When, many many years ago, I worked in London and Malaysia helping to administer the British development aid programme, I was struck even then by how large some of the projects were. Massive infrastructure programmes certainly provided good profits for engineering, consulting and construction companies, many of them expatriate, but their impact on the local population could be rather less positive. So the underlying notions of what was originally called the Intermediate Technology Development Group, founded by E F Schumacher to put his “small is beautiful” ideas into “practical action” and show that simple ideas could produce lasting and sustainable improvements, were immediately appealing. Handley and I were delighted when, nine years ago, our daughter Lucy, who has been committed to development work ever since her gap year in Namibia, went to work for the organisation now known as Practical Action.
The charity sets its orientation and aims in the UK and has a UK headquarters and staff. It has a campaigning branch focussing on trying to influence policies and action in the interests of poverty reduction and at the moment focussing on the impact of climate change on poor people. It also has a consultancy branch, which spreads the expertise of its engineers and technical staff, for example through the production of technical briefing which means that lessons learnt in one place can be applied elsewhere. It produces educational material for teachers and schools. But its main focus is the more than 100 projects it runs. It groups them under its four main objectives: reducing the vulnerability of poor people affected by natural disasters, conflict and environmental degradation; making markets work for the poor– by enabling producers to improve their production, processing and marketing; improving access to services – water, sanitation, housing and electricity (this is our daughter’s area), and new technologies, assisting poor communities to benefit appropriately from new technologies. These projects all grow up from below, in response to locally expressed needs, and are locally implemented, with the work being carried out by local, not expatriate, country directors and staff in offices in Peru, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. I have met some of these people, at Practical Action supporters’ days or in Lucy’s home, when they have been visiting the UK. They are impressive people.
Needs vary, so the projects vary. You may have seen TV reports a couple of years ago about the development of smoke hoods to help clear houses and huts of the health-destroying smoke from cooking fires. You may also have seen the improved donkey harness – better for both person and beast – featured on Practical Action’s flyers. I confess to a special personal enthusiasm for a couple of the projects: first, improvements in husbandry and shelter for the alpacas of Peruvian farmers – because alpaca are such appealing creatures and their wool so wonderful to knit with. And secondly when I remember Lucy’s childhood love for zip slides, I think happily of the gravity ropeways (tuins) which the Nepalese farmers now use to aid the transportation of their produce to markets over very rough terrain. But there is a very great deal more that they do, and many much more serious reasons for supporting their work. I am proud that as a parish through our charitable giving we can be associated with the cause of climate change justice and of practical and sustainable development for the very poor, and hope we shall long continue to be so. Do ask me if you would like to know more or look at http://practicalaction.org/home.
Practical Action
Anne Stevens