsangano mine is planned to be audited by FLO-cert in October 2015.

Micodepro can expect to be audited in Q4 2015, but this has not yet been planned as their pit is not

yet operational. The evaluation team would be surprised if BUSMO and SAMA would be

successfully certified. Also, neither Nsangano nor Microdepro can be considered to be

representative ASMOs because they were formed long ago, have strong and stable leadership, and

had received significant external support before the project intervened. This can also be observed

from relatively good scores for these ASMOs on the Mine Doctor baseline survey.

Other ASMOs suffer from leadership problems, from diminishing group membership and from low

production due to collapsed or flooded pits, which is a common phenomenon in all 3 countries.

Leadership problems also lead to lack of addressing remaining gaps identified in mock audits.

There is evidence of some miners and miner groups copying of good practices, especially practices

with immediate effects on health and safety or productivity. There is a strong demand on additional

support on access to finance and equipment to improve productivity.

In spite of appreciated trainings and evidence of project contribution to improvements on several

important sustainability subjects, no proof of concept has been achieved. This seems to be in

contrast to the positive M&E scores of the project.

Even with certification of Nsangano mine, this cannot be considered as proof of concept for several

reasons. First, Nsangano and Microdepro ASMOs are not representative – this is therefore in

contrast with the expectation that if one ASMO in each country is certified within the project life-

time, this will provide inspiration to other miners that it can be done. Second, even these two

ASMOs have not yet been able to trade gold (which is different from selling to local buyers) and

receive pre-finance from international buyers, which is an indispensable element of the business

model. Third, even these ASMOs may be struck by periods of low productivity due to collapsing

pits. This raises questions about whether the long-term viability of the conceptual model.

3.3.2 Objective 2: Creation of African knowledge network on ASGM

A. Table 4: Results according to project M&E system for objective 2

Indicators Target Achieved

The number of staff members from LSOs in East Africa that are able to

independently train small-scale miners on responsible mining practices as

defined by the Fairtrade standard by the end of the project

8 Yr2: 11

Yr3: 11

Existence of an active network of 20 LSOs, mining organizations, governmental

and non-governmental stakeholders in the East African ASM sector engaged

with the Fairtrade project and goals

20 Yr2: 14

Yr3: 39

Employment of a network coordinator by Fairtrade Africa, who by the end of the

project has knowledge of responsible ASM and Fairtrade

Already achieved in

year 1

18

B. Selected from project reporting narrative:

The strategy for building up a regional knowledge network initially focused at building the capacity

of three LSOs. There has been sharing of expertise between the LSOs involved and they have

supported each other with training and materials. Increasingly, ASMO leaders have also been

involved to train workers, for instance in Kenya where the Micodepro leader was recruited for one

year to support the other ASMO in Kenya. This proved to be very effective.

The project also organised several miner-to-miner exchange visits within one country and between

countries. According to the project reports this approach was very effective.

In year 3 the focus of the training approach has shifted to capacity building of FT ‘liaison officers’,

who will support ASMOs and LSOs in the pre-certification process.

The year 2 report concludes that capacities of LSOs and ASMOs have been built up simultaneously,

and LSO capacity gaps effect the progress of ASMOs towards the FT standard. It concludes that it

would have been more effective if in an initial phase capacities of LSO would have been built up,

before training the ASMOs.

The draft year 3 report mentions the total of 39 stakeholders engaged in the project network (as

indicated in above table); the evaluation team did not have the opportunity to check this result nor

the level of engagement of these stakeholders.

The project established contact with the Federation of Miners Association in Tanzania (FEMATA)

and National Association of Artisanal Miners in Uganda. Both organisations were invited to the

year three Regional Meeting to present on their programmes and structures for supporting ASMOs

access to improved political rights. FEMATA is the overall national body representing small scale

miners in Tanzania. The lack of a clear action plan for the Regional Miners Associations (REMAs)

and FEMATA has been noted, and members have capacity and financial constraints.

With support by the project, the gold miners network in Kenya (ASMINET) was established in

November 2014, representing artisanal and small-scale miners from gold mining areas in Kenya.

ASMINET nominated CANCO as its secretariat, on the interim towards self-determination. The

process of registration and legalization has recently been completed.

Activities carried out by ASMINET so far included awareness raising meetings in the counties of

Migori and Taita-Taveta (Feb. 2015) and visits to national organisations to share information on

the purpose, status and future of ASMINET, and discuss pertinent issues in the Mining Bill 2014.

About 350 miners were reached. In May 2015, ASMINET organized a county level meeting to

develop a strategic action plan for Migori County.

Work with national and regional networks in 2015 lead to joint public policy initiatives and action

plans. CANCO from Kenya organized an ASM stakeholders meeting in Kampala. It seems that a

joint action plan was drafted for which external funding will be sought.

Stakeholders not directly involved in the project have expressed interest in learning from the LSOs

and ASMOs. This has resulted in several exchange visits and presentations to other stakeholders,

for instance with WWF Tanzania, PACT Zimbabwe, CEJAD Kenya, The National Environmental

Management Authority (NEMA) in Kenya and Action Aid Uganda.

Following the Regional Meeting at the beginning of year two, it was agreed between FTA, FTF and

Fairtrade International that the long-term sustainability of this project rests on the ability to

maintain the peer learning element so that ASMOs that achieve certification are able to support

and mentor other ASMOs – within or outside of this project – through demonstration and on-site

learning. A ‘Centres of Excellence’ strategy was therefore devised, following the ‘Farmer Field

School’ model which has long held popularity in agriculture. Individual certified mines will be

supported to become local training centres and beacons of good – Fairtrade – practice, capable of

hosting visiting miners to learn and train on-site. A feasibility study for a Centres of Excellence

programme in East Africa was to be commissioned in the second half of 2014, with a pilot in 2015.

However, the study in its draft has become available in July 2015. The evaluation team received a

copy but did not have sufficient time to study it.

19

C. Findings of the evaluation team (also see case study reports Appendices 7A to 7C)

A considerable amount of training has been provided by the LSOs, on a variety of relevant subjects,

especially at management, leadership and organisational (‘governance’), as well as social, safety

and environmental (‘development’) issues. These issues are focused at meeting the criteria of the

Fairtrade (initially also Fairmined) standard.

The evaluation team has received positive feed-back by the ASMOs on the quality of the trainings

provided by the LSOs in all 3 countries. Also, creative combinations and strategies have been

developed to join efforts and overcome constraints. Furthermore, the effort needed to overcome

distrust by miners should not be under-estimated, especially in Uganda. However, especially in

Uganda the LSO stated that to achieve wider community effects and avoid fall-back the capacity-

building support will need to continue for at least 2-3 years.

The introduction of practices to reduce mercury use and also by improving the safety and quality

mining pits has also contributed to increase productivity. However, increasingly the targeted

ASMOs also request training on economic aspects, especially entrepreneurship, access to finance

and equipment to increase productivity. These requests already became clear in the second year,

but did not result in concrete changes in the project approach.

It is clear that trading gold (at the international market, to recognised jewellers, at fixed prices)

requires other skills than selling gold (to local buyers, with negotiated prices). The project has

started to provide training on gold trading aspects, but so far there has been no opportunity to

actually practice or test the learnings.

The support provided by the LSOs to ASMOs has increasingly focused at realising FT certification,

with efforts during the last project period at getting the ASMOs audited. The purpose of using FT

Standard is to provide a reference for application of the good practices in relation to ASGM.

The project has also undertaken some activities on supporting national and regional ASM

networks, if already existent or creating a new one (Kenya). In Kenya the chairperson of the newly

established network organisation expressed concerns about the sustainability of this network once

the project will end because so far its functioning fully depends upon project funds. He would

expect that ASMINET is supported until it has been allowed to become a viable self-financing

organisation (i.e. including membership fees). The networks in Tanzania and Uganda were

established earlier on but show exactly this fate, whereby they do not have resources and miners

are not willing to pay membership fees (a problem that extends beyond the mining sector).

It is noted that the purpose of meetings between the network organisations, as supported by the

project, are not always clear: is it to improve knowledge, to become a stronger advocacy or lobby

network, to better represent the ASGM sector?

A handbook will be developed to consolidate the tools that have been used in the 3 countries. The

presentation during the end-of-project conference was poor and the proposed volume unrealistic.

D. Main conclusions:

The M&E indicators on this objective (as designed and agreed with the donor) do not say much,

because what is the level of engagement by the engaged stakeholders and what outcomes can be

expected?

The quality of the trainings provided by the LSOs was generally good and has been effective.

However, continuation of trainings is required to avoid fall-back, sustain the effects and reach

greater impacts. Also, trainings should be broadened to include more leadership, entrepreneurship

and productivity aspects, and mentoring of the ASMOs will be required.

Work on national and regional ASM networks contributed to build up a foundation for advocacy on

ASM issues, but has not yet generated concrete results. This would certainly require more long-

term efforts supported by members that acquire increasing skills and capacities, as well as financial

means to support the networks.

Peer learning between ASMOs has proven to be an effective approach, but can be organised without

having national or regional networks.

20

3.3.3 Objective 3: Influenced policy and decision-making towards ASGM

A. Table 5: Results according to project M&E system for objective 3

Indicators Target Achieved

# of governmental and non-governmental or private sector organizations that

participated in the Regional Meetings, trainings for miners and/or been engaged

through the Public Policy Committee

10 Yr2: 18

Yr3: 33

# of governmental and non-governmental or private sector organizations that

acknowledge the potential of ASM as a livelihood and community development

tool through formalization and market access and promote responsible ASM and

trade as a result.

5 Yr2: 9

Yr3: 42

# of nations where mining organizations are working towards improved rights 3 Yr2: 1

Yr3: 3

B. Selected from project reporting narrative:

In year 1, the approach to this project component was changed from one of working through an

advisory group of country experts to one of involving institutions with a like-minded view on the

ASM formalization process. This change was approved by CR.

Following the end of the collaboration with ARM, in year 2 this component was led by FTA. In the

first year FTA and ARM jointly made a stakeholder analysis and participated in regional events

such as the International Conference on Great Lakes Region.

The draft year 3 report mentions the total of 33 organisations and 42 organisations acknowledging

the potential of ASM (as indicated in above table); the evaluation team did not have the

opportunity to check these results nor the level of commitment of these stakeholders.

The recruitment by FTA of a public policy officer failed, and alternatively a Tanzanian organisation

specialised in public policy was tasked to write a public policy strategy. The report (December

2013) does not present a clear strategy, in fact the consultant hardly met public policy makers. The

project was also not satisfied with the report and terminated the contract.

FTA in collaboration with LSOs has had meetings with national and local government officers in

the three countries. Also meetings were held at international level, e.g. travel of MTL to the USA.

The Year 2 report postulates that national and local governments are not very open to lobby by an

organisation representing the miners, and also want to see concrete benefits. As a more successful

strategy it was suggested that: (i) demonstrate the benefits of certification, (ii) build up capacity of

the miners to engage in local public policy and advocacy, and (iii) build up local miners associations

who can then conduct the public policy advocacy. Subsequently a series of new activities were

proposed to revitalise this project component, approved by CR.

In 2014 FTA subsequently engaged CANCO (Community Action for Nature Conservation) - an

advocacy civil society organization based in Kenya, to work on effective inclusion of ASM issues in

the governance and development of the mining sector in East Africa through Public Policy

Influence, and Enhancing effective miners Engagement, Networking and Alliance building.

In Kenya, CANCO facilitated the formation and formalization of the gold miners network in Kenya

(ASMINET). In Uganda, CANCO organized in April 2015 in collaboration with Action Coalition on

Climate Change (ACCC) an ASM stakeholders meeting, with participation of representatives from

miners, civil society organizations and opening by the Minister of State for Energy and Mineral

Development. During this meeting it emerged that there exists in Uganda a National Artisanal and

Small-scale Miners Association (NASMA) and 17 District ASM Associations. It was decided that

these associations need to be re-activated.

In Tanzania, CANCO organized a meeting with members of ASMINET and small-scale miners from

the Arusha region ASM associations (member of FEMATA, which brings together 20 regional

mining associations and 140,000 individual members). The meeting came up with an engagement

21

strategy between ASMINET and the Arusha Regional ASM Association, and recommended

exchange visits for purposes of learning, knowledge sharing and policy advocacy in East Africa.

In Kenya, the project initiated the Migori County Government ASM strategy development meeting,

with attendance of local administration officers from various line ministries who agreed to closer

collaborate on mining issues. Based on project experience, there is unclear goodwill from elected

officials (as evidenced from the fact that a concept to support develop an ASM development

programme at the county was provided but no action or interest was received.

Another expected deliverable under this objective is related to the Kenyan Mining Bill 2014 (inputs

by small-scale miners). However, the National Assembly had passed the Bill and forwarded it to the

Senate before miners’ inputs could be realized. The bill is still at the Senate and the newly formed

ASMINET is expected to still be able to provide feedback.

C. Findings of the evaluation team

From the Tanzania case study, there is no evidence of any influence of the project on public

policies, which is not surprising because these policies are generally supportive of ASM. In general,

the project has supported existing public policies, such as that on ASM and on social aspects

including child labour, and has been collaborating well with local government.

In Uganda, ASM raises challenges given negative mining impacts and limited government budget

and capacity. Representatives of national, district and sub-county government provided an

enabling institutional environment for the project because they recognise it a potential mechanism

for ASM development. Whereas on there is weak enforcement of environmental relevant laws and

the project is expected to strengthen this, there are plenty of initiatives on social aspects related to

child labour, both governmental and non-governmental, and the project was expected to

collaborate with these. There is a consensus that to effectively tackle child labour in mining, actions

need to have impact on the root causes of child labour in mining, being household poverty. The

awareness-raising on child labour in mining carried out by the FT project is important but not

enough. In this respect opportunities exist for synergies with other governmental and non-

governmental partners, which do not appear to have been considered.

In Kenya, there is evidence of local public interests to be involved in the project, also as a response

to the ongoing process of devolution in the sector. One county administrator was inspired on the

subject and wrote a booklet with a local ASM plan. Another local officer suggested to be willing to

look for ways and means to formalise and legalise the ASM sector in his county. The area assistant

chief for the area where Micodepro operates has been very active during the last 3 years and

undertook several activities to eradicate child labour. She also mentioned that a savings scheme has

been recently established for ASM operators.

D. Main conclusions:

After ARM had pulled out, FTA has been struggling with this project component, and progress has

so far been rather limited in spite of different approaches and initiatives that were taken. FTA is

well aware of this. It is difficult to draw conclusions with respect to what could or would have been

more effective. One possible conclusion is that in all countries persons have been identified that

seem to be frontrunners, and that could be (or have been) contacted and involved more explicitly

throughout the project. On the other hand, this would typically be a process of long perseverance.

The (above) indicators in the project M&E system (as designed and agreed with the donor) do not

say much, participation or awareness is not what counts, there is need to see evidence of policy

initiatives or real changes. It is unfortunate that such indicators have not been defined.

22

3.3.4 Objective 4: Jewellers commit to source Fairtrade certified gold from Africa

A. Table 6: Results according to project M&E system for objective 4

Indicators Target Achieved

The number of jewellers with sourcing plans to purchase Fairtrade

certified gold from Africa

5 jewellers

sourcing 5kg

Yr2: 0

Yr3: 0

The volume of Fairtrade certified gold (in kgs) from African mining

groups that is available to source by European jewellers by the end of

the project period

4 kg a year Yr2: 0

Yr3: 0

B. Selected from project reporting narrative:

It is obvious that the above mentioned targets have not been met because there is no Fairtrade

certified gold available to be traded. However, a range of activities were undertaken that lead to

commitments from 5 jewellers to source available Fairtrade gold as soon as it will become available.

FTF and Sol NL have undertaken several activities to make jewellers aware of the future possibility

of sourcing certified gold from East Africa. FTF hosted a conference in October 2013 to launch the

new FT gold Standard

There have been a series of Commercial exchange visits, to ASMO sites, with 3 visits held in year 3

of the project, where the producers have had the opportunity to engage and interact with jewellers

from the international market. Even though not funded directly from this project these have much

contributed to raising awareness and commitment among jewellers. There is commitment by Cred

Jewellery to purchase all available Fairtrade gold from Africa, with testing of root to market.

FTF organised a press trip in November 2014, taking journalists from the Press Association, Hello!

Magazine plus celebrity jeweler Pippa Small to visit the Ugandan pilots. The trip generated media

interest and coverage which was used to promote the FTF ‘I Do’ campaign, which was launched in

January 2015. At time of writing the print and broadcast reach was estimated at 520,977,000 and

online potential viewership was at estimated 2bn (viewed more than once by one person).

The I Do campaign also targeted jewelers and encouraged them to sign up to using Fairtrade Gold.

The campaign saw an increase in sales through key business partners including Cred Jewellery who

had a 60% increase in sales through Q1-2 2015. The number of UK jewelers registered through the

Goldsmiths Registration Scheme has increased to 400 jewellers registered in the FT system. Two

UK brands signed License contracts to purchase FT gold and have confirmed to be the first jewelers

using African gold when the groups are certified later in 2015. The supply route has been identified

and the importer is working closely with Fairtrade and the pilot ASM groups on logisitics.

Sol NL has undertaken numerous activities to engage with potential European licensees on

sourcing certified gold from Africa; among the companies targeted are key Dutch jewellers and

three of the largest international jewellery companies plus the refineries and traders in their supply

chain, representing an annual demand of 1500 kg gold. In January 2015, Solidaridad organized an

information session for Dutch goldsmiths in Utrecht, on the new goldsmith registration scheme

where 30 people attended. Solidaridad NL built up new relationships with major retailers and

brands. Two major companies are now developing sourcing plans for certified gold, and have asked

to be connected to newly certified ASMOs from East Africa.

C. Findings of the evaluation team

By Sol NL and other organisations, there has been in recent years a lot of promotion of sustainable

gold (whether Fairtrade or Fairmined) and in the sector there is now the unique situation that

demand exceeds supply. According to the market expert at Sol NL jewellers are interested to buy

‘sustainable gold’ no matter from where or which standard.

Sol NL offers businesses unbiased advice on potential certification labels and other responsible

sourcing options and as such have been reluctant to restrict the funding available through this

project to only promote the Fairtrade label. It was decided for Sol NL to focus the funding available

23

through this grant on specifically growing the Dutch market for Fairtrade Gold, as the Fairtrade

Mark has a lot of strength in this market and completion from Fairmined is weak. Note that the FT

mark is highly recognised (80%) and trusted (90%) and also a single label promotion will be more

easy to understand by consumers.

D. Main conclusions:

Although the targets have not been achieved, since no FT gold from Africa has been sourced, there

currently is a strong demand and commitment to purchase all available Fairtrade gold as soon as it

will be available.

The approach of organising commercial exchange visits to motivate jewellers is an effective

approach to raise awareness and generate commitment among jewellers.

3.3.5 Objective 5: Increased awareness of consumers on Fairtrade gold

A. Table 7: Results according to project M&E system for objective 5

Indicators Target Achieved

The number of mainstream media publications, broadcasts etc related to

the project, the target groups and their situation, achieved by/via the

project partners

6 Yr2: 1

Yr3: ??

The total number of people that project partners reached with information

on the project through internet and project partner web sites

8.25

million

Yr2: 6.3 m

Yr3: ??

An increase in consumer awareness of Fairtrade Gold jewellery

20% (16% in 2013)

B. Selected project reporting narrative

FTF and Solidaridad Netherlands (Sol NL) were responsible for this component, and carried out

activities with an important amount of co-funding from their own sources

Already in year 1, it is claimed that SLO Nl has reached 2.1 million people in the Netherlands, and

FTF reached 3.1 million consumers in the UK. By mid 2015, Sol NL has reached over 7.5 million

people in the Netherlands with stories about gold miners and how consumers can contribute to

better lives.

The FTF ‘I Do’ campaign was launched in January 2015, and by August 2015 has reached an

estimated 521 million people and online potential viewership was at estimated 2bn (viewed more

than once by one person).

Following is a selction of main events and activities within this component:

FTF took a group of journalists from the UK, Austria and Holland to Tanzania in August 2013 as

part of the media build-up to FTF’s 20th anniversary in 2014;

FTF featured on BBC World Update, with a global listening audience of over 1.6 million;

FTF hosted a conference in October 2013 to launch the new Standard for Gold;

A commercial engagement trip with Comic Relief and BT Supporters Club;

The launch of the Fairtrade Goldsmiths Registration Scheme (a new business model to enable

small jewellers to use certified gold in their designs);

Sol Nl relationship with HRH Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme resulted in a Fairtrade Gold

wedding rings for his wedding in October 2013;

Sol NL collaboration with jewellery designer Bibi van der Velden attracted both print and TV

media coverage, including an item with 196.000 viewers.

Following departure of ARM in year two a new benchmark awareness was determined using a

Globescan survey, giving a benchmark awareness figure of 16%, which is significantly lower than

the original figure (42%) but more realistic given the relatively recent launch of Fairtrade Gold.

24

C. Findings of the evaluation team

No specific research was done on this component.

D. Main conclusions:

Gold and Fairtrade gold is without doubt a very appealing subject. It remains to be seen to what

extent consumers are willing to translate their increased awareness into a willingness to pay higher

prices for Fairtrade gold jewellery once it is available in the market.

3.4 Project management

3.4.1 Project organisation

In terms of project organization, early in the project a major change took place by the fact that the

Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) pulled out of the project in February 2013. The main changes

were proposed to the donor, with a risk assessment showing that this change had moderate risks for

the project. The main organizational changes can be summarized as follows:

The focus will be at the Fairtrade standard only, and not anymore at the Fairtrade or Fairmined

standard;

ARM will continue to collaborate on key areas of work, i.e. training and transition of public policy;

Training materials on a Standard for ASM gold were delayed, as a new Fairtrade-only standard was

launched, replacing the FT/FM standard; the compliance criteria were released in April 2014;

The responsibilities for Outcome 3 (on policy influences) was transferred to FTA;

ARM would still deliver training-of-trainers as planned at year 2 Regional Meeting in Uganda;

The supervision of field visits to collect data against baseline study would be taken over by

FTA; the ‘Mine Doctor’ toolkit developed by ARM would be adapted to the FT standard.

Following these changes, and applicable for the majority of the length of this project, the organization

of the project is captured in the following scheme. Figure 2: Organisational scheme of the project

25

It must be said that it was not easy for the evaluation team to understand the defined responsibilities

in the team. These have been summarized in the following table 8.

Table 8: Overview of responsibilities of project partners

Project partners Responsibilities

Fairtrade Foundation (FTF) Grant management

Marketing and consumer awareness objectives UK

(objectives 4 and 5 in UK)

Fairtrade Africa (FTA) Network coordination

Project management

Public awareness objective (objective 3)

Solidaridad Netherlands (Sol NL) Coordination project monitoring, evaluation and learning

Marketing and consumer awareness objectives NL

(objectives 4 and 5 in NL)

Local Support Organisations (LSOs)

Solidaridad East & Central Africa

Expertise Centre (SECEAC)

Regional project monitoring, evaluation and learning, on

objectives 1 and 2

Support ASMOs and networking in Kenya

MTL Consulting Ltd (MTL) Support ASMOs and networking in Tanzania

Environmental Women in Action

for Development (EWAD)

Support ASMOs and networking in Uganda

The LSOs are responsible for training mining groups in each country in FT certification

requirements, where necessary in conjunction with FTA; conducting training on health and safety,

environmental management and business skills development; and ensuring ongoing communication

with local partners. The LSOs are responsible for local reporting and linking with other project

partners for monitoring and evaluation; and participating in learning throughout the project.

After ARM pulled out, the Project Steering Group (PSG) had representatives from FTF, FTA,

Solidaridad NL and Solidaridad East Africa (SECEAC). They intended to come together regularly (on

skype) but meetings did not always materialize because of poor connections. Some notes were made

and sent around within the PSG, but there are no formal minutes and these were also not available to

other project partners. Altogether the PSG was rather a closed group.

Annually the larger group of project partners came together during project conferences, when they

were informed about the strategic decisions and discussions within the PSG. This seems to have

caused some frictions. For example, one critical decision taken by the PSG in year two has been to

focus training on the core criteria of the FT standard, but this was not widely discussed.

3.4.2 Monitoring and evaluation

The evaluation team was confronted with a series of documents on project results that were at first

impossible to understand. This is also due to the fact that baseline assessment method, subsequent

M&E monitoring within the project, and then reporting to CR, all use different systems.

Initially, the Mine Doctor system of ARM was used to establish a baseline situation for each ASMO.

The Mine Doctor system is basically an audit of the Fairmined standard that checks if applicable

criteria are met, by providing a green, yellow or red colour code.

When ARM pulled out, the Mine Docotr system could not anymore be used as it is owned by ARM.

Solidaridad introduced a comparable M&E system, whereby similar semi-quantitative scores are

given to a set of indicators that are related to the theory of change (result chain) of Solidaridad (see

26

Appendix 6). The M&E system does not include quantitative indicators such as volume of gold

produced, number of workers, number of proposed policy changes, etc. The indicators were designed

and agreed with the donor, however, they were not well defined nor were protocols elaborated to

describe how the defined indicators should be assessed. According to the project guidelines, in

addition to the observation checklist, FGDs were applied to guide discussion with the ASMOs and

identify additional insights. The assessments were done by the LSOs or other project staff, thus these

were not done independently. SECAEC was responsible for monitoring objectives 1 and 2, FTA would

do so on objective 3 and FTF on objectives 4 and 5.

The baseline values were established at the end of year 1 using the Mine Doctor method. The findings

were not used as a basis to assess progress, because the new Solidaridad M&E system was introduced

and the two systems were not linked nor were the baseline data used or analysed for another purpose.

The monitoring formats used for annual reporting to the donor is very complex and difficult to

understand, with a series of columns on direct and indirect effects (of which the definitions are

missing) and an expression of targets in numbers of beneficiaries of which the relation is very

difficult to understand (see example below).

Outcome indicators (including targets where

appropriate in relation to baseline data)

Predicted number to

benefit directly

Actual number benefiting

directly this year

M F M F

The number of jewellers with sourcing plans

to purchase Fairtrade certified gold from

Africa (target = 5 jewellers to purchase 1KG)

Achieved: 0 to date

770 330 0 0

3.4.3 Reporting

There is extensive reporting, with quarterly reports, annual reports, financial statements, and several

other reports. Also, there have been frequent interactions and consultations with the targeted ASMOs

to capture their perceptions and assess progress. On the one hand this gives rich background

materials, on the other hand the system is difficult to understand and seems to have created a lot of

paperwork of which the evaluation team is not always convinced it has been useful.

The reporting process has been as follows:

LSOs send quarterly reports to SECEAC (on Objectives 1+2);

SECEAC (+ FTF and FTA on Objectives 3,4,5) collects and sends to Sol NL;

Sol Nl collects and sends completed quarterly M&E to FTF;

FTF sends annual reports to CR.

The donor only requires annual reports. Quarterly reports are required by the financial department

of FTF, and to justify spending these should be accompanied by activity reports. The quarterly

reporting has been structured by Sol NL around the theory of change. The evaluation team can

understand this rigour in early project phases when working with new partners, but doubts the

usefulness and efficiency to continue such rigour.

The quality of the annual reports is very good, including also critical remarks and lessons learned,

and these have formed for the evaluation team the basis for understanding progress within the

project. At the same time, LSOs mention that not all of their concerns are adequately expressed in the

annual reports. This seems a fair comment because the evaluation team has found some very useful

additional comments in quarterly narrative reports.

27

4. Conclusions and recommendations

The following conclusions are structured by the criteria and questions in our evaluation framework

that were submitted and approved by FTF as part of our inception report.

4.1 Relevance

Key question: Is the project consistent with the needs, priorities and possibilities of beneficiaries

and other stakeholders?

The activities undertaken by the project are highly relevant, as based on the current negative social,

health and environmental impacts of gold mining, on the receptiveness of miners to most of the

improved practices proposed by the project, and to changing national policy/legislative contexts

where government representatives start to become more open to ASM issues (notably in Kenya and

Uganda, in Tanzania a positive attitude to ASM is already more established).

More specifically, we identified the following existing conditions to justify the project:

o The positive potential of ASGM as a generator of rural employment, household income, and local

economic development;

o The direct negative side-effects of (unsustainable) practices related to ASM on miners and their

families: health effects of mercury; mining accidents; health effects of poor mining practices.

o The indirect negative side-effects of (unsustainable) practices related to ASM on communities,

including: malaria, danger of drowning, exposure of children to open caste mines, mining-related

disability, high incidence of STDs, levels of food insecurity, low levels of school attendance.

o The indirect negative side-effects of (unsustainable) practices related to ASM on the

environment, including water pollution by mercury use, local soil erosion and deforestation.

The context studies are of relatively good quality, but do not pay much attention to the wider

negative community effects of ASM (see indirect effects above), which can be significant.

The project has so far not been able to develop an adequate response to the need for pre-financing

of running costs or for access to funding to make necessary investments in order to purchase

improved technologies that can increase productivity and alleviate stoppages in production (e.g.

due to flooding and mine collapse). Although it is typical for beneficiaries of development projects

to demand new equipment from donors, in this case the request by beneficiaries appears justified:

(a) pre-financing is a characteristic of the conventional ASGM system with high dependence on

local buyers for running costs; and, (b) artisanal miners have poor access to finance (formal /

informal) to enable them to invest in improved technology. Without improved technology and

finance mechanisms, the capacity of ASMOs to exploit the productive potential of their pits or to

sustain membership is weak. This request has been identified already in early phases of the project.

4.2 Efficiency

Key questions are:

How effective has the Project’s management, monitoring, learning and financial systems been?

Has cooperation between Project Partners been carried out in an efficient way?

Was the implementation sufficiently supported by M&E activities and what was the quality?

Has the project been cost effective, achieving value for money?

The process of selection of countries and ASMOs included in the project has been good. Although

there are important contextual differences between the three countries, project implementation in

three East African countries has created beneficial synergies and successful knowledge exchange.

28

The Project’s management system has been disrupted by the fact that ARM pulled out at an early

stage. The project has adequately responded to this disruption. For instance, a new theory of

change was developed and shared within the project. The project team of partners is highly

motivated and has worked very hard to achieve progress.

The LSOs have made efficient use of resources to train and support ASMOs. The collaboration

between LSOs is effective and efficient, with use being made of mutual expertise. However, it is

uncertain whether this leads to building up capacity in each of the 3 countries on all issues related

to sustainable mining. For instance, knowledge on productivity aspects may still be less developed.

The quality of the trainings is highly appreciated by the ASMOs, and also highly qualified by other

stakeholders.

The process of building up expertise has been partly one of learning-by-doing, in close interaction

with the ASMOs. This could probably not have been avoided, also given the fact that experience on

ASM gold mining had to be transposed and applied from Latin America to East Africa. We believe

that the differences between these two regions has been seriously under-estimated.

One criticism is that from the beginning there could have been more collaboration with local

initiatives and stakeholders. For instance, on the subject of child labour in Uganda and Tanzania

there is a plethora of initiatives, and also on environmental subjects there are existing initiatives

and public laws. This could have contributed to improved efficiency by focusing on the potential

added value of the project.

The project steering group (PSG) has been functional, but although there are emails sent on

decisions taken, there are no minutes of decisions taken by the PSG, opportunities for feed-back

from partners and follow-up communication on these decisions with project partners.

The M&E system is difficult to understand. Considerable resources have been spent on baseline

measurement using the Mining Doctor system, but the resulting data have not been used. Thus, the

project does not have a baseline measurement. This is an omission as it is our impression that

ASMOs that were already established and advanced are performing best.

The current M&E system generates some useful results, especially through the narratives, but does

not provide easy insight in progress per ASMO, and does not capture critical issues such as ASMO

leadership and internal cohesion. Protocols of indicators are missing. Of many indicators we have

doubts on the usefulness, because for instance what does it mean that 39 stakeholders are engaged

in the ASGM network? For these indicators it could be more useful to develop a semi-quantitative

approach, for instance using balance score card methods.

The annual reports are very informative and the narratives provide very useful information, also on

learnings and new insights that have emerged.

We have doubts about the usefulness of continuing the need for quarterly reports, which puts a

high burden on limited human resources.

Annual conferences have been useful and appreciated by all project partners, and were important

in order to streamline experiences and thinking on how best to achieve the project objectives. Peer

learning and follow-up visits by respective leaders to ensure practices have been applied have been

effective. Workshop-based learning also has been effective and welcomed.

The time horizon of 3 years is appropriate for a pilot phase. The project has achieved value for

money in terms of acquiring a wealth of knowledge on this new theme for Fairtrade in East Africa,

as well as capacity building and benefits for the selected ASMOs. Also, there is now commitment

among several jewellers to purchase the Fairtrade gold as soon as it becomes available on the

market. Lastly there is a foundation for organised advocacy in the 3 countries on ASGM issues.

However, a longer time horizon is essential to sustain these results and realise more full-fledged

impacts and upscaling, and would have been helpful in avoiding an apparent rush towards

certification during the last phase of this project.

29

4.3 Effectiveness

Key questions are:

To what extent did the project’s Theory of Change work? Has the project brought lasting change?

What have been the most effective mechanisms of change? What lessons have been learned?

How have relationships between partners (local and UK) contributed to the outcomes/ changes?

Has the achievement of outcomes been influenced by external factors?

Were there any unexpected outcomes?

Overall, progress has been slower than expected because the expectations for this project were

based on experiences (by ARM) in Latin America and the assumption that in East Africa conditions

would be similar. However, this is not the case: small-scale gold mining in East Africa is more

informal and unorganised. Given the political dynamics of the extractive industries sector in East

Africa, together with significant differences in the practice of government formalization processes,

this could have been anticipated. Expecting miners to get organised in ASMOs, trained and

certified in only 3 years is unrealistic. Even if an ASMO gets certified, subsequent steps will be

required to: (i) successfully market the FT gold, (ii) remain organised and able to meet FT gold

standard criteria, and (iii) maintain capacities without donor support project.

The project has contributed to an increase on the ground in awareness and change of practices

reducing the risks and unsustainable practices related to ASM. Training by the project has met with

a good response, and has led to several changes in attitudes and practices by ASMO members.

A mock audit was conducted in November 2014 and 4 ASMOs were found to be ready for being

audited. However, recent changes underline the vulnerability of several ASMOs to internal and

external shocks, underpinned by the need both to become organizationally stable as miners

associations, and for finance and equipment.

The project objective is that of improving livelihoods and working conditions among mining

communities by piloting the application of the Fairtrade Standard in East Africa. In the 2nd year the

project has adopted the target of achieving certification for the selected ASMOs on the FT standard.

There are three optional conclusions on effectiveness which depend upon the defined expectations:

o The project has piloted an approach of building up an ASMO with internal governance and

introducing practices to improve livelihoods and working conditions for artisanal and smallscale

gold miners, based on the FT standard on gold, with awareness and knowledge generated,

capacities built and several practices being applied.

o The project has been most successful (and will likely realise FT certification) with two ASMOs

(Nsangano and Micodepro), however there are questions about whether these ASMOs can be

considered as representative.

o The project has not been able to respond to the demand by ASMOs to improve their productivity

and access to finance, which is a remaining gap with respect to the business model that is

required to assure sustainability of mining, the status of certification and the ASMOs. Although

some ASMOs do attribute improved productivity, e.g. by timbering gold pits that therefore

remain productive for a longer period, the current techniques do not ensure maximum returns in

comparison to ore content - ASMOs recover maximum of 60% with current methods.

Productivity could be improved in terms of time and recovery through alternative recovery

techniques. ASMOs argue that improved equipment (more powerful water pumps; ball mills;

drilling equipment to cut into hard rock) would significantly increase productivity.

The subject of productivity is important, because where the ASMOs are productive, there tends to

be greater group cohesion. On the contrary, where production is low and revenues from gold

mining are meagre, groups are seen to disintegrate as miners will focus on other sources of income.

Assuming that unorganised miners can form robust organizations and within a 3 year timeframe

also expecting them to proceed on the path of stringent standards compliance towards certification

appears naïve. This contrasts with a situation where a mining organization (association, family

30

enterprise) is already well established (e.g. Micodepro / Nsangano) and can use a 3 year period to

focus on attaining Fairtrade certification.

In relation to the work with ASMOs, the main conclusion is that although many successes have

been achieved, it would be too early to conclude that proof of concept has been achieved in terms of

the project having developed a model for sustainable artisanal and smallscale gold mining.

The project is by now recognised as a leading reference for responsible mining in the region and is

recognised as contributing to development of this network by offering a practical solution to some

of the issues that are being raised at regional and international levels. Stakeholders not directly

involved in the project have expressed interest in learning from the LSOs and ASMOs. This has

resulted in several exchange visits and presentations to other stakeholders.

The project has been seen to set up the foundation for advocacy into mining issues in the region

through the established networks in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In the 3 countries also, the

project has identified key stakeholders who will continue coordinating and spearheading network

engagement strategies as recommended beyond the scope of the project.

A critical reflection is needed on how these structures will remain without external (project)

funding, and what support they require from Fairtrade. Capacity building of members and

establishing membership payments would seem to be critical.

Lastly, the project has significantly contributed to build up awareness among jewellers and

generated commitment to purchase FT gold from East Africa as soon as it becomes available.

Several important learnings from the project would not have emerged without on-the-ground pilot

activities. These learnings could be made more explicit:

o It takes time for a group of miners to build an organisation with strong internal cohesion and

leadership, as a foundation to adopt measures required to improve livelihoods of members and

eventually to achieve certification, this becomes clear from the fact that only well established

ASMOs are able to achieve certification – however, the minimum level of organisational

maturity required has not been defined, nor the skills and trainings required, nor the time it

takes to get there;

o There are constraints even for a well established ASMO to adopt the various measures to improve

their livelihoods. While practices that have immediate effects on health and safety are easily

adopted, those with indirect effects (e.g. use of PPEs) face constraints – it is not yet fully clear

which measures are easily adopted and by whom, and there is just initial insight in which

measures are being copied by other ASMOs;

o Productivity increases are critical for supporting sustainable improvements of livelihoods and

also to maintain cohesion within the miners group; to achieve this a minimum of investments are

required to purchase equipments - however, the minimum level of productivity, required

equipments and skills have not been well defined;

o ASMOs are small and vulnerable to productivity dips by natural factors, with a consequence that

miners are highly mobile to acquire incomes - it remains a question whether a cooperative of the

size of the current ASMOs has potential to become a viable enterprise;

o There is a significant difference between selling gold and trading gold. So far all 4 ASMOs only

have experiences of selling gold (to local buyers who pre-finance); it remains to be seen whether

trading gold (to overseas jewelers, based on trading conditions) will be successful after

certification has been acquired.

31

4.4 Impacts

Key questions are:

Who have benefitted from the achievement, are there any groups who have not benefitted?

How has the project impacted on existing ASM organisation within the 3 focal areas?

What is the gender-differentiated impact?

What impact on environmentally destructive practices (e.g. mercury use in gold amalgamation)?

Have there been changes to government policies and attitudes that benefit the target group?

There is evidence that incomes have increased for ASMO members, and it is also suggested that

productivity has increased as a result of the fact that pits remain productive for longer periods.

However, these effects are also influenced by many external factors. For the mining communities

incomes from mining are crucial for livelihood wellbeing.

There is evidence of less casualties due to better safety measures, of less child labour (see below),

and of improved health due to more controlled use of mercury and less labour intensive techniques.

Depending upon (previous and ongoing) interventions by others, on all above changes there are

important contributions by the project.

The project has significantly reduced mercury use and thus environmental impact. Miners are

motivated to further reduce mercury because of the health impacts. Use of retorts and improved

practices (e.g. rationalized sluicing ponds; using retorts in specifically designated places) have been

adopted within the ASMO production systems leading to reduced mercury purchases.

In terms of environmental rehabilitation through tree planting, covering and in-filling of pits,

promising results have been achieved although many open caste pits tend not to be re-filled

because miners hope to continue to extract gold (as well as the labour required for in-filling by

hand). Landlords often do not encourage land rehabilitation.

The gender dimensions of gold mining in terms of women’s roles and gender-based power relations

are complex. There is evidence in several of the visited ASMOs of women having acquired better

rights and positions, including leadership functions (e.g. in Micodepro), probably due to project

influence. However, there is also evidence that gender roles are more tokenistic, with control over

key areas such as finance remaining under the control of male members.

The Fairtrade project has successfully contributed to preventing children under 18 working in the

ASMO pits. Outside the ASMOs its impact in relation to child labour is on community awareness,

namely that children should go to school and not be involved in mining. In all countries there is

significant action on child social protection by government and non-governmental organizations.

Stakeholders say awareness-raising is important but unlikely to be successful unless the root causes

of child labour are tackled (i.e. household poverty). Daily retention in school is an issue in Busia

District, Uganda: a poor child may go in the morning but if their parents can’t afford to pay for a

school meal they may leave and mine in the afternoon. The project just started to address this

issue, e.g. in Nsangano the project with a Child labour Monitoring Programme in their community.

Future plans for Fairtrade gold mining should ensure that synergies are created between Fairtrade

and other initiatives, including getting sub-county community development officers to attend

meetings and making linkages with relevant NGOs.

With respect to policy and legislative changes, each national context presents significant challenges

for policy influence and there are indications of contributions by the project to increased public

policy awareness and receptiveness on ASM mining issues. The project has enabled LSOs and

ASMOs to advocate at district level on behalf of artisanal miners, with some concrete results. There

are emerging opportunities for collaboration and contributions to future policy dialogue / advocacy

on behalf of artisanal miners. The project needs a public engagement strategy to know how best to

pursue these emerging opportunities at different policy levels and in collaboration with partners.

There has been a build up of capacities within the LSOs on subjects related to sustainable ASM.

Capacity building has run in parallel with learning, and therefore the observed limitations with

respect to the ‘proof of concept’ are also imminent for existing capacities.

32

The ASMOs supported by the project are held by community and district leaders to be acting as

models for good mining practice. There is evidence of practices that are better for health being

copied outside the ASMOs; nevertheless it is fair to say that bad practices / lack of knowledge

remain extensive in the wider community.

Although the project is commended by district governments, ‘crowding in’ effects by government

agencies that feel strengthened by the project in their motivation to improve the ASM sector are not

taking place.

Better mechanisms could be put in place for extending take-up of training by casual/daily wage

laborers, many of whom have worked in mining and at the ASMO mines for significant periods of

time (e.g. 2 years). Given the likelihood they come from poorer households in the community, this

would also contribute to improved poverty impact of the project. Attendance lists suggests training

was dominated by a core group of association members. Laborers said training was at busy times

and the priority was to get income for food (e.g. training payment for laborers could include the

daily wage, which is equivalent to the amount paid to trainees for transport costs).

4.5 Sustainability

Key questions are:

To what extent are the changes resulting from this project sustainable and have exit strategies

been developed in a sound way?

Are the changes in people’s need likely to be sustainable in the long term?

To assess sustainability of results, we adopted some categories in line with OECD/DAC criteria:

Enabling policy. There is a real concern that the results will not sustain if the public policy context

is not improved. The strategy should be one of developing public policy partnerships at local,

regional and national levels, and stimulate exchanges between these 3 levels. The project should by

now, given its experiences in the area, develop a policy engagement strategy.

Legislative. In Uganda mining legislation is improving in favour of formalizing artisanal mining.

As in Kenya, the land tenure situation does not favour investments in sustainability because of the

separation between mineral rights and land rights, so land conflicts will not be solved by

formalization. Uganda planned changes to allocation of revenues from artisanal mining, to give

land-owners 3% royalties may be a positive step forward in improving land-owner – miner

relations and in conferring greater responsibility on land-owners for environmental reclamation.

Land disputes can undermine security and sustainability of the ASMOs. In Kenya and Uganda land

issues are not resolved through mining licensing because land and mineral rights remain separate.

Institutional. Leadership and mutual trust are key to a good functioning ASMO, and most likely

regular monitoring, peer visits and exchanges can help strengthen or maintain these. Especially in

Uganda it seems unrealistic to expect the three year project to cover (a) initial awareness raising /

sensitization (b) the formation and consolidation of ASMOs; and (c) meeting the changes that need

to be made to comply with the standard .

Finances. Financial incentives or equipment was not provided by the project as an alternative to

pre-financing by middlemen. At least in Uganda middle-men continue to contribute finance to the

ASMOs for running costs although the extent is hard to determine because it varies depending on

income from production (in this community middlemen are used to finance pump diesel, mercury,

credit to workers for household needs). The switch to the Fairtrade market has to take into account

the need for credit as well as improved revenues from higher productivity.

Capacities. There is a strong need to continue capacity building efforts, as so far only relatively few

miners have been reached, and improved practices have not yet been well established in many

cases. To do so, collaboration with other organisations working in these areas is recommended.

33

4.6 Recommendations

The main recommendation is that we are dealing with ’unfinished business’. If the project activities

will not be continued, while also taking into account the following recommendations, there will be a

major risk of fall-back and many of the current results will not be sustained.

The project is working on a new financial model for supporting ASMOs towards FT pre- and full

certification. We have reviewed this model and have communicated with the authors. Following are

recommendations that can be aligned with this model approach:

1. There is need to differentiate between a first phase of building up a coherent ASMO, with sufficient

level of internal leadership, governance and management systems, and a second phase of bringing

about changes in terms of more sustainable mining practices. If one starts out from unorganised

miners, the first phase might already take 3 years. There is need for a system of assessing

organisational maturity to know when an ASMO is ready for the second phase (note that there are

models available for that, for instance with Progreso – the MIDCA model).

2. The second phase would be one of realising a minimum of social and environmental requirements

to be met for an ASMO to get pre-certified. There will be overlap with the core criteria of the FT

Standard. This includes requirements for ASMO governance and internal management (see phase 1

above) as well as social and environmental measures to avoid negative side-effects (including

minimum use of mercury, pit reclamation measures, health & safety measures, child labour).

Several of these measures will include practices that will already contribute to increased

productivity even without major investments in equipment – see below.

3. The subject of productivity is important, because where production is low and revenues from gold

mining are meagre, groups are seen to disintegrate as miners will focus on other sources of income.

Future miner facing projects therefore need to integrate commercialisation and capital investment

for greater productivity and lasting impact. This is the core objective of assuring pre-financing.

4. As part of the second phase, there is also need for collaboration with existing governmental and

non-governmental organisations working in the same areas. This can enhance efficiency,

effectiveness and sustainability, and contribute to an improved policy context and capacity building

of third parties. To do so, Fairtrade or the project management should now formulate a policy

engagement strategy, which it does not have at the moment.

5. Establishment of an (improved) M&E system to assess the positive socio-economic and

environmental effects following pre-certification, for accountability to the companies willing to

make investments in pre-certification. This requires both quantitative and qualitative indicators to

establish a baseline and demonstrate impacts. The M&E system should also capture dynamics of

copying and crowding in effects.

6. Before pre-financing is provided, there is need for an improved internal book keeping system and

savings and banking mechanisms for ASMOs, something that in the current project could have got

more attention.

7. Since casual/daily labourers will remain a significant part of the workforce within the ASMOs,

plans for ASMO capacity building need to adequately recognise their rights and specific needs.

This includes putting better mechanisms in place for extending take-up of training by casual/daily

wage labourers, many of whom have worked in mining and at the ASMO mines specifically for

significant time.

Additional are the following recommendations:

1. Measures that can be introduced before acquiring pre-financing for mechanisation and

productivity increases relate to:

Production – timbering shafts, digging wider open caste mines, making benches, and creating

access steps. One risk is improvements are jeopardized by flooding when an ASMO cannot afford

generator fuel.

Safety –better mine construction techniques, checking for danger signs

34

Processing technology – the use of ball mills, sluicing ponds, and retorts, as well as other

practices e.g. amalgamating away from cooking fires, not using panning basins for domestic

purposes, keeping children and pregnant women away from mercury.

Improved SYSPRO and ICS –ASMOs have been learning how to improve their systems and are

implementing new measures however this is not to the level required for rigorous and sustained

standards compliance.

Child labour – not allowing children into the ASMO mines or processing areas.

Environmental reclamation – covering and filling in pits that will not anymore be used.

2. Wider community welfare effects. There is a risk that the expected gold production increase and

associated cash earnings will lead to increased spending in irresponsible activities such as alcohol,

drugs and sexual relations. The approach to reduce such risks should be a combination of:

building opportunities for household livelihood creation e.g. establishing savings groups /

helping individuals with financial literacy + enabling youth employment + women’s livelihoods

creation;

linking to wider government campaigns on HIV/AIDS / sexual health;

promoting the message that children should go to school because they are the future;

developing mechanisms to prevent the most exploitative child labour by addressing the chronic

poverty that drives them into mining e.g. providing a school meal for the most vulnerable

children at times of year when food insecurity is highest / also through the creation of synergies

with other child protection initiatives.

3. Working with larger production units or partnerships. There seems to be a strong justification for

larger production units than the current ASMOs to get (pre-)certified, for following reasons:

small units are too vulnerable to production stoppages due to natural factors – and as consequence

abandoning members,

more efficient use of costly equipments,

potentials for mutual collaboration and synergies in marketing,

potentials to meet the demands of jewellers (buyers) for large quantities of (certified) gold

these larger units could be linked to the centers of excellence that have been suggested.

Note that working within larger production units is already a tendency in some of the ASMOs visited,

where there is exchange with neighboring ASMOs.

In several cases there has also been the request by ASMOs to be partnered with larger gold producing

companies - this option could also be explored.

35

Appendix 1: Terms of Reference

1. BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

As the second largest employer in Africa after agriculture, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)

offers a crucial livelihood to some of the most vulnerable and historically marginalised people. Over

100 million people worldwide depend on ASM for survival. 16 million of these are artisanal and

small-scale gold miners, accounting for 15% of the global gold supply and 90% of the labour force.

Despite producing one of the world’s most valuable commodities, most artisanal and small-scale

miners lack the financial capital and legal security to improve their incomes or working conditions.

ASM can have serious environmental and social consequences, often involving the use of mercury

and other toxic substances, deforestation, child labour and poor working conditions, exacerbated by

unfair terms of trade in informal and exploitative supply chains.

Fairtrade Gold and Precious Metals (hereafter ‘Fairtrade gold’) is the newest product category to be

introduced by Fairtrade International, and the only non-agricultural product to date. The programme

was established in 2009 in partnership with the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), with whom

the joint ‘Fairtrade and Fairmined’ Standard and corresponding consumer label was launched in

2011. At launch in 2011, four artisanal and small-scale mining organizations (ASMOs) were certified

in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, supplying Fairtrade certified gold, silver and platinum to international

markets. The Fairtrade and Fairmined partnership ended in 2013, with both organizations

committing to continue with stand-alone certification and labeling schemes.

The Fairtrade gold programme (more information available at www.fairgold.org) seeks to empower

miners to improve their livelihoods and contribute to the social, economic and environmental

development of their communities. They do this by becoming certified under the Fairtrade Standard

for Gold and Associated Precious Metals for Artisanal and Small-scale Mining and selling their gold

on Fairtrade terms (minimum of 95% of LBMA fix plus $2,000/kg Premium for conventional gold

and 15% Premium for ecologically produced gold) to Fairtrade markets including the UK,

Netherlands, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Canada.

‘Extending Fairtrade Gold to Africa’ project

Funded by a 3-year grant from Comic Relief, starting in May 2012 and extended until July 2015, the

‘Extending Fairtrade Gold to Africa’ project (hereafter ‘the Project’) has the overall objective to

improve livelihoods and working conditions among ASM communities by piloting the application of

the Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Precious metals in East Africa.

In order to achieve this objective the Project works towards five key outcomes that are interlinked

and reinforce one another:

1) 1,100 small-scale miners in 3 countries are enabled to mine gold in a fair and responsible manner

in compliance with the Fairtrade standard for gold and precious metals

2) Creation of an African knowledge network that promotes responsible ASM practices, including

capacity building of Local Support Organisations (LSOs) in each of the project countries

3) Key stakeholders in governmental and non-governmental sectors are influenced in their policy and

decision-making towards ASM

4) At least 5 jewellers commit to sourcing Fairtrade certified gold from Africa

5) Increased awareness of consumers in the UK and Netherlands on ethical and Fairtrade issues

related to gold.

Key organisations

involved in the Project are

Location Role Responsibilities

36

as follows (hereafter

‘Project Partners): Partner

name

Fairtrade Foundation

(FTF)

London, UK Grant holder

Fairtrade

marketing

organization for

the UK

Grant management

Activities under objectives

4 and 5

Fairtrade Africa (FTA) Nairobi, Kenya Lead partner Network coordination

Project management

Activities under objectives

1, 2 and 3

Solidaridad Netherlands

(Sol NL)

Utrecht,

Netherlands

Lead partner for

MEL activities

Promoting

Fairtrade gold in

the Netherlands

Overall coordination of

project MEL

Activities under objectives

4 and 5

Solidaridad East & Central

Africa Expertise Centre

(SECEAC)

Nairobi, Kenya LSO for Kenya

Lead LSO for

the three project

countries

Regional MEL activities

Activities under objectives

1 and 2

MTL Consulting Ltd

(MTL)

Dar es Salaam,

Tanzania

LSO for

Tanzania

Activities under objectives

1 and 2

Environmental Women in

Action for Development

(EWAD)

Entebbe, Uganda LSO for Uganda Activities under objectives

1 and 2

As one of the original Project Partners, ARM was the lead partner for activities under objectives 1 and

3 and was responsible for further activities under objective 2. ARM are located in Medellin,

Colombia. Their involvement ended at the beginning of the second year of the Project following the

split with Fairtrade International, with their activities and responsibilities reallocated to FTA for the

remainder of the Project.

The Project covers three countries in East Africa: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. A total of nine

ASMOs across the three project countries are involved in the Project. These groups are located in:

- Migori County, Kenya (1 group)

- Narok County, Kenya (1 group)

- Geita District, Tanzania (3 groups)

- Busia District, Uganda (4 groups)

The Project Theory of Change assumes that sectors are more sustainable when there are social,

economic and environmental benefits from the sustainable production and sourcing of gold. These

benefits might relate to responsible mercury use, health and safety and the use of personal protective

equipment, employment rights, good governance, and a higher price for gold from certified mines.

To realise these benefits, both miners and market players play a crucial role; on the one hand by

applying better, safer and more responsible practices in line with the Fairtrade standard, on the other

hand by providing European market demand for certified gold from Africa. On this basis, improved

livelihoods can be achieved when the ASM sector applies the Fairtrade standard and engages in

sustainable trading relationships with Fairtrade buyers.

As this process begins to show good results, the Project will attract interest from other actors who will

try to copy behaviour. For example, additional local organisations will start offering services for

responsible ASM, as they identify the business opportunity of offering training to miners; and other

37

mining communities will apply more responsible practices, having seen the results of neighbouring

mines. The same goes for market actors such as brands, manufacturers and others, who will show an

interest in buying responsible gold when they see others in the sector are making commitments.

In this way the overall objective of improved livelihoods and working conditions for ASM

communities in Africa can be achieved.

2. PURPOSE OF THE INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL EVALUATION

As a movement committed to continual improvement, it is important for Fairtrade to understand the

impact that the Project has had for miners and their communities, as well as to learn. It is important

to Project Partners and the donor, Comic Relief, that an external evaluation is undertaken by an

independent and reputed external evaluator / evaluation agency to help achieve the stated objectives.

Coming at the end of a three-year pilot project, this evaluation provides an opportunity for Project

Partners, project participants at the field level (i.e the ASMOs themselves) and Comic Relief to

evaluate whether the Project has achieved its intended objectives and outcomes, what difference the

Project has made and how it has made that difference. The evaluation should provide valuable

lessons for Project Partners in order to adapt and improve current and future programmes and

interventions, especially in the field of working with ASM communities.

The audience for the evaluation report will be (primarily) the funder Comic Relief, Project Partners

including the target communities, and (secondly) other internal Fairtrade stakeholders such as the

Fairtrade Producer Networks (Fairtrade Africa, CLAC and NAPP) and external stakeholders such as

local government agencies and donors.

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE EVALUATION:

The evaluation should facilitate critical analysis of both the achievements of the Project and its means

of delivery, allowing both Project Partners and the funder to challenge assumptions and ways of

working and explore areas that have been difficult. It should provide a focal point for reflection and

learning by the key audience (Project Partners, Comic Relief, target groups and beneficiaries).

The key objectives of this evaluation are:

To evaluate the extent to which the Project has achieved its intended objectives and outcomes

(effectiveness) – Essential

To evaluate the extent to which the Project indeed met the needs of the target groups in the way it

was implemented (relevance) – Essential

To evaluate the impact of the Project on target groups and beneficiaries (impact) – Essential

To assess the process of cooperation between Project Partners and to learn about what worked well

and what could have been done better on project implementation (process) – Essential

To assess the M&E activities for the Project including the quality and robustness of any data

collected through the project cycle (process) – Desirable

To evaluate the extent to which changes that have occurred through the project are expected to last

beyond the end of the project, and to see whether sound exit strategies have been developed

(sustainability) — Desirable

4. EVALUATION QUESTIONS AND SUB-QUESTIONS

Primary research question (as in the grant proposal)

How has the Project empowered small-scale miners and their families in Africa socially, economically

and politically?

Sub questions (indicative list)

To what degree have the Project outcomes been achieved? Were there any unexpected outcomes?

Who has benefited (women, men, girls, boys) and in what ways?

Are those changes (outcomes) relevant to people’s needs?

Are they likely to be sustainable in the long term?

38

Have there been changes to policies, practice and attitudes of decision and policy makers to benefit

the Project’s target groups?

To what extent has the Project contributed to the achievement of broader national and

international policies, conventions, targets etc in the countries where the project is working?

To what extent has the achievement of the changes/outcomes been influenced by external context

and other factors?

Primary research question (as in grant proposal)

What were the positive and negative experiences of stakeholders and Project Partners and how

effective were they at achieving the Project aims and how can the lessons learnt be used to inform

further work?

Sub-questions (indicative list)

To what extent did the project’s Theory of Change work in operation? Has the project been effective

in bringing about lasting change? Were there any gaps? Were the assumptions made in the Theory

of Change valid?

What have been the most effective methodologies and approaches the Project Partners used to

bring about changes to people’s lives? What has worked and what has not? What lessons have been

learned? Who have they been shared with?

How has the type of organisations funded (eg user-led, social enterprise, national or international

NGO), both UK and local, helped or hindered the delivery of lasting change?

How have relationships between partners throughout the relationship chain (looking at UK

organization-local partner(s)-target groups) helped or hindered the delivery of change/outcomes?

How effective has the Project’s management, monitoring, learning and financial systems been?

How have they helped or hindered the delivery of lasting change?

Has the Project been cost effective?

Are there any ways in which Comic Relief has helped or hindered the delivery of change?

5. METHODOLOGY

Consultants are required to propose a robust research design and methodology that can deliver the

objectives of the study and answer the key evaluation questions. As MEL activities were undertaken

from the start of the Project, some data is available against some (not all) of the questions listed

above. Available data is as follows:

Baseline data against the Mine Doctor toolkit covering all ASMOs

Annual gap analysis against the Mine Doctor toolkit covering all ASMOs

Monitoring and evaluation reports provided by Project Partners

Reports from regional MEL visits conducted by Solidaridad SECEAC and Fairtrade Africa

Reports and minutes from annual Regional Meetings of all Project Partners and ASMOs

Reports from mock audits carried out at all ASMOs

Annual project reports submitted to Comic Relief

Other relevant material – e.g. communications materials, newspaper articles, meeting minutes, etc,

to be provided by Project Partners in bilateral connection with the evaluator.

Additional data collected by the evaluator should be at impact level against the main objectives of the

Project. Evaluators should use their discretion and only use data they consider reliable and make this

clear in the final report. We would encourage applicants to be guided by the following additional

points when developing their methodology:

Use of mixed methods to answer evaluation questions and generate different kinds of data

Use of participatory research tools and techniques to the best extent possible

Good focus on primary research and direct interaction at the field level with target groups and

Project Partners

Ensuring tools allow for reasonable triangulation to arrive at the conclusions of the evaluation

39

Ensure Project Partners have a chance to feedback on draft findings

Sound ethical protocol and research ethics to be followed (a chapter on this in the proposal is

required).

Guiding principles and values for the assignment are as follows:

The evaluation should have a utility focus to ensure that the evaluation will serve the practical

information needs of intended users

Evaluators should ensure participation of beneficiaries, key actors and key other stakeholders in

the evaluation. It is especially recommended to encourage participation during the analysis phase,

when findings will be verified and implications of the findings for the project will be discussed. In

this process we encourage triple loop learning

The evaluators should have an open eye for external and contextual actors and factors that have

influenced the Project interventions in order to understand why interventions have been successful

or failed

The Project Steering Committee recognises that several aspects and questions of the evaluation

cannot be answered in a purely objective manner; there will be room for subjectivity.

6. EXPECTED OUTPUTS

Clear research design and methodology document submitted following inception meeting

Detailed narrative evaluation report (report in written English with an executive summary to be

translated into local languages; not to exceed 30 pages)

All raw data gathered during the course of the evaluation including excel sheets, interview

transcripts, photos or other resources collected

A powerpoint presentation that summarises the main findings and key recommendations.

41

Appendix 2: Persons met and interviewed

Kenya and Europe

Key Informant Interviews, Structured Group Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Site Visits

Date Type Name Position

02/06/2015 KII Carien Duisterwinkel Solidaridad Netherlands

13-15

/07/2015

KII Alan Frampton Jeweller, Cred Jewellery

Amani Mhinda Haki madini Tanzania

Baraza Wangwe National Environmental Management Authority

Bismarck Onyando MICODEPRO Artisanal Mining Organisation

Dan Odida MICODEPRO ASMO

Alan Frampton Jeweller, Cred Jewellery

Gonzaga Mungai Fairtrade Africa

Margaret Tuhumwire Environmental Women in Action for Development

Terry Garde Consultant

Tina Mwasha MTL, TANZANIA

Stephen Kithuka Solidaridad Kenya

Chris Davis Fairtrade International

16/07/2015 KII Bernard Apollo Sub-county administrator Nyatike

16/07/2015 KII Joshua Ngwala County area administrator

16/07/2015 KII Rose Otieno Director department of natural resources and

disaster management

16/07/2015 KII Richard Chowe NEMA representative at county level

16/07/2015 SGI

Bismarck Onyando

Dan Odida

Director, Micodepro

Secretary, Micodepro

16/07/2015 FGD

6 women miners

(names noted but lost)

MICODEPRO ASMO

16/07/2015 FGD

5 men miners

(names noted but lost)

MICODEPRO ASMO

17/07/2015 KII Madeda Austin Head teacher primary school, Masara location

17/07/2015 KII Janet Achiere Community nurse, Masara location

17/07/2015 KII Dorothy Achieng Area assistant chief, Masara location

13/08/2015 KII Georgina Awoonor Gordon Comic Relief

19/08/2015 KII

Amy Ross

Giorgio Mariani

Fairtrade Foundation

20/08/2015 KII Gonzaga Mungai Fairtrade Africa

42

Uganda

Key Informant Interviews, Structured Group Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Site Visits

Date Type Name Position

10/08/2015 KII Edwards Katto Kagimba Acting Director, Directorate of Geological Survey and

Mines

10/08/2015 SGI

Margaret Tuhumwire

Patricia Adong

Joshua Rukundo

Rose Kabuya

Sharon Nsima

Director, EWAD

Accountant, EWAD

IT Officer, EWAD

Project Officer, EWAD

Project Officer, EWAD

11/08/2015 Site

Visit

Accompanied by directors Busia United Small-Scale Mining Company (SSMO)

11/08/2015 SGI

Obbo Peter Oburu

Omukaga Simon Peter Alex

Engidoh Stephen Padole

Busia United SSMO

11/08/2015 KII Omodeki H. Nicholas Acting Deputy Head Teacher, Tiira Primary School

11/08/2015 KII Esamuriat Santulino Enrolled Mid-Wife/In-Charge, Tiira Health Clinic II

12/08/2015 SGI Obella Festus

Akongo Jane Rose

Chairman, LC1 Tiira Village

Youth Leader and gold miner, Tiira Village

12/08/2015 KII Yahaya Mbuizi Gold miner, Umoja association, Busia United SSMO

12/08/2015 KII Odongo Ali Gold miner, Umoja association, Busia United SSMO

12/08/2015 FGD Ochwo Florence

Nalule Florence

Namushila Gladys

Adeke Stella

Gold miner, Wanawake Juu group, Busia United

SSMO

Gold miner, Wanawake Juu group, Busia United

SSMO

Gold miner, Wanawake Juu group, Busia United

SSMO

Gold miner, Wanawake Juu group, Busia United

SSMO

12/08/2015 KII Makoha Catherine

Oron Raphael

Choba Clare

Community Development Officer, LC3 Sikuda

Community Development Officer, LC3 Buteba

Sub-County Chairman, LC3 Sikuda

12/03/2015 Site

visit

Mr Mudoti

Masinde Betty

Wafula Joseph

Wandera Simon

Syanyonja Miners Alliance (SAM)

13/08/2015 KII Wafula Ernest Community Development Officer, Busia District

Council

13/08/2015 KII Namwamba Wilberforce Senior Education Officer, Busia District Council

13/08/2015 KII Erienyu Johnson Senior Environment Officer, Busia District Council

13/08/2015 KII Ogalo Julius Senior Probation Officer, Busia District Council

13/08/2015 N/A Feedback and validation of findings, Busia United

13/08/2015 Site

Visit

Accompanied by executive

committee

Tiira Small-Scale Miners Association (SSMA)

13/08/2015 SGI Kwemboi George

Agutiu Josephine

Aroba Mathias

Egessa George

Chairperson, Tiira SSMA

Secretary, Tiira SSMA

Treasurer, Tiira SSMA

Mine Security Officer, SSMA

13/08/2015 KII Agutiu Josephine Secretary, Tiira Small-Scale Gold Mining Assoc.

13/08/2015 KII Aron Francis Headmaster, Tiira Super Standard Primary School

43

14/08/2015 KII Omerikit Joshua Chairman, LC1 Tiira Village

14/08/2015 FGD Emorut Mary

Okiru Rosemary

Francis Asia

Ougo Tereza

Emella Federez

Nabwire Sefuroza

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

14/08/2015 KII Ojambo Moses Children at Risk National Collaboration of Christian

Agencies in Uganda (CaRNaC), Tiira Village

14/08/2015 FGD Opage Atony

Otenge Fred

Egessa George

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

Gold miner, Tiira SSMA

14/08/2015 KII Hayemba Mixed Mine worker, Tiira SSMA

14/08/2015 KII Okware Charles Mine worker, Tiira SSMA

14/08/2015 N/A Feedback and validation of findings, Busia United SSMO

15/08/2015 FGD Oburu Paul

Okecho Alex

Oyelo Alex

Arambe Moses

Olambo Augustine

Gold miner, Busia United SSMO

Gold miner, Busia United SSMO

Gold Miner, Busia United SSMO

Gold Miner, Busia United SSMO

Mobiliser, Busia United SSMO

15/08/2015 KII Ikee Margaret Non-ASMO gold miner/land holder, Tiira Village

15/08/2015 SGI Jane Habuya

Kabudesia Kasilona

Paulina Agitu

Non-ASMO gold miners/land holders, Tiira Village

15/08/2015 Site

Visit

Accompanied by members Buteba SSMA

15/08/2015 SGD Taka Nabutono

Lourence Okitui

Hayemba Musa

Okodo Isaac

Jenipher Nafula

Hayemba Joseph

Oguti William

Wife of landlord, Buteba SSMA

Mobilizer, Buteba SSMA (no longer member)

Landlord, Buteba SSMA (member)

Secretary, Buteba SSMA (member)

Chairlady, Buteba SSMA (member)

Chairman, Buteba SSMA (member)

Peacemaker, Buteba SSMA (no longer member)

15/08/2015 N/A Feedback and validation of findings, EWAD

44

Tanzania

Dates Person met and interviewed

14 July 2015 Interview Tina Mwasha – MTL Consulting LSO

10 August 2015 Nsangano leadership:

Michael Nsangano – Director

Ibrahim Makala – Mine site manager

Eugen Francis – Secretary – Production

Lucas Mpenda – Secretary Construction and explosives

Selaman Thomas – Secretary Safety and security

Village leadership – Nyarugusu and Mawemeru village

Amos Yuda Mbulu – Nyaragusu village Chairman

Mlindwa Maganga Bwire – Mawemeru village chairman

Community school

Kitangina, Peter – Head teacher

Lawrent Kima – Ward Education officer

Community Health facility

Silvia Konyani – Clinical Officer

11 August 2015 Worker women (Livelihood analysis)

1. Maria Said

2. Catherine Edward,

3. Leah Stephano,

4. Neema James,

5. Dafroza Joseph,

6. Asha Yusuph,

7. Christine Joseph,

Workers – Men (Livelihood analysis)

George Masai,

Geofrey Julius,

Emanuel Summaku,

Erick Petro Salvatory

Amos Mafa,

Majuto Masumbuko,

James John,

Yohana Ngh’onera

12 August 2015 Gerema/FEMATA

Paul Shenye Gundwa (chairperson GEREMA- Nyarugusu branch)

Sprian James (member GEREMA Nyarugusu)

Golden Hainga (General secretary GEREMA, General secretary-

FEMATA)

Teresia Samwel (secretary Nyarugusu GEREMA)

Neighbouring ASM group (Medina J. Mgeni Mining – PML 00054)

leaders

Aza Sadi – Ag. Director

Abel Tobias – site mine secretary

Workers

45

Jimmy Charles,

Hassan Mshana,

Masanja Sai,

Jumanne John,

Meshaki Nakembetwa,

Ndaki Maghembe,

Masalu Malim,

Charles Yohana,

Maarugu Kingolo,

Martin Samba,

Masanja Joseph,

Abel Thobias,

13 August 2015 Wellbeing analysis - Men

Peter Kitagina,

Malewa lugona,

Johanes nyango,

Thomas james,

James shuka,

Linus Paulo Kazimoto,

Wellbeing analysis – women

Epiphania Ng’ong’onare

Jarina Jeremiah,

Aisha Msemo,

Pili Rajabu,

Sato Matonange,

Tatu Bonna,

Perida Chonya,

Happiness Maila,

Happiness Dules,

Dainess Daud,

14 August 2015 Interview with Resident Mining Officer – Eng. Geofrey Richard Karaka

Interview with District Education Officer - Mr. Didi SELEKWA

Interview with Mr Maximillian - Plan International

15 August 2015 Interview with MTL (LSO) Director – Dr. Willson Mutagwaba

17 August 2015 Umoja Lwamgasa Saccos Leaders

Kidevu Bitula Kayandabila, - SACCOS Chairman

Joel Matatia – SACCOS secretary

Method Makunga, - Member

Adam Michael – loan secretary

Interview with the Community Leaders at Lwamgasa

Martin john Matiba - WEO

Rumumba Salvatory Msogela - Village chairperson

Interview with Lwamgasa dispensary workers

Jeremiah Chikoti (clinical officer)

Edina Moris (nurse midwife)

Interview with Lwamgasa primary school teachers

Gabriel Makoye (teacher)

Mganga Augustino (teacher)

46

Linus Pius (teacher)

Lameck Shemba Nzogya (head teacher

18 August 2015 Well being analysis: Lwamgasa men:

Lameck Nzogela,

Edgar Kugesh,

Majuto Paschal,

Fortunatus Heneriko,

Evaristo Majura,

Martin j. Matiba,

Chrispin Haruna Mhonga,

Well being analysis: Lwamgasa women:

Rehema Nkwabi,

Anastazia Bwageye,

Vumilia Tibe,

Sala Zakayo,

Triphonia Fikiri

Helena Husein,

Holipa Mashanya

19 August 2015 Livelihood analysis: women Umoja saccos

Faustina Jason,

Beritha Ezekiel,

Joselin Yohane ,

Dafroza Dotto,

Suzan Mathias,

Sophia Bukelebe,

20 August 2015 Livelihood analysis: supported ASM - men

Adam Michael,

Roja Ramadhan,

Dotto Dufungulo

Shaban Mrefu,

Ngusa Washeli,

Mbalila Sayoni,

Ngasa Reuben

47

Appendix 3: Questionnaires and checklists

Level 1: Gold miners

Purpose: to assess benefits from being involved as a producer in a targeted ASMO, recent changes

and contribution by the project. The aim is to interview different types of workers associated with the

ASMO: men/women, permanent gold workers (managers/supervisors), casual and permanent

labourers (drillers, porters, panning workers, etc.)2. Where feasible, the aim is to also interview gold

mining workers/labourers in the community that are not associated with the ASMO (as a comparison

group). Alongside semi-structured and in-depth interviews, focus group discussions will be held, as

identified in sampling approach/tools table above. Prior to field visits, data will be summarized from

available reports so as to be able to focus on key issues and gaps of information.

Subject / issue Possible indicators

Characteristics

Importance of gold mining in the

livelihood

Main sources of income

Gold mining seasons

Alternative income sources

Changes in last 3 years

Personal history of gold mining Years involved

Revenues over the years

Change in employment conditions

Type of contract (if any) with the ASMO,

and opinion about that

Terms of payment

Security

Outputs

Skills learned / training received:

- gold mining technique

- gold amalgamation technique

- business skills

- H&S aspects

# of training received

Who has received training (gender/labour

role/location mining, etc.)

Usefulness of training

Practices that have been applied following

training – see listing above

# of training practices applied

# of training practices not applied

Reasons for non application

Outcomes

Child labour Children school attendance / teacher reporting of

weekend/holiday labour

# of children (boys) working in mines

# children (girls) providing services

Use of mercury Use of new proposed technologies and practices

Health and safety Access to protective gear (PPE)

Use of protective gear (PPE)

Working conditions:

- employment rights

- working hours

# employees with contract

Reported change to working hours

Expected impacts

Type of revenues received Percentage of product mined shifting to wage

General perception of changes in last 3 Identification of most significant change

2 Permanent workers are normally the managers and supervisors, the rest are casual laborers (e.g. drillers, porters, panning workers, etc.

48

years

Expected benefits in coming years

Proposed key questions:

What are personal skills learned that are considered most useful? Do you always apply these new

skills? Did you experience any personal benefits from the skills learned (revenues, health & safety,

otherwise)?

What are the benefits of working within the structure of the ASMO? What services or tools are

provided by the ASMO – that otherwise you would not be able to get? What are possible

constraints?

Did you have confidence that the ASMO will adequately your personal interests and concerns?

What would be your preferred way of getting payment through the ASMO? What would be your

preferred way of having a contract?

How has your livelihood situation changed over the last 3 years? What has been the contribution by

the project?

What further changes do you expect in the coming years?

Level 2: Community level

Purpose: to assess the effects on the community of which workers are involved in an ASMO, recent

changes and contribution by the project. The aim is to interview a community with many workers

represented in the ASMO, and a nearby community with no workers represented (as a comparison

group). Focus group discussions can be held. Prior to field visits, data will be summarized from

available reports so as to be able to focus on key issues and gaps of information.

Subject / issue Possible indicators

Spill-over effects Effects of the project on the community as

a whole

Copy effects Community members that copy skills trained

/ learned by the project, beyond the ASMO

Divisive effects Consequences of introduction of Fairtrade

scheme (e.g. conflict related to

inclusion/exclusion within the community)

Unintended effects Skills learned applied in other sectors

Business skills applied in other sectors

….

Proposed key questions:

What have been the main changes in the community during the last 3 years, as a result of the

project?

What changes are expected if the project has come to an end?

Level 3: ASMO level

Purpose: to assess benefits from being a targeted ASMO and contribution by the project. The aim is

to interview one ASMO close to certification and possibly also one unlikely to be certified in near

future ASMO (see above on state of certification of ASMOs). Where considered efficient, alongside

personal interviews, a focus group discussion will be held with the ASMO management ‘team’. Prior

to field visits, data will be summarized from available reports so as to be able to focus on key issues

and gaps of information.

49

Subject / issue Possible indicators

Characteristics

History of the ASMO When ASMO established

Type of mining permit/s PML, since when

SML, since when

Internal control system being used (ICS) # of people with skills to use ICS

Number of producers:

men/women

permanent / temporary

other occupations members

Type/s of contract with producer members # of contracts

Leadership / governance and management

system within the ASMO

Governance structure in place and operating

Evidence of AGM: minutes of committee

meetings; descriptions of governance roles

Outputs

Level of trust among members Perceptions reported in interview/FGD

Management skills learned / training

received:

- financial management

- administration and reporting

- M&E aspects

# of training received

Self-reported usefulness of training

Practices that have been applied following

training – see listing above

# of training practices applied

# of training practices not applied

reasons for non application

Outcomes

Access to gold markets volume marketed

market destinations

ability to access to working capital if financing

(credit) is no longer provided by gold dealers

expected changes due to project

Access to new / better technologies # new/better tools (including access for use)

Access to finance (for investments) Amount of external funding received

Donor support received

Quantity of gold produced, this year +

trend

volume produced

any reported impact of change to amalgamation

technique

(optional) Presence of conflicts:

- within the ASMO

- in wider community

-

conflict events and trends over 3 year period

unintended consequences of introduction of

Fairtrade scheme (e.g. conflict related to

inclusion/exclusion)

Expected impacts

Expected certification

when

expected benefits

expected constraints

Expected quantity of certified gold

produced and sold in coming years

Proposed key questions:

What are the main services provided by the ASMO to its members? Which of these would need to

be further developed or supported by the project?

What is the leadership system within the ASMO? Is the leadership trusted by all ASMO members?

50

What have been the main hurdles in becoming a formalised organisation? What (small) groups

were already available before the project, and how has a (larger) organisation been created?

How appropriate has the development of ASMOs been for the AS gold mining sector in East Africa?

Is the approach of working through cooperative groups an effective one? Would there be possible

alternatives?

How does the ASMO look back at the process to get certified? What incentives or benefits has the

ASMO received in the (long) process to get certified, in order to pursue its efforts to get certified

(and remain motivated)? What (additional) incentives or benefits would be proposed or required

during this process?

How does the ASMO envisage the future once the project has come to an end? How will it receive

further support (i.e. technical advise, market access, other support)?

How does the ASMO evaluate the relationship with the LSO? Has the LSO provided high quality

services? Has the LSO been receptive to demands for support? What are needs or demands that

could not be satisfied by the LSO (e.g. in certification, marjet access, technical skills, …)? Has the

ASMO also received support from organisations or structures other than the ASMO?

Does the ASMO have sufficient access to finance, in order to make necessary investments for

getting certified?

According to the ASMO, what would be a realistic time required between receiving the first training

to getting fully certified?

Level 4: Local Support Organisations and network

Purpose: to assess the effectiveness of LSOs in developing capacities among ASMOs, and the

efficiency of their operational systems of delivering these services. Also, the aim is to assess the

development of a wider network of service delivery organisations. Prior to field visits, data will be

summarized from available reports so as to be able to focus on key issues and gaps of information.

Subject / issue Possible indicators

Capacities of LSO

Human resources Staff

Staff turn-over during project period

Training received, and subjects

Certification skills Understanding of fair-trade certification process

Knowledge of gold value chain and markets

Financial resources Contribution by project

Share of project to total budget

Service delivery

Services delivered Type of trainings provided to ASMOs

Inputs provided to ASMOs

Other services provided to ASMOs

Peer reviews Peer visits organized

Usefulness of peer visits / learning

Monitoring and evaluation Evaluations of performance

Needs assessment carried out

Network and collaboration

Network of service providers Government service providers

NGOs

Other donors

Type of collaboration with other

service providers

Partnerships

Exchange events

51

Extent of devolution of government control over

AS mining

Responsibility for planning in mining communities

Proposed key questions:

What are the main services provided to the ASMOs? How have these services been appreciated?

What are other services that are requested, and that may need to be further developed?

How will services be provided after the project has come to an end?

How is the collaboration with other service providers?

Level 5: Gold sector key stakeholders and context

Purpose: to assess relevant factors in relation to the gold value chain and contextual factors. The aim

is to interview a number of key stakeholders in each country, to be selected from the list in previous

section, from national, regional and local (District) level. A document review and summary will be

made of the baseline situation, with an update based on literature, which will be further developed,

improved and validated by stakeholder interviews. Prior to field visits, data will be summarized from

available reports so as to be able to focus on key issues and gaps of information.

Subject / issue Possible indicators

Sector changes

Driving forces, key actors, markets and

supply-demand dynamic

Trends identification

Mining sector governance and recent

changes

Government policy

Legislation

Sector finance Allocation for ASM support and extension, by

government, NGOs, donors, …

Relationship between central government

policy/legislation/strategy and district

government planning relevant to ASM

communities

Extent of devolution of government control

over AS mining

Responsibility for planning in mining

communities

Implementation of legislation / policy /

strategy (relevant to ASM)

Trends identification

Media reports

Changing approach to formalization and

availability of mineral claims for ASM

Formalisation strategy and implementation

Relationship to LSM in region Trends identification

Policy and public opinion about small-scale

gold mining in the country

Media / expert reports

Advocacy networks supporting ASM / Trade

union activity / SME sector development /

support for co-operative or CBO sector

Names / activities of networks / TUs

Narrative on SME/Co-operative support

Finance

Access to working capital for AS miners

(dependence on dealers for pre-finance)

Sources of finance

Micro-finance schemes in operation

Markets

Access to markets for AS miners Dealers and value chain operators

Proposed key questions:

52

What are the main changes during the last 3 years in terms of perceptions in the country against

ASM, as a sub-sector creating revenue and employment?

How has the policy context changed over the last 3 years, in positive or negative terms?

To what extent has the project contributed to these changes?

53

Appendix 4: Community wellbeing Analysis Tool

Objectives: (i) To understand the characteristics of well-being in the community and perceptions of

differences in well-being among members of the population; (ii) to elicit estimates of the distribution

of well-being; (iii) to understand perceptions of the which categories artisanal miners are in,

members of the ASMO and non-members (v) to prompt broader discussion on the evaluation

questions.

Materials: flip chart paper, pens, seeds.

Step-by-step guidance: After introducing the purpose of the research and explaining your presence in

the community, proceed broadly along the following steps, using your own best judgement at all

times. Work in pairs, with one facilitator and one note- taker.

Step 1: Working with your group (e.g. a group of key informants), place a piece of flip chart paper on

the floor. Ask them to identify how many categories of people there are in the community (e.g.

wealthy/poor). Draw: a smiley face, a sad face and a very sad face. Place a pile of 100 seeds on the

flip sheet. Explain the significance of the three groups (typically non-poor, poor and very poor) and

ask the group to estimate the proportion of seeds for each group. Don’t worry too much about the

accuracy of their estimation at this point.

Introducing three well-being categories and encouraging an initial allocation of seeds, Agona Abrim

community, Central Region, Ghana

Step 2: Ask the participants to list the characteristics of each group. Probe and seek clarification and

group consensus. Make careful notes. Note any controversial characteristics that the group cannot

agree on. Prompt for input on unmentioned issues (e.g. access to land, access to credit) only after the

group has completed its listing.

Step 3: Ask the group to identify where different categories of miners are located (e.g. license holder

/ manager / worker / service provider). Remember gender issues.

Step 4: Ask the group where miners who are part of the ASMO are located.

You can later convert your notes into a community well-being analysis matrix (see Table 1, for

example), with allocated seeds listed as percentages in the second column.

Step 5: Ask the follow-up questions to encourage further analytical discussions.

54

Table 1 Community well-being analysis, conducted by a group of women, Agona Abrim community,

Central Region, Ghana

Wealth category % Characteristics

Ultra-poor

(NB: group

estimated that

one-half of these

households are

now LEAP

beneficiaries)

18 Ohianaminami (‘from here you are dying’)

Known locally as ‘bottles’ (i.e. you scratch them and nothing comes

off)

‘God is their only help’

Physically frail or ill, so having no strength to work

Not mentally sound, so unemployable

So poor that ‘if you throw away rubbish they would want to keep it’

They beg

No one to depend on, ‘just roaming the world’

They live off other people’s leftovers

No land or property

Live in a family house (sometimes abandoned)

Nearly poor 22 Nearly Ohianaminami

Still weak but able to work

They hire labour, when possible, to work on land

Subsistence, no selling

Cannot borrow or use credit because they cannot pay back

Children not working or have died

A little better than

the poor

29 Autoahiaafo (‘a little better than the poor’)

They have strength to work

With a little working capital they can work better

Engage in farming and small trading

Don’t get credit but can borrow

Don’t own land but sharecrop (Abuna or Abusua)

Non-poor 31 Landowners (inherited or acquired)

Hire out land

Benefit from family remittances

Invest in their children’s education

Have better-off children

Sometimes own a car

Build and rent out houses

Lease land for rubber plantations (new trend)

Go outside community to buy wholesale and sell inside the community

Don’t provide credit

Lend among themselves

TOTAL 100

55

Appendix 5: Ethical considerations

The below points set out ethical considerations that were complied with in carrying out our

participatory research with vulnerable groups:

Avoiding any deliberate exclusion on the basis of, for example, access or stigma.

Ensuring that permission is sought for the focus groups or interviews to go ahead, through

consultation with the participants.

Setting and communicating clear parameters for the focus group or interview – this means clearly

stating the purpose, the limits and what the follow up will entail. It also means ensuring that

demands on participants’ time are not excessive and that they are aware of their right to not

participate or withdraw at any time.

Setting up FGDs and interviews at a time and in places that are convenient to respondents (e.g.

after labouring hours)

Recognising that participants are possibly vulnerable and that the exercise is carried out with full

respect – power differentials will exist between community members and researchers and these

need to be purposefully mitigated in planning and implementation

Ensuring the safety and protection of participants – this means ensuring the environment is

physically safe, that there are at least two facilitators present at all times and, if possible, that a

local stakeholder group is involved in monitoring activities. Facilitators should also be supervised.

Ensuring that people understand what is happening at all time. Is appropriate language being used

(language, dialect, community terminology, etc)? This needs to be carefully planned.

Ensuring the right to privacy – this includes ensuring anonymity and confidentiality, in record

keeping and report writing and making sure participants understand that what they do and say in

the group session will remain anonymous. In addition, respondents should be made to feel at ease

and encouraged to equally ask researcher’s questions.

56

Annex 6: Theory of change

Figure 1: Initial theory of change by ARM

COMMUNITY

ASM SECTOR

FAMILIES

Internally strengthened

More environmentally

friendly

ASMO :

Capacity to improve

incomes

Leadership in advocacy

and political participation

1. An ASMO is made up of miners

families and individuals, who all together make part of a

community.

2. An ASMO makes part of an

Artisanal and Small -scale Mining sector .

3. ARM´s work aims to strengthen

the ASMO internally (administrative processes,

formalization, better labour conditions , etc) and to improve the production processes making

it more efficient and environmentally friendly.

4. This should generate:

* improved incomes, to be reinvested in the ASMO, the families and the community.

* stronger leadership to influence public policies relevant to the ASM sector

Improved labour

conditions

57

Figure 2: Current theory of change according to Solidaridad

producer development network building policy influencing market development consumer engagement

20. Improved livelihoods and working conditions of ASM in

Africa

12. Key stakeholders in governmental and

non-governmental sectors participate in meetings on ASM

13. Governmental and non-governmental- or

private sector organisations change their policies - approach to be more supportive to

responsible ASM activities

14. European jewellers, importers and

refiners are willing and interested to source gold from Africa produced under

good conditions

15. Consumers in the UK and NL are more

aware of ethical and fairtrade issues related to gold

16. Small scale miners are willing and able

to apply better, safer and more responsible practices in line with the FT

standard

17. Market demand exists in

Europe for responsibly produced gold from Africa

19. African ASM sector increases

sustainable trade through application of Fairtrade standard

7. Sol Ne runs a campaign to

inform Dutch consumers on ethical and fairtrade issues

related to gold

4. Sol Ne convinces European

companies of the benefits of sourcing from responsible ASM mines in

1. ARM provides Training of the Trainers

to Local Support Organisations (as of year 2, FTA will take on this role)

8. EWAD develops training

material and provides training to miners in

Uganda on social and environmental issues, requirements of the FT

standard

3. FTA convenes a Public Policy

Committee of experts in ASM and public policy to influence stakeholder views

5. FTF convinces European

companies of the benefits of sourcing from responsible ASM mines in

6. FTF runs a campaign to

inform British consumers on ethical and fairtrade issues

related to gold

11. An African knowledge

network exists, facilitated by FTA , able to support ASM on

responsible practices in line with FT standard

2. FTA coordinates sharing of knowledge

between Local Support Organisations and other stakeholders

9. MTL develops training

material and provides training to miners in

Tanzania on social and environmental issues, requirements of the FT

10. Solidaridad Kenya

develops training material and provides training to

miners in Kenya on social and environmental issues, requirements of the FT

standard

Copying: Other ASM miners

start applyying responsible mining practices motivated

by the example of pilot groups in project (without direct involvement of project

partners)

Copying: Other market

players start showing an interest in buying certified

gold motivated by the example of pilot groups in project (without direct

involvement of project

Crowding in: other local

organisations start offering services for responsible ASM

(without involvement of project partners)

18. Improved social, economic and

environmental benefits from the sustainable production and sourcing of gold (related to

mercury use, PPE, H&S, employment rights, governance, and higher price of gold from future certified mines)

59

Appendix 7A: Case study report Kenya

Appendix 7B: Case study report Tanzania

Appendix 7C: Case study report Uganda

<see separate files>