Introduction

This chapter discusses Development Alternatives, Inc. work assisting in the design of development projects intended to benefit the rural poor. It describes one of the methods that has evolved, where particular attention was given to stimulating local action by small farmers themselves, with a view to generating self-sustaining development activities. The new focus was manifested in policy directives that were issued almost simultaneously within the World Bank and the Agency for International Development. One finding of the Strategies report was the overriding importance of projects becoming self-sustaining, maintaining development benefits to the rural population after the withdrawal of foreign assistance. The blueprint approach, and the action-first variant, assumes that technology that is appropriate for a particular development undertaking can easily be transferred to another target population. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.