Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi
Abstract
One of the main emphases of the Special Rural Development Programme
in Kenya was supposed to be the involvement of local communities in economic
development efforts. Self-help activity in the past has been strongly preoccupied
with projects which absorb, rather than produce resources. In this
paper the six S.R.D.P. areas are examined in terms of the intensity of socalled
'economic' or 'economy developing' self-help activity versus the
'social/domestic' or 'welfare' variety, and a comparison is made with selected
non-S.R.D.P. areas. It is found that the preponderance of 'welfare' projects
is as strong or stronger in the S.R.D.P. areas as elsewhere. Various means
for promoting self-help along more economically productive lines are then
discussed, along with the existing approaches and structures, and some alternatives
are suggested
