Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The thesis studies how well Swedish-funded development aid programs are adapted to meet the needs and challenges of the local community in which they are active. Lack of adaptation to local conditions, needs, and challenges in development aid contributions can lead to a gap between what is needed and what is provided. By studying this gap and why it exists, we can move towards a fairer type of aid that addresses local needs and challenges, which will help create more long-term sustainability. The research is done by a comparative field study in Tanzania, where the Swedish-funded development aid project Sustain Eco has been active since 2022. The project has been implemented in two different regions, Rukwa and Morogoro, by two different implementing partners, SNV and AWF. Data have been collected through interviews with farmers in two selected villages, one in each region. The farmers have been asked if they know about the project, what they know about the project, and if they feel like the project is well-suited for their needs and challenges.

The results show that the implementing partners' level of local participation affects the extent to which they were able to adapt their project to local needs and challenges. The empirical material can be categorized into three main themes: the first being when in the process one is included. The results show that the local community was included when the project was already in the implementing phase, making it difficult to adapt to local conditions, needs and challenges. The second theme is about who gets included. Only a small group of people feel like they been included in the project and people who can read, write and work voluntarily are favoured. The third is about in what way the relationship between the implementing partners and the local community effect participation, revealing that some participants did not feel comfortable sharing thoughts and ideas. The thesis concludes that there are layers of power immersed in participatory practices that can't be simplified or forgotten. Otherwise, despite honest intentions, the work can instead reproduce already existing power relations and fail to benefit the one they set out to help.