Empower communities to lead their own development
06 December 2011
People are the fabric of Australian Volunteers International.
People are also at the core of our development approach. We listen to communities and respond to their initiatives, and then identify the resources and knowledge needed to make their development goals a reality. It’s such an effective way for people to create a livelihood for themselves and their households.
Left: Otelia Da Consesat (right) is one of the talented members of the Cooperativa Tais Kultura Dezenvolvimento Sustantavel (CTKDS), seen here weaving. Photo: Louise Cooper / AVI
We know this through research and from our 60 years experience in international development.
Let us share just one example of this approach.
Many of the communities we work with have endured unimaginable hardships, and in this instance I will focus on the plight of the Timorese. Often living in remote locations, the Timorese have survived significant conflict and violence in their country. With much of the already frail infrastructure being destroyed by violent civil unrest, families and children have been left vulnerable and are surviving in impoverished conditions.
Despite these challenges, the Timorese people have a strength and resilience to overcome their situation. They’re committed to rebuilding their livelihoods through education, local initiatives and hard work so their communities can prosper.
Women from Cooperativa Tais Kultura Dezenvolvimento Sustantavel at work. The 86 female members come from some of the poorest and most disadvantaged families in the region, 25 percent were widowed during the Indonesian occupation. Photo: Louise Cooper / AVI
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One of the organisations AVI supports in Timor is the Cooperative for Tais, Culture and Sustainable Development (Cooperativa Tais, Kultura, Desenvolvimento Sustenavel, CTKDS).
The CTKDS has 86 female members who come from the poorest and most disadvantaged families in the region; approximately 25 percent of female CTKDS members were widowed during the Indonesian occupation, literacy is low and many members have limited access to farmlands.
For women in the villages, finding work to sustain their families is difficult. This is where we can help by listening and supporting the women’s initiatives. An incredible resource the Timorese have, that is also extremely important to their culture, is the skill of weaving. They create the most beautiful, colourful, hand-woven products derived from the traditional Timorese Tais cloth.
The women of CTKDS were able to occasionally sell the Tais products, but the modest sales were not enough to help pay for basic needs like their children’s education. With mentoring and advice from incredible volunteers like Deb Salvagno (seen left), they decided to increase the global market for their weaving products to increase returns. The creation of an online shop on the East Timorese Women’s Association website was just one step toward achieving this, allowing people worldwide the opportunity to buy the stunning Tais products.
The women also decided they needed to diversify their markets. Through extensive community consultation they identified a range of initiatives to assist the local economy to flourish. Some of the initiatives included other handicrafts, industry, agriculture programs and cultural tourism opportunities.
For women living in extremely remote locations with low literacy levels, this opportunity to participate in a range of community initiatives, and earn a living doing so, is so intrinsic to their self worth and confidence. They are able to take pride and ownership of their work, and be able to see a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Empowering women to develop their own community
By empowering women through the cooperative, they can now look at directing the development of their communities more broadly. They accessed our support and conducted research across the three CTKDS villages on major themes like education levels and children’s health issues. Everyone sat down together and analysed the results and will now establish programs to target these areas and help improve the situation in each community.
The CTKDS is just one example of communities leading their own development; there are hundreds more organisations like this that we support. This is why I want to ask you to please consider donating to AVI, to enable us to continue to grow and expand our activities with organisations like CTKDS.
Please continue to be an important contributor to sustainable livelihoods. Together we can ensure everyone has access to the resources they need, the opportunities to achieve their potential and the right to make decisions about the kind of development they want to participate in.
By donating to Australian Volunteers International, you support an organisation that puts people at the centre of development. Our approach is to listen to communities and respond to their initiatives, and then identify the resources and knowledge needed to make their development goals a reality. It’s such an effective way for people to create a livelihood for themselves and their households; we know this through research and from our 60 years experience in international development.
Thank you and please give generously to help our global neighbours in need.
Dimity Fifer
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Volunteers International
Please note - all donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.