Geographies of Power: Implementing Community Driven Development in Urban Dili, Timor-Leste

Abstract

In 2012, the Government of Timor-Leste (GoTL) commenced its ambitious Programa Nasional Dezenvolvimento Suku (National Suku Development Program [PNDS]), the latest in a series of decentralised development programs implemented since independence from Indonesian occupation in 1999. Between 2012 and 2017, the program was progressively rolled out across all of Timor-Leste’s 442 sukus (villages). The PNDS approach is based on a community driven development (CDD) model. Communities choose what kind of development project they want, elect a project team and receive training in running and building the project. Those who perform the labour receive a small daily stipend. There are many challenges to development in Timor-Leste, not least of which are mountainous terrain and poor roads, making the transport of heavy construction material and equipment a sometimes heroic endeavour. Low literacy and numeracy skills in rural areas can present a formidable barrier to training community members in basic project management skills like book-keeping or report writing. A still deeply traditional society with strong hierarchical and patriarchal forms of authority further complicates attempts at gender inclusive development. That will not change over- night. Despite these challenges, according to one unpublished national review of the PNDS project carried out in 2017, the program was highly popular with the Timorese and participants learned valuable vocational skills. In a context of faltering service delivery, it also delivered much needed local level development and achieved very real change (The Asia Foundation 2017).