The author examines the history of grassroots community development (CD) in rural Malawi, with reference to four case studies. The findings illustrate that while the intended beneficiaries of such `self-help' projects need to be persuaded that the costs of participation are justified, in reality the decision to participate or not is more often subject to social and other pressures, and in the past has been backed up with sanctions. The ultimate success of the CD effort may depend more on the level of political backing it can mobilise than on the support shown by poor communities.
