Developing villages

The village is the heart of any country. Yes, more people are living in cities than ever before and cities have become economic centres, but the village is still the live wire of a country. It is even more so in an agricultural country like Sri Lanka, whose rural population makes a huge contribution to the economy.

Sri Lanka has around 14,000 villages which have seen varying degrees of success in terms of development. All governments have made rural development a priority. It is also closely associated with poverty alleviation, because poverty is still an issue in remote areas.

There are many models for village development the world over, but South Korea’s Saemaul Undong program is one of the best known. Now Korea is keen to share that success with Sri Lanka and Myanmar, by implementing a similar program here. Korea's International Administrative Development Centre Director General Kim Won Jin and Korean ambassador in Sri Lanka Jong Moon Choi met Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa to discuss the details of the program.

Saemaul is a combined word from Sae and Maul. Sae in Korean means new or refreshed and Maul means a village which is the basic unit of a community.

Saemaul, thus means a movement to make the local community better and also a village rehabilitated by the efforts of its residents. It was both a physical and mental effort, because the program also elevated the villagers’ ‘can-do’ mentality.

Although South Korea is now regarded as a highly developed country, 40 years ago it was not. The Korean leaders realised that developing the village holds the key to overall development. They initiated Saemaul Undong to develop underprivileged and underdeveloped rural villages on April 22, 1970. The government implemented 10 major projects that included expanding villages’ inner roads and farm roads, providing roofs and fences, installing laundry facilities, developing community wells, building bridges and improving potable water systems. Community collaboration (diligence, self help and cooperation) was the foundation of the program. It has helped South Korea to become a wealthy country.

Prosperity

There are many things we can learn from other countries such as Korea which have traversed the difficult path to development and prosperity. Like Sri Lanka, South Korea too had to contend with a conflict that battered its economy. Yet, South Korea successfully faced the challenge of development.

Although South Korea is now often described as an industrialised country, its rulers had not forgotten the very roots of its prosperity - the villages. Now that the conflict is behind us, Sri Lanka too can emulate the South Korean model to become a hub of Asia.

It is better if our authorities can seamlessly integrate the Saemaul Undong concepts with our own development initiatives at village level, including the Samurdhi program, Divi Neguma (livelihood development), Maga Neguma (road development) and Gama Neguma (village development). The recent ‘eka gamakata eka wedak’ (one project per village) is a worthy addition to this list. An excellent example for the potential of Divi Neguma is the planned setting up of 30,000 cottage industries. At least 10,000 industries will commence by the end of this year. It has also begun a new Sathi Pola (weekly village fairs) program which will benefit village-based farmers and vendors.

In the light of the initiatives, the Government has acknowledged that its development policy is mainly based on rural development and poverty alleviation, the twin pillars of a successful economic policy. This is essential because villagers make up nearly 80 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population.

However, one thing must be made clear. Rural development should not mean turning villages into mini cities. Urbanisation of rural areas has not worked in many countries which have tried to make villages disappear.

Villagers should be given facilities to uplift their lives, but not at the expense of the very soul of their village, which is its unspoilt environment or to coin a term, the ‘village-ness’. The character of the village should be preserved.

There is always no need to think ‘big’ when it comes to rural development. For example, a mini hydro unit or solar array would suffice for certain villages to which supplying mains electricity may not be economically viable and even physically impossible depending on the terrain. In other words, local solutions which are better alternatives may be available.

Scramble

Every village needs good access roads so that villagers can take their produce to markets sooner. They need more buses on the roads. They need good schools within distances accessible on foot or bicycle. If every village had access to a good school on par with the so-called leading schools, the mad scramble for the latter would disappear. All villages should have access to good water - again, this may not necessarily be from a mega water project. Even a few tube wells will do for a village that has no proper source of quality water. Almost everyone even in rural areas now has a mobile phone, but there is more room for fixed line and Internet penetration. The Nenasala and Web Patashala programs are two examples for empowering villages through advanced communications facilities.

It is important to give an opportunity for villagers to voice their opinions on any development projects envisaged for and in their villages.

There are many occasions when well-meaning officials in Colombo or other key cities approve development projects in far-off villages without consulting the villagers. Such projects may not be in tune with the actual needs of the community. There was a suggestion earlier to establish a grassroots local body system modelled after the Panchyats in India.

This is a very good suggestion because villagers will be involved in any project in their village from start to finish. Women should be heavily involved in any such initiative as their concerns must be taken on board.

Sri Lanka has recorded impressive figures for health, education and several other sectors despite being tagged as a developing country. Our overall development strategy should aim to use this major achievement as a solid foundation for becoming a fully developed State, with priority for rural advancement.