Although much of the community development work undertaken by women in Northern Ireland could be described as community relations, women's reluctance to use that label has led to neglect of their significant contributions. A more inclusive definition of community relations is needed. (SK)

In conflict-torn Afghanistan, international nongovernmental organizations are attempting to build indigenous capacity for development. Strategies include support for women, involvement of local elders, and integration of internal and external value systems. (SK)

Principles of feminist community action--working against inegalitarian social relations, promoting egalitarian working relations, self-reflection; and evaluation--are explained and demonstrated with the example of the Greenham Commons Women's Peace Movement in Britain. (SK)

Women participating in grassroots community development in Chile received financial aid, training, and technical assistance in housing, repair and community organization. Relationships and gender played a powerful role in community change. However, their experiences illustrated the constraints on local action. (Contains 31 references.) (SK)

Funding for community development in Ireland promotes a conflict management approach. Defining women's roles as apart from conflict is a political maneuver that does not aid reduction of conflict, obscures women's political agency, and limits the access of women's organizations to funding. (Contains 52 references.) (SK)

Fifteen older women involved as volunteers faced several barriers to participation: pain, disability, family obligations, assumptions about age, transportation, and different patterns and pace of life. Structural changes that would enhance older people's contributions to community life were suggested. (SK)

An ethnographic study of Kalhor nomads in Iran showed that the government's top-down approach to development and weak local institutions obscure the impact of technology on women and poor people. Despite rhetoric about participation, these groups are not consulted about their needs, priorities, and interests. (SK)

Rural women in less-developed nations use fuels that can be toxic and are becoming scarce. Feminist, sociological, and community-development issues were involved in the process of introducing clear-burning fuel, enabling a focus on both the effects on the health of fuel users and concern for ecological sustainability. (SK)

Discusses the objectives of this special issue--women, poverty, and community development--and key issues raised by these subjects, including the changing role of the family, generating income through credit and savings, understanding women's fifth world, overcoming poverty and powerlessness, and changing stereotyped roles. (CT)

A case study of an official organization's attempt to organize Dutch rural women who had already formed their own informal groups illustrates issues of knowledge, power, and control. The resulting conflict demonstrates the wisdom of following local organizing practices when attempting development interventions. (SK)

Three practice-based articles highlight common experiences and challenges in dealing with the impact of globalization: "Maori Volunteers: Finding a Voice for the Voiceless" (Te Momo); "Empowering Women through Income-generating Projects: Evidence from Indonesia" (Prihantinah, Marinova, Stocker); and "Empowering Kenyan…

The case study examines the work of a coalition between certain women's groups in India and a nongovernmental charitable trust. The mission of the coalition is to empower Indian women, who generally possess neither land nor power, to care for their livestock. (CH)

Includes "Community Development in Areas of Political and Social Conflict" (Oliver); "Women and Development in Peru" (Barrig); "Some Reflections on Community Development Experiences in Brazil" (O'Gorman); "Informal Networks for Pre-School Children in a Black Community in South Africa" (Lines); "The…