Neville at the Botanical Society Meeting
Work with local champions
Our project was born out of a partnership between the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation and Neville van Schalkwyk, an accomplished gardener and Rasta herbalist elder in Seawinds. Working and developing relationships with established, respected and dependable individuals is key to project longevity and success. The purpose of this building block is to ensure project relevance to the local community or involved bodies, since the champion is situation in the socioeconomic, ecological, or institutional reality of the project site. The champion also acts as an interface or translator between the neighbourhood community, project partners and other stakeholders. This same building block approach works when attempting to link and build communication between stakeholders. For example, we introduced Neville to an influential member of a provincial conservation organisation who we knew through previous work. He was then able to introduce Neville to other people and resources in the conservation sector.
The development of personal relationships, clear communication, and horizontal power relations are some of the most important enabling factors when working with local champions on a project. The local champion acts as the interface between the partner organisations or groups and the community in the local area. Therefore, it is imperative that the needs, goals, and vision for the project are clearly communicated.
Relationships with local champions must be built with a long-term vision in mind and must be founded on mutual respect, with humility being shown from the outset by those initiating the work towards a solution. Equally important in the process is honesty regarding the possibility of receiving funding, since unclear communication may lead to unrealistic expectations , disappointment or frustration. Another aspect to consider when working with local champions is to avoid making assumptions whenever possible. This is particularly true when working with people from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds whose understandings or interpretations of processes and events may differ from your own.