COMPAS attends ABCD "Imbizo" conference in South Africa

SAEDP had a very important opportunity to attend the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Imbizo held in Port Elizabeth, South Africa from 21 to 23 February 2018 (http://abcdimbizo.co.za/). It was a very relevant conference to attend. Participants came from all over the world to share experiences, knowledge, expertise and the fundamental role of ABCD in empowering and improving the way of life of the rural communities socially, economically and culturally. The exposure to the diverse experiences in community-based development from the global participants was empowering and confidence building in the implementation of community development from within. This opportunity boosted SAEDP’s assurance that its indigenous community development approaches and processes are very relevant and well positioned in solving local development problems. This was evidenced and supported by the deliberations from several presenters and emerging group discussions.

SAEDP is a registered rural-based community-owned Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) of Traditional Institutions founded in 2004 with headquarters in South Africa. SAEDP is directed by a supreme body originating from the Spirit-mediums and Chiefs and works to share knowledge and exchange experiences in indigenous agriculture, traditional health delivery, appropriate technology, conserving and managing bio-cultural diversity, promoting use of local languages and capacity-building. Cross-cutting all the activities is the local people’s deep-rooted spirituality, cosmo-vision and culture (www.saedp.org.za).

The well organized deliberations at the Imbizo revealed that ABCD is an approach that catalyzes change and development based on utilizing the existing gifts and capacities of people and their communities. The ABCD model discourages development brought in from an outside source, but rather energizes change and development from within. For truly sustainable development, it is important to focus on a community’s strengths versus solely its needs. The important factor is finding the area where local assets meet local needs. ABCD is a methodology for sustainable development of communities based on their strengths and potentials. It involves assessing the resources, skills, and experience available in a community; organizing community around issues that move its members into action; and then determining and taking appropriate action. The method uses community’s own assets and resources as the basis for development; it empowers the people of the community by encouraging them to utilize what they already possess. ABCD is built on the following foundations:

· It unlocks community assets

· It encourages dialogical collective decision making

· It is community driven – building communities from inside out

· It is a rights based approach

· It enhances principles of relationships, embraces cultural traditions, stimulates use of external resources to enhance internal resources.

It was interesting to note that ABCD is synonymous with Endogenous Development methodologies and processes although there is less incorporation of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) of the beneficiary communities in ABCD. One good example that synergies with the Endogenous Development approach is that community resources are categorized as: natural, human, physical, social, economic and spiritual. This augurs very well with our COMPAS Africa Network Endogenous Development Methodology.

At the Imbizo Raymond Tivafire, SAEDP represented the Southern Africa Region while Elham Mumuni, CIKOD dually stood in for the Western Africa Region and the COMPAS Africa Network respectively. The presentations by CIKOD and SAEDP were well organized and appreciated. CIKOD explicitly dealt with” Endogenous Development and Community Organisational Development” while SAEDP expressly propounded on the “Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Management of Bio-cultural Diversity”. Our concluding observation was that ABCD adds a lot of value and impetus to our endogenous development initiatives. We should therefore fully participate in ABCD as COMPAS Africa to continue validating our development activities and learn from other like-minded institutions and the donor fraternity.