Learning from Gal Oya

by Norman Thomas Uphoff

"This book recounts the drama of a remarkably successful experiment that introduced farmer organization for self-managed development in the largest and most run-down irrigation system in Sri Lanka. Gal Oya, initially considered one of the least desirable areas in the country, became one of the most progressive and peaceful during the 1980s, despite the ethnic violence that surrounded it. People reshaped their working and living conditions and accomplished changes no one previously thought possible."--BOOK JACKET. "In an unusual combination of description and analysis, Norman Uphoff here seeks to interpret the Gal Oya project, and he draws far-reaching conclusions for participatory development and contemporary social science.^ The major portion of his book deals with concrete field experience in Sri Lanka, working with and learning from impoverished farmers, young community organizers, irrigation engineers, government officials, and others involved in an impressive reversal of circumsta