Forum for Anthropology and Culture, 2018, no. 14

LOCAL DEVELOPMENT IN PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY. MAHALLA COMMITTEES IN THEIR INTERACTION WITH A FOREIGN NGO IN THE VAKHSH VALLEY IN TAJIKISTAN

Anna Cieślewska
Institute of Oriental Studies, Jagiellonian University
3 Mickiewicza Str., 31–120, Krakow, Poland
acieslewska()gmail.com

Abstract: The paper explains the issue of cooperation between the Mahalla communities and a foreign NGO. The main goal of this paper is to examine the way in which the communities respond to ideas of social development introduced by an outside NGO using the example of the project implemented by the Polish Centre for International Aid (PCIA) and the Tajik NGO Mehrangez, entitled ‘Reinforcing local community development through institutional support for mahalla committees in Tajikistan’. The main issue considered here is interaction between the local authorities and the communities involved in the project. The paper is based on a field study (2010–4) as well as information gathered during a three-yearlong project implemented between 2013 and 2015 in the Khatlon province of Tajikistan.

Keywords: self-government, local development, traditional and informal institutions, local administration, international organisations.

To cite: Cieślewska A., ‘Local Development in Practice: A Case Study. Mahalla Committees in Their Interaction with a Foreign NGO in the Vakhsh Valley in Tajikistan’, Forum for Anthropology and Culture, 2018, no. 14, pp. 187–203.

doi: 10.31250/1815-8927-2018-14-14-187-203

URL: http://anthropologie.kunstkamera.ru/files/pdf/eng014/cieslewska.pdf