| The important role of culture to understand individual and group behavior is a widely established idea in the study of human behavior. Culture is regarded as a strong influential factor of human psychological functions such as perceptions, emotions and values which is learned from socialization process and evidently affecting human behavior. This article attempts to apply a local cultural perspective to gain understandings of a target population behavior. The data is based on a developmental project titled Rural Economic Activity Development (READ), funded by Cordaid, Netherlands, and implemented by Swisscontact Indonesia. The project is located at Aceh Tamiang, a district of Aceh province (Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam-NAD, formal administrative name of the province). Primary Indonesian/Aceh cultural concepts are utilized to discuss group phenomenon relevant for READ goals. Data collection is conducted with interviews, the respondents are representative groups from eight villages in Aceh Tamiang (80 semi-structured respondents and 325 focus group discussion participants). Two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in each village, one for male and female group, giving a total of 16 FGDs for the eight villages. FGD participants were representatives of the village key figures. Qualitative data analysis was conducted. Based on these indigenous meanings, recommendations are provided to ensure a cultural adequate approach for project implementation. |