ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a summary of the study and argues that the analysis of Sarvodaya’s philosophy and practices and my account of the villagers’ experiences in the post-tsunami reconstruction villages of Damniyamgama, Addapalam and Vaddavan can inform a revised holistic framework of sustainable development and risk governance, based on Sarvodaya’s Three-Sphere Model, which integrates Northern/Western and Southern/Eastern perspectives and partnerships. In this chapter I further argue that a holistic model of development, based on Sarvodaya’s Three Phases Model, but revised slightly to be focused on three spheres of Culture, Economics and Power, can lead to successful outcomes in postcolonial settings in the Global South, particularly drawing on local lived experiences and cultural and spiritual resources to assist with the provision of basic needs and building interreligious harmony. However, given the dominance of capitalist neo-liberalism and processes of secularisation globally, this book reveals that advances in the Culture Sphere, must be adequately supported by advances in the spheres of Economics and Power, for communities to be able to achieve sustainable long-term development in late-modern times. I also contend that the success of holistic development, including risk governance, is largely contingent on establishing more equitable partnerships between communities, NGOs, INGOs, States and the private sector.
