Juxtaposing handloom weaving and modernity: building theory through praxis Annapurna Mamidipudi and Radhika Gajjala This article investigates the interaction between the processes of building development theory and development practice, arguing that theory must start with practice – and should not be top–down, starting with the ‘outside gaze’ of a supposedly detached academic or policy maker. The questions posed point to critiques of mainstream development narratives and notions of innovation through the diffusion of new technologies. The authors suggest that the assumptions embedded in mainstream development processes lead to unequal access to global and local markets, and that when they are imposed from the outside without a real under- standing of the context, the development project is bound to fail. Parameters for assessing and evaluating outcomes also need to be based upon a close understanding of context – and this often comes through active involvement within it and not through being ‘detached’ and outside it. The assumption that an outside gaze is ‘objective’ is based in an implicitly colonial discourse, while building theory by being involved in the practice produces better method- ologies for action and development. KEY WORDS: Labour and Livelihoods; Globalisation; Civil Society; Methods; South Asia Knowledge building through development praxis In this article we investigate the interaction between the processes of building development theory and development practice. Arguing that theory must of necessity be built from the ground up – starting with practice – not from the top down, starting with the ‘outside gaze’ of a supposedly detached academic or policy maker, we pose questions that point to critiques of mainstream development narratives and notions of innovation through the ‘diffusion’ of new technologies. We suggest that the assumptions that are embedded in mainstream development processes lead to unequal access to global and local markets; and when they are imposed from the outside without any in-depth understanding of the context, the development project is set up to fail. Parameters for assessing and evaluating outcome also need to be based on a close understand- ing of the context – and this often comes through active involvement within it, as opposed to ISSN 0961-4524 Print/ISSN 1364-9213 Online 020235-10 # 2008 Oxfam GB 235 Routledge Publishing DOI: 10.1080/09614520801899069 Development in Practice, Volume 18, Number 2, April 2008