Aceh Emergency Response and Transitional Recovery ... - UNDP

Recovery of Small Enterprises and TradesMany tsunami survivors who had viable businesses before the tsunami found theylacked any insurance, and did not have the means to restart their businesses. Theyneeded direct financial assistance to quickly reestablish their business, reemploystaff and contribute to the economy. Most of these enterprises are in urban andperiurban areas focusing on assisting small to medium services to reestablish. Someof these businesses employ up to 20 people each.In Banda Aceh, for instance, the UNDP small enterprises programme is workingin two of the most severely hit sub-districts, Meuraxa and Kutaraja. In Meuraxa, ofthe 40,000 people living in the sub-district before the tsunami, only 10,000 peoplesurvived. Through the project implemented by International Relief and Development(IRD), about 3,545 people from Meuraxa and Kutaraja sub-districts have receivedtraining in entrepreneurship to learn simple business planning, book keepingand banking. After completing the training, those participants who developed afeasible business plan received a small grant assistance of Rp. 1.5 million (USD150). To date, small grants have been distributed to 542 participants of the smallbusiness management, including for motor-bike repair, fuel and grocery kiosks,bakeries, fishing equipment workshops, salons, and chicken farms, amongst others.UNDP is also providing direct supportto District Departments ofSmall Enterprises and Trades (DinasPerindustrian dan Perdagangan –PERINDAG) in Banda Aceh, AcehBarat and Aceh Jaya to support theirefforts to promote recovery of smallenterprises. These projects will supportrecovery of approximately1,670 small and medium enterprisesacross these districts, benefiting atotal of 5,960 households. The projectwill replace assets lost by thesesmall enterprises as a result of the tsunami.Vocational training in tailoring in MeulabohSkills Training and Employment ServicesGiven endemic unemployment after the tsunami, and aside from short-term employmentopportunities, there has been a need to find new employment for tsunamiaffected people, and to re-train people for new employment where necessary.In addition, more than 200,000 skilled laborers will be required to meet the needsof reconstruction. Prior to the tsunami, the construction industry amounted to onlyUSD 50 million a year, while by the middle of 2006, it is expected to expand to asmuch as USD 200 million a month as the reconstruction phase reaches its peak.Through the International Labour Organization (ILO), the ERTR Programme hassupported the establishment of four Employment Services Centres, provided em-18