The project facilitated the formation of village resource management committees and producer groups; communities acquired valuable knowledge and skills under the project’s various training programmes in areas such as forestry protection, bee-keeping, rattan and bamboo production, and opportunities were created for women members to manage money and gain greater control over resources and access to knowledge. However, the project benefitted only a fraction of the original target population and scored limited achievements towards increasing the incomes of poor people who depend upon forest resources for their livelihoods. In spite of the efforts at the output level, the project did not achieve most of its objectives, mainly constrained by a complicated legal and institutional context, insufficient focus on value chains and marketing of the products promoted, and weak project management. Key recommendations for future operations focus on ensuring realistic institutional foundations, proven technical and commercial potential of income generating activities and ownership of the project as well as improving monitoring and evaluation systems design and functionality.