Something is rotten in development’s garden: Neglectings, barriers and opportunities for engaging with difference in the co-creation of strategies for change

Abstract: Acknowledging that development initiatives often fail to bring about the long-lasting changes envisioned, the concept of ‘participation’ has been promoted to support principles such as ownership and sustainability. Unfortunately, participatory approaches largely fail to engage in and incorporate people’s different understandings of the world. Appreciating that when engaging in these differences, dissonance may emerge; and due to the absence of predefined solutions in collaborative settings; social learning approaches can be invaluable in the co-creation of strategies of change. Opportunities for engaging in such approaches were explored through a qualitative case study of a communal food plant garden and seedling nursery initiative in South Africa. More specifically, the (lack of) engagement in such approaches and the reasons for which, were used to shed light on why the initiative deteriorated as it did. Interviews highlighted different understandings regarding the value of the initiative and why people were reluctant to join, left and/or spent less time in the initiative, resulting in the initiative being misaligned to the priorities and preferences of the people it was intended to benefit. Engaging in social learning could have avoided this, but faces many barriers within the current approach to development.