Social Relation, Gender and Empowerment in Economic Development, Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur: Flores, Nusa Tenggara Timur

This article reflects on a commissioned research project to assess gender impacts of a local economic development project on the island of Flores in Indonesia. In Flores, the program succeeded in raising household incomes and has become the basis for a model that has now been applied globally. Concurrently, we saw the imposition of a narrow capitalocentric economic development vision and a failure to comprehend the nuance and richness of local, gendered, economic practices. Our results demonstrated that the benefits of increased cash income and new pathways for women to become leaders came alongside costs for individuals, households and communities, most acutely visible in the social economy. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the INGO that commissioned the research was pleased to hear of the benefits, however resisted the inclusion of any negative findings in the final report. This article further considers what the INGO’s resistance tells us about a broader refusal within the development sector to attend to research that has, for decades, been calling for more nuanced approaches to social and economic change, and more careful consideration of gender along the way