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Abstract

Over the last fifty years, approximately $2.3 trillion has been spent to alleviate global poverty. Even so, the economic disparity between the poor and the non-poor is wider and continues to grow, while restlessness grows among civil societies, and socio-political power remains in the hands of an elite few. It is this development paradox with which the case for an Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) model purports to offer an authentic solution. Using secondary research, this paper examines three case studies of asset-based development from Ethiopia, Taiwan, and Guatemala. These case studies expose how ABCD can be utilized as a tool globally yet modified to a local context. More importantly, the case studies will illustrate the sustainable nature of ABCD by raising social capital and challenge existing power structures in an authentic way. When given the opportunity, ABCD allows vulnerable and marginalized groups to drive the future of their own development, and moves away from the current model of dependency.

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