Help Without Hurt: Community Goals, NGO Interventions And Lasting Aid Lessons In Chiapas, Mexico
Author(s)
Earle, Duncan; Simonelli, Jeanne
Abstract
This paper draws on recent fieldwork in Chiapas, Mexico to ask questions about the ethical, ideological, and practical implications of social science work with NGOs and under-empowered communities. A case study illustrates the ways in which all parties involved in the development endeavor must negotiate among organizational goals, funding imperatives, the needs of local people, and the sociopolitical realities of the intervention locale. This candid look at development efforts under fire is framed by a discussion of anthropology’s role in the development process and debate, and placed in the context of the conflict in Chiapas. In turn, the case study becomes a platform for suggestions regarding “doing” development in order to help without hurting. An outline or checklist for reasonable and responsible development in any setting, drawn from several previous development efforts, is presented, laying the groundwork for a proposed science of “authorized” community development. The case study uses fictitious names for the NGO, all communities, and geographical locales.
