Lisków – A Model of Local Development?
4. Conclusions
If we consider the historical example of Lisków to be a prototype of the Polish model of local development, then we can defi ne the prototype in the following way: in underdeveloped communities, local development is linked to increasing social capital. Development results from a combination of linked and mutually infl uential processes of development, including: economic, cultural-educational, and social. Development takes place when cooperative relations are established among community members. These cooperative relations must take on an organised form, relevant to the existing collaborative activities, and shape a particular model of collective leadership. The social economy is a tool for local development.
“Dolina Strugu” (“Strug Valley”)
– A Partnership Laboratory
1“Dolina Strugu” has been developed as an effect of cooperation of local governments of four Rzeszów district, Podkarpacki region communes – Błażowa, Chmielnik, Hyżne and Tyczyn. Historically, this area is named the Galicia.
The initiative was started in 1991 by the establishment of the technologically ultra-modern “Okręgowa Spółdzielnia Telefoniczna” (District Telephone Cooperative, OST), one of the fi rst independent telecommunications operators. It was described as “Światłowodem przez pole” (Optical fi bres in the fi eld)2, which gives an idea of the incredible impetus of the project. The fi rst successful initiative paved the way for the others3. It triggered the business development pace. Successive economic, social, and educational initiatives emerged, such as:
• Towarzystwo Rolno-Przemysłowe “Dolina Strugu” (“Strug
Valley” Agro-Industrial Association) with its headquarters in Błażowa, Towarzystwo Przeciwdziałania Uzależnieniom “Trzeźwa Gmina” (The Association for Counteracting Addictions – “Sober
Commune”) in Chmielnik;
1 This article is an abridged English version of the paper published in Polish as: A. Dobrowolska, J. Leszczyńska, Dolina strugu – w laboratorium współpracy partnerskiej, in: T. Kaźmierczak, K. Hernik (eds.), Społeczność lokalna w działaniu. Kapitał społeczny. Potencjał społeczny. Lokalne governance, Institute of Public Affairs, Warsaw 2008, pp. 113–146 (Editors’ note).
2 A. Gontarz, Wizjonerzy i pragmatycy, “Computerworld”, May 17, 2004.
3 See: S. Bratkowski, Społeczeństwo nieobojętnych. Tak blisko, tak daleko, “Znak” No. 565, June 2002.
• A social company producing and distributing water “Chmielnik- Zdrój”, JSC;
• Non-public schools: a junior high school, a high school and a music school (in Chmielnik) as well as Wyższa Szkoła Społeczno- -Gospodarcza (Social-Economic College) in Tyczyn;
• Utility partnership – a joint waste disposal venture that has been linking four communes of the “Valley” with Dynów for a couple of years. Formally, “Strug Valley” began to function as a microregion in 1994, along with the establishment of the Agro-Industrial Association, comprising the four above-mentioned communes with a total area of 300 km2 and approximately 38,000 citizens. The microregion is rural with two thirds of its employed population working at individual farms, and an average farm area covering only 3.5 ha. It is worth noting that Podkarpacie is one of the poorest regions of Poland, and the unemployment rate has been very high throughout the years.
The institutional output of “Strug Valley” is an impressive work which started long ago on a traditional stubble-fi eld. Let us briefl y describe the most signifi cant projects:
District Telephone Cooperative (OST)
The fi rst joint initiative covering the actions of the Valley’s four communes. It was established in 1991 thanks to the help of Polish and American experts sharing their know-how, the commitment of communes, loans for the telephone exchange purchase, as well as the commitment of individuals who, as cooperators, had fi nanced and supervised the building of the infrastructure network. In Chmielnik, these people even guaranteed commune loans with mortgages on their own houses. The establishment of the cooperative was a practical solution to the problem of telecommunications underdevelopment and an expression of disagreement with anticompetitive actions taken by the Polska Poczta Telegraf i Telefon company (Polish Post Telegraph and Telephone) – as it was then called – which was forcing complimentary transfers of networks, socially built by Telephone Committees, in exchange for service access.
The OST was constructed, from the start, with the use of ultra- modern technology solutions (e. g. it possessed the fi rst optical network in southern Poland). The number of phone subscribers reached 9,500 by
the end of 2003 with the number of Internet subscribers reaching about 3,0004.
Agro-Industrial Society “Strug Valley” Regional Association
It was established in 1994 to continue the inter- commune cooperation; it started with phone installations and aimed at solving the problems of public utility infrastructure, environmental policy, development of agricultural production and services, working out and implementing a common development strategy as well as the promotion of the then created “Strug Valley” microregion.
The association implements numerous social programmes by raising and then making use of a variety of fi nancial means. The programme is oriented towards farmers, countryside women, the youth, and the unemployed. The projects are aimed at activating and encouraging entrepreneurship, as well as exchanging experiences in stimulating business activity in rural areas. They include activities such as professional training programmes, expert help in establishing a business, and grants for individuals starting such activities. Since 2005 the Leader+ programme has been carried out with the help of local government members. A new development strategy has been elaborated with the Local Action Group responsible for its implementation. The association cooperates actively with local governments and Ukrainian associations.
“Chmielnik Zdrój”, JSC
It was established in 1995 by the Chmielnik commune and a private entrepreneur5. It entered the market in 1997. Its offer includes: the mineral water “Alfred”, extracted in Chmielnik; fruit juices, carbonated beverages, and vegetables, fruits, honey; and locally produced bread from the microregion. “Chmielnik Zdrój” uses a direct sales model, i.e. it delivers its goods directly to the customers’ houses. It serves more than 50,000 customers in Podkarpacie and Małopolska regions6.
4 Data source: Local development plan, OST – Dolina Strugu – Boży Ład, 2003, “Computerworld” conference materials – “Forum for broadband services: Knowledge – technology – entertainment”.
5 The “Sober Commune” association and OST became later shareholders.
6 Data source: M. Garbacz M., Can our valleys change?, Gazeta Stowarzyszenia Rodzin Katolickich Koła Parafi alnego w Lutczy, N. 80 and 81, June 2004; information provided by the Company.
The company spends 10% of its income on charities through Caritas. It also cooperates closely with the Association for Counteracting Addictions “Sober Commune” by hiring recovering addicts. It supports the execution of the “Sami Sobie” (“Helping Ourselves”) programme, aimed at creating non-agriculture jobs and increasing the microregion’s competitiveness, using local raw materials and traditional farming products. In 2005, the company was awarded the “Dobroczyńca Roku” (Benefactor of the Year) prize, granted by the Philanthropy Development Academy.
The Anti-Addiction Association “Trzeźwa Gmina” (Sober Commune)
The association has been operating since 1997. It implements comprehensive addiction prevention actions and fi ghts social exclusion. It organises work training programmes for the unemployed, conducts psychological advisory actions for people at high risk of alcoholism, and the
Solidary Actionprogramme focuses on social and professional integration of the disabled. The association’s activities are focused on the integration of groups vulnerable to pathology and social exclusion, promoting active leisure time among children and youth. The association cooperates closely with “Chmielnik Zdrój”, JSC executing the programme of comprehensive therapy for alcohol dependence. It is also the founder and manager of non- public schools – a social junior high school, a “Strug Valley” high school, and a fi rst stage music school in Chmielnik.
Wyższa Szkoła Społeczno-Gospodarcza (Social-Economic College)
The fi rst college established in a small town-countryside area in Poland. It was created in 1996 in Tyczyn (population of 3,000) and run by the company Scientia, Ltd., a Tyczyn commune public-private partnership with private shareholders. Sociology is the main major. Every year, the college educates more than 1,000 students out of whom 10% come from the “Valley” communes. The college has contacts with foreign universities, particularly from Ukraine. During our analysis there were some pending decisions in regard to the possible merger with the Rzeszów School of Informatics and Management.
To understand “Strug Valley” as a collective action phenomenon, we need to go back to its roots, to the traditional understanding of authority shaped by the Galician model, to leadership and responsibility for a local community. This article is an analytical study of the results of research conducted in May 2007, consisting of 29 individual in-depth interviews
with people well-known in “Strug Valley”7. Accessible data was analysed as well: studies on the history of Podkarpacie region, press publications, UN reports on information technology in “Strug Valley”, legal documents, schedule documentation, fi nancial reports of the described initiatives and the content of related websites.