Channelling capital, services, training, information and other inputs through the established traditional leaders of villages to benefit the whole of the communities. The assumption of this approach is that there is in every village a strong harmony of interests such that differences in the distribution of resources, skills and motivation can be ignored or easily overcome.
This approach was used extensively in India, starting from a pilot project at Mahewa in Etaweh District and developing into a part of India's national 5 year plans. From the initial pilot, blocks of 100 villages were incorporated into the project. Each group of 5 villages has a village level worker who is a liaison between village leadership and district level government schemes.
The established leadership is a stabilizing influence and their development will result in the development of the whole village.
The gap between traditional local land owners and the poor increases and the potential for violent conflict is enhanced.