"Do poor people need western ways to develop?Are these communities aware of their surroundings? Can they take risks?" Whenever we mention rural communities, the discussion focuses on how backward they may be and the need for infrastructure that would make their lives better. At the Tropentag this year, the discussions in the parallel session on rural development focussed on Risks and investments on the rural communities. Are these rural communities aware that they face certain risks? Are they risk averse? Are they well prepared in times of stress, shocks and crises that their systems face?

Studies conducted in Burkina Faso by Lucrezia Ticani indicate that these communities are much more aware of their environment and have devised different strategies to survive the wet and dry seasons while still being able to take some risk and minimise the risk.