Improving Rural Communities through the Bottom-Up Approach

The “Bottom-Up Approach” has been identified by development experts as an appropriate approach that can transform communities and make life more flexible as part of efforts to accomplish the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The boldly printed, loud sounding MDGs is still to convince many people that it is far more better from a string of well brandished and publicised captions like, Health for all by the year 2000, Make Poverty History, Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative amongst others. Some individual initiatives to fight poverty using the “Bottom-Up Approach is gradually changing the lives of rural communities across the world especially in developing countries. This breakthrough can make a greater difference if organizations put aside hierarchical and administrative differences and confront the reality in the field. The “Bottom-Up Approach” will be use in this article from a management and organizational point of view.

A “Bottom-UP Approach” is designed to involve decision from a micro to a macro level where there is information transfer from an inferior to a superior position. The micro level refers to the grassroots who after consultation with the macro level (experts or superior) give a go ahead on important decisions reached that does not violet rights and freedom of the community in question. In this approach, a low cost community base solution is often quite flexible that makes the people feel more involved in giving a new phase lift in the community. This puts the local people at the “centre of development policies and at the centre of work” as was remarked by the Secretary General of the UN, during the 2011 International day for the eradication of poverty. This approach is characterized by an efficient master plan from the feasibility stage of a project that makes a fair balance and provides a maximum win-win situation to all beneficiaries.

Some individual initiatives through the “Bottom-Up Approach” are transforming community lives to a greater extent. For example, the Barefoot college campus in Tilonia, India, aim at empowering rural poor is promising and very encouraging. This school created in 1972 by Mr. Sanjit Roy, has trained old and mature women from different parts of the world to become solar engineers irrespective of their academic backgrounds. So far, the school has trained some one hundred and (150) grandmothers who represent some twenty developing countries around the world with an estimated ten thousand (10000) houses electrified using solar power. This solar power electrification is pollution free and is serving thousands of litres of diesel and kerosene. In this project, Mr. Sanjit identified women as the target point of success and he has been investing in them. He considers women as more composed and reliable partners who can pull the strings of development to higher heights. Rural women produce more than half of family income through agricultural activities.  If we take into account the nature of work and ability of rural women in developing countries, then this criterion can be a measuring rode for project implementation.

Another good example which demonstrates the Bottom-Up Approach as a reliable tool for the well-being of the community is the solar bottle project in the Philippines. Thousands of poor homes have benefited from this project and have been able to significantly reduce their electricity bills. With an average cost of 3dollars, families are able to light up their homes using very cheap and affordable raw material that is friendly to the environment. This technology is easily transferred from electricity engineers to the rural communities without a great deal of education and qualification. This project in the Philippines is expected to light about one million homes by 2012.

Technology in the 21^st century is proving to favour the poor and is becoming more participative and less costly. Rural communities have discovered that despite the existence of a missing link between the educated and those crawling below the ladder; they can still make use of what they have to get what they need. The Bottom-Up Approach will become more significant if more actors come on board and help spread their technology that will give access to those who naturally have been condemned by poverty. From all indications, every individual in the community is useful to improve lives if given the chance to explore the immediate opportunities. Governments need to equally play a leading role by assisting those who have identified community needs and ready to bring change making use of community knowledge and participation.

Nfor Canicius