Community participation is an active process by which beneficiaries or client groups influence the direction and execution of a development project with a view to enhancing their well-being in terms of income, personal growth, self-reliance or other values they treasure. Community participation in Sudan is an ancient phenomenon that is deeply rooted in the Sudanese culture, and it is more prominent in rural communities, where it is known as nafeer or fazaa. People participate during cultivation, political life, social life, as well as in forming their housing compounds. In building their homes some participate in the planning and design stage, others in building materials preparation, and some in carrying out some construction work. Some of these communities allow women to participate fully, others allow them only partial participation, and others limit women's participation substantially. Accordingly, stakeholders' participation is an important element in the success and development of settlements that satisfy the needs of their users. Disregarding stakeholders during planning and designing of human settlements, by governments, donor agencies, national and international organizations in Sudan and elsewhere, has lead to failure of housing projects.
The primary objective of this paper is to assess the dynamics of community participation in Sudan in terms of its components, activities, resources mobilized, mobilization processes, modes of implementation, actors involved, and those who are excluded, as well as the socio-political context in which community participation takes place, bearing in mind that all these factors work together. Aiming to answer a fundamental question: with incapable government agencies, can residents fend for themselves in home construction, and depend on their own collective action in the provision of basic services, such as schools, health centers and infrastructure networks? And what are the best means that could facilitate people's participation in human settlements development.
The paper is based on a filed research carried out by the author in 4002, in Al-Gireif East, an village that has been incorporated in Greater Khartoum due to its hyper-urbanization. Data was collected through intensive interviews with community leaders, and a structured household questionnaire.