How would the two models – the Africanevaluation tree and the ideal community – lookin practice? The case study below, though notconsciously built on the explicit knowledge ofthese models, but rather intuitively, gives someidea.Utooni Development Organization (UDO),Machakos, Kenya - A pioneering case inAfrican rooted and driven evaluationpracticeIn 1978, when faced with perceivedgovernment, NGOs and donor neglect, JoshuaMutikusya and a few friends started an initiativeaimed at addressing the critical shortage ofwater in the Utooni, Machakos area. Becausethey had no training in development studies orcommunity mobilisation, they had no model tobase their work on. Organically, the model thatemerged was built on “mwethya” philosophy, alocal version of ubuntu with elements ofdecolonisation, indigenisation and relationalbranches. There were no formal monitoring andevaluation systems but progress was measuredaccording to what really mattered to the people,identified as:1. How well did the people work togetherand how did each group or individual –men, women, youths, etc.– contributingto the initiative?2. Was the initiative affecting relationshipspositively or negatively?3. How well shared was the decisionmaking and leadership in the initiative,and what were their effects on thepeople and the initiative?4. How well was the initiative building onthe sense of self-esteem, solidarity andloyalty to the community?5. What conflicts were arising from withinthe community and with whichoutsiders, and how well were thesehandled in the interest of the progressof the initiative?Though running contrary to most contemporarytargets and numbers of Western-drivenevaluation processes, a recent evaluationshowed the accomplishments of the initiative.• Constructed 1,500 sand dams at anequivalent cost of Kshs 1.7 billion with atotal value of water in each sand damestimated at Kshs 10 million. Each sanddam had an average of 1,000 beneficiaries.• Dug a terrace to manage erosion wasestimated at 1.5 million meters.• Decreased the distance for getting waterfrom 10 km to 1 km, each way.• Decreased the time required for gettingwater from an average of 12 hours to 1hour.• Significantly increased the number offarmers planting trees, digging terraces,planting indigenous drought-resistant crops,practicing no till and zero grazing.• Significantly increased the variety and yieldof the food being produced.The key evaluation practice, referred to as“lighting a fire”, was based on the Africanproverb “a people who cannot light their ownfire are easy to defeat.” In practice, this meantregular meetings of all stakeholders to reviewand discuss the progress of the initiative, strivingtowards an ideal community, based on the fivekey indicators above, and inspired and drivenby their definition of development – theirdefinition of development is a good changecharacterised by children living better lives thantheir parents.Implications for Monitoring and EvaluationWhat implications could the models and thecase presented above have on the currentunderstanding and practice of evaluation? Inorder to be more relevant to Africa and indeedto the whole of humanity, its evaluation theoryand practice must be built on the Africanevaluation tree and have its beginning and endin the idea of “the ideal community” which isthe essence of being human. Evaluations mustlook beyond just numbers and things; they mustbe truly human. Recognising this, in evaluatingdevelopment initiatives, there are two keyquestions to be asked.• How well is this development initiativebuilt on the African evaluation tree andhow well does it contribute towards therealisation of the ‘ideal community?The key indicators of the idealAfrican Thought Leaders Forum on Evaluation and Development, <strong>Bellagio</strong>, Nov 2012 37
community are the five interrelated andcomplementary principles of ubuntu.• In the dialogue between Northern - andAfrican-rooted and -driven evaluationtheory and practice, how do we ensurethat both the measures of the measurer(Northern) priorities and indicators) andthe measures of the measured (Africanpriorities and indicators) recognise andput the African ideal community at thecentre? Currently, most developmentindicators are mainly constructed inWestern terms. While this has itslegitimacy, it is also very important tolisten to what is important to themeasured as well as to the measurers,because it is the people who live in thehut who know that there are bedbugsthere.ReferencesAdair, J.G. Puhan, N.B., & Vohra, N. (1993). Indigenisation of psychology: Empirical assessment ofprogress in Indian research. International Journal of Psychology,28(2), <strong>14</strong>9-169.Chilisa, B., & Preece, J. (2005) Research methods for adult educators in Africa. Cape Town, South Africa:Pearson.Chilisa, B. (2005) Educational research within postcolonial Africa: A critique of HIV/AIDS research inBotswana. International Journal of Qualitative Studies, 18(6), 659-684Chilisa B. (2012) Indigenous research methodologies, Sage, Los Angels.Diamond, J. Collapse, 2005: How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, Allen Lane, Penguin Group:LondonKaphagawani, D.N. 2000. “What is African philosophy?’. In Philosophy from Africa, eds. P.H. Coetzeeand A.P.J. Roux, pp. 86-98, Cape Town: Oxford University Press.Louw, D.J. “Ubuntu: An African assessment of the religious order’, 2001, retrieved 27 September 2001,http://www.bu.edu/wcp/papers/Afrlouw.htm.Malunga, C. Understanding Organizational Leadership through Ubuntu, Adonis & Abbey Publishers:LondonSogolo, G. 1993. Foundations of African philosophy. Ibadan: University Press.Smith, L.T. (1999) Decolonising methodologies: Research and indigenous people, London: Zed Books.Wilson, S. (2008) Research is ceremony: Indigenous research methods. Manitoba, Canada: Fernwood.African Thought Leaders Forum on Evaluation and Development, <strong>Bellagio</strong>, Nov 2012 38
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