Effective transforming investment has a very hard edge

Most of us who have been there know that changing the situation of poor rural people can be almost impossible. education ,health care and clean water etc can help, but the real issue is hope and whether you can sustain it,,. In many really poor areas you can't simply sustain the way they do things -so how in the world do you find a way back to resiliance.
There is a lot of  careless talk about resilience-the only way to wrest people near the edge is not to rely on their toughness, but to rely on your own -mental toughness.
The advantage I always had was an objective understanding of the depth of the eco and market risks ( participants often hold a blinkered view- including a too positive view ).
it meant I had something they didn't have -which means your view was not always welcome (hard options take time and toughness to sell)
BUT you have  something they don't have ;some  idea where to take their ag ecosystems and market opportunities -----where to go -- all you need is a little incentive in a poor community and the power to wrestle with the questions of hope control trust.

Like all humans they usually think they know - but if desperate enough - who knows how little it takes to take the lead. The problem always was - there was so few of us !


If only we were still training young people to do this - like we had the chance to do in the 1970's .

Whose really living on the edge ?

As one who saw the growth of some great practical application of resilience research by Australia's formative  innovative and onground engaged conservation agency in the 1970's , I know just how distracted is so much conservation investment in the new milleneum. Most investment in conservation has now lost its way-esp to really help rural people and help them move away from the edge or towards resilience - a tragedy but one wise investment

can fix -if there was more awareness of the hole we are now in .The fact is that politics is quick fix and since my work became popular ,the drive for quickfix has never been greater .

SO.........

You can't rely on governements to live on the edge ,

You can't even rely on big business ( have to focus on the narrow to survive AND prosper  )

You can't  rely on people who make their living on the edge (they don't always want to identify the precipice nearby)

BUT You can rely on observers who work closely and objectively ( understand how nature works and are not distracted by variability and unpredictable risk factors ) with those on the edge

. Probably the most amazing thing I learnt in my long career in supporting young people to invest wsiely in rural areas was that it was possible , but that it was best done by people who keep a low profile but carry a big stick . Its hard to get and keep people there .....but its certainly worthwhile .