Community development in Indonesia : westernization or doing it their way?

This paper considers the claim that ideas and practices of international development, including community development, are embedded in Western notions of how to organize society. It elucidates some of the main precepts of the westernization thesis, and drawing on several studies of community development projects in Indonesia, it investigates what elements might be considered as ‘Western’ and whether the adoption of so-called Western ways is the result of the dominating power of international agencies or a pragmatic choice of active agents. The paper argues that the westernization thesis is problematic and does little to help us understand the complex interactions involving change at the community level. From a community development perspective, the question of whether the themes of westernization are appropriate is not a matter of the views of outside experts, but whether they are of use to the people at the grassroots in their collective endeavours.

Culture, lifestyle and diabetes in Indonesia

Diabetes is an increasing concern worldwide, including in developing countries such as Indonesia. It has often been suggested that the rise in this condition is associated with a “westernization” of behavior in developing societies as well as social change that is tending away from traditional lifestyles. In many cases, however, the nature and extent of such behavior change, as well as the segment of the population likely to be affected, is unclear. In Indonesia, for example, there is evidence that certain aspects of traditional behavior and food preferences are, in fact, likely to increase risk for diabetes, suggesting that factors such as increased life expectancy and increased standard of living are more significant in the rise in this illness than the adoption of an outside way of life. This paper will discuss the relationship of traditional behaviorand food preferences in the context of recent social and economic change to rising incidence of diabetes in Indonesia. Specifically, the situation in the province of West Sumatra will be considered as a case study of social change and cultural context in relation to diabetes.