Ancient Roots, New Shoots

This collection of general reflections and practical experiences illustrates the inappropriateness of a Western model in many local settings. Knowledge is the buzzword of the age. But whose knowledge is being referred to? This remarkable collection reveals the manifest inappropriateness of Western institutional and policy models in many local environmental and cultural settings, and the positive value of surviving non-Western systems of knowledge, values and ways of doing things. But the projects represented in this volume go further. A notion of endogenous development, or ‘development from within‘, is given practical expression. We learn in concrete terms how development can be based on locally available resources, knowledge, values and leadership institutions; how there can be genuinely local determination of development options; and how the benefits of development within local areas and communities can be fostered. The remarkable experiments described in this collection show the rich benefits that can emerge from innovative projects that build on local resources, expand and spread local knowledge, maximize local control, respond to locally felt needs, and, with a selective use of external resources as well, identify development niches and opportunities. This volume ought to be of interest to development practitioners, anthropologists and sociologists.