Rediscovering people, places and traditions: a story of stories

Purpose Focussing on the links among people, places and traditions, this study aims to present the reflections derived from five in-depth personal interviews on traditions regarding wine, fish, cheese making and rural hospitality, collected in a journey across the province of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. It provides an original view of the “stories” behind the places and the products, useful to inform local development strategies centred on traditional food products. Design/methodology/approach The article presents a novel approach in conducting research that involves collecting information via empathetic interviews and presenting the findings in a reflexive, narrative storytelling style. Findings Empathetic personal interviewing is key to elicit information useful to frame the links among people, places and traditions. The economic motivation is not the main one for people to remain engaged in the production of traditional food products in the province of Reggio Calabria. Pride in linking their activities and the products they make to the territory, its traditions and the culture embedded therein, clearly contribute to define a sense of place that might be further drawn upon in participatory, rural development initiatives. Research limitations/implications Due to the way in which the interviewees have been selected, not all findings can be generalized as applicable to the entire Province or beyond. Practical implications Recognizing the people and the stories behind a product may offer insights on how to design effective, socially sustainable policies that would preserve important traditions. Personal food narratives might contribute, in a unique way, to an effective branding of the products and the territory. Social implications Doing more empathetically participatory research, rather than taking a “neutral” stance in data collection and data crunching, which has traditionally characterized the work of agricultural economists, may help in making the institutions being perceived as less distant by the ultimate beneficiary of development policies and make participatory planning much more effective. Originality/value The article contributes to an emerging area of research at the intersection between agricultural economics and rural development policy. How to highlight and protect the people and their stories as fundamental aspects of the “places”, “products” and “traditions”, remains an area of research that has not yet been fully explored, at least in the rhetoric and discourse on integrated rural development in Italy.

Re-thinking Participatory Rural Development in Botswana: Is the Enemy in the Theory or in the Implementation Process of the Theory?

Participatory development has been seen as a panacea for many problems-facing rural communities the world over. Underpinned in the principles of participatory development theory is the participation and engagement of intended beneficiaries of development interventions at the core of successful poverty alleviation and development efforts. Within this view, it is believed that with participation, those who have been relegated to the periphery by conventional development methods will be placed in the inner circles of influence, thus, allowing the marginalised and poor people a chance to be active citizens. However, even though participatory development emphasises the empowerment and active inclusion of the marginalised in development decision-making, in practice there is little evidence that participatory development has indeed changed the rural development landscape as envisaged; many excluded groups continue to be powerless and unable to demand development on their own terms and bargain for resources from an informed position and equitably. Against this backdrop, it is important to understand where the problem lies. Is it in the theory itself or in the implementation of the theoretical principles? Thus, using the critical social theory as a theoretical framework, this article explores claims envisaged within the participatory development theory and practice in the Botswana rural development context.

Peran Aparatur Pemerintahan dalam Pelaksanaan Pembangunan Perdesaan Partisipatif di Kabupaten Bone dan Kabupaten Jeneponto Provinsi Sulawesi Selatan

<p>The arrangement of government institutions in the region, especially in the rural level is very important and urgent. The dominant factors affecting participatory rural development in Bone and Jeneponto Regencies of South Sulawesi province are the aspect of leadership, quality of human resources, awareness and sensitivity, and the level of education of the officers and public awareness. Changing the culture and access to knowledge and technology, both among the officers and the society is the key to the success of participatory rural development. There are three important aspects in the effort to create the prospect of government management and participatory rural development aspects of leadership, good governance and the aspects of sensitivity and concern for the officers. The level of stakeholders participation in all elements Bone and Jeneponto regencies of South Sulawesi Province can be categorized as medium. Achievement motivation and increased competence to the officer should be a prerequisite condition of adequate welfare, a clear career path, and the improvement of internal aspects of the system and working procedures and institutional structures of government. Community empowerment program has been running really well, but there are still weak in terms of socialization, values and traditions of feudalism, bureaucracy, as well as from the aspect of consciousness of citizens. Another phenomenon in terms of community empowerment programs is that the public is more interested in the economically productive program, so that the training programs are often considered less important and less desirable. The most prominent problems of the community empowerment program are transparancy, supervision, and socialization, and community authorities targeted purely as sub optimal.<br />Keywords: institutional governance, participatory, autonomy and government official</p>