Sustainable Community Development: Case Studies from India and Kenya

Abstract

A sustainable community can be defined as a community that implements projects aimed at long-term management of natural resources for ecological health, economic growth geared towards supporting basic needs, and social equity. Sustainable community development projects in rural areas of developing countries often begin with efforts towards better ecosystem management and poverty alleviation. This is a result of the fact that environmental degradation has reduced people’s capacity to even meet their most basic needs, which are met through the use of surrounding natural resources. This research project investigates two cases of sustainable community development in Sanjadi-ka-badia, India and Nyumbani Village, Kenya to understand how these initiatives have met the needs of community members and contributed to the development of a sustainable community. A qualitative analysis of data collected in interviews, direct-observations, documents and rapid resource assessments was used to write the descriptive case studies. Major findings from the Sanjadi-ka-badia case study indicate that the project was successful to a degree in terms of helping community members meet basic needs and initiating a move towards sustainability. The project, a collaborative effort between the community, local panchayat government, and Foundation for Ecological Security, restored fodder production on a common grazing land plot, which dramatically helped the community improve the major economic and subsistence activity of animal husbandry. The conduit for this success was the development of locally accepted institutions to guide behavior, specifically regulations on the common grazing land plot to reduce overgrazing and encroachment. The process of creating institutions also extended to other areas of community life, helping the community create more social cohesion by including women and members of lower castes in decision-making processes and developing incentives for universal primary education. The Foundation for Ecological Security project in Sanjadika-badia allowed a community that was struggling to take the first steps towards sustainability by focusing on specific activities that were meaningful to the community, generating incentives for collective action and implementing work that could be managed by community members after the project’s conclusion. The major findings from the Nyumbani Village case study indicate that it is making headway in achieving its specific goals. Operated by a Catholic organization, Children of God Relief Institute, Nyumbani Village is a fusion of humanitarian relief for the ‘lost generation’ of HIV/AIDS victims and principles of sustainability. Currently, Nyumbani Village is providing basic needs and education to approximately 300 Kenyans who existed previously at the brink of despair and destitution. Also, members of the surrounding community have been given the opportunity to receive employment and skills for microenterprise and dryland farming, which are notable achievements. In terms of sustainability, Nyumbani Village has made significant early steps and is pioneering how to merge sustainability with its other goals related to humanitarian relief.