Integral community development in San Juan Del Gozo, El Salvador.
Date
2002
Authors
Hochachka, Gail
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Abstract
In this thesis, I inquire into the successes and limitations of conventional development, and explore alternative definitions and routes to a sustainable development, looking particularly at the community level. I begin with a critique of the conventional development model which, while it has successes, is limited in that it is primarily fed by growth-based economic policies that rely exclusively on instrumental rationality in lieu of self-reflection and communicative rationality. Thus, I address these limitations with a philosophical and practical inquiry into alternative concepts and processes that integrate social equity, economic stability and ecological sustainability, as well as the inner dimensions of transformational change, such as individual worldviews, cultural norms, morals, values, ethics and spirituality. I emphasize that these "inner dimensions" are crucial in moving towards equitable and sustainable societies (as described in integral theory) , but have often been left out of the development process. Thus, integral community development arises from combining "critical" alternative strategies (namely, community economic development and ecodevelopment) with the "interiority" of integral studies. I apply this integral approach to local development in the community of San Juan del Gozo, El Salvador, using community-based participatory action research methodology embedded in the complexities of the human psyche, culture and worldviews.
Re-conceptualizing "development" requires an expansion of its definition to include the unfolding of human awareness and worldviews, which set the course for a truly integral community development. As "development" expands and deepens to embrace the multi-dimensional aspects of the human psyche and of the community, and as participants in the process move away from egocentric actions to more worldcentric ones, aspects of the development process which are often perceived to be dichotomous, like economic growth and ecological sustainability, will merge.