Building the culture of democracy from the ground up

On February 1st, 2021 the military junta seized power in Myanmar. In the months and years that followed, they’ve taken control of the judicial and administrative systems, overturned laws, and upended governing institutions. Yet community paralegals have found ways to continue supporting communities to secure at least partial legal protection of vital lands and democratically govern their territory.

Daw Nang Nwe (name changed) is one of these paralegals. In 2024, she used one of eight legal hooks we’ve identified, and her skills as an organizer, to help two feuding villages secure access to land on which their wellbeing depends.

For years, the villages had cultivated the same parcel of forest land for sustenance farming, regularly arguing over which of them had the right to use it. When the local authorities got involved, they banned them both.

That’s when community members turned to Daw Nang Nwe. Daw helped them to envision a sustainable future in which the land was shared and democratically governed. With her guidance, the villages established a committee, drew up an agreement, and jointly registered for a community forestry certificate. In July 2024, the authorities approved the application; their shared right to the forest was formally secured.

Paralegals and communities are drawing on this kind of grassroots experience to shape the rules and systems of new regional institutions.

While armed groups are fighting for democracy, paralegals and communities with whom we work are building the practice and culture of democracy from the ground up.

Our Grassroots Impact at a Glance