At Ivory Consult, we believe that community development is about human dignity.  Dignity requires confidence and choices.  In many communities in the world today, people have lost confidence in their own futures, and confidence to make choices towards those futures.  The reasons for these losses of confidence are many, and in each community, these reasons need to be uncovered.  At the same time, communities have resources.  These too, need to be uncovered, recognized, appreciated, and utilized. 

 Ivory Consult facilitates community development which aims at uncovering and then utilizing the potential inherent in a community so that human dignity is restored.  It is necessary then, that this is done WITH the community, not FOR the community.  Using a blend of community development, adult education, and business principles, we facilitate communities to achieve their development goals.  These goals are achieved without communities falling into the trap of the common community politics and the common premature or otherwise inappropriate withdrawal of outside development partners.  These two traps are what so often bring an externally assisted community project to its failure. 

 Ivory Consult sees its work with communities as a journey, not as a project.  The journey ends when jointly determined indicators of success, or results, have been achieved in the community.  It is at this point that we can phase out.  To undertake this, Ivory Consult enters into contracts with foundations, donors, businesses, churches or other interested organizations or individuals to achieve specific results in a specific community. 

 As an example, we are currently contracted by a foundation to facilitate a community development process near Kibwezi, Kenya.  The result will be a food secure population whose children attend school through post secondary institutions.  The timeline of the process is unspecified, and phase out will occur when the results have been achieved.  Communication and full responsibility among the key stakeholders is the key to this flexible, but vital arrangement.