CDD Experiences from a Post Conflict Zone - Western Georgia

How do we make communities with low social cohesion cooperate for community development? Can we design CDD approaches with a strong income generating component in such communities?

This presentation focused on the challenges of community driven development in post-conflict zones. Drawing from her experiences in implementing a PRM-funded community development project in Western Georgia, a zone which experienced 2 civil wars in 1991-93 -Marine Egutia, Program Manager of Counterpart Partnership for Community Development, Western Georgia- discussed the important steps taken in building social cohesion between Internally Displaced Populations (IDPs) and local communities to participate in community development activities.

The project had two major challenges to address:

• how to make IDPs and local communities agree on a common development intervention at the village level?; and
• how to design income-generating micro-projects that was acceptable to the whole community?
  
  The project was considered a success on both counts, and Marine discussed the different strategies adapted by the program and lessons learnt.