The Role Of Multi-purpose Cooperatives In Village Developlvient: A Case Study Of Participation In The Kawangware Cooperative Society

Abstract

The Kawangware Cooperative Society is a multipurpose, multi-commodity society with the goal of economic development of Kawangware , The society is part of a larger community development project Local participation has been named as an important factor in the success of development projects. The goal of this research was to identify the variables which influenced participation in the Kawangware Cooperative Society. Participation was considered as membership, or the act of joining, and level of participation, or the degree of activity within the Kawangware Cooperative Society. The variables, which 'were base d on: (1) social exchange theory, (2) systemic theory, and (3) structural theory, were: (1) stability, (2) social position and status, (3) development attitude, (4) community participation, (5) informal social tjy8S, (6) satisfaction with the Kawangware Cooperative Society, and (7) structural opportunities. Data was collected by conducting a questionnaire survey, creating a comparative analysis between Kawangware Cooperative Society members and non-member resident s of Kawangware and between high and low scorers in a participation scale The major findings were as follows: (1) stability has to be considered in both past years in the community and expected future years in the community. "Individuals who plan to live longer in the community are not necessarily the same as those who have spent the most time there, but are the individuals most likely to participate in community activities. (2) There are certain people more inclined to participate in all community activities (3) These people are most often the established, middle-range or middle-class, excluding the unemployed and the wealthiest residents. (4) Participation docs depend on the structural opportunities given to the individuals. (5) It could not be clearly shown that development attitudes, informal social ties or satisfaction influence participation.