Governments of wealthy countries talk a lot about development, dividing the world into the "developing world" vs the "developed world" as an alternative to frequently misunderstood classifications such as "third-world country" (if you've ever used the phrase "first-world country" to mean "rich place," check this out.)
But many people that I work with don't understand what "desarrollo" (that's Spanish for development) means. Even being a development worker, I find it hard to understand the concept.
Usually a development project involves things like road construction, dams and pipes, electrical generation plants, etc. They develop infrastructure. But they also tend to destroy something that is more important than infrastructure - self-sufficiency.
This is because development projects are often money-intensive, and don't tap into the kinds of capital (social, intellectual, experiential, etc.) that dominate the economy in small communities. As a result, these projects are dependent on outside resources. A side effect is often the demeaning of local resources.
Stay tuned in the next few days for further delving into concepts of development, self-sufficiency, and how these concepts are interpreted by the people that I work with.
..Isaac..
ps. For those who just want to see pictures - sorry! I don't have any to include in these blogs. For those who want to wade into the philosophy of development work, this is the place!
pps. For in depth discussion of different kinds of capital, check out this article. I don't agree with everything they say, but it's useful for getting the brain moving!
But many people that I work with don't understand what "desarrollo" (that's Spanish for development) means. Even being a development worker, I find it hard to understand the concept.
Usually a development project involves things like road construction, dams and pipes, electrical generation plants, etc. They develop infrastructure. But they also tend to destroy something that is more important than infrastructure - self-sufficiency.
This is because development projects are often money-intensive, and don't tap into the kinds of capital (social, intellectual, experiential, etc.) that dominate the economy in small communities. As a result, these projects are dependent on outside resources. A side effect is often the demeaning of local resources.
Stay tuned in the next few days for further delving into concepts of development, self-sufficiency, and how these concepts are interpreted by the people that I work with.
..Isaac..
ps. For those who just want to see pictures - sorry! I don't have any to include in these blogs. For those who want to wade into the philosophy of development work, this is the place!
pps. For in depth discussion of different kinds of capital, check out this article. I don't agree with everything they say, but it's useful for getting the brain moving!
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