DTA Conference

By far the most inspiring 'turn' at the recent Development Trusts Association Conference (13-15 September) was by Stan Thaekakara - 'asking an Indian to talk for just 20 minutes is like asking an Italian to talk with his hands behind his back!'. He had everyone in the room feeling like we were one of his friends - quite a feat when talking to a room full of people. It was obvious that it was his warmth and humanity that had guided him in his working life - he started off in Tamil Nadu working on behalf of hill tribes in order to secure their land rights. Subsequently he set up Just Change India which aimed to go beyond the Fairtrade concept by linking producers, consumers and investors in a more direct relationship than they had ever had before. The commodity - tea - took him to visit disadvantaged communities in Britain. This is the interesting bit - he wanted to make the tea affordable to consumers as well as giving a fair price to producers. An exchange visit took place between Loughborough consumers and Tamil Nadu producers which resulted in lifelong friendships.

It's been a long time since we saw the world as 'one planet' - these days the world is constantly divided between 'developed' and 'developing', 'western' and 'the rest', 'rich countries' and 'poor countries'. Yet these two families from Loughborough and India may have more in common with each other than with the societies they live in. I am beginning to realise more and more that there is so much we can learn about community development and social enterprise from the 'developing world' - for instance leadership qualities, positive attitudes and respect for each other. Also new theories and techniques such as livelihoods, building IT skills, women's empowerment. Microfinance is one idea that's already spread to the developed world from Bangladesh.

As for the rest of the conference - there was also an extensive and tempting array of interesting workshops and site visits - unfortunately it was only possible to choose two! For any community project this must seem like a precious chance to learn the 'magic tricks' to make their dreams a reality - but where to start? The range of skills and specialisms required for asset-based community development is enormous - financial, business management, fundraising, managing assets and investments, housing development, negotiating with local authorities, planning, reporting, public relations, legal governance, facilitating community engagement, demonstrating your impact, monitoring and reporting.

Another theme of the conference was power down/transition to an oil-free economy. For an interesting perspective you can follow Rob Hopkins' blog here
All the resources from the conference are available here.