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As a member of both joint study and implementation teams on rural development projects in Bangladesh, I have developed an alternative community development approach called the “Link Model.” This approach bridges the gap between village communities and service providers, such as local government, administration, and NGOs, and has demonstrated effectiveness in encouraging community people to participate in processes of rural development. The Government of Bangladesh has adopted and begun implementing the “Link Model” as a pilot project.

Present development paradigms, which make too much of modernization of rural livelihood and economic growth, tend not only to undervalue but also to ignore culture, tradition, and indigenous knowledge accumulated in the community through generations. This discourages people from continuing to live in the community and weakens and destroys the functions of rural communities and the unity of people. Unless these tendencies are reversed, people will continue to migrate from rural to urban areas, hence undermining the sustainability of rural livelihoods. My current interest is in searching for an alternative rural development paradigm that encourages people to live together in the community spiritually as well as economically. A proposed community museum that conserves indigenous knowledge and technologies at the community level through local participation might be a possible solution.