The research for this paper, together with other studies on local institutions and rural development or natural resource management, demonstrate the richness of local institutional environments; in particular, the informal and less visible institutions, practices and arrangements that characterize rural socio-economic and cultural interactions. The more resilient and organized local institutions are providing essential goods and services to the rural poor and vulnerable groups, particularly in the absense of well-functioning markets and safety nets. The paper suggests that both homogeneous or "bonding" institutions and heterogeneous or "bridging" institutions play distinct, necessary and complementary roles in crisis survival, asset-sharing, and providing new economic opportunities. The main policy conclusion is to urge policy makers concerned with rural poverty and food security to: 1) allocate additional resources and time to understanding and working with local institutions, and 2) provide a supportive legislative and regulatory framework in which local institutions can thrive and assume greater responsibilities.
The research findings suggest the need for a flexible and context-specific approach to partnering with local institutions. Therefore, this paper does not pretend to offer generic, prescriptive policy advice. Rather, an essential first step is to undergo an investigative process on livelihood-local institution linkages, before embarking on an action strategy. For the specific types of local institutions profiled in the SDAR/FAO pilot projects and case studies, the findings and recommendations given below may be useful as a starting point for creating a constructive working environment with these institutions.
Local informal institutions for mutual assistance are found throughout the world, particularly where formal institutions and safety nets are missing. Recommendations for working with these institutions include:
Understanding the role of traditional mutual assistance mechanisms in the redistribution of resources and wealth among the poor, and between wealthier and poorer sectors of society.
"It is important that these foci of social morality in the community are better understood so that their function in maintaining a certain social equilibrium could be supported. They could then be used, if necessary, in social promotion and community development programmes." (Lundin 1999)
Taking care not to undermine these mechanisms by imposing competing antipoverty programmes.
Making use of forms of mutual assistance that are already rooted in rural communities. For example, the Xitique (credit and savings) groups demand a level of commitment - based on social relations - which greatly improves the likelihood that the group will stay together. In micro-financing programmes, groups composed of people who already have strong cooperative bonds are likely to succeed where new 'artificial' groups may fail.
Providing incentives to support and strengthen existing forms of social assistance to vulnerable groups in society. For example, a credit project that provides loans to young people to develop income projects, where the interest on the loans is paid into a social action fund to help the elderly in the village.
Case studies from India, Mexico, Africa and the Philippines provide guidance for local governments, NGOs and international donors on working collaboratively with traditional authorities:
There is a need for more systematic engagement of traditional authorities as legitimate leaders at the village level, particularly in land tenure, natural resource management, and in planning and implementing local rural and agricultural development programmes. Nevertheless, a cautious approach is warranted when these traditional institutions uphold certain social norms contrary to the objectives and the values of the programme (e.g. inequitable patriarchal and hierarchical relations).
Where customary authority is strong, there is a need for policies that allow for "legal pluralism", namely, laws and a judiciary system that protects the universal rights of citizens, while recognizing customary law as well.
Moreover, because of common "territorial" ambiguities and resulting hostility between traditional authorities and elected and non-elected government officials, there is an urgent need to clarify, in law and policy, their respective divisions of authority and responsibilities.
NGOs and international donors are increasingly choosing to work with leaders "who enjoy the greatest legitimacy in the life of the rural communities", to ensure greater institutional sustainability of their projects and programmes. This shift in policy is generally positive and should be encouraged by host governments, but it should be borne in mind that "genuine" traditional leaders derive their authenticity from civil society rather than government, be it central or decentralized.
In countries where international migration is an important source of income for many households and communities, policies are required that encourage migrants, living outside their countries of origin, to organize and remain institutionally linked with their sending communities, for example:
Co-financing programmes (government or NGO) that encourage the formation of migrant associations (MAs) and their financial participation in development projects of sending communities (e.g. PACME "2 for 1", Mexico).
Capacity building of MAs to overcome internal and external divisions, and to become more effective agents of change (e.g. training in conflict management, participatory community planning, fund-raising, and other).
Collaborative local development partnerships of MAs, municipalities, local NGOs and sending communities, particularly for pooling funds and expertise.
National policies that facilitate transnational transfer of funds, knowledge and experience, and that legitimize and encourage relations between embassies/consulates and migrant associations and federations.
Churches have
great potential for mobilizing their congregations to participate in community
development, and are generally inclusive of women and the poor.
Local
government and NGOs can tap this potential when their objectives coincide, for
example in:
health, nutrition and education campaigns (HIV-AIDS prevention, vaccinations, literacy);
entrepreneurship and micro-financing oriented toward women and the poor;
"food for work" (WFP) and voluntary collective action to build and maintain public works;
community participation in local development committees, plans and programmes;
safety nets for the indigent and sick;
communication/awareness creation on village rights and opportunities;
introduction of new values.
Given the growing influence of churches in rural communities, particularly evangelical churches, and the keen loyalties that members feel toward their respective churches, any perceived bias of the State or NGOs toward a particular religious institution is likely to create internal village divisions and hamper progress toward a mutual goal.
In some cases, churches can be engaged to take the non-partisan "high ground" in promoting civil society, peace and national unity (e.g. "transforming guns into hoes", Mozambique).
Micro-financing or other anti-poverty credit initiatives are likely to be more successful when they are based on an understanding of traditional savings and credit arrangements:
Investigate how villagers traditionally meet their seasonal cash and labour needs, and how these arrangements are linked to vulnerability, social norms and customs, and the absence of access to formal credit institutions by the poor.
Build on existing savings and credit arrangements that are tied to livelihood strategies.
Exercise caution not to undermine, through introduction of new credit opportunities, traditional obligations and norms of reciprocity and redistribution that are an important social safety net for the poorer villagers.
Integrate "reputation-based lending" - reflecting social reputations and obligations - as a legitimate form of collateral and means to improve repayment rates and access to credit by the poor.
The research findings presented in this paper show the wide range of local institutions that are found in rural societies throughout the world. Informal institutions at village-level often substitute for missing formal institutions and safety nets, and tend to persist even during periods of government repression, negligence or co-optation. When village-government relations improve, sometimes with the intervention of NGOs, experience shows that the more resilient local institutions can be revitalized and strengthened to take on new roles and responsibilities, particularly in natural resource management and rural development planning.
The first task for "working with local institutions", whether at the policy or field level, is to identify and investigate the complex array of existing local institutions in a given locality, and the social norms and traditions they embody. How to carry out such an investigative process is clearly explained in the SDAR/FAO "Guidelines" publication (Guidelines for Understanding Linkages between Household Livelihood Strategies and Local Institutions, 2002).
This type of understanding will avoid the pitfall of undermining (inadvertently, perhaps) existing institutions by introducing competing institutions that may be attractive in the short-run, especially from the point of view of projects under pressure "to deliver", but lack the social foundations for long-term sustainability. Such an investigation will also reveal the social values and norms that dictate the functioning of many local institutions - values that may be inconsistent with the "equity" goals of a particular policy, project or programme. Consequently, partnering with these institutions may only be possible if the village authorities demonstrate flexibility and the willingness to reform, albeit slowly and within certain cultural limitations.
After undergoing an investigative process, and identifying the local institutions and authorities that would lend legitimacy, knowledge and sustainability to a given development initiative, the next stage may well be in the area of strengthening or capacity building. Capacity building may be needed in "process" areas - transparency, democracy, and accountability, for example - or in "technical" areas such as financial administration, natural resource planning and management, and information sciences. NGOs that are familiar with a particular locality, and enjoy the respect of local authorities, can play a very constructive role in identifying specific capacity-building needs and in facilitating training.
Finally, the evidence would suggest that working with local institutions is a long investment that requires a commitment commensurate with the challenge. As suggested above (Baptista Lundin, 1999: 13), the challenge is to capitalize on local strengths, facilitate a transformation "from within", and strengthen capacities of local institutions and their partners to work collaboratively and effectively toward common goals.
Endnotes
|
1 |
For instance, advocates of devolvement of power and resources to local levels tend to assume that "community-based" institutions are "democratic" and "inclusive", which is often not the case. Leach, Mearn and Scoones propose an "environmental entitlements" framework that accounts for community and ecological heterogeneity (1997). |
|
2 |
Rural Development Division, Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), FAO, 1997 - 1999. Research programme coordinators: Dr. Kirsten Appendini and Dr. Robin Marsh. |
|
3 |
Principal investigators were: Dr. Vasant Gandhi, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Dr. Bart Pijnenburg, Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, and Dr. Raul Garcia, Centro Regional de Investigaciones Multidisciplinarias (CRIM), Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Cuernavaca. |
|
4 |
In the 1997 article Uphoff distinguishes between institutions that provide value to society that transcends the interests of direct stakeholders, and organizations that serve a more limited purpose and membership, however he refers to a continuum whereby organizations can become more institutionalized and institutions more organized. In our research we do not make this formal distinction, including local organizations under the broader concept of local institutions, although the institutional profiles certainly delve into these qualitative differences. |
|
5 |
D. Narayan, "Social Capital: Social Exclusion and Social Cohesion", a presentation to SDAR/FAO, May1999. |
|
6 |
See the DFID website: www.livelihoods.org for Guidance Sheets on the SLA. |
|
7 |
Three to four villages/communities selected in each country, meeting the following criteria: 1) encompass different levels of social cohesion; 2) are integrated into both labour and output markets; 3) encompass different types of land tenure and management; 4) for which baseline (pre-reform) data exist on socio-economic conditions of households (mid-1980s to early 1990s). |
|
8 |
Dairy cooperatives and the gram panchayat are explored in more detail in the next section. |
|
9 |
The community appraisal report for Piparia village reports this exchange: "Farmers say labourers never work for more than 7 hours per day and often not even this, they do not work sincerely. On the other side labourers are saying that farmers are exploiting them and taking hard work from them giving little rest and paying only Rs25. If they work hard and become ill who will be responsible? Farmers would not pay for medicines and on the next day he would not allow them to work, as he is sick. So they will loose their daily wages, lunch and tea." p. 10 |
|
10 |
Trans-boundary migration associations are another key institution linked to household livelihoods, and are covered in the next section of the paper. |
|
11 |
Prepared by Dr. Anirudh Krishna, currently at Duke University, North Carolina. |
|
12 |
Kurien and Krishna (1999), Uphoff, Esman & Uphoff (1999) |
|
13 |
".....It is interesting to note that communities experiencing [near absence of socio-economic infrastructure], such as Banga, Netia and Djavula, are not in situations of alarming social disorder such as those that can be observed in urban areas, with robberies, murders, child prostitution, domestic and communal violence, and the individual and domestic misery of almost absolute poverty. While it is true that this relative social harmony is due to the isolation of the community from the cultural phenomena of urban areas, it is also fundamental to understand that this harmony is a product of the relatively effective and efficient operation of the institutions of socio-political power, economic institutions, educational institutions (the initiation rites), and the justice and religious institutions that exist there." (Lundin 1999: 35) |
|
14 |
National Institute of Statistics, 1997, Recenseamento Geral de População e Habitaçåo, Indicadores sócio-económicos, Mozambique. Annex 5. |
|
15 |
Adapted from Jochem Zoetelief, "Finance From Below: Savings Arrangements and Credit Mechanisms in Dodoma Rural District, Tanzania," M.Sc. thesis, Department of Social Science, Wageningen Agricultural University, 1999. |
|
16 |
Many of our key findings concur with the findings of the World Bank's Social Capital Initiative and Local Institutions Study described earlier, and the work of rural sociologist Deepa Narayan on poverty and social capital. |
|
17 |
Traditional societies are also replete with local institutions that do not adjust well to changing economic conditions and democratic pressures, particularly institutions steeped in religious, racial or tribal separatism. |
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