Some are in emergencies where only direct support – in cash or in kind – can meet immediate needs. Some are stable for the moment but lack the economic opportunities that will help them move sustainably out of poverty.
Increasingly, communities and families slide in and out of crisis in response to market, climate, and economic shocks.
CARE recognizes that to address needs for these families, we need to provide both strategies that support increased economic productivity for the individuals (“push” strategies) and activities that work to increase the market opportunities and ability to work with the ultra-poor (“pull” strategies).
The push-pull model links interventions directly targeting the very poor/chronically food insecure (agency-building interventions, in the language of our Women’s Empowerment Framework) with interventions to change the broader set of factors that influence their well-being (market actors, government, traditional power holders, policies, etc.).
There are some additional resources: