Keeprah Holistic Model

Handout 9A: The Keeprah holistic model

The community analysis model which you will be working with assumes that you can break down a community, for purposes of analysis, into a series of segments, or subsystems.

Each segment, in the real world, interacts with the other to produce a continual movement and balance which keeps the community alive and moving. Change in one segment can affect another and vice versa intervention will do the same. For example, if you introduce improved pig-raising practices by penning up pigs and feeding them, rather than letting them forage for food (an economic intervention), you affect the community health be reducing pig-carried diseases.

Cutting across all segments of the community, you will find that there are common elements. These common elements are defined as:

A. Resources (human, natural and man-made)

B. Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices. What people know, how they feel about it and how they actually behave in relation to their knowledge and attitudes.

C. Problems. Problems are defined as the gap between what is and what should be (what "should be" is often defined culturally).

D. Patterns. Patterns exist which give clues about what is there and how persons perceive them. These patterns of behavior often constitute cultural meaning, as well as biological necessity.

E. Leadership. Among human resources, you will probably find that leadership exists in many of the sub-areas of the community.

The following model describes this approach to looking at the community.

THE KINSHIP SYSTEM. The family provides a means for adding new members to the society. It also provides an environment for the training and socialization of children. The kinship system relates to all aspects of the family or extended family including elements such as descent, family authority, location of residence, inheritance, moral values and marriage.

THE EDUCATION SYSTEM. All societies provide a means of transmitting information to young members. This prepares the individual to live and function within the society in an acceptable way and to do so with some degree of independence. Elements of the educational system include schools, teachers, family members, books, and materials.

THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM. Each society has a means of acquiring and distributing goods and services which sustain the lives of its members. Many roles and institutions operate to meet these needs. They include the population of working people, the different types of enterprises, means of payment or exchange, and ecology.

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM. All societies regulate themselves and their relations with others. This regulation provides protection for the whole group. The political system controls the competition for power within the society. Elements of the political system include public services and utilities, government institutions such as courts, police and legislative bodies.

THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEM. Every culture is built around basic beliefs and values which provide an understanding of human existence and place in the universe. These beliefs are often manifested in the form of rituals and organizations.

THE RECREATION SYSTEM. All societies provide a means for recreation and relaxation. This includes games, dancing, singing, sports, storytelling, artistic pursuits, drinking parties, and pastimes.

THE ASSOCIATIONAL SYSTEM. In every culture, people who have similar interests tend to group themselves together. These associations may be for recreational, political, economic, or other reasons. For what purposes are groups formed! Ho' many people belong to the different groups? Do they use symbols or slogans to identify themselves?

THE HEALTH SYSTEM. All societies are concerned about the survival of their members. Elements of the health system include nutrition, mother and child care, control of diseases, hospitals, medical personnel, and beliefs about health and its relation to medicine or the spirit world.

THE TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. Every culture provides a means for people and goods to get from one place to another, and for information to be disseminated throughout the community. This includes postal service, bus system, roads, telephones, mass media and language.

(From: The Role of the Volunteer in Development. Core Curriculum, Peace Corps.)