Resetting Our Goals?

In his article, Gilbert Rist offers a less optimistic and more realistic view of what development entails, defining it as “the general transformation and destruction of the natural environment and of social relations in order to increase the production of commodities.” The word “development” has been used for over 60 years, however it remains vaguely defined and ambiguous.

This alternative view of the negative affects of “development” is exactly what I´ve been studying throughout my semester here in Ecuador. The program name, MSID, stands for Minnesota Studies of International Development. Hence, we have been analyzing the “development” of Ecuador through research and field visits.

San Clemente

I am currently interning for six weeks in the indigenous community of San Clemente. From a western eye, this community may seem “underdeveloped” because many of them live in small houses, have no internet access, and harvest their own food. My time here has changed my perspective on “development” however. Instead of going in to the “developed” city forty minutes away to buy their food at the grocery store, they pick it themselves from their own land and trade with their neighbours. There is no middleman, no waste produced from transportation, and the source is known and reliable.

My family doesn't have a car or a television or a dishwasher. However, they have acres of land with quinoa, potatoes, peas, beans, corn, and more which are all organically farmed. They know how to create fertilizer from animal and food waste, understand the importance of crop rotation, and single-handily constructed their own two-story house. When I got sunburned from helping in the fields last weekend, instead of going in to town to buy aloe, my host mom just picked me an aloe plant from her garden. She knows the properties of different medicinal plants and herbs that she grows—plants for stomach aches, head aches, altitude sickness, sore throats, and achy bones.

Helping prepare dinner with freshly harvested ingredients.

If “development” is the destruction of the environment and the transformation of land into a commodity, then the opposite of “development” is occurring in San Clemente. They are living in harmony with the land and with each other.

Of course, the community still struggles in ways that people in the city might not. The community school where I work has three teachers for eight grade levels and lacks a computer lab and other important educational resources. The education level in San Clemente, although it has improved immensely since the last generation, is still lower than that of other more affluent communities. While “development” may not be the best word to describe it, I do believe there are certain factors that are needed to increase the well being of a community, education and health care being two of the most important. What education and health care entail, however, are different depending on the community. In San Clemente, it may be seem useful to learn about farming techniques rather than literature. And natural medicinal techniques are preferred to Western medicines for curing mild illnesses.

Therefore, no matter how you look at “development” or growth or prosperity, it always depends on the community you are analyzing. There is not one single path to well being. And sometimes, the community itself knows what is best for its people.