Our approach.

This is how we work towards a world without hunger.

For almost 50 years, The Hunger Project Netherlands has been working with communities towards a world without hunger. Over all those years, we have seen time and again that chronic hunger is about more than a lack of food. It never has just one cause, and so there is never just one solution. Hunger is the result of a mix of poverty, inequality, lack of education, limited healthcare, climate change and conflict. That makes our work more than a response to hunger: it is poverty reduction in the broadest sense of the word. That is why we do not only tackle the lack of food, but work on several areas at once, from nutrition and income to women’s leadership, good local governance and access to basic services. This brings an end to hunger and poverty closer, and helps communities grow towards self-reliance.

Our themes.

Climate resilience

Drought, floods, failed harvests: rural farmers are the first to feel the impact of climate change. We work alongside them to build the knowledge and skills they need to cope.
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Food security

Hunger is about more than food. Discover how The Hunger Project is building food security through agriculture, water, gender equality and local governance.
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Gender equality

Women play a key role in feeding their families and communities. Yet they often lack the same opportunities as men. We want to change that, because progress for women, means progress for everybody.
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Peaceful communities

Food security and peace go hand in hand. Many conflicts arise because basic needs such as water, land and food go unmet for too long. That is why we work with communities to build a stable foundation from within.
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a group of people walk on a path along a field where vegetables are growing in neat rows.

People and Nature

Healthy ecosystems make for fertile soils and more stable harvests; when nature disappears, food production becomes more vulnerable. That is why we work with our partners in the areas around nature reserves, so that people, wildlife and nature can thrive together.
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On the road to self-reliance.

Lasting change is not imposed by others; it comes from people themselves. That is the heart of community-led development: communities set their own goals, decide on their own approach, and in this way build a life free from poverty and hunger, step by step. They choose local solutions that suit their circumstances. The Hunger Project walks along with them, offering training and support when they need it. Once people know how to improve their own future, they no longer need our support. And that is our goal: self-reliance.

The steps we take.

Step by step, we work alongside communities towards self-reliance: from a shared plan, through practical action and strong local organisations, to the point where they can carry on by themselves.

1. Researching the current situation.
We call this the baseline study. We look into the community’s local challenges, opportunities and experiences.
2. Setting goals together with the community.
We discuss what we want to achieve and by when. We also train the community to measure its own progress using data.
3. Encouraging people to take action themselves.
We call this “mobilising”. Through our unique Vision, Commitment and Action (VCA) Workshop, we build self-confidence and a sense of community. Change only becomes possible once you believe in a better future and believe that you can play a big part in it yourself.
4. Building capacity and leadership.
Through training, the community learns essential practical skills, such as farming techniques. People also learn to stand up for their position and their rights, so that they can take action themselves against unfair systems and inequality.
5. Self-reliance.
After an average of 5 to 10 years, the community can continue working towards a better future independently.

Road map.

You can think of our strategy as a roadmap. Everything needed to achieve self-reliance, such as education, good nutrition, access to healthcare, entrepreneurship, financial management and leadership, is part of this route. In our African programme countries, we use the Epicentre Strategy for this: a long-term partnership with clusters of villages that improve their own living conditions over 5 to 10 years, with the aim of becoming self-reliant. For each community, we look at what is needed to end hunger. What challenges do they face? What is already going well? Sometimes we go through the whole process, and sometimes only part of it. Sometimes we place extra emphasis on one area, such as ways to earn an income or climate-resilient farming.

When we need more expertise in a particular area, we team up with other organisations. This allows us to respond to local realities and increase our impact together.

Read more about our programmes

Our pillars.

In every programme, in every country, we focus on three things that are crucial to a lasting end to hunger:

Female leadership.

We invest in women’s capabilities, voices and economic positions, so they can participate in decision-making and contribute to solutions in their community. When women get space and resources, the food security, health and future of whole families and villages improve.

People act on their own.

We make people act themselves: Through training, workshops and practical tools, they learn to make and implement their own plans.

Smart collaboration with the local government.

A community will only continue to progress if basic provisions, rights and services are properly regulated. That is why we work closely with (local) governments. So that agreements, budgets and policies are in line with what is needed and the community knows how to make her voice heard.