Most significant change stories in COMPAS Sri Lanka, by Kahandawa, network coordinator

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Most significant change stories in COMPAS Sri
Lanka, by Kahandawa, network coordinator

• Organic farming
• Ethnoveterinary health
• Traditional architecture

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COMPAS network Sri Lanka

• Network coordinator - Kahandawa
• 3 NGOs on endogenous development, building on
• local resources, worldviews institutions in
• - Organic farming (tubers)
• - Ethnovet (livestock) traditional farming
  (rice)
• - Architecture/landscaping (home gardens, trees)
  
• Field staff are social mobilisers from the
  community, they implement the programme
• 3-4 field staff per NGO trained in MSC (April
  2009)
• Beneficiaries

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Quantitative wellbeing indicators to show impact
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Kem structure Nekath at specific astrological
timing Pooja ritual with mantra and chanted
water by Bddhist priest Insect repellent
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Why MSC?

• Monitoring protocol and system agreed (LFA) with
  quantitative indicators
• Attempted indicators for social change and
  spiritual empowerment, not successful
• How to report on changes in wellbeing from
  worldview perspective (Buddhist, Hindu,
  Christian)?
• MSC qualitative. Would that help?

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MSC complements existing ME system

• Existing ME system monitors changes based on
  quantified indicators very important!
• Existing ME does not monitor qualitative changes
• MSC monitors quality, also useful for social,
  cultural/spiritual empowerment
• Monitoring protocol of people engaged in
  community-based spiritual activities
• MSC stories How this has led to changes in
  wellbeing (material, social, cultural/spiritual)

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Domains and steps

• Domains Intervention area of the NGO Vaasthu
  and organic agriculture
• Steps (April September 2009)
• Training of field staff in MSC
• Building rapport no problem
• First interaction- preliminary discussion,
  recording the story, change depends on domain
• Immediate clarifications within 2-3 days after
  going through the recording, analysing them.
• 3 follow-up trainings
• 154 stories collected

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Story teller categories

• Each NGO selected 24 people
• from 2 gender and 3 generations (not 1 family)
• 4 grandmothers
• 4 grandfathers
• 4 mothers
• 4 fathers
• 4 daughters
• 4 sons
• gt total 24 from one community.
• 2 communities per partner. Total 48 stories

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Story teller selection process

• Was everyone content?
• Yes, because many persons were interviewed. Time
  not really a constraint dedication of the
  organisation facilitator (field staff) is key!
• Programme coordinators, story tellers and field
  staff view MSC as a very empowering tool
• Now explore more on quality of life dimensions

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Analysis of stories (1)

• In 3 monitoring meetings so far, Compas
  coordinator, programme coordinators and field
  staff discuss sample of stories and discuss the
  shortcomings in recording.
• 2. Programme Coordinators discuss stories with
  field officers and suggest how to improve
  recording.
• 3. Beneficiaries themselves discuss impact of the
  program and emphasise the need to gain more than
  only material wellbeing

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Analysis of stories (2)

• Intention to analyse changes in wellbeing from a
  worldview perspective, e.g. Buddhism
• Compassion
• Mindfulness
• Five precepts refrain from killing, stealing,
  sexual misconduct, lying and taking intoxicants
• Other worldviews Hindu, Christian
• MSC will be used intensively as a monitoring tool
  
• End 2009 Video training on editing
• filmed stories powerful realistic - policy
  makers

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Lessons learned Benefits

• Understand how beneficiaries are empowered
• Field staff understood how deep the interventions
  affected the beneficiaries
• Beneficiaries themselves could narrate their
  empowerment ( spiritual ) for the first time
• MSC facilitate high mutual learning between NGOs!
• Normal ME information collected from
  beneficiaries as numbers, but they are not
  heard
• MSC they themselves 'narrate how they benefit'

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Lessons learned Constraints

• In the beginning, recording skills of field staff
• Field staff need good facilitation and probing
  skills to record how beneficiaries understand and
  internalise spirituality after 3 trainings field
  staff are more confident on facilitation
• How to present the stories to donors? Summarise
  or quantify the MSCs will kill the spirit of the
  stories (the strength is the story itself)