Community Mapping and Sustainable Development in Rural Zambia
Introduction: Sustainable Development A major problem facing
development efforts today is sustainability. Large amounts of
resources are poured into making improvements to underdeveloped
countries by philanthropic, political, or religious organizations.
Such organizations must eventually withdraw their presence,
however, and frequently the improvements they leave behind fall
into disuse and the quality of life returns to its starting point.
This happens because the improvements do not have an appropriate
support structure, either within the community or in terms of the
resources it takes to maintain the improvement. Community mapping
is a means of working with the community to better development
workers understanding of problems the community find important, and
what resources are available locally to address these problems. By
identifying what the community finds important, and what they are
capable of doing to help themselves, development workers are better
able to make decisions about how they can assist the community. By
working with the community, and involving the community in every
step of the process from inception to execution, it assures that
resources are being applied to a problem that the community really
does find important. It also gives the community a sense of
ownership, and improves the capacity of the community to make
similar improvements in the future without dependence on outside
donors. Timeline : Interconnectivity:Community Initiatives: Library
Project Problem: School books are free for grades 1-7, but too
expensive/rare for many in grades 7-9. Non-school books are non-
existent. Community: Phase I: Introduction Introduction to other
team members Meetings with in-country contacts/advisors Training
Language classes Conversations regarding interview technique:
Isolate and eliminate personal bias Solution Neutrality Manage
expectations Phase III: Synthesize Data Evaluate data collected
through phase II Build conceptual community map Evaluate
Capabilities Decide what problems can be addressed now, what can be
addressed later, and what is beyond our reach Form Action Plan /
Stock for Return Develop solutions we feel we can execute Manage
logistics of solutions Phase IV: Implementation Execute action
planned in phase III Feedback Hear community opinions of our
presence Follow up Establish means by which work can be continued
contact with our team maintained Continuity Single most important
activity is to follow up in future Week 1Week 2Week 3Week 4Week
5Week 6Week 7 Phase II: Mapping Interview community (try to sample
groups, individuals, and all levels of social strata) Develop
understanding of: Basic community structure Problems community
faces Resources available locally Use interview technique developed
in Phase I H2O Health Nutrition Agriculture EconomicsEducation No
understanding of H2O sanitation Bad distribution by NHC Inadequate
health education for community & providers Absenteeism Poor
diet lead to stunted growth/ immunosuppresion School fees Lack of
capacity Low resources means no Cl, boiling, and poor storage
practices No money for preventive care, medicines or hospital
visits Morbidity Orphans Widows No extension officer/ education
Knowledge of proper diet Low crop diversity No capital means no
investment in seed, tools, etc Knowledge deficit Losses to pests
Poor seed availability Downward cycle Ability to pay for
supplemental food Team: Faculty: Allen Armstrong (MIT) Dr. Clair
Piere (Harvard) Amy Smith (MIT) Students: Alfinio Flores (Harvard)
Xanat Flores (MIT) Alex Herrera (Harvard) Chris Langhammer (UMDNJ)
Sam Miti (UNZA) Nadja Oertelt (MIT) Sham Tembo (UNZA) Evans Tulisha
(UNZA) Jessica Vechakul (MIT) Families Village Headmen Section
Headmen Ndunas (Advisors) Chief Village Headmen Village Headmen
Village Headmen Village Headmen Village Headmen Village Headmen
Village Headmen Village Headmen Village Headmen Families Section
Headmen Section Headmen Section Headmen Section Headmen Government
Neighborhood Health Committee Neighborhood Health Committee
Neighborhood Health Committee Neighborhood Health Committee
Neighborhood Health Committee Section Health Post Section Health
Post Clinic Herbalist/ Witch Doctor School Teachers/ Headmaster
Community Organizations Political Health Care Education It is
difficult to dissect a community to the point where you can analyze
parts of it individually because all aspects of a community are
interconnected. The chart below indicates some of the ties between
the major concerns we were able to identify. It is artificial to
assign such a clearly delineated hierarchy to a complex and dynamic
society. The figure is meant to show only the basic anatomy of the
political, health care, and educational infrastructure. Community
Extension Education Problem: No standardized education for farmers
on how to manage crops, results in poor yield and continued
financial stagnation. Water Education Problem: Poor understanding
of water sanitation techniques and consequences of contamination
lead to constant infection by water-borne diseases. Solution: Teach
a core group of community members to be water educators. Not only
teach them a improved understanding of water sanitation, provide
them with training enabling them to teach others in community.
Solution: Establish student run library. We provided initial books
for library, worked with students to decide logistics of library
management. Community ownership achieved through students
formulating and following through on management plan. Solution:
Organize a group of interested farmers into a group capable of
disseminating farming information. We provided an initial loan of
seeds, and information on farming practices. They developed plan to
disseminate seeds, pay back loan, distribute knowledge to rest of
community. Community Mapping Approaching any community from the
outside it is easy to cast judgment before you fully understand the
context in which society operates. Community mapping is meant to
improve your understanding of a community by trying to see the
world from their point of view. Identifying the problems they find
important, and what they are willing/able to do in search of a
solution are important aspects of this process. Multidisciplinary
Approach In order to better understand a problem properly it is
necessary to understand the community and context in which it
exists. Communities are by their nature complex entities. To
address the many aspects of a community, a team encompassing
multiple disciplines was assembled with the idea that it would be
better able to comprehensively understand the community than any
one discipline individually. The team consisted of primarily
engineers and medical personal, as most issues raised in
development work are related to these two fields.
