Many of these meetings were held for reasons related to
specific project activities, such as for discussing and planning
the mangrove replanting or alternative livelihood activities,
or as part of building the villagers’ environmental awareness,
but they offered opportunities to group together the community
members who had an interest in the project. In the case of the
discussions pertaining to alternative livelihood activities, this
led to the formation of an (informal) “Alternative Livelihood
Activities Committee” in Bang Tawa village in June 1998.
For participation in meetings of the project management team
and project steering committee, the informal groups of
interested villagers had to appoint their representatives, which
highlighted the need for self-organisation. The role of the
villagers in these committees secured their participation in
project management and decision-making.