"Every complexity, we are told, is the process of evolution. Yet our development planners seem to think that they can do better...that they can create complex things at one throw by a process called planning."

E.F Schumacher offered us these thoughts in 1975 through his book Small is Beautiful (I highly recommend this read). He continues to discuss the natural process of growth that all great phenomena take in the natural world; every creature, ecosystem and social construct has come into being through a gradual process of genetic mutations and adaptations. It therefore follows that any great change in the human condition or development towards a productive and sturdy society is also a process of slow change.

One primary mistake, perhaps, in our efforts at supporting development in poorer regions of the world is to forget that sustainable change is a slow (and I emphasize slow), deliberate process. Planning has its place, however the chances that everything will go according to plan and produce the desired results is quite low. Ultimate success of an effort aimed at helping another group of human beings then rests on one's ability to constantly adapt to challenges and treat the plan as a fluid strategy that changes and grows with the circumstances.

 As an example on the value of patience and adaptation in development, I often think about a school that I was acquainted with in Zambia in 2007. The community school was initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. One year was spent on researching the perfect location for the school based on data gathered over several districts on households affected by HIV/AIDS and population of orphaned children. Five to six months was spent training community facilitators and organizing a network of local teachers from the closest town to help teach the children. Before working with the school I read close to 100 pages front and back outlining how lessons should be conducted and what the specific results should be after one year on the children, their families and the community. Needless to say I was thrilled to be working with such a well organized and well thought out program.

Above: JFFLS members by the fish ponds

dug by FAO but never finished

The problems started almost immediately. Half of the local teachers from the town did not fulfill their committed roles, materials for building the school never arrived on time, income generating activities for the school were hindered by theft and there was a corrupt facilitator to deal with. If you have lived and worked in Africa on development for very long none of these issues would come as a surprise. Indeed (perhaps sadly enough) they should be expected. The real evil however came not in the fact that these barriers to the realization of the school came up, but that FAO and their representatives did not take the time to listen, learn and adapt the program. The result after one year was a disgruntled community who felt that they were not being listened to, students who were not engaged in nearly complete lessons, and an office of development workers who had no clue what was going on on the ground.

This school and their experience with FAO is one of the primary reasons I started CMI. As Schumacher reminds us development and human growth is a gradual process that revolves around the adaptation to challenges and change rather than the avoidance of issues. All I feel we can ask for is the patience and courage to allow for realities on the ground to guide gradual growth rather than aspirations from a Board room. A strategic plan for any development effort should then be a fluid and changing creature of its own with the space to allow ourselves to be wrong, to recognize challenges, and adapt to them. As they say in zambia all growth is "Pangono, pangono" or "Slowly slowly."

It seems that the culture we are trying to help has long been aware of the nature of change. Maybe it's our turn to listen.