The fieldwork in May 2013 focused on developing frameworks around the key problems faced by community members in the villages and the corresponding solutions the community members envisioned. This round of culture-centered fieldwork worked on the scope of the problems that the community would begin its work on. The community had already decided the broad scope of problems. Our role, my role, as a researcher and the role of the community organizer, are tied to developing the scope of solutions to be implemented in the community as identified by community members. In this round of conversations, the community members identified the problem of water for irrigation as the key problem facing the community. This was also identified through the in-depth interviews and earlier ethnographic work as the primary problem in the community, connected to the experiences of food insecurity and the struggles with poverty. Community members identified the need to build (a) deep tube well,...
This blog offers Mohan Dutta's reflections on the theoretical framework of the culture-centered approach, examining the interplays among Structure, Culture, and Agency in shaping marginalisation and the ways in which communities at the margins challenge structures. Writings on the blog are continually being revised to reflect the organic analysis of structure and agency.