to including culture in various kinds of development projects. This handbook is ..... Because language embodies a perspe
CLTIDECICDI96IOl
Rapports/Etudes Reports/Studies
WORLDDECADEFORCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT DECENNJE MONDJALE DUDkVELOPPEMENT CULTUREL
Section of the Cultural Dimension of Development Section de la Dimension culturelle du dCveIoppement
UNESCO, PARIS
a fieldwork& guide to culturally sensitive development
This guide has been prepared by a research team contracted by the Canadian International Development Agency (ACDI). The opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of UNESCO. CLT.96FW3
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lnvolvine v Culture: -~ -----0. 1 * * . . . a ;tleldworker’s-- 0mlde ~-- -- to culturally sensitive development Helgi Eyford, M.A. Glen Eyford, Ph.D. with assistancefrom: Michael Bopp, Ph.D. Michael Miner, M.A.
1995 Canadian International Development Agency
FOREWORD
The “Fieldworker’s Guide to culturally-sensitive development”, as prepared by a Canadian researchersteam, under the guidance of the Canadian International Development Agency, -gives a new evidence of Canada’s specific attention to “involving culture” in development, as its title says, together with the Agency’s rich experience in this matter and the high level of human commitment of its agents and researchers. Their contribution has been decisive in the drawing up and finalizing of the Manual for planners “A cultural approach to development”. CIDA’s continuous support to the project “Cultural Dimension of Development” from its inception in 1992, had shown already during the preparation of the book “The Cultural dimension of development - Towards a practical approach”, the completion of which proved the excellence of co-operation between Canada and the World Decade for Cultural Development. I take the opportunity to thank again our Canadian friends, especially Ms Huguette LABELLE, President of the CIDA, and Mr. Remy Claude BEAULIEU, Special Adviser in the Agency, for their intellectual support and friendly interest to our work.
Mht6 Koviks Head of Section
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Table of Contents 1 - About this handbook ............................................................... 1 . ...................................................... 2 1.2 - Who will use this handbook? 1.3 - Background and context .............................................................. 2 1.4 - World Decadefor Cultural Development .................................... 4
2 - Conceptual Framework ........................................................... 7 2.1 - Defining Culture.. ........................................................................7 2.1.1 - “Whole complex” .....................................................................8 2.1.2 - “Spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional” ...................... 9 2.1.2.1 -Mythology.. ................................................................10 2.1.2.2 - Language.................................................................... 10 2.1.2.3 - Ways of thinking and learning ................................... 11 2.1.3 - “Characterizesa society” ....................................................... 12 2.1.3.1 - Cultural Alienation ..................................................... 13 2.1.4 - “Arts and Letters” .................................................................. 13 2.1.5 - “Mode of life” ........................................................................14 2.1.6 - “Fundamental rights of the human being” ............................. 15 2.1.7-“ Value systems,traditions and beliefs” .................................. 15 Summaryof Definition ...................................................................... 16 Medicine Wheel .................................................................................17
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3 -1ndicators~of Culturally Appropriate Development ............... 19 3.1 - Participation ..............................................................................19 3.2 - Use of Local Institutions ...........................................................20 3.3 - Using Local Knowledge.. ..........................................................21 3.4 - Integrated into the social structure ............................................22 3.5 - Groundedin Culturally-based Vision.. ......................................22 3.6 - Recognition of culturally-based artistic communication .......... 22 3.7 - Appropriate Consideration of Gender Issues ............................23 3.8 - Relatedto Religious and Mythic Roots ....................................24 3.9 - Culturally Appropriate Integration of New Ideas......................24 3.10 - Ownership ...............................................................................24 3.11 - Summaryof Indicators of Cultural Development ...................25
4 - Projects .................................................................................
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4.1 - Problemswith projects ..............................................................27 4.2 - Logic of cultural approach ........................................................28 4.3 - PhaseOne: Project Design and Planning .................................30 4.3.1- Establishing your framework ........................................30 31 4.3.2 - Gatheringinput ............................................................. 4.3.3 - Familiarization ..............................................................32 4.3.4 - Tools: What can be done? ............................................33 4.3.4.2 -Ask questions and withhold judgment ............. 33 4.3.4.3 - Make real friends .............................................33 4.3.4.4 - Broaden Base....................................................33 4.3.4.5 - Participate in community life ...........................34 4.3.4.6 - Study Local Art ................................................34 34 4.3.4.7 - Literature Review ............................................. . 35 ............................................. 4.4 - PhaseTwo: Project Development 4.4.1 - Developing Participatory Mechanisms.........................35 4.4.2 - Modeling Participation .................................................35 4.4.3 - Core group development ...............................................37 4.4.4 -Needs assessmentand Planning.. ..................................38 4.4.4 -Tools: What canbe done? .............................................39 Talking circles .................................................................39 Active Listening ..............................................................40 Create Opportunities for Self-Portraits ...........................4 1 Focus Groups...................................................................42 Support Groups ...............................................................42 The Community Story Framework .................................42 Web Charts ......................................................................43 Enlist local artists ............................................................44
4.5 - PhaseThree: ProgramImplementation.....................................45 4.5.1 - Participatory Implementation .......................................45 4.5.2 - Sustaining Participation................................................46 4.5.3 - Cultural Transformation................................................47 48 4.5.4 - Folk Media .................................................................... 4.5.5 - Monetary and TechnicalRestraints...............................49 ............................................. 50 4.5.6 -Tools: What can be done? Participatory Action Research(PAR) ..............................50 Training that is co-designedby insiders..........................51 Community/OrganizationalEducation............................52 Mobilizing Local Resources............................................52 Local Folk Art .................................................................53 4.6 - PhaseFour: Monitoring and Evaluation ................................... 54 4.6.1 - Evaluation Agendas......................................................54 4.6-l. 1 - DevelopmentAgency Needs ............................54 4.6.1.2 - Community Needs............................................55 4.6.2 - Tools: What can be done?............................................57 Baseline Data Surveys.....................................................57 Participatory Evaluation ..................................................58 59 4.7 - summary ................................................................................... 5 - Cultural Training for DevelopmentWorkers.........................................6 1 5.1 - Designing the Learning Experience..........................................62 5.1-l - Common experience.....................................................62 5.1.2 - Theory and Supporting Information .............................63 5.1.3 - Skills and Techniques...................................................63 5.1.4 - Reflection and Intemalization.. .....................................64 5.1.5 - Application and Practice...............................................64 __.. 65 Annotated Bibliography ......................................................................... 66 Bibliography ................................................................................................ Appendix One: Indicators of Achievement ................................................68 Appendix Two: Case Study - SarvodayaMovement .................................7 1
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1 -About this handbook 1.1 - Objective of this handbook
This handbook was commissioned by the Canadian International Development Agency in responseto the United Nations World Decade for Cultural Development (1987- 1997). There has been an increasing awarenessof the importance of culture in development work over the last ten years, but also an increasing frustration as to what culture means in development practice. We have endeavoured to bring together the wisdom of practitioners from around the world and provide a) a coherent theoretical framework to approachculture and b) a variety of practical approaches to including culture in various kinds of development projects. This handbook is also designedto be the third work in a trilogy commissionedby UNESCO. In responseto the World Decade, UNESCO launched a researchinitiative intended to “elaborate methodological instruments for integrating cultural factors in development projects”. Three documents have resulted. The first setsout a definition of culture and arguesits importance to development. It gives an overview of current practice and outlines a methodology for integrating the cultural dimension in development programs. The second is a practical guide for program planners on how to integrate culture in the project cycle. The third is designed to help the field worker understandthe cultural dimension of a project and work constructively with it.
UN Decade for Cultural Development
thirdin a series
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1.2 - Who will use this handbook?
for whom
not a project management manual
There are, of course, many kinds of field workers with different needsand roles to play. We have attempted here to addressas wide a cross-sectionof field-workers without losing a practical focus. This manual is addressedto the fieldworker who has one or more of the following characteristics: an outsider to the community or group with whom he or she is working (though insiders will also find useful material; an agent of a government or non-governmentorganization; working alone or with a group of field-workers; working with a community or a group within a community; working with a regional or national organization; assignedthe task of developing and/or implementing a project; advanced literacy skills; self-guiding and motivated; wants to make the project culturally appropriate. This manual will summarizeand operationalizethe definition of culture developed in the other two works. It will then suggestmethodologiesfor identifying and working with culture. It is not a manual on project management;there are already an abundance of good ones. This manual will focus on how to make project management culturally appropriate.
1.3 - Background
and context
International development began in earnestin the 1950swith the Marshal Plan, the very successful development program by the Allies to bring about economic and social reconstruction of those countries most seriously damagedby World War II. When this same model was applied to developing countries where the culture and context, the infrastructures and the economy, were very different, the results were not as promising. The international community has been struggling over the past four decadesto solve the puzzle of international development. This led to careful scrutiny of development theory and practice. 2
Four distinct development decadescan be identified; 1. The 1960’s saw many developing countries gain independence,searching for a strong identity and a strong economy. Large scaledevelopment projects were sponsoredalong with the transfer of technology. four decades
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In the 1970’s, the second development decade,more intensive invest- ofstruggle ment was made in developing technical and industrial basesin the developing countries. The workforce was trained to deal with the new technologies and stressshifted from humanitarian to a longer term development approach.The debatebetweenthe virtues of aid versustrade became full blown.
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In the 80’s the third developmentdecadewas distinguishedby monetary megaprojects reform and structura.ladjustment, growing concern about the environ- and transfer of technology ment, and attemptsat social development.
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The fourth decade,which could be said to have begun in the 1990’s, is preoccupiedwith environmental matters,monetaryreform and plans for worybrce the inclusion of social and cultural factors in developmentprojects. Par- training ticipatory developmenthas come to the fore; the rights of indigenous people and minorities are being defined; the globalization of-- trade and cormnerc;e,of environmental matters, of communication and of education is becoming a fact.
These 40 years can be seenas an intensive and expensivesearchfor approachesto development that would work well in different socio-cultural situations. There is now a hope, born of exhaustion,urgency and desperation,that an answer may be emerging. The four decadesarebuilt on lessonslearnedfrom the previous onesand utilize elements hitherto neglected.
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Though the economic model was widely criticised over these four decades, it still remains the dominant force in developmentprograms,objectives, and strategies. Its proponents respondedto criticism by acknowledging that economic development must “have a humanface”, must be sensitiveto social and cultural differences, must “put people first”, must recognizethat the goal of development is for a better quality of life as well as improved quantities, must be holistic in its approach. Many critics, however, are calling for a more fundamental rethinking of the economic model of development. The argument is not that economic reality is unimportant but that it must be seen in a wider, human context. Certain development agencies,theoristsandpractitionersinsist that the economic model must be replaced by an approachand a strategywhich does in fact put people first and which recognizes their intangible, non material, cultural needsas equally important, if not more important than economicprogress.
1.4 - World Decade for Cultural Development
The World Decadefor Cultural Development was proclaimed in 1988. The deliberations that led up to this proclamation reveal a growing realization “that analysis of the imbalancescharacterizingthe world situation clearly shows economic factors to be no longer the sole term of reference in development matters.” (UNESCO, -1985). Director Generalof UNESCO Federico Mayor summarizesthese views: It has been realized during the past decade that when the aim of economic growth is set with no referenceto the cultural environment, grave imbalances, both economic and cultural, result and the creative potential of the people is seriously weakened. If the aim of development is to bring more life and a better life to each and every person, development must be founded on the optimal deployment of human resourcesof each community through the free expressionof talents and interestsof all its members. This means that in the final analysisit must draw its priorities, motivations and objectives from the culture. (UNESCO, 1988)
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The World Decade for Cultural Developmentwas launchedJanuary 1988 and will run until 1997 pursuing four main objectives. 1 To assertthe cultural dimension in development 2 To assertand enhancecultural identities 3 To broaden participation in cultural life 4 To promote international cultural cooperation These four objectives embody two major concerns: 1 how to promote greaterconsiderationof the cultural dimension in development processes, 2 how to simulate creative aptitudesand cultural life in general The preamble to the announcementto the Decadestates:“Culture constitutes a fundamental part of each individual and of eachcommunity and, consequently,development - whose ultimate aim should be focused on man - must have a cultural dimension.”
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2 - Conceptual Framework 2.1- Defining Culture
Before we talk about how to identify culture and incorporate it into development projects we must agree on a definition of culture. Culture is a common word and needfor a definition like most common words it comeswith much conceptualbaggage,much of it vague, some of it contradictory. Culture can be defined so broadly as to be almost meaningless. For example, if we define culture as “the man-made part of the environment” we make me point that culture is more than just the fine arts but we include so many other things that it becomesimpossible to extract a meaning. Some view culture asa collection of quaint superstitions,inflexible practices,empty rituals and primitive moral values. For thesepeople culture is a barrier to change, something to be overcome or eliminated if the people are to achieve progress. It is hardly the standard against which innovation should be measured. Those holding organic nature this view fail to recognize the organic nature of culture which lends itself readily to ofcufture change and modification and servesas a container for thosenew ideasand technologies found to be consistent with its dominant features.
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importance of the arts
Others see culture as confined to the fine arts and folk or popular arts and detect little connection with the real business of life. This view consigns culture to the fringes of society and fails to recognize that these art forms, and the artists who practice them, have always been and continue to be influential in shaping the perceptions, the values and beliefs of a society. Poets, said Shelley, are the “unacknowledged legislatorsof the world”. A good place to start building a workable definition of culture is the definition put forward at the World Conferenceon Cultural Policies (Mexico City, 1982). This is the definition endorsedby the other two works in this series. The World Conference defined culture as:
UNESCO definition
the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modesof life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems,traditions and beliefs. (UNESCO) To make this useful to the practitioner we will have to elaborate this definition in detail.
2.1.1- “Whole complex” synergistic
websof signficance
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Culture is not one or two things in isolation. It is a whole way of thinking and feeling about the world. While culture is manifest in a p&ular value system, a certain way of doing things, a distinctive style of dressor food, it is much more than the sum of thesethings. Culture is an integrated, synergistic whole. Clifford Geertz describesculture as the webs of significance that man has spun for himself. (Geertz, 1973:5) Culture is the code which allows us to interpret signals in a meaningful way, it is the filter through which we strain the world. As such, culture defines for us what is real and important and what is noise and superfluous.
This is an important point in understandingculture. If culture is the way we make sense of the world, then all people have culture, all people need culture. Some cultures might be more detailed and more alive than others, but all servethe purpose of helping people function in the world.
All people have culture
Another way to think of culture is as an iceberg. The greatestpart of an iceberg lies hidden beneath the surface of the water. What we see above the water is only a iceberg small part of the total structure. The language,the dances,the artifacts and all the other observable parts of culture are only the visible evidence of something much deeper and more powerful. Hidden below the level of conscious observation is a whole complex of the structuresand rhythms which make up the core of culture. E.T. Hall calls this primary level culture, ...there is an underlying, hidden level of culture that is highly patterned - a set of unspoken,implicit rules of behaviour and thought that controls every- primary level thing we do. This hidden cultural grammar defines the way in whichpeople CUlrure view the world, determinestheir values,and establishesthe basic tempo and rhythms of life. Most of us are either totally unaware or else only peripherally aware of this. (Hall, 1983:6-7) Material objects and techniques of culture are useful insofar as they represent the values and rhythms specific to our culture. They are the intimations, the clues of some deeper reality. You cannot add up the artifacts (clothes, customs, art, music, etc.) and find culture. But you can always find the artifacts if you understand the culture.
2.1.2 - “Spiritual,
material, intellectual and emotional”
While our strategiesfor social change have been almost exclusively material (i.e. economic) in their focus, people live their lives according to certain ideas, values, and feelings as well as economic concerns. To understand culture we mustlook at more than economics, we must look at the ideas, images, stories, values and feelings that inspire people to live and behave the way they do. Some of the placesto find these are mythologies, language, ways of thinking and learning.
need for ideas and images
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facts of the mind
2.1.2.1 - Mythology Mythologies are made up of stories which employ symbols, metaphors,and images to provide moral and ethical standards,exemplary models, and controls for social behaviour. Traditional folklore and mythology are windows through which we can catch a glimpse of the deepestand most hidden part of our cultural makeup. Myths represent facts of the mind, telling us in picture language of powers of the psyche to be recognized and integrated in our lives, powers that have been common to the human spirit forever, and which representthat wisdom of the speciesby which man has weathered the millenniums. Thus they have not been, and can never be, displaced by the findings of science,which relate rather to the outside world than to the depth that we enter in sleep. Through a dialogue conducted with these inward forces through our dreamsand through a study of myths, we can learn to know and come to terms with the greater horizon or our own deeper and wiser, inward self. And analogously,the society that cherishes and keepsits myths alive will be nourishedfrom the soundest,richest strata of the human spirit. (Campbell, 1973: p.13)
all societies have myths
cultural
y’Frz
Western industrialized societies have their myths which nourish their people: the voyages of Ulysses, the Garden of Eden, the taming of Nature, etc. Many of these myths do not hang together under scientific scrutiny, they simply could not happen in physical reality as we know it. But the point is, they are not supposedto be stories of physical history. They are stories of spiritual reality and are as true in what they tell us ab?nt our spiritual and psychological nature as sciencc.istrue in what it tells us about physical reality. 2.1.2.2 - Language Language is another important part of culture. “All human societieswithout exception are enclosed in an envelope of culture, of certain social, religious, legal and other practices, and most of this cultural envelopeconsistsof words.” (Frye p. 192) The words in a languageand how they are usedoften illustrate a unique perspective on reality that a culture has developed to make senseof the world. We can learn much if we take the time and trouble to learn the words - not just the casual, everyday words but the deep, metaphorical words usedin songs and ceremonies.
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Because language embodies a perspective,an approachto reality, it also helps to determine our senseof identity, who we are, what we can be, and what we can do. Freire views the ability to name the world as the very essenceof being human. “Human existence cannot be silent, nor can it be nourishedby false words, but only by true words, with which men transform the world. To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it.” (Freire, 1970:76) The deterioration of language is a critical problem in many cultures. Meaningful discourse is undermined becausepeople cannot sharetheir deepestknowledge and most powerful feelings. The young do not learn to expressthe knowledge in their hearts, and unexpressed,those feelings can lead to frustration and anger. The old become embittered becausethe young “don’t know how to listen anymore.” (Northem Tshone elder, Yukon, Canada,1988) Communities need a languageto express their hopes, their vision, their frustrations or they will fragment and lose control of their lives. - Ways of thinking and learning Culture has a deepeffect not only on what people think about but on how they think and how they learn. Children spend at least the first six years of life totally immersed in an environment shapedmore by culture than by educational theories. Even after they enter school, a majority of their learning time is still spent in informal educational situations which are shapedmore by cultural inclinations than by explicit pedagogy.
wordsdefine who we are
frustration
withoutwords
2.1.2.3
Different societies approachknowledge in very different ways. For some societies knowledge is mystically derived and passedaround by authority. Other societies view knowledge as something to be createdindividually. The approachto organizing life and learning new things is obviously very different betweenpeople of these two cultural forms. A tragically common mistake of western developmental workers is to view their culturally determinedview of the world as science,and the view of others as “culture”. Both are culture.
culture affects
Fi?&peop’e
cultural relativity of
science
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2.1.3 - “ Characterizes a society”
Becauseculture is the way a group thinks about and acts in the world, it defines the group and makes it distinctive. If we disrupt or confuse the culture (the way people see themselvesand the world) of a group, they will not be able to respond to economic or political opportunities in coherent or sustainableways.
culture one
culture two
Geert Hofstede refers to what he calls “culture one” and “culture two”. Culture one is manifested in music, painting, dance, art, folklore, literature. The emphasisis on a product, a performance,an artifact - something which makesup the cultural heritage of a society. In this sense,culture is the human made parts of our environment. Culture two is the “software of the mind”, a collective phenomena,sharedwith the people who live in the samesocial environment. It is this collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. It includes the society’s institutions, legal system,method of govemment, family patterns, social conventions - all those activities interactions and transactions which define the particular flavour of a society. (Hofstede, 19915) If the software of a computer systemis corrupted, it will behave in bizarre ways, if it functions at all. Analogously, if the software of the mind is corrupted we can expect that people will behave in bizarre, often destructive ways.
_ 2.1.3.1 - Cultural Alienation More often than not development projects have sought to replace the traditional culture instead of blend with it or build upon it. This might work if all people used culture as the same hardware. But they don’t. E.T. Hall suggeststhat the conscious, explicit s”~a~‘w~~ part of culture that people can talk about is analogousto the software - the computer programs while the deeper,implicit part of culture is like the hardware. Most intercultural relations are conducted as though there are only slight differences in the software and none in the hardware. ... The results of treating membersof other cultures as though we are all programmed in the same way can range from the humorous through the painful to the tragic and even destructive. (Hall, 1983:6-7)
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Given the important function of culture in organizing the world, in establishing identity, and given its resilienceto change,the result has often beencultural alienation. Cultural alienation causesseriouspersonaland social problemsbecauseit cuts to the core of how people and groups organize their world. Take away the organizing principle and you have personalconfusion and social anomie. Peoplewill have no superstructureupon which to hang knowledge and information.
cultural alienation
2.1.4 - “Arts and Letters”
Art, whether painted, carved,sung, danced or written, is people’s attempt to organize their energies, to intensify their experiences, and to share this meaning with others. Far from being peripheral, artistic expression is central to human life because it conveys meaning and deep feeling.
art is central to life
Artistic expressions have the advantageof being experiential and involving; they are concerned with precepts rather than concepts, with immediate insights rather than philosophical propositions.Theseexpressionspresentpatterns,images,rhythms, colours; textures which help people connect with their senseof humanness. Culturally appropriate development projects are connectedimplicitly or explicitly to this deep meaning in people’slives. If the people are singing about the project, if it is being integrated into the stories, if it is described using local images (such as eagles, wild boars, whatever), or if it is talked about using local speechcadences and social protocc&, then you have a clue that it is at least partially connected to local culture. 2.15 - Wlode of life”
Culture is a way of living. One cannot put culture in a museum. One can put the manifestations of a culture in a museum - the dress, handicrafts, tools, etc. - but theseare simply representationsof the culture, not the culture itself. Cultures, myths, and languagesare constantly changing and can provide the energy for change. Traditional songs, ceremonies,occupations, even languageshave always changed and evolved as one cultural group comes in contact with others or with new opportunities and constraints. Indeed, a healthy culture is one which reveresa symbolic code but also fearlessly revises it.
cu Ltures must change
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revision of symbolic code
The art of free societyexists first in maintenanceof the symbolic code; and secondly fearlessnessof revision, to securethat the code servesthe purposes which satisfy and enlighten reason. Those societieswhich cannot combine reverencefor their symbolswith freedom of revision must ultimately decay either from anarchy or from slow atrophy of a life stifled by useless shadows. (Whitehead, 1927:88) Many developing communities have a suppressedor atrophied cultural awareness. Such societies can never go back and recover the world of their ancestors. Life would be stifled by uselessshadows. It is a brave task to re-examine one’s cultural background, to discover the valuesthat led to the presentand re-invent a symbolic code.
re-arficulate core values
inside job
Rapid economic and political changeis a reality for all modem cultures. Many of these changesthreaten or question the existing values and beliefs. The culture is challenged to adapt and develop or resist and die. To meet the challenge the cultural group must re-articulate its central or core value systemand decide on the forms it must take. This is an “inside job” and cannotbe done by the developmentworker. The development worker in this caseprovides support to local cultural leaders. Cultural change cannot be done by outsiders, no matter how clever, no matter how long they have been there. 2.1.6 - “Fundamental
human rights
rights of the human being”
Culture has a profound effect on what we think is human and worthy of being respected as “basic human rights”. Distinct differences have been observed between cultures regarding the balanceof individual rights and collective rights. Individualism pertains to societiesin which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expectedto look after himself or herself or her immediate family. Collectivism as its opposite pertains to societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive ingroups, which throughout people’s lifetime continue to protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. (Hofestede, 19915 1).
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Whether one is from an individualist or collectivist culture will influence how one learns, how one relatesto authority, how one accomplishesa task,how one is mor- coflectivist VJ ally controlled (i.e. shameor guilt), etc. In his study of the matter,Hofestedefound individuafisr that in a collectivist society the collective interestprevails over the individual interest, private life can bejustifiably invadedby the group, opinionsarepredetermined by group membership and laws and rights differ accordingto membershipin the group. It is critical that development workers, largely from individualist societies, understand, respectand work within the normsand ideasof the partnergroup which is more often than not more collectivist in nature.
2.1.7 - ‘Value systems, traditions and beliefs”
There is, of course, no such thing as a value free developmentproject. All human activity is framed in a value system that prefers certain kinds of behaviour over other kinds of behaviour. A project to improve the market integration of farmers, for example, involves many moral and ethical assumptionsabout the purpose of work, the source of wealth and, the possibility of autonomythat are by no means universal. These values often find expressionin traditions and beliefs that can seemquaint or even ridiculous to the western developmentworker. Any society which has survived long enough to develop traditions has obviously developedsomesuccessful mechanisms and wisdom to survive. It is important to validate the wisdom at the core of these traditions and beliefs, even if the traditions or beliefs are now irrelevant or dysfunctional. Core traditions or beliefs include the ideasor fears that inspire and guide groups of people. This is what has been called the ideational dimensionwhich refers to ideas, concepts and perceptsuse to direct and makesenseof their lives. Every culture has an identifiable ideational dimension. Most developmentprojectsarecouched in the ideational terms of western liberal democracies. Culturally appropriate development must also addressthe local ideational world.
no value free development
respect beliefs
ideational dimension
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II
Cd ture is:
“A whole complex”, . an integrated,synergistic whole; . the websof significance that man has spun for himself; like aniceberg,the greatest part of it lies hidden beneath the surface of consciousthought; the hiddencultural rules that defines the way in which people view the world. l
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“Spiritual, material,intellectual and emotional”, . a particularcombination of ideas, images, stories, values and feelings that inspire peopleto live and behave the way they do; . evident in mythology, the window through which we can catch a glimpse of the deepestand most hidden part of our cultural makeup; . embodied in langutige, grarnmer and words which often suggest a unique perspectiveon reality; a distinctive way of thinking and learning about the world. l
“Character& a society”, the collectiveprogramming of the mind which distinguishes the members of onegroup or category of people from another; . expressedin the particular institutions, legal system, method of government, family patterns, social conventions of a society; sometimesconfusedor corrupted, causing serious personal and social -. problems. l
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“Arts and Letters”, . manifest in its most uplifting and ennobling sense in artistic expression; . nurtured anddirected by art, whether painted, carved, sung, danced or written. “Mode of life” constantly changing and evolving when healthy; . not somethingthat can be preserved in a museum; . often mistakenfor the manifestations of culture - the dress, handicrafts. tools, etc. - which can be preserved; . can only be changedor revised by cultural insiders. l
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Medicine Wheel In an effort to summarizegraphically the conceptualframework presentedhere we can use a wheel divided into four quarters. It hasthe advantageof being an almost universal cultural symbol found in some form in the iconography of most societieswhether it be a family crest in the heartof industrialized Western Europe or a sacredcarving in tribal PapuaNew Guinea. We use it here as a noetic integrator, a way of bringing togethera complexity of ideasto illuminate the cultural dimension of developmentactivities. A sustainableproject must addresseachof four generalcategoriesof activities: political, economic, social andenvironmental. The relative importkce of each of these activities and how they affect each other is mediated by culture. The cultural dimension is fundamentaland influences all the others. The political dimension includesdecisionmaking processesand institutions. The economic dimension includes all activities meant to win a living from the environment. It also includes the impact of human activity on the physical environment. The social dimension includes how people educate and heal themselves.
Wheel of Human Development (adapted from the Four Worlds Development Project)
The environmental dimension includes all types of human activity whch impact on the physical environment.
Each of these dimensions are obviously affected by all the other dimensions. Political decisions, for example, are affected by who owns the means of production, what ideas people have about equality and fairness, etc. How all thesedimensions aremanifestedand how they affect eachother is part of what we call culture.
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3 - Indicators of Culturally Appropriate Development Based on the above discussion of the theory of culture and the role of culture in society, and on the growing experiencewith culturally oriented development, we can identify certain factors in the developmentprocessthat are influenced by culture. Taken together, they constitute guidelines which can be helpful in integrating culture in the planning, managing andevaluating of projects. The cultural integrity of a development program or project can be assessedaccording to how many of the following indicators are present, 3.1- Participation
All development workers are groundedin their own culture, as are the people they work with. Developmentworkers will necessarilybring their own values and assumptionsto a project. Projects themselvesoften reflect the culture of the sponsoring institution or funder. The most effective way to ensure the cultural appropriatenessof a project is to have the beneficiaries of the project design, implementandevaluatethe project. It is not enough to 19
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just involve local people in a project designed by a foreign culture. Local people must be so intimately involved in the project that they feel it is their project. The role of the development worker is to facilitate this involvement. If there is participation by a significant cross section of the population in a truly consultative sense,permitting interaction, discourseand consensus,it is much more probable that the cultural biases and preferencesof the population will be expressedboth in style and in substance. Such participation can lead to commitment, empowerment, and ownership of the project, avoiding the danger of it being perceived as an imposed project. A quick reading of the cultural validity of the project can often be obtained simply by determining the nature and degree of involvement of the intended beneficiaries. Somequestionsto ask in determining the participatory nature of the project: . who is participating in the project? Leaders? Marginalized? Men? Women? Old? Young? how are these people participating? . is participation coerced or reluctant or is it free and eager? does the participation flow from local institutions? Is it sustainable? Each development worker should build up their own list of questions. l
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3.2 - Use of Local Institutions
Ai1 societies have evolved institutions, mechanisms and structures to deal with the complexities of human interaction. If a development activity is to be sustainableit will be integrated with these local institutions and the general pattern of activity for that society. This also servesas a measurementof acceptanceby the local people. l
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Is there institutional support for the project eg. council, local govemment, religious institutions, schools, political bodies? Have new structuresor organizations beencreatedin connection with the project? If so, are these new structures rooted in the institutional life of the community?
3.3 - Using Local Knowledge
All societies have amassedconsiderable knowledge with which they have weatheredthe millennia andevolved ways of learning new information based on their social and environmental constraints. It is important to integrate this local knowledge into the project for a number of reasons. Development lore is replete with examplesof projects which ignored local knowledge of soils, economics, etc. and failed. It is important to make use of the detailed knowledge of local residents. Even more important than getting the details right, however, is to weave the project into the local knowledge system, to think locally about it. This makesthe project understandable,even familiar to people and involves local leadersof thought. Local ways of knowing and learning and how knowledge is organized are often very different from western thought process. It is important to understand this way of thinking. How is the world organized? What are the knowledge categories? What causesthings like diseaseand natural disastersto happen? Is knowledge researchor authority based? Who is included in “We” and who is included in “They”? Is there a benign, vindictive or indifferent creative force at work in the world? Are people controlled by shameor guilt? What is the relative importance of time compared to relationships?
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3.4 - Integrated
into the social structure
A society is made up of a variety of social groups, young and old, rich and poor, male and female, powerful andmarginalizedbound togetherby a shared senseof identity and tradition - culture, in other words. Furthermore, no society actually deals with education unrelated from economic concernsor religious beliefs. A person’s experienceof a school, for example, is influenced by his or her health, wealth, political status. The society’s experience of a project is integrated with all other experiences. A culturally appropriate project recognizesthe relations betweendifferent levels and sectorsof activity. What are the key decision-making institutions in society? Who are membersof theseinstitutions? Where do young and old interact? Rich and poor? Men and women? l
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3.5 - Grounded in Culturally-based
Vision
Culturally grounded development projects begin with an understanding of the current situation and how it cameabout (conscientization), can articulate a vision of what the future should be and can describe a path to achieve that vision. Is the project part of a larger vision of growth and development; does it have a place in their plans for the future? . How is the vision developed and shared? Are there images,symbols andmetaphorswhich arisenaturally from the commitment and dedication of the people towards the project. l
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3.6 - Recognition of culturally-based
artistic communication
An important part of any community’s life is the use of folk art or fine art as part of the expression and interpretation of values. The heart and soul of a people can be communicated through its art and music. One of the effects or by-products of the developmentactivity would be its capacity to bring things together, to combine differences, to synthesizerather than to create special interests and more divisions. There should be an impulse towards organizing the elementsof society at a higher level, at levels of greater complexity,
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which results are often best expressedin traditional ways. In other words, the project should be of such a nature that people can celebrate it, can connect its elements,can sing aboutit, can write plays, poetry, music expressing joy, pleasureand appreciationat the progressbeing made. l
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Who creates and performs local music? paintings? sculpture? handicrafts? Are there new songsand artistic styles being generated? What is being sung about? What is being painted or carved? Does the project serve the entire person, the intuitive, the creative, the synthesizing as well as the logical, the rational and the analytical? Does it serve to develop new perceptions,new understandings and does it serve different modesof learning? Does it employ thesemethodsof teaching and learning most familiar to the population?
3.7 - Appropriate
Consideration of Gender Issues
In many existing developmentprojects the role of women is minimal, either proscribed by custom or religion or preventedby poor design. Women play an essential part in the maintenanceof culture and tradition, and they provide the kind of energy and approval which any change process requires. Therefore, d clear indication of a projects likelihood of sustainability is the degree to which men and women are actively involved and equally well served. It is important to understand,however, that westernconceptions of equality may not pertain to other cultures. What is consideredequal and fair in North America may be consideredimmoral or obscenein another culture. . what are the respectiveroles of men and women? . what do women have responsibility for? how do women feel about their role? . what was the role of women in history compared to today? l
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3.8 - Related to Religious and Mythic Roots
A project needsto be seenas related to the value system and the belief system, whether that is enshrined in a religious code, in popular mythology, or in rituals and ceremonies.This, in a sense,blessesthe activity and imbues it with spiritual energy. What is the purposeof life? What is the relationship between the known and the unknown universes? What must one do to be in harmony with other? with the world? What is it to be healthy? What happenswhen things get out of balance?How are they fixed? l
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3.9 - Culturally
Appropriate
Integration
of New Ideas
Is there an acceptanceof innovation and experimentation, not only with a particular project, but for other initiatives in health, housing, education, agriculture marketing, etc? In other words, are grass-rootsefforts encouraged, or are new venturesgeneratedand managedprimarily by policy groups, social planners and development agencies. How are new ideas introduced into the society? How can one be creative in the cultural framework? What makeschange acceptable? l
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3.10 - Ownership
One sure sign that a project is culturally relevant is that people feel that it is theirs. This is related to ownership, empowerment, and the ability to sing the praisesof the activity. If there is evident pride and satisfactionin what is being done,this intangible quality goes a long way to seeingthe project over difficulties as it moves towards its larger objective. Who takes ownership for the project? Is the project referred to by most people using “our,” “we” or “us”? Are people proud of their culture and where they have come from? Are people able to build on pride in who they are and connect it to project? l
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3.11- Summary of Indichtors of Cultural Development
Indicators
Barriers
Questions to ask
Participation
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Top down project design Disunity and jealousy in community Dependency on aid and authority
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Use of local Institutions
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Using Local Knowledge
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Development worker ignorance Dysfunctional local institutions.
Intellectual arrogance of development agency. Lack of alternative learning models.
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Integrated into the social structure
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. Grounded in culturally-based vision .
poor understanding by development worker about how decisions are made. lack of understanding of power relations. narrow, non-inclusive vision within community. imposed model from outside.
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Who is participating in the project? Leaders? marginalized? men? women? old? young? How are they participating? Is participation coerced or reluctant or free and eager? Does participation flow from local institutions? Is it sustainable? Is there institutional support for the project? Have new structures or organizaions been created in connection with the project? If so, are the new structures rooted in the institutional life of the community? How is the world organized? What are the knowledge categories? What causes things like disease and natural disasters to happen? Is knowledge research or authority based? Who is included in “We” and who is included in “They”? Is there a benign, vindictive or indifferent creative force at work in the world? Are people controlled by shame or guilt? What is the relative importance of time compared to relationships? What are the key decision-making institutions in society? Who are members of these institutions? Where do young and old interact? Rich and poor? Men and women? Is the project part of a larger vision of growth and development; does it have a place in their plans for the future? How is the vision developed and shared? Are there images, symbols and metaphors which arise naturally from the commitment and dedication of the people towards the project.
Indicators
Barriers
Recognition and use of culturally-based artistic communication
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misunderstanding of culturally important t-itUdS.
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perception that symbols and artistic communication is not important.
Questions to ask . . l
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Appropriate consideration of gender issues
Related to religious and mythic roots
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identifying religious and mythic roots the quasi-scientific approach of development planning.
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Culturally appropriate integration of new ideas
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lack of means to introduce new ideas. gatekeepers preventing new ideas that would threaten power. lack of perceived relevance. disunity in the community.
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Who creates and performs local music? paintings? sculpture? handicrafts? Are there new songs and artistic styles being generated? What is being sung about? What is being painted or carved? Does the project serve the entire person, the intuitive, the creative, the synthesizing as well as the logical, the rational and the analytical? Does it serve to develop new perceptions, new understandings and does it serve different modes of learning?’ Does it employ these methods of teaching and learning most familiar to the population? what are the respective roles of men and women? what do women have responsibility for? how do women feel about their role? what was the role of women in history compared to today? What is the purpose of life? What is the relationship between the known and the unknown universes? What must one do to be in harmony with other? with the world? What is it to be healthy? What happens when things get out of balance? How are they fixed? How are new ideas introduced into the society? How can one be creative in the cultural framework? What makes change acceptable? Who takes ownership for the project? Is the project referred to by most people using “Our,” “we” or “us”? Are people proud of their culture and where they have come from? Are people able to build on pride in who they are and connect it to project?
4 - Projects 4.1- Problems with projects
This is a document for peopletrying to implement projects in communities. Projects are the constructsof developmentagenciesand national or local government. Communities don’t have projects, they have lifelong development processes. Hence, the cultures of agencies/governmentand communities clash on the battleground of the project cycle. The usual areasof conflict are: . time lines - when should things happens; . accountability - who is responsible for doing what? . definition of success- what is a real benefit of the project? . managementprocesses-who should manage the project and how? . how money is handled-how are decisions about money made and what is the purpose of money? . development agenda- what larger purpose does the project serve? In fact, “projects with their predeterminedobjectives, time plans and budgets, have all too often been the main link in the chain of dependencyand divisiveness stretching from local communities, through local and international NGOs to donor governments via co-financing arrangements. Projects fail to recognize development as a process- a processthat can only be sustainedby people’s genuine participation in their own development.” (Burkey, 1993: 113) 27
4.2 - Logic of cultural approach
The basic logic of the approachadvocated here is as follows: Culture, at its most fundamental, is the way in which people understandthe world.
All people,developmentagencies included, operate within a relative cultural framework. Development must be framed in local culture or it will confuse people and undermine social relationships. Culturally appropriate development,therefore,requiresauthentic participation of the developing people. There are significant barriers ~. to authentic participation in the minds of both the developing people and the agencies promoting development. There are a variety of methods which can encourageparticipation, but participation is essentially an attitude of selfdetermination. From this basic logic flows a number practical imphcations which are discussed in this section. 28
Our purpose here is not to‘review variousproject managementstrategiesor suggest a new one. Sponsoring agenciesor local governmentclients have usually decided upon their project managementmethodology. Rather, we hope to give analytical and methodological tools that will help field workers integrate culture into whatever project managementtechniquethey are using. We have divided the discussionof the practical implications of culturally appropriate development into four stagesthat coincide with traditional management approaches: Project Design and Planning; Project Development; Project Implementation; Monitoring and Evaluation. The stagesdo, of course, overlap and it is of doubtful validity to separateprojects into four distinct and separatestages. It has long been recognized that participatory and responsiveprojects engage in an ongoing process of action and reflection. Furthermore, from a cultural insider’s or community point of view the project is one continuous undertaking. Many larger projects build in a senseof estrangementby sendingin a different person or team for the needs assessment,a different team for implementation and a different team for evaluation.
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a G
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4.3 - Phase One: Project Design and Planning
Objectives:
Establisha framework in which the project can be developed and nurtured. This involves a process of systematic familiarization with the community or group and identification of personal biases.
Activities:
Personalvisits Ask questions and withhold judgement Make real friends Broaden Base of informants Participate in community life Study Local Art
4.3.1- Establishing your framework
The first thing to do when conceiving a project is to establish a framework, an integrative schemeof thought, to work within. Perhapsthe most important thing is to identify your personalor organizational stake in the project. Why are you involved? Who are you? Who are the other stakeholders and what is their stake? It is particularly important to understand any biases that you are bringing to the endeavour. As a representative of an organization with a need to do projects, the development worker has a definite agenda. The development worker’s training in western knowledge leads him or her to approach problems in a certain way and to dismiss certain ways of knowing. So, for example, the development worker’s concept of “equality” may be coloured deeply by his or her own religious values and practices. There are alsobiasesbuilt into the practice of development. Robert Chambers(1983) has identified six biasesthat prevent “rural development tourists” from perceiving rural poverty. 30
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Spatial biases: urban, tarmacand roadside Most learning about rural conditions is mediated by vehicles which follow roads. Shortagesof time and fuel limit excursionsto relatively developed areas. Most visible developmenthappensalong the roadside. Project Bias Ministries, departments,district staff, and volunteer agenciesall pay special attention to projects andchannelvisitors toward them. Contact and learning are then with tiny atypical islandsof activity which attractrepeatedand mutually reinforcing attention. PersonBias Most rural developmenttourists tendto meetand spendtime with elite males who are using servicesor adopting new practices. The interestsof the poorest, the yet to be born and the women are not often represented. Dry SeasonBias Visits to rural areasusually take place in the dry seasonbecauseof the practical difficulties and physical discomfort. As a result the real problems of poorer people, women and children during this time is largely invisible. Diplomatic Biases:politenessand timidity Urban-based visitors to rural areasare often deterredby politeness and timidity from approaching,meeting and listening to the rural poor. The notables who generouslyoffer hospitalityto the visitor maynot welcomesearching questions about the poor. Some of the real problems of rural poor are profoundly disturbing and are difficult to confront honestly. Professional Biases Professional training, values and interests lead visitors to talk with people who can best satisfy their purposeand interests. Theseare usually the better educatedor less poor.
4.3.2 - Gathering input
This first phaseis also a time for familiarizing yourself with any general studiesthat have been done about the community with which you plan to work. It is worth reviewing anthropological, economic and educational literature for any specialized information that may help fill in the picture. You can also collect statistical data from United Nations sources,previous evaluations or reports done by your devel-
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opment agency ‘or others. It would also be pertinent to study the mythology and popular media of the country to get a feel for the way peopIethink and what they think about. It is very important not to begin planning or designing a project at this stage. Even if your ideas are well informed, even if they are exactly what is needed,they will come to naught if they have not involved the people. If you want the project to be culturally appropriate, it must involve the people from the very beginning. This involves spending time in the community. If the people themselvesare to participate in formulating ‘projects’, then organization of the people will have to precedeformulation of projects. We will have to start work not by formulating projects such as a health clinic, water system, etc. but by getting to know the people, establishing good rapport with them, analysing with them their situation and problems, and discussing what needsto be done and how. Our efforts should be to help people form their own organizations, and obtain the necessaryknowledge and skill to initiate a process of development. Projects should be means towards people’s development and strengtheningof people’s organizations and not ends in themselves. (Kamla Bhasin, 198254) 4.3.3 - Famiiiarization
This “people first” orientation is helpful in all levels of development work from grass roots community development work to national infrastructure construction. .The basic goal of the framework making processis for the outsider to learn how to root the development activities he or sheis bringing in the soil of the culture because it is the culture that will give long term sustainability to any progress. Essentially this process requires living with the people quietly, as a learner for an extended period of time. Most of the literature on participatory development suggeststhat this will take four to six months. During this time you will be building relationships of trust, making friends, meeting and winning over local Iegitimizers and learning local languages,customs,norms, values and appropriatebehaviours. It is an opportunity to become known and trusted by the key developmentleadership.
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4.3.4 - Tools: what can be done? The following is a brief description of field tested meansto achieve the two basic goals of phaseone: framework building and familiarization. 4.3.4.1 - Personal visits
It important to acknowledgethe authority and position of key cultural leaders and legitimizers. It is often a good idea to visit them on their turf to pay respectand ask for advice. When thesepeople acceptyou, the vast majority will accept you. 4.3.4.2 -Ask questions and withhold judgment
It is critical to assumea neutral stancein your dealings with people. Avoid making pronouncements,let others define how it is and why. If youstart judging and making pronouncementsyou will be boxed out. It is a good idea to always ask questions and be the learner even if you are sure you know the answeror feel very strongly about the issue. 4.3.4.3 - Make real friends
One of the most important things a development worker can do is to make real friends in the community. Do not keep a professional distance from people. Open up and show that you are human. While friendships should really be developedon their own merit, the spin off benefits for the project can be considerablein terms of acceptanceand local ownership. 4.3.4.4 - Broaden Base
While it is probably invisible to you at the beginning, all local people have a long and complex history in their community. You don’t know who is who and who has done what. It has happened that people trying to rehabilitate their standing in the community jump at the opportunity to be a guide or translator and thusbenefit from the status accorded to an outsider. This can taint, even undermine, the successof a project. To avoid buying into the personal history of one or two people, broaden you circle of guidesjtranslators as soon as possible. 33
Develop a small but diverse group of key informants who are cultural insiders. This should include representativesof different factions, agesgenders and classesof people to adviseyou on how to do things properly. This group can educate you regarding language, custom, protocol, taboos and existing cultural mechanisms. 4.3.4.5 - Participate
in community life
It is good to be seenparticipating in the eventsof the community. By attending local social, sport and cultural eventsyou are demonstrating your interest and willingness to be involved. It is alsovery useful and healthy to have friends and inforrnants outside of your professionalreferencegroup. 4.3.4.6 - Study Local Art
Much that is deep, irrational and, hence, important about a culture is expressedin its music, art, theatre, even graffiti. Listen to the themesand style of expression in the songs current among community members? What sentiments, if any, are being promoted or advertisedby graffiti? What values are celebrated in street theatres? One can short-cutmonths of pedantic experience through insights into the arts. Be careful to make a distinction betweenofficially sponsored,overtly didactic expressionsand the natural outpourings of the col.lectiveconscience.To help make this distinction, and becauseany particular local medium may have specialized references,an interpreter is often very useful. 4.3.4.7 - Literature
Review
There are a number of sources to which you can refer to get information about the social environment of the community in which you are working. This is often best done from your home country becauselibraries are often better organized. Anthropological and historical journals are often a good source for information on some aspectsof the society. But the data used in these “scientific” studies and the conclusionsthey draw, must be taken with caution becausethey are usually more responsiveto westernscientific theory than community realities and people’sconcerns. Travel books by company’s like Lonely Planetor by respectedand opinionated authors often give one a good senseof the way things work and at the very least some useful detail. It is impossibleto get a true or objective view of the country becauseevery visitor’s, everyresearcher’sperspectiveis deeply coloured by culture. Feigned objectivity is a sure sign of a perspective that is insensitive to the importance of culture. 34
4.4 - Phase Two: Project Development
Objective:
Build participatory mechanisms by modellingparticipation,nurturing core groups of local people and mapping community realities.
Activities:
Talking circles Active Listening CreateOpportunitiesfor Self-Portraits , FocusGroups SupportGroups The Community Story Framework Web Charts Enlist local artists
4.4.1- Developing Participatory
Mechanisms
After you have become familiar with the community and have gained the trust of the people it is time to encouragethe developmentof the participatory mechanisms that will plan the project. Building true participation in a development process is extremely difficult. Many poor groups are, almost by definition, passive, divided amongst themselves,skeptical andcontrolled by lessthan benign local power structures. Overcoming thesebarriers involves both good technique and good instincts on the part of the development worker. Listed below are some of the techniques or tools that can be used to generateparticipation. But all of these tools are only as good as the person using them. The discussionthat follows provides the general framework in which the tools should be used. 4.4.2 - Modelling Participation
Participatory, self-reliant developmentdoes not just happen. It almost always requires an external catalyst to overcomethe dysfunctional power relationships that often exist in communities. The development worker can be such a catalyst and must model the kind of participation that he or she intends to promote in the development process. 35
Participatory developmentcannot be initiated by the traditional kind of extension agentswho try to deposit, transmit or extend their “magic” formulas to others as if developmentis a one-way process. We need a new breed of change agents who, first and foremost, care for people as human beings, who treat them a.ssubjectsand not objectsor recipientsof change,who steep themselvesin the aspirations,problems and the wisdom of their own people and who therefore actually follow the people - like Mahatma Gandhi who said, “there go my people and I must follow them for I am their leader.” (D. L. Umtali, quoted in Burkey, 1993:76) Such a stanceis not easyfor most developmentworkers who come from a wealthy society, who are well educatedand who are allowed money and time to be experts in development. We are burdenedwith a number of serioushandicapsincluding: .
. . .
our scientific world view which has taught us that what we have is reality and what other people have is culture; our inherent senseof superiority derived from our material success; our dominator instinct which seeksto rule over all that it touches; our deeply etchedsenseof racial superiority. (adaptedfrom Bopp, 1985)
It is very difficult for a person of western privilege to sit down and truly listen to a group of developing people wander through a processof self-discovery and allow them to make the mistakesthey need to make. However enthusiasticand committed, many development workers at heart have difficulty really believing that the people can do the job themselves. It is necessaryto trust in the oppressedand in their ability to reason. Whoever lacks this trust will fail to bring aboutor will abandondialogue, reflection and communication, and will fall into using slogans, communiques, monologues and instructions. (Freire, 1972) Even if one trusts in the oppressedand truly wants to listen and lead from behind, one needsto have considerablepatience and an ability to tolerate chaos. It is important for the development worker to resist the impulse to offer a solution too soon. People must solve the problem themselves and this may take time because other things (like new power relationships within the community) are being worked out. 36
If the development worker guides the processtoo strongly, pushesfor closure too soon, then the community will not develop the meansto sustainthe project. Furthermore, people may tend to identify the project with the overactive development worker and abdicate responsibility. This need to tolerate chaosis mademore difficult by the fact that most development workers are answerable to a sponsoring agency which usually views development in a much shorter timeframe than the community does. The development worker must therefore be a mediator between the needsof the agencyand the needsof the community. 4.4.3 - Core group development
One of the most effective mechanismsto promote community participation is the establishment of core groups. A core group of cultural insiders is neededwho become the project championsor primary implementors. Developingthesecore groups in a community or project requires deep familiarity with the community and a degree of wisdom. Often a strong individual will assumeleadership of a group and everyone else will assumepassive roles rather than learning to participate. In many casessuch leaders abusetheir positions even to the point of dishonesty. Either through lack of experienceor becauseof cultural inhibitions, groups are unable to correct or remove these leaders. This in return reinforces and convinces Urn that organizations are a waste of time and money. (Burkey, 1993: 160-161) This group cannot be brought together and then left alone. The developmentworker must systematically addressthe maintenanceand nurturing of the core group; its unity, its awarenessbuilding, its senseof ownership and its capacity to facilitate the development process using culturally appropriate means. Because all people and all core groups are immersed in their own culture they are usually not aware of the shape or distinctiveness of that culture. The role of the development worker is to ask questionsabout the community, its problems, its way of doing things. The purpose is to help the community seeitself better. The development worker in this case is the cultural mirror to the community. 37
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4.4.4 - Needs Assessment and Planning
A mapping of community realities and needs should be done by the community people. Outsiders can help but the main work and thinking should be an “inside job”. It is important to identify what cultural mechanismsalready exist in the community through which such an inquiry could take place. It is useful to ask yourself the following questions: . who must legitimize such a process? . who must participate? how can the meaningful participation of all sectors of the target population be facilitated given current cultural and community realities? l
This map already exists tacitly within the minds and hearts of people but it is in pieces, depositedwith different individuals and groups. The challenge is to put the puzzle together and the developmentworker cannot do it, only the people can. This is also the stageto start collecting baseline data. The process in which this can be done is outlined in phasefour.
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4.4.4 - Tools: what can be done? The following is a brief description of field tested meansto do needsassessment planning and core group development. The list is by no meanscomplete and each development worker develops his or her own repertoire. Talking circles
Talking circles are useful when the topic under considerationhasno right or wrong answer or when people need to share feelings. The purpose of talking circles is to create a safe environment for people to sharetheir point of view with others. This processhelps people gain a senseof trust in each other. They come to believe that what they say will be listened to and accepted without criticism. They also gain an appreciation for points of view other than their own. This is one of the most effective ways to overcomethe natural barriers to equal sharing between privileged development worker and community people. The basic ~?lleof talking circles is that the groups sits in a cixie and each person gets a chance to say whatever is on their mind without being criticized or judged by others. The talk flows around the circle and nobody talks twice until everyone talks once. Sometimes groups passaround a feather, stone or talking stick. Whoever has the object hasthe floor. Talking circles usually need a facilitator to ensure that the guidelines are followed. These guidelines include : all comment should be addresseddirectly to the questionor issuenot to comments by other participants. . only one person speaksat a time and no cross-talk,i.e. talking out of turn is allowed. . comments which put down others or oneself are not allowed l
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speakersshould feel free to express themselves in any way that is comfortable: personalstories, metaphors, analytical statements,etc. Adaptedfrom the Four Worlds Exchange published by the Centre for Development Learning, Calgary, Alberta.
In certain cultures talking circles may not appropriate and other methods must be sought. This methodhasemergedfrom tribal cultures and hasproven to be highly effective tool in groups around the world. Active Listening
Listening carefully to free flowing, unstructured conversation of small, naturally occurring groups is a good way to identify key issuesand concernsin a community. The development worker can ask questions informally of the group that will help people “unpack” the issuesthat are usually tangled up in a certain problem. Keeping a record of what one hears and who said it can be useful in garnering support for an initiative or evaluating a project. Sampling is an issuehere. A member of a marginalized family in a community or a disadvantagedgroup in a country will have very different ideas about what is happeningand how things get done than people who are on the inside. Personal history, past hurts and current jealousies will affect how any person perceives a situation. It is important not to go off half cocked When one hearsa certain complaint. There are always at least two sides to a story and the development worker should attempt to verify information by triangulation. Triangulation is a procedure whereby one seeks to confirm the information obtainedby observing it elsewherein different circumstances. Even if one hears a very clear messageabout an obvious injustice it is critical that the development worker should not take sides. Taking sides undermines the unity of the community or group by setting up a situation where one faction will have to capitulate. If the faction in the wrong does capitulate (not likely, especially if they are powerful) then members of that faction will likely feel alienated and avoid active participation in the project. Fur-
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thermore, the developmentworker must studiously avoid trying to solve problems for others. The essenceof participatory, culturally appropriate development is that peoplemust solve their own problemsin their own way. The developmentworker is the catalyst. Depending upon the natureof the project the developmentworker can look for certain themes, eg. decision making, health practices, environmental sustainability. What is gatheredfrom this active listening can be fed into meetings of the core group for feedbackand verification. Create Opportunities
for Self-Portraits
Culture is the filter, the eyesthrough which people view the world and, as such, it is very hard for peopleto seetheir own culture. One very constructive contribution a developmentworker can make to a community is to provide an occasion for the community to understanditself and its culture better. An interesting mechanismto help people describethemselvesis to ask them to create a self-portrait. Oneway to do this is to have groupsof people draw or collect pictures abouttheir com.munityand put them together in a collage. The excusemight be to createa historical document or to create curriculum for the school. Another meansto the sameend, more comfortable for adults, is to provide a still or video cameraand possibly a camera person and ask a group to provide a pictorial essayon their community. In deciding what is important, what is worth taking pictures of, the group will deal with many issues that raise self-awareness.If the group is having difficulty deciding what to shoot, the development worker can ask questionssuch as: what is different about your community comparedto a neighbouring community? Compared to North American communities? How do things get decided in your com.munity? etc. Paulo Freire’scodification techniquesare one well known version of this approach.
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Focus Groups
FOCUS groups bring together key informants from the community to consult about a specific issue. These informants should that have ability to articulate the issuesof a larger group. People in the group will give a variety of opinions which canbe played against eachother until a consensusis reached. The objective is to generatea consensusabout what are the most important local development issuesand actions. Support Groups
Once change begins to take place in a community there is very likely going to be tension and confusion. It is important to give both personal and professional support to the leaderswithin the community. Support groups of allies can be formed wherein people provide this support to one another. This is a sustainableform of what is sometimescalled backstopping. The Community
Story Framework
This is a mechanismwhereby the community can reflect upon where it has been, where it is now and where it wants to go. It is one of many mechanisms that is used in conscientization, i.e. raising awarenessof the people (seeFreire). The development worker can work with different groups in the community to answer the following questions: Past
What was life like for our people in the past (children, youth, men, women, elders)? What was it like politically? economically? socially? culturally? Present What is life like now for our children, youth, men, women, elders (mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually)? What is it like politically? economically? socially? culturally? What are the key issues,problems, challenges,assetsand opportunities?
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Future What would life be like if it was good, if our hopes and ideals for development were to be fulfilled? Individual (mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually)? Community (politically? economically? socially? culturally)? Adaptedfrom Guinea.
Bopp, 1993: National Research Institute, Papua New
The processof answering thesequestionsand coming to consensusin small groups is a powerful way to pull the pieces of the development puzzle together, while at the sametime motivating people for development action. Web Charts
This is a tool of analysisfor mapping the interrelatednessof social issues. A group is assembledto discussan identified problem. The problem is placed at the centre of a page or board. People are asked to list some of the problems that are related. After a number of related problems are listed around the central problem, the people are asked to identify which problems are related to other problems. A web of relatednessis thus created. Different colour lines can be used to show priority relations that must be worked on immediately. It will be evident that everything in the community is connected to everything else. It does not really matter which entry point is chosen, the whole community and all the relationships will be affected. The key is to chose entry points that are felt to be vital by the community and where there is a readinessfor action. Adapted from (Hope and ‘Ilmmel, Training for Transformation)
Another occasion to create a web chart is to map the informal patterns of influence in the community or organization. As an outsider, the development worker needsto understandthe pattern of social energy and how things get done. Asking local people to explain this is a good opportunity for selfreflection and consciousness-raising.
43
Enlist local artists
In every society there are creative people who sponsor and perform in local folk media. It is important to get to know these people both to understand what is happening in the community and to involve them in the shaping and eventual selling of a program. These media include street theatre, music, puppetry, painting etc. (See phase three for a more detailed discussion of folk art.)
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..--
.,__.-----.-
--I
--.-
4.5 - Phase Three: Program Implementation
Objective:
Sustaining participation through integrating projects in local culture and locally driven development dynamics. Participant-driven cultural transformation and managementof logistical difficulties.
Activities:
Participatory Action Research(PAR) Training that is co-designedby insiders Community/Organizational Education Mobilising local resources Use of local folk art.
4.5.1 - Participatory
Implementation
The basic implementation problem of most projects is that they must grow roots within local culture and locally driven development dynamics. The vision of the project must be connected with the actions of everyday life. This requires the full participation of the intended beneficiaries of development (a particular subset of cultural insiders) who must be helped to articulate the program within their own world in their own ways.
CD
It is all too easy for the development worker to co-opt the processat the point of program implementation. This can have disastrous effects on the community or group, subverting its senseof self, reinforcing its dependencyand undermining sustainable development. One way this occurs is through the redirection of the group’s priorities to those of the change agent or the agency,e.g. specific political agitation, activities or investments that promote the image of the changeagent or agency but sidetrack the group from it own genuine priorities. Groups are often forced to participate in surveys and mobilizations often for the benefit of far-away home offices and funders and which divert the group’s time and energies from more immediate concerns. More damaging to the processof 45
self-reliant developmentis the well-meaning dumping of grants, subsidised inputs, credits or appropriate technology gadgetson promising groups, SO that the change agent or agency can take credit for helping the group to progressand develop. (Burkey, 1993:164) Mediating between the priorities and culture of the community and those of the funding agency is often the development worker’s most difficult task. Most development agenciesare project oriented while communitiesare processoriented. This fundamental contradiction must be overcomeif your intervention as a development worker is to be positive. You must becometrusted by both the community and the sponsoring agency and work as a mediator betweenthe two. 4.5.2 - Sustaining Participation
Initiating participatory processesis easierthan sustainingthem. Groups formed in the euphoria of a new project inevitably run into conflict, often based on personal histories. It is important for the developmentworker to act as a mediator in these situations. It is critical that the developmentworker doesnot take sidesbecausethis will alienate the other side and probably doom the project. There is also the issue of personal integrity of the developmentworker. Like it or not, the development worker is the focal point of the hopesand trust of the community. Should this person blatantly contravenea fundamental taboo, the project can fail becausethe community will react. One of the most obvious indiscretions that has mimed many projects is sexual relations. Another is the use of alcohol and drugs. Another is honesty and opennessregarding money. The development worker has a right to be with anyonehe or she want to be with or to drink whatever they want in their own community. But as a temporary resident in another community, immersed in another culture, rights are replaced by duties. It may not seemprofessional to tie personal morality to project successbut one has to remember the job of development is to motivate real people, immersed in real culture, not to do a job for a professional organization.
46
It is during this phaseof the developmentprocessthat leading from behind is most difficult. It is all too easy for the developmentworker to stepin to do the accounting, arrange for transportation,etc. If the project is to work its way into the cultural fabric of the community, then the developmentworker must steadfastlyrefer initiative back to the community. Many communities have intemalized the attitudes of their oppressorsand are afraid, even ashamedof real participation. Participation is less like flood waters held behind a dam waiting to burst forth that it is like a delicate flower in harsh soil. People pull out of projects for perceivedgood reasons: fear, self-interest,the high cost of participation, low capacity to absorbrisk. Therefore, the processneedsto be monitored to detect when this is happening. This is one of the mainjobs of the core group. 4.5.3 - Cultural Tkansformation
Sometimes for real development to occur, culture has to change. People develop patterns of working and behaving that arenot working any more andneedto change. Culture is a living thing and all living things change and evolve. If development is to occur in a community some culture practiceswill have to be strengthened,other practices will have to be re-invented. A living culture is constantly changing. But this change must flow from within. Outsiders may stimulate or facilitate change processesbut if cuLLlraldevelopmentis not to becomecultural imperial&m or even cultural genocide, outsiderscannot comein and “change” local culture. The implication of this principle is that a core group of insiders must engagethe problem of cultural transformation from within. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through participatory action research(seebelow). The development worker can help in the processof re-inventing culture by referring to the principles behind certain cultural practices. By identifying the principle behind a certain practice it is easier to seehow it might be reincarnatedin a modem context. If people do not refer to principle, they often mistake the form for the content of a cultural practice.
47
However perverted their modem manifestation might be, many cultural practices are rooted in a positive, life enhancingprinciple. Thesepracticescan be called back to principle and re-inventedrelatively painlessly. Other practices have grown out of an adaptation to a particular crisis. Others have grown to reinforce the dominance of one group over another. The development worker must seek to understandthe origins of the practices. The role of the developmentworker is not to lead a frontal attack on a certain practice,and thereby incur defensivereactions,but to help people invent a new, more constructive practice basedon a positive principle. This is very sensitive ground on which all development workers must tread lightly. One example might be the payment of dowry. In some countries competition between neighbours has driven the acceptablepayment so high that families are indebted for life, sometimesgenerations. In many communities the paymentof dowry originated in an exchangeof gifts between families intended to symbolize the mutual obligations of the parties. Helping people to reflect on current practice in reference to the underlying principle will motivate people to change the practice through their own initiative. 4.54 - Folk Media
In many societies folk media plays a role of shaping awareness and developing consciousness. In India folk media has be used as a method to raise political and social consciousnessof people since the 19th century. “There is no wise maxim, no learning, no art or craft, no device, no action that is not found in the drama’. (Malik, 1983: 36) Folk theatre in India, like the morality plays in Medieval England, have always beenconcernedwith ethical and moral questions.The lives of the heroesportray the characteristicswhich are rewardedand which are presentedas models for the young. Folk Theatre in addition has served as an instrument of social protest and change. The arts - and culture generally - have a role to play in education and development. Rex Nettleford, founder, artistic director and principal choreographer, as well as a dancer, in the National Dance Theatre of Jamaica,relates creative imagination to
48
political liberation and claims that many of the artists in the Caribbeanhave been in the vanguard of a cultural revolution which in turn is leading to political and economic reform. It is a processof consciousness-raising,of empowerment, which creates a senseof hope and producesa vitality in a society which may have been oppressedfor centuries. Good art is, thankfully, difficult to co-opt for the purposesof a specific agenda or project. The development worker is best advised to work with the artists and performers to define priorities and projects rather than try to convince the artists and performers after the project hasstarted. 4.55 -. Monetary and Technical Restraints
The history of developmentwork is repletewith storiesof massiveamountsof money and technology invested in developingcommunities being misusedor even unused. Resourcesinvested in dysfunctional communities will create more problems than they solve. The primary dynamicsof oppression,unequal power relationships and cultural confusion will only be reinforced with the injection of money or responsibility. The patterns of oppressionhave to changedbefore money or technology can be healthy for the community. Furthermore the giving of anything to a community, organization or country will often only further the senseof dependenceon others. The very act of giving money, no matter how it is Gone,carrieswith it the obvious messagethat the giver is better off, more in control, somehow superior to the recipient. If money is required, it is better to loan it; better still is to use the communities own resources. It may take longer for a community to raise its own money but the project will be far more effective in the long run becausepeople will know at a “gut level” that it is theirs. One of the surestindications that a project is meeting real needs,is supported by the people and is culturally appropriate, is if people are willing to contribute their own money or goods.
49
b
c/3
0 0 t
4.5.6 - Tools: what can be done? The main task of this phase is to sustain participation in the process of cultural change and managespecific project difficulties. Participatory
Action Research (PAR)
There have been many good books written describing the subtleties of PAR (seebibliography) and it is important for the serious development worker to be conversantwith the main ideas. The basic premise is that a core group(s) of insiders is engagedin an on-going cycle of reflection on their problems and action to improve them: reflection, action, reflection, action. The group will be asking questionslike: How is the project working? What needsto be changed? Who will change it ? How are the people working? Who else should be involved? As a development worker you must be in constant consultation with the insider cultural reference group. In doing so you continue to be educated and the core group is motivated to maintain control. It is important that the core group has the power to change the project. Most people who have experienced oppression are acutely sensitive to token involvement. The group must be engaged in systematic reflection and ongoing action basedon that reflection. Participatory - meansthose being “studied” are also the researchers and they have control over the process. Action - meansthe researchis geared to improving the program, not just finding out about it. In fact the processof researchshould contribute directly to the community’s efforts at self improvement. Research- meansto approach the question carefully and systematically. Tools such as surveys or statistics should not be mistaken for systematic reflection. 50
Training that is co-designed by insiders
Most PAR processeswill quickly identify areasin which local people need training. The developmentworker has an important role in mediating this training and designing culturally appropriate learning methodologies. No knowledge is culture free, however, and attention must be given to how even basic technical skills are introduced into a community. Many communities have experiencedconsiderablesocial upheaval as a result of introduced training and education. Old knowledge elites are often compromised when younger and less responsible members of the community suddenly enjoy the power associatedwith knowledge and accessto wage employment. This cultural crisis can cause considerable political, social and economic hardship in the community. Training should be done in consultation with the existing knowledge elite. In nual areas it may be wise to talk to the elders about how the training should be done and to haveelders sanction or blessthe training. Perhapsthe elders could take the traineesfor a designatedtime for cultural training so that they can handlethe socialresponsibilitythat comeswith their new knowledge. In urban areasone could identify the leadersof thought and work with them to develop somekind of consensusabout how the project should proceed. Also important to consideris that all cultures have socialized their members to expect some learning and training strategies to be more effective than others. Abstract lessonsdelivered in lectures,even with the help of an overhead projector, can be an alienating experience to a person raised to learn experientially. It is a good idea to researchhow people learn in the community. What cannot be found in education literature can be observed in classrooms, playgrounds, kitchens and hunting or fishing trips where local people teachtheir own. Look around to seewhich trainersor trainings are working and which are appreciatedfrom a local point of view.
51
Commuriity/Organizational
Education
Community or organizational education refers to the enlightenment of the community or organization as a whole rather than the training of certain individuals. Many projects have failed becausethe expertisegained by individuals in training programs could not be incorporated in the workplace or in the community. This is partly becausethe community may not be ready to go along with the new ways of doing things and partly becausemany training courseunconsciouslyassumea specific cultural context - certain values, certain habits, certain ways of knowing. Communities are more than the sum of the individuals living in them and organizations are more than the sum of the employees working for them. Some bureaucracies,for example, inspire work ethics and behaviour that are not only inefficient but are personally distasteful to the people perpetuating them. Outsiders can be very useful in this kind of education becausethey can reflect back to the community or organization patterns that insiders may not have noticed. But again, changesto a group’s ethics must be done by insiders. Many projects have public awarenesscampaignswhich recognize the need for community/organizationeducation. When doing a @rblicawarenesscampaign it is important to: . use local forms of communication (songs,drama, storytelling, etc.); . involve the local leaders of thought; . focus on dialogue with people instead of selling an idea. Mobilizing
Local Resources
There are a numerous ways to mobilize local resources. A village with accessto land can dedicatecertain plots to the project. If people in the community needto spendtime on the project, other membersof the community can work their land for them instead of paying them in cash. In urban centres,
fund raising events can be held or services can be offered on a volunteer basis. Some communities have taxed themselvesto raise money for a revolving credit fund. In caseswhere outside resourcesare an absolutenecessity,there is always the possibility of making the resourcesavailable asa loan that could be fully or partially repaid in cash or in kind by a certain date. Another way is to contribute the resourcesindirectly, eg. providing the meansto make money that could then be used to fund the project. An exampleof this would be the development worker in PapuaNew Guinea who promiseda market for cardamon seedsto a remote group of villages. The cashearnedfrom selling the crop was used to pay a teacherto come and start a school. This was far more empowering than having money provided for school and teacherfrom outside sources. Local Folk Art
Most societies have evolved artistic meansto relay social and ethical ideas. These means may include street theatre, songs, graffiti, shadow puppets, etc. It is critical to engage these traditional educational and inspirational media in the promotion of the development efforts. The fortunate problem is that the good artists cannot often be bought and must be included from the beginning. It may be very frustrating to work with a streettheatre -- group, for example, to devise a challenging new play. But the struggle-to win over these cultural leaders will improve the project and help to transform the culture.
53
b 5
0
4.6 - Phase Four: Monitoring and Evaluation ’ 1 Objective:
Evaluation of the project from the perspective of both community needsand agency needs.
Activities:
Baseline Data Surveys Participatory Evaluation
+
0
1
m ca 4.6.1- Evaluation Agendas
c! c,,
Communities anddevelopmentagenciesusually haveverydifferentevaluation needs. Development agenciesmust be accountablefor their investment of funds and learn from the experience.Developmentmanagerswant to know if their time lines, project cycles and budgetshavebeenfollowed. Communitiesor local organizations, on the other hand, needto know if things are improving, andwhat should be done next. To design an evaluation with only one of theseactors in mind is insufficient. The development worker must work towards meeting both evaluation agendas,but .~. it is not nis or her responsibility alone. Both the project beneficiaries and the development agency should know the evaluation needs of the other and take some responsibility to meet these needs. The relationship should be one of partnership, without the paternalismand dependencythat characterisesome community-agency relationships. 4.6.1.1 - DevelopmentAgency Needs It is, of course, important to know how the project will be evaluated by the donor. Donors are accountableto governments, taxpayers and boards and must demonstrate cost effectivenessand impact at many levels andculture is often forgotten. A study done in 1991 at CIDA concluded that “culture is not given a high enough
54
priority in planning projects.” (Miner, 1991) An earlier study (McAlister, 1989) pointed out that “straight jacket ing is common to projects which are designedunder the blueprint and logframe approach” or other mechanistic instruments.These approachesrequired by developmentagenciesmake it difficult for the communities needsto be considered. There is a need to compare the situation in the community after the project with situation before the project. This obviously cannot be done in hindsight and must be built into the project from the beginning. If the project evaluation calls for a survey,it shouldinvolve thecommunityin datacollection and processing,anddrawing conclusions. 4.6.1.2 - Community Needs It is often very useful for local beneficiaries of development to be involved in their own evaluation of what has been happening in their community, organization or region. It helps to generatea senseof solidarity as well as to create a vision arid agreementabout the direction development should take. If the evaluation is to be useful to the community, it will need to look at more than simply outputs which are typically measuredin development evaluations. Sometimessuccesscan be demonstratedin quantitative terms; but there exist other cri’eria for successwhich are less amenable to quantii%tiveanalysis. The social consequencesof a project elude this type of approach: attitudes, relationships, fears, motivations, communication channels, goal priorities, leadershipqualities and patterns can contribute to the successor otherwise of a project, and yet it is impossible to evaluate them precisely. (Boyden and Pratt, 1985: 127) From the community perspective,there is really no need for precise measurement. The purpose of the evaluation is to build unity of thought in the community or organization and (in the best cases) between the beneficiaries and development agency. The prime target of an evaluation should be the unmeasurable hopes and fears of people becausetheseare the source of energy for development.
55
---
The precise and complex measurementsdemanded in some project management approachesarethemselvesan expressionof the hopesand fears - the culture -of the development agency. They should not be invoked as scienceor treated as objective but respectedas an element of a foreign culture. Standards for judging “success” or “progress” and the methods used to make this judgment must be developed from within the community of beneficiaries. Establishing both the criteria for judging (i.e. indicators of success) and the processes should be incorporated into the needsassessmentand planning phase. Arguably the most effective tool for developing culturally appropriate monitoring and evaluation strategies is Participatory Action Research (PAR). But even PAR processescan steamroll over insider’scultural ways of knowing, processesof consultation and legitimization processes.It takesa great deal of care and sensitivity to engage cultural authorities actively in monitoring and evaluation work.
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t P-
0 0 I
4.6.2 - Tools: what can be done?
LA
Baseline Data Surveys
For the purposesof projectevaluation it is often necessaryto collect quantifiable data. The collection of data should start at the very beginning of the project so that you have a benchmark against which to measure progress. One of the standardways to gather this data is through a survey. There are many ways to administera survey,only some of which respectculture. A necessarycondition of a culturally appropriate survey is participation. The people must be involved in designing, administering and analysing the survey. The people, especiallyeducatedyouths, should be used not only to collect suchdata,but also to preparethe surveys,to processthe data and to analysethe results. This in itself is an important part of the educationalprocess.The first step is to reacha broad understanding among the people as to why such a survey can be useful for them. Oxe there is a generalconsensusfor the survey, then-discussions can be held asto what shouldbe measuredand how, questions can be formulated, and the procedure for carrying out the survey decided upon. Finally, after the data is collected and processed,the people should also participatein the analysis,discussconclusions and relate these to the improvementof their situation. (Burkey, 1993:120) One of the difficulties in collecting information is deciding how to categorize it. Conceptual categoriesare rooted in culture and the community’s senseof what to look for and how to organize what is found will likely be different from that requiredby the development agency. It usually requires considerable effort on the part of the development worker to negotiate categories of evaluation that can satisfy both the community and the agency.
57
Thisprocessof negotiation,
however frustrating it may be,is very healthy in
building understandingbetween the two partners. Participatory
Evaluation
Using overt project indicators will not often explain the effect the project has had on the heartsand minds of the people. Nor do project indicators usually provide a realistic, human appraisal of whether the project is sustainable. To determine the human and long term effects of a project, participatory evaluation is required. Participatory evaluation is really part of the participatory action research cycle (see above). It is an on-going processof reflection on the goals and methodsof a project and action basedon that reflection. It is useful to keep in mind that there is a difference betweenexpectations(which are more emotive) and results (which are more cognitive) and emotions often determine the perception of results. Working with formal or informal groups, the development worker should help people identify: . what would you be happy with, what do you want out of this project how will you know when you have it? . when do you expect it to happen? What people identify should, by no means,be etched.in stone; these expectations and measurescan change and evolve. Initially, what is important is that people are thinking about these issues. l
People in any community often have trouble identifying categoriesand realistic timelines. There is usually an implicit sense of what should be done and how, but this is rarely clearly articulated. In this case the development worker needsto suggesta variety of options or categories of evaluation that will help focus thinking. This should, of course, be done in a way that does not impose foreign ideas or categories.
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___
_--...l”lll-
_._-.
-l_l
-...
--
---
4.7 - Summary Phase One Objectives:
Establish a framework in which the project can be developed and nurtured. This involves a process of systematic familiarization with the community or group and identification of personal biases.
Activities:
Personal visits Ask questions and withhold judgement Make real friends Broaden base of informants Participate in community life Study local art
Phase Two Objective:
Build participatory mechanisms by modelling participation, nurturing core groups of local people and mapping community realities.
Activities:
Talking circles Active Listening Create Opportunities for Self-Portraits Focus Groups Support Groups Community Story Framework Web Charts Enlist local artists
Phase Three Objective:
Sustaining participation through integrating projects in local rulture and locally driven development dynamics. Participant-driven cultural transformation and management of logistical difftculties.
Activities:
Participatory Action Research (PAR) Training that is co-designed by insiders Local folk art
Phase Four Objective:
Evaluation of the project from the perspective of both community needs and agency needs. This phase begins with the conception of the project.
Activities:
Baseline Data Surveys Participatory Evaluation
---
5 - Cultural Training for Development Workers With the cultural aspectsof developmentreceiving greater attention in development planning and managementthere is a corresponding need to prepare policy makers, project directors, evaluators, consultants and field persons to incorporate culture into the design and implementation of projects. Cultural training presents special challenges in the teaching-learning processbecauseit deals largely with attitudes and perceptions, not only skills and techniques. Much current education about culture and cross-cultural communicatioll is limited to familiarization with customs, habits, courtesies, social etiquette and taboos. Though this information is useful in establishingrapport and avoiding obvious blunders, it is not suffkient to createan appreciation of the special character and genius of a society. Indeed, it may not be possible to develop such an appreciation except by living and working in that culture for a long period of time. The best way to learn about another culture is by direct experience,preferably with the guidance of someone who knows both cultures, a “cultural informant” or “cultural translator.” However, since this cannot always be arranged, for reasonsof time and expense, other ways can be used to help people learn about another culture.
.
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5.1- Designing the Learning Experience
The following section provides guidelines and a framework for designing training programs, which must begin with an analysis of the learning needsof the participants, with special attention to their cultural variations. This can be accomplished through a combination of questionnairesand both group and individual interviews. Each learning group is to design a program which recognizesdifferent expectations and learning modes. The curriculum should include five elements: common experience theory and supporting information, skills and techniques, reflection and discussion, and application and practice. 5.1.1 Common experience
In the caseof learning groups meeting together for shorter periods of time, say 2-5 days, the common experience, apart from their simply being together, is provided by discussionsand analysis of case studies, whether written or audio-visual. A case study such as the Sarvodaya Movement as described in Appendix Two of this report can be used. Alternatively casescan be drawn from books by Cemea, Dove, Ahmed and Coombs, and others. In addition to, or instead of written case studies, films can be shown which depict life in another country. For example, SatyajittBay’s series on India, such feature films as Where the Green Ants Dream, Milagro Beanfield Wars, Emerald Forest or any other good film portraying life in a developing nation. Most are available on video and lend themselves to interruption, discussion and debatearound the theme of the cultural elementsbeing portrayed. Field trips are especially useful becausethe group is exposedto real situations which provide a good basis for discussion and analysis. Care must be taken so that the field trip does not damage the project being visited. Splitting the group into smaller units of three or four people and visiting different parts of a project or community is often a good idea.
62
5.1.2 Theory and Supporting Information
Theory can be introduced throughout the training period, preferably at the “teachable moment” when the presentationis seento be directly related to a problem, an event, a discussion. Such a theory, drawn from the literature around culture and development, can facilitate integration of new material into the learner’s framework of understanding. Theory sessionsare appropriate on such topics as: definition of culture, the dynamics of culture, development strategies,strategiesof change,societal change, learning modes,use of media, fine art and folk art, myths, metaphors and symbols, sharing knowledge acrosscultures, cu1tura.lgenderdifferences. 5.1.3 Skills and Techniques
Within the learning design, there needsto be an opportunity for the learner to practise new skills and to test out new knowledge. This can be done both by observing and participating, during which period the learner becomescomfortable with new ideas and new attitudes, and by practising in real or simulated situations. Specific skills would include needs assessment,participatory research,participant observation methods, collecting and showing information related to the project, “reading” a culture, evaluation,problem solving and decision making, achieving consensus,budget preparation. A valuable exercise in this context is to have the group identify their own culture. What are the elementswhich, taken together, give one’s own culture its special character? Perhapsthe most effective way to utilize the cultural strength of a society is to maximize the involvement of those whom the project is supposedto benefit. What are the strategies which can be employed to enlist participation of the population beginning with the origins of the project, to its design, management and evaluation? Examplesof participatory development should be presented for analysis and discussion.
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5.1.4 Reflection and Internalization
The training period should include opportunities for participants to think about and talk about the new ideasandexperienceswhich are being presented. Group discussionand role playing can help in this process. New information and knowledge cannot just be added on top of what people already know. The place of a new idea or concept in a persons intellectual repetoire needsto be negotiatedwith existing ideasand concepts. Sometimes new ideas will confirm and strengthen existing convictions, sometimes new ideaswill contradict cherishedconvictions anda difficult and sometimesemotional processof rethinking will have to take place. Changesin perception are seldom achievedby the power of reasonand logic alone; rather, change of this order is facilitated through imagination, critical and visionary discussion and through the exploration of new patterns of thought. 5.1.5 Application
and Practice
To ensurethat new ideas, techniques,attitudes and perceptions do not remain isolated in the classroom and detachedfrom reality, the learners need an opportunity to test what they have learned in real or simulated situations. Perhaps the best way to apply new leaming is to engagein a planning and implementation exercise, based on a real situation. Individually, or in teams, the learners design a working document which deals with an activity, large and practical enough to incorporate the various elementsof their training in the role of culture in development. This is then presentedto their colleagues for comment and discussion. Or, if appropriate, each individual can be askedto write a plan for his or her “back-home” responsibilities, outlining in detail the ways in which the cultural dimension can be recognized and utilized. These plans can then be critiqued by other group membersand trainersand a follow-up phaseincluded.
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Annotated Bibliography Burkey, Stan, Pt.ntine Peonle First: A guide to self-reliant, participatorv development, One of the best books on participatory developmenttheory and practice. Burkey reviews theories of development, causesof poverty, and the meaning of participation before describing in nuts and bolts detail how to do participatory development. There are quotes from a range of development practitioners and a review of ten casestudies. Boyden J. and Pratt, B. The Field Directors’ Handbook Prepared for Oxfam field staff, it is a useful overview of the difficulties a development worker might have trying to implement a project in a community. It offers helpful advice within the operating principles of Oxfam. Werner, David Helnine Health Workers Learn Although this book is aimed at training health workers, it is useful to development workers in any sector. Werner is particularly concernedwith educationthat will empower people to think and act for themselves. The book is illustrated with the samehome-made .- drawings as are found in his Where There is No Doctor.. Freire, Paula, PedagoFv of the Oppressed The classic adult education text by the famous Brazilian educator. It outlines in scholarly prose how and why poor and oppressedpeople learn to accepttheir condition and how the rich and powerful conspire, sometimesunconsciously,to keep the poor in their place. Chambers, Robert Rural Develonment: Puttine the Last First A passionateand detailed description of how the development industry systematically ignores the poorest of the poor.
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1Bibliography
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Arnold, M. (1950) ‘Sweetness and Light’ in Culture and Anarchy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Beaulieu, R. and Manoukian, V. (1993) Participatory Development - A Brief Review of CIDA’s Experience and Potential. Social Dimensions Unit, CIDA. Boyden, J. and Pratt, B. (1985) The Field Directors Handbook: DevelopmentWorkers. London: Oxford University Press.
An Oxfam Manual for
Burkey, S. (1993) People First: A Guide to Self-reliant, Participatory Rural Development. London: Zed Books. Campbell, J. (1973) Hero Li?th a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Cassirer, E. (1944) An Essay on Man. New Haven: Yale University Press. Cemea, M. (1985) Putting People First World Bank Publication, Washington: Oxford University Press. CIDA
(1993) “Human Development: Guide for Thematic Planning” Resource Development Division.
Hull: Social and Human
CIDA (1993) “Institutional Development’s Contribution to Sustainable Development”, cial and Human Resource Development Division.
Hull: So-
CIDA (1993)“Social Dimensions Profile” Hull: Social and Human Resource Development Division. CIDA (1993) “Social Development’s Contribution to Sustainability” source Development Division.
Hull: Social and Human Re-
CIDA (1994) “Cultural Dimensions of SustainabIe Development - Training Program” Hull: Social Dimensions Unit. CIDA, (1988) “A Handbook for Social/Gender Analysis” Hull. Social and Human Resources Development Division. Core Issues for the World Summit for Social Development - Discussion Paper for First Session of the Preparatory Committee, New York (Jan 3 1 -Feb. 4, 1994). Dove, M. (1988) The Real and Imagined Role of Culture in Development Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press. E1iotT.S. (1948) Notes Towards the Definition of Culrure. London: Faber & Faber, Ltd. Eyford, G.A. (1990) “The Cultural Dimensions of Learning” Inrernarional Review of Education. UNESCO Institute for Education. Vol. 36.
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Eyford. H. (1993) “Relevant Education: the Cultural Educarion 29: 1.
Dimension,”
Papua New Guinea Journal of
Freire. P. (1970) Pedagogy ofrhe Oppressed. New York: Seabury Press Frye. N. (1963) The Educated Itnaginarion Toronto: CBC. Geertz, C. (1973) 77reInterpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books. Hall, E.T. (1977) Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor Books. . (1983) i?JzeDance of Life. New York: Anchor Press Double Day. Hofstede, G. (1991) Culture and Organizarions: Soware of the Mind. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill. Macy, J. (1983) Dharma and Development West Hardford: Kumatian Press. Malik, M. (1983) Traditional Forms of Communication andrhe Mass Media in India Paris:UNESCO. Maslow, A. (197 1) The Farther Reaches of Human Nature New York: The Eking Press. McAllister, E. (1989) “A Donor View of Institutional Development” Hull: CIDA Miner, M. J. (1991) “Institutional Strengthening Through Partnership” Hull: CIDA. Nettleford, R. (1979) Cultural Action and Social Change Ottawa: IDRC. Norrh Sourh: A Program for Survival (Brandt Commission) (1980) Cambridge: MIT Press. Our Common Future: World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rassekh, S. Valdoanu, G. (1987) “The Contents of Education” UNESCO, Paris. Schumacher, E.F. (1973)Smafl is Beautiful London: Abacus Books. Serageldin, I. and Tabaroff, J., eds. (1992)Culrure and Development in Africa - Volumes I & 2 Proceedings of International Conference, World Bank, Washington, April 2 & 3. UNESCO (1994) “Culture and Development,” velopment, Feb. 1994
Secretariat for the World Decade for Cultural De-
UNESCO (1994) “La Prise en Compte des Facteurs Culturels Darts le Developpement: Manuel de Planitication.” UNESCO (1994) “The Cultural Dimensions of Development -Towards a Practical Approach” Werner, D. and Bower, B. Helping Health Workers Learn Palo Alto: Hesperian Foundation, 1986. Whitehead, A.N. (1927) Symbolism. New York: Capricorn Books.
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Indicators of Achievement This paperhasfocusedprimarily on the cultural dimensionsof developmentprojects, while recognizing that all projects have economic, social and political aspects. Ideally, a well designed development project will achieve results in all dimensions economic social, political and cultural. To reinforce the need for an assessmentof all factors, the following summarycan serve as a checklist to review and define the strategiesof development being employed. The checklist can be used in conjunction with a Likert scale and plotted on a quadaxial graph to give a graphic representation of the balance of a specific project or program.
Economic development
We know that economic developmentis taking place when: . there is an increasein productivity; . there is a decreasein unemployment; . there is a greater GNP; . (hereis a sound monetary policy; . there is an increasein investment; . there is an increasein new ventures; . inflation remains stable; . the amount and variety of consumer goods increase: . exports increase; . economic development is sustainable with respect to the environment. . all or some of the standardeconomic indicators are positive rather than negative.
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--
.
Social development
We know that social developmentis occurring when: there is improved accessfor all sectorsof society to education and health; families are staying togetherand growing together; prejudice and discrimination are declining; the streetsand homesare safe from violence; the degreeof drug abuse,crime and violence is declining; citizens participate in the creation and managementof services and programs ; women, the elderly and minorities have fair treatment in the law. all or some of the standardsocial development indicators are positive. Political development
We know that political developmentis underway when: . more people from different sectionsof society are taking part in managing their own affairs; there is universal suffrage; . women and minorities arefairly representedin the workplace and in the processesof government; information is open to all; differences of opinion are permitted; there is a procedureand a mechanismfor the correction of injustice and abuses; law, custom or tradition protect individuals and groups; . the form of government is broadly democratic; government is accountableto the people. l
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Cultural
development
We know that development has a sound cultural base when; .
. .
. .
. . . . . .
tradition and customs are respected, preserved and incorporated in development programs. rituals and ceremoniesare used to recognize or celebrate the project traditional expressionsin music, art, dance,literature are encouragedand when they are employed in celebrating the progress being achieved creativity and innovation are evident. traditional symbols, myths and metaphorsgrow and change and expand to take in new realities. a vision of the future is articulated values and beliefs are understood and acceptedby all parties group and individual identity are culturally based traditional authority structures are usesto introduce innovations there is a senseof excitement, joy or spiritual upliftment. there are clearly understood problem solving, decision making and appeal procedures.
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. ,....
..I .__..-
Case Study: Sarvodaya Movement One of the best known instances of development which is designedto serve the culture is the Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka. In this case,culture is based on Buddhist teaching and practice (the Dharma) and any developmentproject,whether agricultural, health, economic, educational,industrial, must be consistentwith those teachings and practices. Equally important, the shapeand nature of the project is not determined by officials, community leadersand monks, but by community consultation and consensus. This movement was founded in 1958 and hasbeen managed through one of its founders A.T. Ariyaratna since that time. He describesthe methodology:
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. . . it has not tried to apply any ready madesolutions or development schemesfrom above; instead it has goneto the people to draw forth the strength and intelligence that are innate in them and that are encouraged by their age old traditions. . . . without the understanding of tradition no new theory or program forced on the people, however ingenious it may be, will reap the desiredresults. No program will be effective furthermore, that tries to separatethe economic aspect of life from the cultural and spiritual aspects,asdo both the capitalist and socialist models of development,with their sole emphasison the production of goods and their neglect of the full range of humanwell being. (Macy, 1983:14) The Sarvodaya Movement is a self-help, grassroots movement and its techniques can be applied to any society or ideology which has a strong allegianceto a vital value system.
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The process begins when a village invites a Sarvodaya worker to help initiate a program of development. Lengthy consultation takes place with all villagers to ensure that they understand the nature of the project, that they really want it, that they are prepared to work for it. Educational or orientation sessionsare then provided and the people determine the pace and nature of the activities to be undertaken. The primary consideration throughout is what the activity will do to the life of the people. Will it improve it, will it make it more stressful, will it complicate . things, will it challenge or change strongly held values and beliefs? Once the activity has passedthis sort of scrutiny and has engenderedinvolvement and participation, work begins. The culturaUy oriented process is described: . . . religion serves as a resource,not in order to rationalize the need for development programs or to attract the traditional and biased elements of society so much as to shapethe ends and meansof development itself. Religious assumptionsand values serve to define the very nature of development, and in so doing to frame the goals and practices of the organization. (Ibid:3 1)
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If we substitute the term culture for religion or if we equate culture with religion then we recognize the way in which values and beliefs can be used to shapeand direct development activity. This is further emphasized when it is noted that the recognition of peoples religious traditions and aspirations isnbt instrumental to its work in community development, nor it is a meansto attract them to the movement, but rather the reverse. “Community development is seen as the meansfor helping the people realize goals that were essentialreligious.” (Ibid:3 1) In the work of the Sarvodayamovementculture, religion and developmentare blended and each influences the other so that the progress achieved is consistent with the nature and purpose of the society. The motivation of the villagers is generatedin a social context, through consensusand consultation and with reference to spiritual guideiines.
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