[Dialogue] Miracle Villages in Kenya

[Don Hinkelman]

Yawn, another story of the miracles of aid, "done right", in Africa. You would expect the NYT to do better.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/world/africa/09kenya.html?ref=global-home

How long does it take to list the mistakes of unsustainability and inappropriateness in this project?
- outside money and distant investors  (Haven't we learned anything from micro-financing and funding from within?)
- macro-economic statistics (mortality, yields, test scores)   How do you measure initiative?
- technology-based (how American can you get?)    Even after Vietnam and Iraq, we still throw technology at every problem.

Nonetheless, we have to admit that the ICA's history of comprehensive, bottom-up development (which produced pockets of miracles) was also unsustainable, but for different reasons.
- committed, educated, passionate staff (that time and energy was worth millions of dollars, but we forgot to account for that, and the energy runs out after 5-20 years in the field)

What gets me excited?  The Grameen Group: http://www.grameen-info.org/
At the last ICA International Conference in Japan, the young Grameen speaker was the best of the whole conference.  A fire-ry light in his eyes. He swears that Grameen never accepts charity. All development is funded by the bottom of pyramid, for the bottom of the pyramid.

Don Hinkelman

In Melbourne and Sapporo, working on sustainable technology practices for classrooms and schools around the world.