To enhance the degree of sustainability achieved in a given project, this article examines two sustainability models that can be applied to development activities.

Are development activities always the correct response to assisting the poor? This article outlines how people cope during and after a “negative event,” what decisions they make and why, and suggests suitable assistance responses depending on the victims’ capability to react.

This article explores a promising model that seeks to increase a group’s ability to adapt to new opportunities and enhance their resilience to shocks, while providing the tools to animate the process. It closes with an example of such a program in Haiti.