Support Rural Development for Families

A traditional rural development approach has tended to look at communities in need by focusing only on what's wrong with the picture -- "figuring out what to fix." This approach often leaves communities no further ahead than before, presenting only temporary solutions to long-term chronic problems.

It is time to support a "sustainable livelihoods" approach, which enables communities to become self-sufficient. Sustainable development means we look longer, further and deeper into a community, peering into places no one has ever looked before, to discover what's right with the picture.

This approach helps identify hidden assets, untapped potential, networks of people, skills and resources -- all of which give communities the power to transform themselves and create stable and sustainable livelihoods.

It means seeing all sectors and determining the influence groups and interrelationships can have on a community.

It means seeing assets ... a path that leads to increased incomes and long-term self-sufficiency.
SIGN THE PLEDGE:
I pledge to learn about and support a sustainable livelihood approach to rural development in poorer countries.