Burkina Faso : integrated rural development projects in Seguenega and Dori departments

The projects were implemented, respectively, by Africare and Save The Children Federation (SCF). Both PVO's worked with village groups, helping them to organize and carry out self-help development activities. Africare integrated its personnel with those of a provincial office to form a project unit which worked independently of both USAID/BF and the central government. Africare followed A.I.D. programming practices and by project end had achieved most planned outputs relating to organization of village groups, agriculture, health care, road-building, and literacy. Provision of initial funding for credit and well digging were key ingredients in the project's success. The Dori project began as a pilot activity; when A.I.D. decided not to fund a continuation (due to SCF's failure to meet programming requirements), SCF continued the project on its own, with a somewhat trimmer focus. Although villagers in Dori, unlike those in Seguenega, lacked a tradition of group action, SCF succeeded (to a lesser extent than Africare), in sensitizing villagers to self-help activities, enhancing the local government's development capacity, and increasing local technical knowledge. The project's physical accomplishments are harder to assess because specific targets were not set. Experience shows that integrated rural development is a management-intensive activity. Lessons learned include: (1) expect a slow start-up and plan at least 8-10 years of inputs; (2) select an area with some tradition of community action; (3) choose activities that do not conflict with local customs and start with activities that villagers have already found profitable; (4) select a capable PVO and ensure that sufficient government resources will be provided, then leave responsibility for implementation with the local government and PVO; (5) integrate horizontally to achieve greater impact from mutually reinforcing activities, vertically to achieve sustainability; and (6) for financial sustainability, include credit rollover arrangements, build up the village's financial resources, and develop management skills.