A Case Study of Community Development Projects in Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Purpose: This research aims to suggest a checklist for successful implementation of future community development projects by analyzing three community development projects implemented in the Tigray region of Ethiopia applying Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF).
 Originality: While there exist various studies dealing with community development programs, there is only few studies that attempt to empirically analyze the positive effects and negative effects of community development programs. Thus, this research intended to empirically examine differences between development theories and practices using three projects that have been implemented in Tigray region.
 Methodology: Case study was conducted through qualitative research methods such as Key Informant Interview, Focus Group Discussion in analyzing three community development projects implemented in Tigray region of Ethiopia. The elements of each project were analyzed based on 5 assets, strategies, and outcomes of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework(SLF) to evaluate the sustainability of the project.
 Result: In the Koraro project, community participation in every stage was absent, which weakened the sustainability of the positive outcomes. Second, AbrehaAtsbeha project was community-based, participatory, and integrated, which led to agile implementation. Lastly, in Maymekden and Addis Alem project, meaningful community participation was not made, which resulted in unsustainable outcomes.
 Based on these results, this study suggests that the success of community development projects depends on factors such as community participation and investments in livelihood assets.
 Conclusions and Implication: This result implies for the development actors that the community development project outcomes should be sustained through local resources and build a sense of ownership in the community