Contribution to

Kwanda expert meeting III

Dr. Gavin Andersson

Seriti Institute, South Africa

Why Kwanda? (2007)

♦ Development issues are linked and poverty makes them worse.

They must be tackled together…♦ It makes sense to work with individuals, but this is not

enough. Some solutions to ‘individual’ problems require wider support and shifts in culture

♦ Policy changes are key but they can leave out the most important players – the community, the people.

♦ Community development needs effort from all actors

what change from developmental action ?

• Change in activity, at the individual level and at a social scale

=> to improve the quality of life

• Change in culture : “the way we do things around here”

Kwanda Reality TV:Activity Theory and Community Psychology

• What is the Organization Workshop?• Why was this used for the Kwanda Learning Camp?• How are its principles applied in community organizing?

Opportunities: What opportunities are there for work process that can in turn trigger an ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS in the community?

Scoping the Organization Workshop

The Opening Ceremony

The Participants

The Director’s Speech

Two enterprises

• Facilitators’ Enterprise (the Crew) creates the conditions for learning by the Participants’ Enterprise (the Team)

Education theory:

a) Zone of Proximal Development

b) Learn by discovery and co-construction

• There is ongoing ‘scaffolding’ during the OW

Freedom of Organization

• If you suggest models of organization, or hand over a running organization, you stop participants from learning about organization

• Learning about organization comes from trying something in practice, and seeing where changes are needed.

• Ideas for change can come from some participants’ previous work experiences, or from something learned in the lecture.

Working Capital

“The Object teaches”

• Tools, materials, equipment etc suggest certain activity

• Shift of awareness/conciousness through activity.

• The enterprise becomes an object of learning, each person becomes an object of learning

Tools

The Lectures

Common concepts & languageCommunity development or enterprise development is helped if participants

share a common narrative, (a meta-narrative)

work with the same conceptsUnderstand causes of difficult behaviour

and are in agreement about the tools and methods to address issues.

R

The theory of organization A history of organization, and insights for today

Social Psychology: combating bad habits

Tools to manage the Enterprise

Criticism & critical reflection

Work Analysis & Planning

Financial management

Naive, Critical & Organizational Awareness

Lectures content, and other training

Vocational trainingContracting & costingWork organization & record-keepingVocational skills (building, agric, etc)Financial managementProduce Memorandum of Workshop

Social ChallengesHIV Prevention and CareCare of Children & vulnerable people“Phuza Wize”; addressing alcohol abuseEarly Childhood DevelopmentSports Coaching

1,8km of pipeline

Tank stand

Some results after 6 Weeks

• Piggery – 10 pedigreed sows (parent piggery) 10jobs• Poultry – free range eggs (parent stock; day old chicks) 10jobs• Nursery – for 13 hectare Moringa production, 80jobs• 5 hectare of essential oils, 4 Hectare vegetable garden , 30jobs• Sewing enterprise 30jobs• FET College: computer classes -30 students every two weeks

Sewing, brick-making, building and basic agricultural courses• Processing & Marketing coop (renovated clinic) 10jobs • Early Childhood Development course for 25 practitioners• Historic graveyard fenced, old church transformed into a Retreat Centre• Livestock & smallstock association e.g. Goat production • Household surveys (LED strategy, HIV prevention & identification of vulnerable

children & Plugging the Leaks Survey)• 8km fencing*; 1,8km water pipeline; water weir at river

De Morais: Capacitation

a) “Not possible to learn to ride a bike if there is no bicycle to ride on” => learning the whole job, the whole process…b) Skill + disposition to achieve something AND adjust future behaviour in the light of the learning from this experience

In other words:You can only learn about a complex system (like a cooperative enterprise, or a community) by working with the whole system not small parts of it. Part of the capacitation process is the formation of attitude, including ‘ownership’ of ones own learning.

Key to the future is a method for learning from experience.

Process of the OW

After the Learning Camp:• Teams try to make community look better, feel better and work better. Cameras present; national competition

• Organization methods from Learning Camp are tried at home

• Coaches in each community; relate to Team in same way as at Camp

• Focused tasks : the silkscreen tender, action for children…

• Real life throws up unpredictable challenges and different responses

• Question: how do we keep the whole community focus rather than organize as a Team? Community radio, newspapers, cultural groups?• Question: how can critical reflection happen across the community?

What have we learnt?

• When communities organize on their own behalf, it is easier for government to deliver.

• The condition for growth in the local economy is autonomous organization, and the confidence of people to act.

• Confident and active citizens are more prepared to discuss HIV and act to change their behaviour.

• It is not easy to maintain community-wide organization