The CAT Tool is both a framework and a tool designed to assist indigenous communities and community organizers to investigate ways to alleviate poverty and combat various forms of discrimination which dominate the lives of indigenous people. CAT is developed from the view point of indigenous people, and is therefore, not “value-neutral.” CAT respects the wisdom of indigenous communities and builds on their diverse contexts. It indicates the critical factors to be taken into consideration while working on indigenous peoples‟ development, and a respect for diversity makes CAT facilitative rather than prescriptive.
Historically, most indigenous peoples‟ have been endowed with an abundance of livelihood resources alongwith rich culture and knowledge. However they have been subject to systematic marginalization because of the constant inroads made into their space and resources by outsiders. The plunder of resources has had a negative impact on the cultural and spiritual life of the indigenous peoples. This is the main issue and agenda for community mobilization and struggle.
The understandings of the poverty of these indigenous peoples‟, its causes and the means to fight it need to be grounded in this historical reality. A rights-based approach to poverty alleviation, with specific relevance to indigenous people, underpins this CAT tool. The last section provides a sample list of tools that together with the framework may assist practitioners and communities in drawing out learning and encouraging reflection towards a process of action for transformation.
The mobilization of indigenous communities is fundamental for the application of CAT itself – as the framework is intended to empower those who are marginalized for sustained action. Approaches to facilitate this process are described here.
