Development Research
One of the earliest conclusions we came to at TPM was that Health and Education were going to encounter great difficulties in self-funding. Moreover, we understood that the history of external Global North charities in the Global South indicated that Education and Health projects could not count on this to provide the resource security it required. To assure the community’s most vulnerable that their needs were being taken into consideration as a long-term goal, new modes of thinking and acting on local agency and best use of donations towards growing community-based agency were established through consultation. Very early attempts to identify project ideas and fund entrepreneurial projects through interest free, micro bursaries turned out to disappoint the majority of TPM members as follow-through and accountability proved to be difficult to maintain. In response to this, our solution was to focus more on social entrepreneurship rather than individualistic entrepreneurship, agreeing that project outcomes as having community-oriented benefits in supporting Education and Health and, when applicable, profit sharing through members who were part of the projects would produce richer and longer lasting prospects.
Creating the TPM campus allowed the creation of a space where TPM members could come together and utilize donations to eventually establish greater local agency. Projects take time to develop, with observation, action and reflection paying a core characteristic of how we succeed. Projects that benefit cooperative participants, also help their neighbours. Since we began on the TPM campus, development projects include a community center, a tuckshop, a hostel for conferences and research, a chicken coop, a bread baking oven, experimental gardening, a radio station and more. As we move forward, a question present in our development discussions is how the community can use past development projects as assets in a collaborative, transparent and respectful manner to help our community while supporting educational and health initiatives that benefit us long term.
Creating the TPM campus allowed the creation of a space where TPM members could come together and utilize donations to eventually establish greater local agency. Projects take time to develop, with observation, action and reflection paying a core characteristic of how we succeed. Projects that benefit cooperative participants, also help their neighbours. Since we began on the TPM campus, development projects include a community center, a tuckshop, a hostel for conferences and research, a chicken coop, a bread baking oven, experimental gardening, a radio station and more. As we move forward, a question present in our development discussions is how the community can use past development projects as assets in a collaborative, transparent and respectful manner to help our community while supporting educational and health initiatives that benefit us long term.
