Journal of the Inter-American Foundation
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Grassroots Development Journal of the Inter-American Foundation Focus: African Descendants and Development VOLUME 28 NUMBER 1 2 0 0 7 The Inter-American Foundation (IAF), an independent foreign assistance agency of the United States government, was created in 1969 to promote self-help development by awarding grants directly to organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its operating budget consists of congressional appropriations and funds derived through the Social Progress Trust Fund. Grassroots Development is published in English and Spanish by the IAF’s The Inter-American Foundation Office of Operations. It appears on the IAF’s Web site at www.iaf.gov in Larry L. Palmer, President English, Spanish and Portuguese versions accessible in graphic or text only format. Original material produced by the IAF and published in Grassroots Board of Directors Development is in the public domain and may be freely reproduced. Certain Roger Wallace, Chair material in this journal, however, has been provided by other sources and Jack Vaughn, Vice Chair might be copyrighted. Reproduction of such material may require prior Kay Kelley Arnold permission from the copyright holder. IAF requests notification of any re- Gary Bryner production and acknowledgement of the source. Grassroots Development is in- Thomas Dodd dexed in the Standard Periodical Directory, the Public Affairs Service Bulletin, the Adolfo Franco Hispanic American Periodical Index (HAPI) and the Agricultural Online Access John Salazar (WORLD) database. Back issues are available on microfilm from University Thomas Shannon Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. To receive the journal, e-mail [email protected] or write to the following address: Grassroots Development Grassroots Development Journal of the Inter-American Foundation Inter-American Foundation Publication Editor: Paula Durbin 901 North Stuart St. 10th Floor Arlington, VA 22203 Photo Editor: Mark Caicedo Foreign Language Editions: Darío Elías Editorial Assistant: Hilary Brand The purpose of this journal is to share grassroots development experi- Design and Printing: U.S. Government Printing Office ences with a variety of readers. The editor encourages submissions on relevant topics including, but not limited to, the following: • how the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean organize and work to improve their lives; • issues and trends in the development community; • how institutions cooperate to further the development of the region. Please direct query letters to Paula Durbin at the above address or e- mail [email protected]. Cover photo: Sean Sprague. Quilombo Santana, Brazil. Opposite page: Courtesy PRODES. Congo celebration, Portobelo, Panama. Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. 2 Grassroots Development 2002 23/1 2 Grassroots Development 2007 28/1 VOLUME 28 Grassroots Development N U M B E R 1 Journal of the Inter-American Foundation 2 0 0 7 Contents Letters from Our Readers . ii Focus: African Descendents and Development Coming Into their Own? The Afro-Latin Struggle for Equality and Recognition Robert J. Cottrol . 2 Lessons of the Elders: Juan García and the Oral Tradition of Afro-Ecuador Patrick Breslin . 6 More Options in Esmeraldas Marnie Schilken . 14 Land and Autonomy in Quilombo Santana Miriam Euclides Brandão . 16 Portobelo, Panama: Tours, Crafts and Congos Paula Durbin . 21 Afro-Paraguayans: Identity, Synergy, Census Paula Durbin . 26 Uruguay’s Organizaciones Mundo Afro Paula Durbin . 30 Costa Rica’s Epsy Campbell: Dedicated to Change Darío Elías . 38 Solutions and Strategies A Path through the Woods: Community Forest Management in Mexico David Bray . 40 Development and Heritage in Cusco Patrick Breslin . 48 At the IAF Remembering the IAF: Lessons in Value Deborah Szekely . 52 Development Notes . 57 Review Essay: What Sachs Lacks Patrick Breslin . 62 Resources . 66 In Memoriam . 76 Grassroots Development 2007 28/1 i Letters from Our Readers I am very pleased to be, once again, drawing upon the Thanks for the 2006 edition of the Grassroots IAF approach in my classes with a new group of micro- Development focused on transnational develop- finance professionals from Central America and the ment. You assembled an insight-filled collection of Dominican Republic. We begin each six-month session articles and information from IAF staff, grantees and with lively discussions around metaphors for devel- networks which deserves the broadest possible dis- opment borrowed from the new sciences, featured in semination. I will use it in my classes. Grassroots Development 2004. My kudos to Pat Breslin for the 2004 article The value of this new perspective is confirmed by “Thinking Outside Newton’s Box: Metaphors for these professionals. In our discussions, it has become Grassroots Development.” For two years now, it clear that the role of new technologies—especially has stimulated some of the richest debate and most the dramatic Internet-related developments of recent thoughtful analysis in my graduate course, Civil years—adds to the potential regional and interna- Society, Development and Peace Building. Keep such tional impact of a focus on development like that of metaphors coming! the IAF. Our question: Are there publications available, Charlie Reilly in Spanish and/or English that are addressing the Institute for Peace and Justice topic of the Internet and its implications for grass- University of San Diego roots development, and for having a multiplier effect beyond the local? Could this be a topic worth explor- ing further? I’m thinking about something more I am a Ph.D. student in rural development. I found fundamental than the obvious increased dissemina- your journal a very helpful and relevant tool to tion of information or the creation of alliances. Is broaden my knowledge and hope to extract from it there someone out there looking for new business a topic for my dissertation. I would be grateful if you models in the NGO sector—especially with a grass- would include me as a regular recipient of roots development orientation—someone looking for Grassroots Development. the equivalent of the new “user-generated content,” “insourcing,” “supply-chaining,” “Long Tail” business Febie N. Penaflor models found these days in the private sector? Benguet, Philippines Thank you for your good work. Richard Harris California State Polytechnic University Pomona University ii Grassroots Development 2007 28/1 Microfinance Gurus I just finished reading your [Kevin Healy’s] article in Desarrollo de Base 2006; it is an excellent article and one that brought back fond memories. I was very pleased to see a photo of someone who made a huge impression on me when I worked in the Peace Corps office in Lima. Aquiles Lanao guided me as I stumbled my way through training in the Lima office before I went to the Cusco office as a PCV. We communicated via short-wave radio for my two years there and he helped solve many problems for the vol- unteers in the highlands. If you are in touch with him, please send him my From the left: Viviana Salinas Lanao, John Hatch, Mimi Hatch, saludos and abrazos. Wonderful people like Aquiles Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and Iris Lanao. Yunus shared led me to a career in Latin American studies where I the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize with the Grameen Bank, the serve as an advisor and sometimes (when I’m lucky) microcredit institution he developed in Bangladesh. Lanao, as a mentor to students studying Latin America. of IAF’s own pioneering microcredit grantee FINCA-Peru, was profiled, along with John Hatch, in the feature “Ayacucho’s Shirley Kregar Super Savers” by Kevin Healy which appeared in Grassroots Development 2006. In announcing its 2006 award, the Nobel Center for Latin American Studies Committee said, “Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large University of Pittsburgh population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Microcredit is one such way.” I was leafing through the most recent IAF publica- tion when I encountered the article on Aquiles Lanao. Your evaluation of the FINCA experience in Bolivia is exactly as I remember it and I was in touch with those guys daily, attending many of their meetings and listening to what was going on. As you point out, some good ideas and some mistakes particularly on the in-kind approach. I learned a great deal from Aquiles, and I remember several of his bright, hard-charging daughters as well. I never had the chance to meet Morena. What a great lady. Anyway, a good article and thanks for sharing. Curt Schaeffer La Paz, Bolivia Grassroots Development 2007 28/1 iii Focus: African Descendants and Development reslin B Patrick iv Grassroots Development 2007 28/1 atin Americans of African descent, thought to number 150 million, are among this hemisphere’s most impoverished citizens. As such, they have been well represented in the IAF’s portfolio over nearly four decades, primarily as beneficiaries of a broad array of grantees pursuing disparate routes to better lives. LMore recently, the IAF has responded to proposals from a growing number of organized groups of African descendants, some well established and others much newer, that have assumed a leadership role in seeking to improve conditions in their communities. The IAF also supports opportunities for individuals to network, advocate, engage in dialogue and brainstorm. This issue of Grassroots Development focuses on the advances and challenges of these IAF grantees as they work to define and develop their place in contemporary Latin America. In an eloquent and insightful article, Robert J. Cottrol analyzes the context framing the issues that drive the demand of present-day African descendants for social and economic justice. Profiles of former and current IAF grantees introduce just a few of the faces of hope and voices of change in the movement to gain equality, cultural recognition and full participation in societies that have themselves for centuries been shaped and sustained by their black citizens.