Understanding the Changing Dynamics of Rural Development in Dolakha, Nepal

There is ample debate around the conceptualizations of rural development as well as its implementation and impacts. Contemporary understandings underline the importance of social movements in social change, which has become a fundamental part of development. The Rural Development Tuki Association (RDTA) is such a social movement from Dolakha district in Nepal that originated within a Swiss-funded development project in the 1970s. The organization was a prime actor in social change and influenced the development of the villages in their district. There is a lack of applied research focusing on the history, evolution and context of social movements.The junction between social movement studies and organizational theory originated the theory of ‘strategic action fields’ that is used to analyze and understand the dynamics that underlie the emergence, stabilization and contestation of movements and organizations. The findings that are to inform this framework were collected during a field visit to Dolakha district through six informal gatekeeper-selected interviews and the analysis of documents provided by the organization itself. All this data was analyzed through content analysis and complemented by an extensive literature review on rural development, rural advisory services and Nepal’s political history to better understand the wider context within which the actions retold by members or related individuals took place.The RDTA originated as a novel approach to delivery of rural development services to village communities aiming to increase their self-reliance and agency in development. The ‘Tuki’ were selected members of village communities that received training and were then to share the newly acquired expertise with their peers like an expert-farmer or farmer-to-farmer extension system would. At first the villages struggled to accept the new authority and governance at the time made it impossible for the Tuki to formally organize. There was considerable conflict between Panchayat officials and Tuki members. Towards the end of the Panchayat the Tuki became respected members of village communities and started to increase their influence on local politics as well as widen their network within the district. This enabled the organization to claim and maintain a dominant position within rural development in Dolakha from its official registration in 1991 until the end of the direct financial support from the Swiss Agency of Development and Cooperation (SDC) in 2004. The support from Switzerland had significantly influenced the Tuki’s focus, ideals and organizational structure and the work done by SDC was a progressive reflection of the rural development discourse that was predominant at the time. The organization was able to stabilize after its funding crisis around 2004 but was never able to return to previous stability and activity. The ability to identify community needs, create collective identities and mobilize individuals to engage in action frames that aim for the common good where the main forms of social skill that enabled the RDTA to reach the network and impact it did and maintain its activity throughout different political scenarios that threatened the organizations ability to continue its action. The RDTA is facing challenges of identity, funding and staff-turnover and will need to reengage in debates around its focus and organizational structure if it is to continue its legacy in Dolakha.Social movements and civil society actors played a crucial role in the development of Nepal’s rural areas and its evolution towards a democratic, egalitarian and inclusive society. More research is needed to better understand the impact the RDTA has had on village life and how national and international discourses on rural development have informed and influenced their activities and frameworks. The theory of ‘strategic action fields’ provided an excellent framework that was crucial at analyzing the dynamics that govern the emergence, stabilization and contestation of strategic action and its broader environment