ABSTRACT
This chapter, by Schirin Yachkaschi, draws on practical experience and a study with urban community-based organizations (CBOs). It shows that if certain basic principles are not employed with integrity, a common outcome is the undermining of the distinct value of CBOs in aided-development processes.
Her evidence challenges the practitioner to step out of pre-conceptions associated with formal organizing. Only then can one properly appreciate the true contribution of community-based organizations in coping positively with the unstable, impoverished environments in which they operate.
