1.    Who are we?

We are a non-political, non-profit development NGO that supports the improvement of sustainable livelihoods for Afghanistan’s rural population.

2.    Are we a Danish organisation?

DACAAR was founded by four Danish organisations; Danish Refugee Council (DRC), Danish Association for International Cooperation (MS), Danish People's Aid (DPA) and Caritas Denmark. However, our main office is based in Kabul and only a small secretariat remains in Copenhagen, Denmark. As an organisation we employ over 800 Afghan staff and only around 15 expats who mainly work in an advisory capacity.

3.    Who are we accountable to?

As part of our commitment to provide rural Afghans with a brighter and more sustainable future, we are first and foremost accountable to our beneficiaries when it comes to meeting this challenge. Our approach is therefore to actively involve the local communities, with whom we work, in all stages of the project cycle and at all levels of decision making. We also remain accountable to all our stakeholders, including our partners; donors and supporters; our governing board; staff and the wider public.

4.    Where do our funds come from?

As a non-political, independent NGO we work autonomously of any government or institution. We do, however, receive funding from a wide range of organisations, including Danish International Development Assistance (Danida), the National Solidarity Programme (NSP), the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) and the Royal Norwegian Embassy among others. Learn more about our finances here.

5.    Are we a relief or development NGO?

Historically, we began working as a relief NGO, providing emergency assistance to Afghan refugees living in Peshawar, Pakistan. However, by the late 1990s we moved towards a more developmental role based on the need for long-term sustainable development and this now constitutes our core work. 

We do, however, still carry out relief work as and when needed. An example of this is the provision of emergency water tankering to returnee settlements. Read more about our work with recent returnees here.

6.    How do we decide which communities to work with?

Within Afghanistan we work primarily with vulnerable rural Afghan communities with a particular focus on internally displaced people (IDPs), returnees, landless labourers and female-headed households.
A primary precondition for the allocation of our project activities is that of security. We work only in communities where the safety of our staff can be guaranteed by the beneficiary community without exposing the community itself to any harm and where the general security and political situation still enables us to reach our target groups and implement projects according to our core principles. View a map of where we work here.

7.    Who benefits from DACAAR’s work?

Our activities are pro-poor in the sense that they primarily target some of Afghanistan’s most vulnerable rural communities, including internally displaced people, refugees, landless labourers and female-headed households. In a broader sense, our emphasis on sustainable development activities towards ensuring rural Afghans secure livelihoods promises to benefit future generations of Afghans.

8.    What is our policy in relation to poppy eradication?

At DACAAR, we are unsympathetic to any policy of poppy eradication which does not provide alternative livelihood to the farmers growing poppy. Eradication efforts do not target those at the high end value of the chain such as traffickers and processors, whose gross profits make up 70-80 percent of the drug economy.
Rather, they are directly harmful to the livelihoods of the poor rural farmers and labourers at the bottom of the supply chain, who can least afford to lose their harvest.
DACAAR supports development interventions, which provide poppy farmers with viable alternative crops. Without such viable alternatives, efforts to eradicate poppy cultivation will be unsuccessful and possibly even detrimental to the stability of the country.  Through our rural development activities, we are actively working towards helping farmers make the transition to high value cash crops such as saffron and pistachio. Read more about our work with saffron farmers here.

9.    What is our policy in relation to PRTs?

Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) were introduced in Afghanistan by the US military in 2002. Since then, several other NATO member countries have also established teams working across the country. In addition to implementing traditional security activities, the mandate of PRTs extends to direct involvement in humanitarian and development activities. While we appreciate the work done by PRTs in bringing stability to volatile parts of the country, we encourage all PRTs to leave the responsibility for humanitarian activities with the numerous experienced NGOs and international organisations currently present in Afghanistan. The present situation leads to a blurring of roles between civil and military actors with many Afghans being unable to differentiate between the two. As a direct result, NGOs have suffered a diminishing of the level of trust previously enjoyed. The perceived association between PRTs and NGOs not only threatens the security of our projects and staff, but is detrimental to already vulnerable communities by limiting humanitarian access and sometimes punishing beneficiaries for their perceived support of the foreign military presence. It is therefore our policy not to collaborate with PRTs. Therefore, we do not accept funding from PRTs, nor do we cooperate in the implementation of projects. Read our full policy in relation to PRTs here.

10.    Why is DACAAR no longer providing relief to Afghan refugees living in Pakistan?

From 1983 to 2006 we provided relief to Afghan refugees living in Pakistan. However, in March 2003, UNHCR along with the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a tripartite agreement stipulating that the repatriation of Afghan refugees should be completed within three years, i.e. by March 2006. With the end of official support for Afghan refugees, NGOs working with Afghan refugees in Pakistan were also no longer allowed to operate. As a result we closed our two remaining projects in the country and now implement activities only in Afghanistan.
The UNHCR estimates that as of August 2008, 1.8 million Afghan refugees still remain in Pakistan. Although we are not currently working with these refugees, should the need arise in the future, our expertise compels us to provide any technical assistance required.