General lessons learned

Most of what we have learned in the three years of this program is presented in the specific steps described in the preceding section. There are, however, a few general lessons that we have learned that may be useful for other groups attempting similar projects.

For each point, we provide a brief discussion of the lesson we have learned and an illustrative example drawn from our experience.

• Only initiate enterprises with communities that come to you. If you advertise your program, you will be contacted by thousands of people all wanting a free sawmill. Letting the communities contact you weeds out the Groups that do not have initiative. It also puts the burden of making the project work on them and not on you - it is their idea and thus their responsibility.

Example: In several cases we were able to walk away from Groups that were proving difficult - we would not have been able to do this as easily if we had solicited the proposals.

• Don't hurry things - work at an appropriate pace. In moving a Group through the steps in the process, it is important to not move onto the next step until you have satisfactorily completed the previous one. If the Group is not making progress in understanding things, take the time to figure out why they are not making progress and then fix the problem.

Example: While working with one remote Group, although they picked up most aspects of the training quickly, they had difficulty in adjusting the mill to make appropriate measurements. This was quite puzzling until we realized that most of the men were illiterate and thus could not read the numbers on the ruler bar. We took the time necessary to teach them to read the numbers and things progressed smoothly thereafter.

• If you suspect a problem, deal with it immediately. Unsolved problems merely fester and cause problems among the Group members.

Example: In several projects we have had problems with fuel being stolen or timber revenues being used for unauthorized purchases. We have had our staff immediately deal with the problem and make the guilty party repay the value of the fuel or the money. This prevents further thefts and maintains a sense of pride among Group members.

• Don't ever be afraid to pull your support from a Group's enterprise if they do not meet the terms of the agreement. State the terms of your agreement up front and then stick to them. Most people will respect you for being honest and clearly explaining the reasons behind your decisions. Groups may walk away, but they will also come back when they've had a chance to think about it and realize what they are missing. Then you can determine the terms under which you will continue to work with them.

Example: In one of the Groups that didn't have a strong leader, major fighting between the two primary clans led them to pull all their money out of their bank account to ensure that the other clan wouldn't get it. We pulled our equipment back from the project. After a few weeks, the clan members realized that they were not getting any profits and came together to forge a new agreement in which we monitor their bank funds even more closely.

• Don't believe people if they tell you there are no problems with their enterprise. Every enterprise has problems that it needs to surmount. People often like to hide their problems. Find other sources of information to discretely learn what is going on.

Example: In one instance, a clan member reported that the Group had no problems with their enterprise. When we talked to the whole clan, however, it became clear that the particular individual was trying to use the project to make money for himself alone.

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