Aid

This article presents a case study of an activity implemented under the FAO component of the Local Partnerships for Urban Poverty Alleviation Project funded by UNDP in Bangladesh. In Mymensingh city the project is linking poor urban dwellers with a niche market for oyster mushroom. This small enterprise activity appears to be sustainable in that it develops agricultural production to cater for the specific demand of an existing small marketing enterprise.

Development cooperation has traditionally been the playing field of governments, multilateral institutions, and established development NGOs. In the last decade however, other actors in Northern countries (such as businesses, migrants’ organisations, professional groups, and schools) have shown active interest in development-related activities Although they do not belong to the epistemic community of development specialists and are often overlooked in the discourse and literature on development cooperation, their number and importance are growing.