Is the list one you came across elsewhere or something you've put together yourself? Its just that it all seems very 'principled' and worthy but, as we know, military plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy. Travel 'advice' from way back has had similar suggestions about how to travel in poorer countries and it boils down to a kind of grass roots imperialism. I have money, goods, lifestyle - everything you want, and in return for your help I'll, in my kind hearted benevolently paternalistic way, give you something I think will help you improve yourself. Here's a pen. Ok, that's a cynical summary of what's often meant well and done with the best of intentions but over the years and thinking back on my own experiences I'm less 'certain' about the approach than I used to be. It's not that I don't think gifts - small tokens that go beyond the monetary price of something - have a place, but that pragmatism has a much larger place.

For example, take a look at the picture below. It's from about 20yrs ago and the three men were fastening my bike onto the Mauritanian ore train with strips of 1/4" steel rod. We'd agreed a price for the job (they had a 'monopoly' on the task) but the Polaroid pictures (before camera phones people rarely had photographs of themselves) were not 'payment' they were a 'request' to do the job carefully, something to lift me out of the 'just another vehicle to hammer in place' category. I'm not certain more money would have had the same effect.





I've plenty more examples - ones that have worked and ones that have backfired - but they're all points on my personal database that bring me to the conclusion above. Do as you would be done by is probably a reasonable summary.