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Rural Development
Unleashing the power of community
Why is it important to take a long-term view of social change?
Twenty-five years ago, Canada invested in a promising development experiment in the isolated valleys of northern Pakistan. Called AKRSP - the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme - the experiment was rooted in a simple but potent idea: social mobilization.
In thousands of remote villages in Asia and Africa, a ring of chairs and a flip chart set the stage for the local community to secure a better future. Here they meet and discuss the issues that most affect them, and set priorities for what must be done to improve their lives.
Creating these effective and sustainable village organizations takes time. Over a quarter century, Canada has helped support these communities, demonstrating the importance of taking a long-term view of social change.
Measuring the impact of success
AKRSP discovered these community organizations were the key to lasting improvements in quality of life. Since the inception of AKRSP:
- some 5,000 village organizations across
northern Pakistan continue to lead the
development of their communities; - per capita incomes have increased by
300 percent; and - literacy rates for men and women have soared.
Six lessons of development
Today, the tried and tested model of AKRSP is used around the world. The following six AKRSP lessons have become 'rules' for development:
- let the community lead
- build institutions for local capacity
- invest in people
- long term - stick to it
- no silver bullets / multi-input
- work in vulnerable places, isolated, resource poor
