“Want to help someone? Shut up and listen”: Foreign aid, maladaptation, and community development practices in the Pacific

Motivation

Through a Fiji case analysis, this article elaborates on how well-intentioned foreign aid initiatives can result in maladaptation for local communities. When most well-intentioned foreign aid institutions become aware of development problems in the Pacific Island Countries, they start planning development interventions. However, maladaptation can occur where there is insufficient community input, creating conditions that worsen situations and make communities more vulnerable.

Purpose

The study highlights a way to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of development projects with local communities by analysing two case studies. One is a community project driven by a civil society organization (CSO) and the other is community-driven development (CDD) project in Fiji.

Approach and methods

The researcher engaged in community field studies while working as a civil servant in Fiji for 12 years and has continued these studies as a researcher for five years. The data used in this article are both experiential and research-based. Action research took place when the author supported CDD programmes based on traditional farming. This study provides a longitudinal view that includes critical auto-ethnography and talanoa.

Findings

This study finds that the CSO did not appreciate community aspirations and local knowledge, leading to community maladaptation in response to their programme intervention. By contrast, CDD in the same locale saw community members take control of strategizing, carrying out development activities, and monitoring. This directly contributed to community resilience and collective well-being, in addition to making the CDD activities more sustainable than those dependent on donor funding.

Policy implications

This article showcases the value of CDD for Pacific communities and the importance of accounting for local aspirations and worldviews. Thus, policies in Pacific Island Countries should ensure that any community development programmes respect people's culture and understand their notions of well-being and resilience, and so contribute to more self-determined development.