Many approaches to rural development in sub-saharan Africa are formulated, designed and evaluated in places and by people completely outside the world of the people concerned. Modern structures which emerged were largely government fabricated and targeted to simplified objectives of a technical nature, like productivity. More complex traditional systems were either disregarded or fell in disuse. The major question raised concerns whether these structures – modem or traditional – are truly representative of the people. It is suggested that elements of traditional organizational forms are combined with modem types of basic organizations (like NGOs) in order to be able to develop their own identity and perspectives, to develop into professional agencies for the inducement of innovations and the improvement of living conditions. Such African NGOs ought to be supported to secure local knowledge and to implement “decentralized co-operation”. As communication is the key element participative methods should be reformulated and investigated into.
