Timor-Leste is primarily a rural country, with more than three-quarters of its people living outside the cities and involved in basic agriculture. One of the most effective ways for USAID to reach this diverse, and sometimes remote, sector of the population is through focused grants to organizations that have the experience and capacity to implement them well. In Timor-Leste, USAID's small grants program (SGP) is implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. Over the past year, USAID, through SGP, awarded almost $1 million worth of in-kind grants to more than a dozen local organizations, as well as to government offices and the private sector, as they work with rural communities around the country to help improve people's lives.

Agriculture is central to the lives of most

people.USAID's SGP has helped more than 400 farmers improve their skills in horticulture, animal husbandry, and marketing their products.In some areas, the projects have helped farmers double their yields of rice and corn. Youth groups are also receiving targeted support to improve their skills. Project implementers provide basic entrepreneurial training, boosting success rates for crop expansion plans and new businesses. To stimulate small enterprise, microfinance projects worth almost a quarter of a million dollars have expanded access to credit for more than 1,000 poor women and their families across the country.

A problem that underlies many of the weaknesses in the Timor-Leste economy is illiteracy. The government estimates that more than half the population cannot read and write; among women, this figure rises to almost two-thirds. USAID actively supports local organizations that provide literacy and numeracy training, particularly for women. Training-of-trainer projects, as well as more direct literacy and numeracy classes, have already given 530 women greater access to information and the ability to participate more actively in civic and economic activities.

Civic education, particularly on laws and elections, is a USAID focus area. As the young nation develops its formal justice system, SGP has helped citizens learn about new laws and broadened access to the system for those most likely to be excluded: women and children. Last year, USAID's SGP rule-of-law projects reached 430 people in districts outside the capital with information about how the formal justice system works and laws, particularly those concerning land tenure, domestic violence, and women's rights.

In 2005, Timor-Leste held its first nationwide local elections. After a concerted voter education campaign championed by USAID, about 80% of registered voters cast their ballots. SGP supported a range of voter education activities targeting the rural population, including mobile radio broadcasts, informational campaigns by the government's election agency, and independent monitoring and assessment of the polling. The successful local elections provided civil society and government agencies with valuable experience ahead of the national elections in 2007.

The success of USAID's small grants program has shown how a strategic approach to overcoming challenges can provide rural populations with improved access to information, economic resources, and government services across Timor-Leste.

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