Training and Capacity Building
for Sustainable Livelihoods

The intensity, speed and all-encompassing nature of change (social, economic, technological) is referred to at virtually every conference and written about in almost every journal. Why then, is it, that most of us - particularly those in the development sector - are averse to path breaking ideas and more sustainable ways of empowering people so that they become full participants in the war against poverty and global efforts to save our planet? So much so that we continue to ‘impart’ and ‘transfer’ information the way it has been done for decades, largely ignorant of the skills and knowledge that people, particularly the poor, really need in order to become employable and secure decent, meaningful livelihoods. It is, in fact, high time that we extend our commitment beyond that of merely providing work to pursue a more substantial agenda of creating green jobs by the millions – new opportunities for individual well being in a sustainable, low carbon world.

As is the case with most complex problems, the obstacles to change are multi-dimensional and deep rooted. From a policy perspective, it is essential to examine the role of key stakeholders. Left to themselves, government bodies, the private sector, professional bodies and civil society all have a remarkable ability, on the one hand, to proclaim that there is an urgent need for change and on the other, do very little about promoting new forms of knowledge and alternative institutional structures that can actually inspire change in a methodical and largely non-confrontational manner.

Amongst the numerous reasons is, of course, the sad fact that each of the above actors uses a fairly blinkered perspective to assess achievement and impact on society. Value delivered to people is measured on the basis of short-term, primarily economic indicators which are, by definition, programmed to ignore the value of social and natural assets.

Is there, then, any hope that we can become more agile in actually effecting programmatic change? The answer probably lies in understanding where innovation in the area of training and capacity building is most likely to take place. Innovation that meets the needs of people and future generations (as distinct from discovery and invention) is necessarily influenced by contextual factors that govern the lives of communities.

Solutions that help people leap-frog over seemingly insurmountable barriers are found when a diverse group of stakeholders - which could include a change agent - collaborate to make a departure from business-as-usual scenarios or incremental improvements in development processes. In doing so, they apply indicators of sustainability that are most relevant to their situation and benchmarks that can be realised from within the means and resources available to their ‘community of practice’; thus, taking small but significant steps towards sustainability.

If the new solutions to build capacity, influence behaviours and empower communities are found to be useful, they are accepted and imitated. The search for such solutions has guided the work of Development Alternatives (DA) for over 25 years. It is this approach to capacity building that has resulted in over a million lives being touched by our group of social enterprises.

We must also accept - often against our natural instincts and narrow business interests - that change processes capable of causing rapid and widespread change through methods of viral replication, can be sustained only through concerted efforts between different types of role players.

pThe implication should be obvious: creating models of collaborative behaviour amongst stakeholders and increasingly higher systemic levels is a necessary objective of any development intervention or business initiative aimed at reaching out to the poor. Investment in stakeholder engagement, capacity building and incessant training is a strategic imperative for those who wish to accelerate the rate at which sustainable products and services gain ground in the villages, towns and cities of tomorrow.

What is learnt locally can be applied on a larger scale, provided frameworks to support scaling-up and scaling-out are created by facilitating agencies at the super-system level. Governments and financial institutions must take the lead in promoting sustainable practices on a large scale through a judicious mix of direct budgetary support, fiscal incentives, promulgation of standards and regulation. On its part, the DA Group has created vehicles like TARA, TARAhaat and the TARA Livelihood Academy (TLA) to promote entrepreneurship and create green job opportunities in sectors that employ more than 80% of India’s off-farm workforce. Today, these entities stand out as unparalleled investment opportunities for those who believe that ‘development is good business’ and social value creation has already become the prime indicator of wealth creation in what might otherwise seem like an extremely uncertain and bleak future. q

Shrashtant Patara
spatara@devalt.org
 

 Back to Contents