Ground Level Development

Local, non-governmental organizations are increasingly presented as a solution to poverty and under-development in poor countries. Expectations on their potentials as development vehicles are, however, often exaggerated and unrealistic. This anthology tries to identify potentials and limitations of local organizations on the development process. It also seeks to identify fields and topics where more research is needed for a better assessment of what can realistically be expected from local organizations in Third World development.;The book contains five papers concerning the role of local organizations in Third world rural development. Three papers are of a more general and theoretical nature and two papers are case-studies from Malaysia and the Philippines. Together they offer a critical inquiry into the theory and practice of rural organization-building.;Although differing with respect to setting and emphasis, all papers share a common view on the importance of local organizations for rural development in the Third World. However, they also share the view that local and non governmental organizations can not solve the whole problem of under-development. Conventional LOs, particularly co-operatives and similar constructs often fail to benefit the most vulnerable groups and/or strata. For these growing segments of the Third World's population new approaches and new forms of organizations will be needed.