LILONGWE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (EXT 323)

MODULE 1:

Understanding Community Development

Prepared by Mayamiko Nathaniel Kakwera, Frank Tchuwa and Loveness Mgalamadzi

(Extension Department)

(2020)

1.0 Module objectives

By the end of this module, learners should be able to:

 Define a community
 Differentiate a community from a society
 Define development
 Define community development
 Define social work
 Describe approaches and methods of community development

2.0 Introduction

Community development is a process conducted by community members. It is a process

where local people can not only create more jobs, income and infrastructure, but also help
their community to manage change.

This is achieved through local people changing:

 attitudes,
 mobilising existing skills,
 improving networks,
 thinking differently about problems (perceptions), and
 using community assets in new ways.

Community development improves the situation of a community,

 not just economically,

 but also as a strong functioning community in itself (community self-mobilization).

Community development builds the five capitals of a community.

1
Question: What is capital?

 Resources used for production of goods and services

Question: What are the examples of capital in a community?

 Types of capital developed as a result of community development

o Physical capital (infrastructure e.g., roads, equipment, buildings)
o Financial capital (income, loans) ,
o Human capital (knowledge and skills)
o Social capital (networks)and
o Environmental (natural) capital (Land e.g., forest, water bodies, air)

3.0 What is a community?

The term community is not so easy to define. For instance, Bell and Newby (1971) found that
there were 98 definitions of the term. However some common definitions of the term have
been drawn from a wider literature base.

A community can be looked at as “people”

 People of the same origin living in the same area; or

 People of similar occupation,
 People joined together by having similar beliefs e.g equality, peace or international
development
 People who are joined by some or all of these elements.

The above features of a community imply that:

While a community is often perceived as a group of people bound to a specific
“geographical location” (e.g., neighbourhood, estate, village, or city),

a community can also be a group of people having common interests living in several
locations (based on ethnicity, religion, age, occupation, or cultural practices)

“The term community implies more than merely a physical place, although it can,
and often does include a geographic element. It may, however, also refer to a discrete
collection of persons about which a common interest is shared, yet they may be
collected from far different places, not necessarily even corresponding about their
shared interest”.

It refers to a group of people with a shared identity (Flora and Flora, 1993).
 e.g., gay community, sports community (Manoma, Bullet, arsenal, Manchester
United Football clubs)

What makes it even more complex is the fact that human beings can also be part of several
communities at the same time.

2
  For example, an individual can be a member of a religious community, a
geographical community, a professional community, all at the same time.

In summary a community can be looked at as existing in three broad categories

1. In terms of locality or territory;

2. As a community of interest or interest group, such as the Black community or
Jewish community
3. As a community composed of people sharing a common identity, condition or
problem.

4.0 Difference between a community and society

Question: What is a society?

Calhoun et al (1994 as cited in Doda, 2005) define society as ‘an autonomous grouping of
people who inhabit a common territory, have a common culture (shared set of values,
beliefs, customs and so forth) and are linked to one another through routinized social
interactions and interdependent statuses and roles’

Sociologically, society is the interrelated network of social relationships that exists within the
boundaries of the largest social system

Question: What are the different groupings which interact in a Malawian rural set-up?

 Family, Village head and indunas, school, farmers, church, mosque,

Many people struggle to differentiate the words community and society. Below are some of
the differences between the two terms.

Society Community
Society is a web of social relationships. It Community consist group of individuals.
includes every relationship established among the
people.
A definite geographical area is not necessary for A definite geographical area is sometimes
society essential for a community
A sense of "we feeling" is not essential in a There can be no community in the absence of
society (community sentiment) community sentiment.
Society is wider; there can be more than one Community is smaller than society. There cannot
community in a society. be more that one society in a community.

Society is abstract. It is a network of social Community is concrete. It is a group of people

relationships which cannot be seen or touched. living in a particular area. We can see this group
and locate its existence.
Common interests and common objectives are Common interests and common objectives are
not necessary in society. necessary. People in a community live together
for achievement of common interests and

3
 common objectives.
Society involves both like-ness and difference. Likeness is more important than difference in
Both common and diverse interests are present in community
society.
5.0 Economic growth and Development

Question: What is development?

a. Growth

Growth means more jobs and more investment. The focus is on the Gross National Income
(GNI) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
 For example countries strive to generate and sustain an annual increase in its GNI, at
rates of 5%.

However, focusing on growth is very narrow:

 Growth does not necessarily increase choices, networks or ability to manage
change.
 Growth can occur at the cost of increasing pollution and high income inequalities
among the citizens (gini coefficient- gap between the rich and poor).

For example a manufacturing company disposing wastes into a river on which the fishing
community depends may on one hand contribute to growth through its profits and create jobs,
but on the other hand make the majority fishing community perish as a result of pollution of
this river.

Discussion:
 Consider the oil and diamond regions in Africa (e.g., Nigeria, South Sudan, DRC,
Liberia)
 Consider the Lake Malawi oil extraction project

b. Development

The term development means far more than industrial or economic growth.

It goes beyond GNI but also aim at embracing what people value in the community e.g
reducing pollution.

Development is best looked at as a process. Some of the words that best express
development as a process include:

-advancement; betterment; capacity building; empowerment; enhancement; and

nurturing.
 In
o knowledge and skills in problem solving and decision making,
o food security,
o health,
o environment,

4
 o infrastructure,
o economic and
o equity
“Development” is a process that increases choices. It means new options, diversification,
thinking about apparent issues differently and anticipating change (Christenson [Link]., 1989).

According to Todaro and Smith (2009), Development is both a physical reality and a state
of mind in which society has, through some combination of social, economic and
institutional processes, secured the means of obtaining a better life. Development in all
societies must have at least the following three objectives;

1. To increase the availability and widen the distribution of basic life sustaining goods
such as food, shelter, health and protection
2. To raise levels of living, including, in addition to higher incomes, the provision of
more jobs, better education, and greater attention to cultural and human values.
3. To expand the range of economic and social choices available to individuals and
nations by freeing them from servitude and dependence not only in relation to other
people and nations states but also to the forces of ignorance and human misery.

The example

A job created “here”, is a job lost “there”

A manufacturing company is creating jobs in the community (positive on economic

development). However, there is an increase in the HIV rate in the community due the
increase in the number of bars which have opened to entertain the workers from the company
(negative on health development). The wastes from the company is drained into the river
and have polluted the river (negative on environmental development). The fishermen in the
area, are no longer catching enough fish: - they are out of jobs (negative on economic
development).

6.0 Community development

Question: What is community development?

Combining the two terms (community and development);

 Community development means that a community (people living in same locality, or
of similar identity or of shared problems or interests) engages in a process aimed at
improving its social, economic and environmental situation.

 It is the capacity of people to work collectively in addressing their common interests”

(Maser, 1997).

 The community itself takes action and participates together. It is through this action
that the community becomes more vital, not just economically but as a strong
functioning community in itself.

5
  Community development improves the ability of communities to collectively make
better decisions about the use of resources such as infrastructure, labour and
knowledge

It involves strengthening community capacities to:

 Identify their needs, opportunities, rights, and responsibilities;
 Plan, organize, and take collective action; and,
 Evaluate the efficiency and outcomes of their actions, including tackling inequalities
and moving toward the vision created by the community.

Community development is a holistic process contributing to the development of individuals

and the community as a whole.

7.0 Values of community development

Learning

Social justice
Value Equality

s of
CD

Cooperation participation

• Learning - recognizing the skills, knowledge and expertise that people contribute and
develop, by taking action to tackle social, economic, political and environmental
problems.

• Equality - challenging the attitudes of individuals, and the practices of institutions

and society, which discriminate against and marginalize People.

• Participation - facilitating democratic involvement by people in the issues which

affect their lives based on full citizenship, autonomy, and shared power, skills,
knowledge and experience.

6
 • Co-operation - working together to identify and implement action, based on mutual
respect of diverse cultures and contributions.

• Social Justice - Enabling people to claim their human rights, meet their needs and
have greater control over the decision-making processes which affect their lives.

8.0 Benefits of community development

The benefits of community development are broad. Some of such benefits include:

• Empowerment
• Social justice
• Protection of natural resources??
• Development of human capital
• Increase in income levels
• Improves health service delivery
• Improved investment due to improved security and governance
• Improved education
• Easy access to information
• Improved infrastructure

9.0 Community development and economic development

Question: What is the difference between community development and economic

development?

An imaginary case of a tomato cooperative in LIZULU

A cooperative is established to produce, process and market tomato in Lizulu area (local
industry development).

The cooperative employs young graduates from the area and also provides its members with
loans for production of tomatoes. Suddenly yields have increased and farmers start getting
more income from the good prices offered by the cooperative (economic development).

The cooperative uses its profits to build a primary school and a shop with subsidized prices
for members of the cooperative. It has also bought a minibus to help members of the
community access transport services at a subsidized price. This minibus is also used when
there is an emergency such as sickness in the community (community development).

Local industry development involves facilitation of relatively small groups of industry people
with the purpose of addressing specific issues, such as creating market alliances. This is part
of economic development.

7
Economic development largely aims to improve employment, income and the economic base
of the community.

Economic development involves many of the elements of community development, such as

participation, rethinking, action learning etc. However, it specifically aims to improve the
relative economic position of the community.

Flora et. al. (1992) argues that economic development does not necessarily lead to improved
quality of life nor involve “collective agency or action”.

Economic development is part of community development, which seeks to build all five
community capitals (physical, financial, human, social and environmental).

The relationship of local industry, economic and community development

The debate on which come first: economic or community development

 Practitioners debate whether community development or economic

development comes first. Some argue that communities need jobs and income
before broader social and human development can occur.

 Others maintain that new attitudes and knowledge, together with greater
organization and wider relationships in the community, underpin economic
development.

 Many community development practitioners describe their work as

community economic development.

8
10. Social work

Social work and social welfare are based on three premises:

 That the person is important (remember in community development “people” are

supposed to drive the development process)
 That he or she has personal, family, and community problems resulting from
interaction with others
 That something can be done to alleviate these problems and enrich the individual’s
life

Global definition of social work

The following definition was approved by the International Federation of Social Workers
(IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) at the General
Assembly in July 2014:

“Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes

social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and
liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective
responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by
theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social
work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance
wellbeing”.

Social work is a helping profession; the main goal of social work is to improve a society’s
overall well-being, especially for the most vulnerable populations.

Social work may be defined as an art, a science, a profession that helps people to solve
personal, group (especially family), and community problems and to attain satisfying
personal, group and community relationships

The major focus is on reducing problems in human relationships and on enriching living
through improved human interaction.

Social workers work directly with clients who are individuals, families or small groups.
These social workers help clients cope with problems such as poverty, abuse, addiction,
and mental illness by providing counseling, connecting clients with service providers, and
empowering clients to meet their own needs.

Other social workers choose to work with communities, organizations or governments. These
workers advocate for vulnerable populations, fighting to end the inequalities and injustices
they see in their communities. They create policies, break down barriers, and drive reform.

9
References

An introduction to community development, Rhoda Phillips and Robert H. Pittman 2009

10