Stories about Development from January, 2012
Africa: Good Development Blog
Good Developments is a blog about African politics, development aid, peace and conflict. The blog is run by Katrin Eder and Peter Dörrie.
Madagascar, Ethiopia: Arable Lands on Sale
The association “Collectif TANY” for the Protection of Land in Madagascar has published an exhaustive list of the instances of Land Grab by foreign entities in Madagascar [fr]. They warn...
Competition to Develop Low-Cost Water Purification Device
Inventors, designers, entrepreneurs from developing countries are invited by the University of South Florida's Patel Center to submit ideas for the creation of a “Smart Pot” that can purify water...
Macedonia: Crowdmapping Projects Overview
Boris Ristovski provided an overview of crowdmapping projects in Macedonia [mk] and asked [mk] local netizens to respond to his online survey [mk], part of his master's thesis research.
D.R. of Congo: Writings From DRC
Throwing Down the Water: Writings from the DRC is a blog by Emily Cavan Lynch: “I am currently working in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where...
Nicaragua: Life in Villa Norte
In the blog Huella Libre [es], Fernando Guzman describes the difficult living conditions of residents of a settlement in Jinotega, Nicaragua, called Villa Norte.
Philippines: Environment Disasters Linked to Mining, Logging Operations
Massive floods and landslides hit many parts of the Philippines in the past three weeks which killed more than 1,500 people and affected hundreds of thousands of poor villagers. Netizens are probing the causes of the disasters and the accountability of government officials in issuing permits to logging and mining firms.
CEE: Getting “Abnormal For A Change”
East of Center writes about “Eastern Europe’s ‘obsession with normality'” and suggests this New Year’s resolution: “In the true spirit of Václav Havel, why don’t we get abnormal for a...
Malawi: Moving Windmills: The William Kamkwamba Story
Moving Windmills is a documentary that tells the true story of William Kamkwamba, a young innovator from Malawi, Africa who taught himself to generate electricity by building a windmill from...
Nepal: Outcome Of The 17th SAARC Summit
Chandan Sapkota analyzes the outcome of the seventeenth summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) which was held in November 2011 in the Maldives.
Africa: Recapping Mighty African's 2011
Mighty Africa blogs about his highlights and lowlights in 2011: “After 10 years in the USA, I returned home to Ghana. I abandoned my dream of going home with the...
China 2011: From Jasmine Crackdowns to Grassroots Uprisings
From the crackdowns on any Jasmine revolution and grassroots uprisings, to debates about future development models, 2011 was another eventful year for China. Oiwan Lam rounds up.
Brazil: Domestic Work in Transition
Brazilian society is seeing a transition in domestic work, a type of employment that is deeply connected to issues such as social inclusion, bad work conditions, social hierarchies, gender inequalities and empowerment. Catch a glimpse of this debate.
Philippines: Ailing Economy Welcomes 2012
Jose Carlos Maningat calls for a rethinking of the ailing Philippine economy come 2012: “For a change, can we also discuss social justice? Can we move forward to pressing concerns...
Russia: Demographic Crisis Means “No One Left To Draft”
Russia is endowed with some of the greatest stores of natural resources in the world and yet the demographic crisis that has plagued the country since the fall of the Soviet Union may leave Russia without a youth to defend their homeland.
Bolivia: Women Weaving Hope in El Alto
In Americas Quarterly [es], blogger Cecilia Lanza praises the artisan women of El Alto who have created their own workshops and small businesses.
China: What do Chinese people envision as the best life?
The Ministry of Tofu translates a documentary video produced by Chinese news portal Net Ease on Chinese people's envision of the best life.
U.S.V.I.: Water Woes Cause Anger
“It’s gotten graphic there – waste that’s piling up in toilets that cannot be flushed; people crawling around in cisterns trying to retrieve a bucket of water to meet a...
Brazil: Mobilization for the Right to Sustainable Water Cisterns
A civil society group in the interior of northeast Brazil has been developing participatory alternatives to guarantee access to water to regions affected by desertification. The Federal Government suspended its partnership with the group and planned to increase government control over the water cistern project. In December, people mobilized sufficient pressure and the original agreement has been reinstated.
