YAYASAN TAMBUHAK SINTA

Development Approach 2005

YTS Development Approach 2005

Background

In 2004 Yayasan Tambuhak Sinta (YTS) started experimenting with a development

approach aimed at narrowing the gap between villages in the upper Kahayan River
and local government services. The main focus was on developing a participatory
planning mechanism that would enable villagers to identify the key opportunities and
constraints they were facing in their communities, and communicate their needs and
aspirations to local government at Kecamatan and Kabupaten levels.

YTS introduced this approach in four villages, two on the Miri River and two on the
Kahayan River. Three of the four villages produced Village Development Plans that
were presented to government officials in workshops at Kecamatan and Kabupaten.

The overall results were judged positive by villagers and government, the latter
requesting YTS to expand its program to include the 23 other villages in the
subdistrict. YTS decided to pursue this objective, and launched its formal program to
achieve this at the beginning of 2005.

Five Year Area Development Program

YTS envisages an Area Development Program that will strengthen the capacity of
local people to plan and manage the development of their communities and livelihood
in a balanced and sustainable manner. The area selected includes three adjacent
kecamatans in a single district.

Basic Concept

YTS will thoroughly test a village development planning mechanism in 27 villages

covering three complete kecamatans in the Gunung Mas district. Each village will
produce an annual Village Development Plan that will feed into the government’s
annual planning process at subdistrict and district. It may take up to five years to
reach all villages with this mechanism, but it is expected that there will be sufficient
variation between this number of villages, and between the three kecamatans, to
create a mechanism that will be flexible and adaptable for use in other jurisdictions.

Main Components

a. Village Development Plan

YTS will make a social contract with each village, with a commitment to help them
prepare annual Village Development Plans. YTS will only facilitate this process; it
will not contribute directly to the content of the plan. The Village Development Plan
will be derived primarily from individual household plans, but may also include
elements that address community level needs, such as infrastructure or social
facilities.

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Development Approach 2005

The initial plan in each village will include a baseline reference, generated through a
participatory rural appraisal exercise that involves all villagers. The plan itself will be
based on individual household development plans that are consolidated to identify
clusters of common needs and activities between households. Other community wide
components may be added to the final plan.

b. Proposal to Government
The Village Development Plan will be converted into a proposal that will fit the
requirements for annual government planning and budgeting at the subdistrict and
district. YTS will assist in facilitating this process by ensuring that proposals from
villages match current government programs and funding priorities. YTS will also
facilitate events at subdistrict and district where villages can present their proposals
and get immediate feedback from government.

c. Proposal to Others
YTS will look for other resources - both technical and financial - outside of
government that could help support implementation of the village’s development plan.
YTS will assist the villagers in preparing proposals that could access external support
from the private and non-governmental sectors. Technical inputs would be contracted
between the village and the technical expert, and will be partly funded by YTS.
Management of these contracts will be the responsibility of the village.

d. Use of Local Resource Persons

As a principle, YTS will make use of local resource people in the planning and
implementation process. Select villagers will be trained to become facilitators for the
participatory planning process in other villages. This will speed up the spread of the
approach, as it won’t be entirely dependant on outside facilitators. Where there’s
existing local technical expertise, YTS will encourage and enable local experts to
share their knowledge and experience with others within and outside their own
communities.

e. A Network of Communities
YTS will organize special events that will bring together villagers from participating
communities to critically review the process, and share and compare experiences in
creating plans, implementing development activities, and linking with outside support
services. The knowledge generated during these events will help to improve the
planning mechanism. And the experience of working together on common issues will
strengthen the bonds between communities in each subdistrict.

The level of civic engagement that results from this dynamic interaction between
communities and also with local government, is expected to create a more balanced
and responsible relationship between government and its citizens.

Concluding Remarks

The current period of reformasi is providing some good opportunities to achieve

progress in development on several fronts. One possibility is to strengthen the level of

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Development Approach 2005

good governance, so that governments act more responsively and more responsibly to
their constituents, and the citizenry becomes more proactive in its engagement with
government officials. The second possibility is for power and authority to be shared
more equitably between the various levels of government and all communities. By
gaining a greater measure of responsibility, local people and communities will move
away from a passive involvement with civic affairs and will take charge of their
destinies.

YTS believes that its Area Development initiative will contribute to both these
possibilities. There still is much to be learned about how to make the planning
mechanism work, but by remaining committed to the overall objective of balanced
and sustainable community development, YTS is confident that its overall approach
will result in significantly improved social, economic, and environmental conditions
throughout the selected area.

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