Breaking the Development Paradigm Through Social Movements: Escalating the Indigenous Community Models
Criticize the Standardized Development Model
Examining development worldwide would expose a big question regarding development indicators and standards Many development programs and projects are designed to achieve goals believed to raise the life quality of people. Today’s development indicators are made by international agreement through multilateral institutions, such as the UN. Models that are promoted by these organizations must be tested for their relevance to the social, economic, and even environmental conditions in every region. Indeed, the ranks of development organizations are filled with highly qualified, deeply experienced local professionals who have grown up working in international development (Fine, 2022) However, it is not the case that all standardized parameters can be easily adopted by all countries, let alone by their communities. Even though these goals are designed and agreed upon by all countries, making it look like a consensus, however, it needs to be acknowledged that in multilateral organizations, there are often unequal powers between countries, especially for the rich Western countries. This could be the result of a long colonial process that shaped people’s culture, and political and economic dependence on countries that were still young and developing. Therefore, resembling the capitalist model in the economy, greater power would have a greater influence on collective decisions made, which may be more in favor of certain interests. The question is: Isn’t every community free to decide how they will be built?
Social Movement Shapes the New Ideal
Starting from the belief that every community has the right to act towards the development of its region, social movements need to be carried out with certain missions that are relevant to the needs of local communities. Every society needs to be able to produce its ideas for its future, drawing from patterns, styles, and cultures of life that have developed for a long time. This does not mean being anti to external ideas, including the development standards that the international world has set but rather how the character of nation and region can stand firm and have significance on human life. How can people fight for this? Brazil’s Landless Worker Movement (MST) can be a reference to maintain local character in this idealistic struggle. MST provides a “contentious co-governance” model to win practical reforms from the state while resisting cooptation by constantly pushing forward ideals that go against the standard ideals of the ‘opponent’ institution (Tarlau, 2022). In this model, MST works in providing social services, including in education and agriculture, which could influence people who receive benefits from them, in terms of creating a common issue and formulating collective
solutions. On the other side, structural reform is vulnerable to the challenge of co-optation which risks the absorption of the movement values by powerful elites without gaining new advantages. As Tarlau (2022) said, “Too often, as movement programs are incorporated into mainstream structures, grassroots forces become demobilized, dull their radical edge, and lose their ability to exercise disruptive power.”
Tackling this issue, MST’s model can be adopted which fights outside pressure, through negotiation, and implementing co-governance inside institutions simultaneously. This is a long-term and structured movement in which the goal is to take control by influence. Movements can institutionalize their wins over the long term by having the state and mainstream political parties adopt their demands and programs. At this stage, social movements have more power and could spread their missions more widely so that they become public attention and even people’s beliefs. It is not a utopia that people can be empowered together to develop their society according to their desires, needs, and especially on their noble cultural values.
Community Independence and Greater Role
Future development models must eliminate power imbalance, equaling all parties with the same vision Strong movements from society must be focused on bridging the gap of their needs with external parties who want to help, such as donors or investors. What needs to be fought for must continue to facilitate spaces for participation by various parties, including capital interests. The local community can contribute to developing local organizations as an extension of donor organizations that hopefully can be more relevant for their people. This could force donor organizations to transform their business model, just like what USAID has done (Fine, 2022). Development aid institutions or the private sector could provide a room of flexibility for communities to decide technically what is important for their social life, designed to change based on feedback and results (Khan, 2022). Donors can still share their big picture ideals and mission of the organization but need to carefully remove biased observations from preexisting notions. For example, the Ford Foundation has worked with this model and collaborated with Indonesian local organizations to mitigate climate change risks (Ford Foundation, 2023) However, social movements also need to avoid the complicated bureaucracy that tends to arise in large-scale organizations while preventing them from being co-opted Resonating the spirit of Aime Cesaire (1950) who said, "It is a new society that we must create, with the help of all our brother slaves, a society rich with all the productive power of modern times,” this greater role of community in development can result in systemic change, making this model the new norm
Cultural Heritage as a Promoter of Sustainability
If independence is granted, could local communities develop themselves? The answer to this question can be found in Indigenous people, who can be observed to have historical continuity with strong links to territories, surrounding natural resources, and ecosystems The activities of indigenous people are mostly associated with nature and the environment They have cultural and spiritual values that attach to their land because of their dependency on nature. Consequently, Indigenous people have become the leader in tropical forest conservation around the world which have cared for 80% of biodiversity in the world by protecting their forestry land (Ramli & Wahyudin, 2021). It is argued that forests that are preserved by indigenous people are better at absorbing carbon and less susceptible to forest fire than many protected areas managed by businesses or governments. Indigenous people have been practicing their traditional knowledge for centuries based on the teachings of their ancestors and examples of those are available across the world. Some examples show indigenous people's role in promoting sustainable development in Indonesia without guidelines or support from international parties and without any development indicators set First, the Indigenous people of Patapahan Kampar in Riau Province, Indonesia have been utilizing the Tapung River for transportation routes and fishing activities called manubo. The community uses natural poison which is made of tree sap and has been proven safe for the environment to catch fish, and the fishing activities are conducted together by using spears whilst the net is forbidden (Ramli & Wahyudin, 2021) The second on is the Ammatoa Community in Tanah Toa Village, Bulukumba Regency, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. They have a sacred forest as the center of community activities which has built conservation culture among the people (Daniel, Satriani, Zudi, & Ekka, 2022). Ammatoa community optimizes local natural resources to meet their needs, including clothing, shelter, and food materials. They don’t use detergent for washing but pure water, they cultivate plants for medicine, and they use bamboo and wood for their infrastructure materials which calculatedly doesn’t affect the environment. Their customary law defends their territory from modernization which could reduce the ecological quality. These two examples have demonstrated that traditional knowledge that has been practiced by Indonesian indigenous people for centuries is sustainably proved by scientists. The mutual cooperation model in the Indigenous community is pivotal to result in progress in development.
Society's Future Actions Needed
The social movement represents the voice of the people. How a community grows and develops must be aligned with their beliefs so they would be involved and put effort into the process. So, the next social movements must be created to promote a new development model that is much more relevant
to the local context. Initiatives that need to be created are related to community-driven development Innovators can combine the traditional knowledge of Indigenous people with cutting-edge science, for instance for ecosystem conservation Conveners are needed to lead these social movements and create collaboration between parties. This movement should challenge the Western world model with long-journey reform and create influence on many countries, making everyone decolonized
References:
Cesaire, A. (1950). Discourse on Colonialism. New York: Monthly Review Press. Daniel, D., Satriani, S., Zudi, S. L., & Ekka, A. (2022, November 24). To What Extent Does Indigenous Local Knowledge Support the Social-Ecological System? A Case Study of the Ammatoa Community, Indonesia. Resources, 11, 106. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/20799276/11/12/106
Fine, P. (2022, December 1). Rethinking the constraints to localization of foreign aid. Retrieved from The Brookings Institution Web Site: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rethinking-theconstraints-to-localization-of-foreign-aid/ Ford Foundation. (2023, May 8). Representing Millions of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, Indonesian Organizations Join Movement to Deliver Funds Directly to Traditional Communities Worldwide. Retrieved from Ford Foundation Web Site: https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/news-and-press/news/representingmillions-of-indigenous-peoples-and-local-communities-indonesian-organizations-joinmovement-to-deliver-funds-directly-to-traditional-communities-worldwide/
Khan, R. (2022, September 19). Decolonizing Development Is Difficult. It Is Also Overdue. Retrieved from The Aspen Institute Web Site: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/decolonizingdevelopment-is-difficult-and-overdue/ Ramli, R., & Wahyudin. (2021, November 1). Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through indigenous group protection in Indonesia. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 3. doi:10.1088/1755-1315/921/1/012074
Tarlau, R. (2022, April 14). What U.S. Organizers Can Learn From Brazil's Landless Workers Movement. (M. Engler, & P. Engler, Interviewers)
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