In Sri Lanka, cashew processing is one of the main agricultural enterprises in rural areas. It is usually carried out by small-scale processors. Gampaha, a rural area in Sri Lanka close to Colombo, is famous for its cashew nuts. Most of the families living there are involved in cashew nut processing, and for women it is the main source of income. Women play a very important role in the whole process, from cashew collection to the labour intensive preparation of the cashews. Processing cashew is an extremely skilled task that includes shelling, drying and removing the inner red shell.

Wild fish and rice have been an important part of the diet of people in Northern Thailand for centuries. Recently, however, rapid population growth and overfishing to meet the demand for fish has cut the supply of wild fish and led to the collapse of wild stocks. Most farmers are proficient at fishing in paddy fields and canals but breeding small fish into a large enough catch to feed a family or even to sell, requires special expertise. Local farmers have been forced to learn about the techniques required for successful fish farming.

Access to credit has long been considered a major poverty alleviation strategy in India. Although various credit programmes have been introduced in the country, their impact has proved ineffective. Much of this failure was due to a lack of involvement with the people during any stage of the implementation of the programmes. However some recent schemes, as detailed in our report, have proved to work.

Phang-Nga Bay used to be the most productive fishing area of Thailand. However, over recent years the natural coastal resources have suffered from environmental degradation. One of the major causes of this is the introduction of destructive fishing practices such as pushnet fishing, trawlers, and dynamiting which disturbs the sea bed and this in turn destroys the natural breeding areas for fish and marine animals.

TVE/ Practical Action gratefully acknowledge support for the HANDS ON programmes from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the UN Foundation and UNDP/The Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Government of Canada, IDRC, IUCN, BrasilConnects and the Nature Conservancy.