l Sacred groves versus gold mines: biocultural community protocols in Ghana 123
communities’ key assets – biological, natural, cultural, social and spiritual – was also
an important prerequisite for community
organisation and capacity building. This
information was gathered by members of
the community (Box 1).
The process has been successful in
mobilising the community to work towards
the vision they identified, and in enabling
them to present their vision to external
actors (government officials and development organisations), and request support.
Since 2004, community forums (durbars)
have been organised by the Chief every
Easter and Christmas to review activities
and present projects to these external agencies. Sons and daughters working outside
the village have also been invited to
contribute to the development of the
village. In 2007, field programmes were
agreed for revitalising sacred groves,
strengthening traditional authorities (male
and female), traditional crop varieties,
organic farming and zero tillage (see
CIKOD, 2010).2
Monitoring the community’s capacity for
endogenous development
In 2010 and 2011, community meetings
were held in Tanchara to reflect on how their
capacities for endogenous development had
changed since 2003, when CIKOD first
began working with the community (Figure
1). Scores were agreed through community
discussions with representatives of the
youth, women, traditional authorities, elders
and Tingandem. The Chief ’s and Pognaa’s
capacity to mobilise the community had
both substantially strengthened due to the
recognition gained through the organisational development process. The women are
now better organised to support each other
and undertake farming as an economic
activity, and their role and voices are
increased, heard and respected in community meetings. Respect and understanding
2 Zero tillage is a way of growing crops from year to year without
disturbing the soil through tillage. It increases the amount of
water and organic matter (nutrients) in the soil and decreases
erosion. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-till_farming
Box 1: Community organisational
development process
Preparation of CIKOD field staff: A staff retreat to
discuss attitudes and knowledge for promoting
endogenous development: how to work within the
worldviews of the community? (see Box 2). Staff
identified challenges and proposed ways to address
them.
Awareness-raising and gaining the consent of the
Tanchara community: Meeting between CIKOD and
the Chief and elders to explain the approach, then a
community meeting to introduce CIKOD to the wider
community and gain prior informed consent (PIC).
Formation and preparation of the community
team: Five people selected by the community (two
women, three men). Discussion to identify
indigenous institutions, traditional authorities,
formal institutions (e.g. NGOs) and livelihood assets
used by different groups. Checklist of questions
developed in the local Dagara language.
Training the community team: Participatory rural
appraisal (PRA) tools introduced, including focus
group discussions, individual interviews, field
observations, transect walks and resource mapping.
The team role-played tools with the community,
receiving lots of feedback, then agreed a timetable
for visiting different sections of the community and
reporting back.
Carrying out the community institutions and
resource mapping (CIRM): Five days gathering
information about the community’s institutions and
biocultural resources. All ten Tanchara sections
visited, as well as the Tindana of each section, and
the Paramount Tindana. Information gathered
collated with help from a staff member from the
University for Development Studies, and gaps in the
data identified. CIKOD staff recorded some resources
identified on video.
Reporting back: Information modified and verified
at a community meeting. Report adopted as a
community document.
Community visioning: Community resource map
developed, then discussion using the map. Where
was our community 10 years ago? Where is our
community now? Where do we want our community
to be in 10 years? Responses captured by CIKOD
staff and presented to the Tanchara community as a
vision statement.
Action planning: How do we use the resources
identified to make this vision come true? What
practical activities must we carry out? When do we
want to implement these activities? Who will do
what and how do we ensure we carry out our
responsibilities (community contract)? Development
activities then prioritised and time-frame and
community contract developed.