Communal work is a gathering for mutually accomplishing a task or for communal fundraising. Communal work provided manual labour to others, especially for major projects such as barn raising, "bees" of various kinds (see below), log rolling, and subbotniks. Different words have been used to describe such gatherings.

They are less common in today's more individualistic cultures, where there is less reliance on others than in preindustrial agricultural and hunter-gatherer societies. Major jobs such as clearing a field of timber or raising a barn needed many workers. It was often both a social and utilitarian event. Jobs like corn husking or sewing could be done as a group to allow socializing during an otherwise tedious chore. Such gatherings often included refreshments and entertainment.

The word bee is also sometimes used for other social gatherings without communal work, for example for competitions such as a spelling bee.

In specific cultures Africa East Africa

Harambee () is an East African (Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan) tradition of community self-help events, e.g. fundraising or development activities. literally means 'all pull together' in Swahili, and is also the official motto of Kenya and appears on its coat of arms.

Rwanda Umuganda is a national day of community service held on the last Saturday of each month in Rwanda. In 2009, umuganda, which means "coming together in common purpose" in Kinyarwanda, was institutionalized in the country. It is translated as 'coming together in common purpose to achieve an outcome'.

Ethiopia

A social event is held to build a house or a farm, especially for elderly and widows who do not have the physical strength to do it on their own.

Sudan () is an Arabic word used in parts of Sudan (including Kordofan, Darfur, parts of the Nuba Mountains and Kassala) to describe particular types of communal work undertakings. has been described as including a group recruited through family networks, in-laws and village neighbors for some particular purpose, which then disbands when that purpose is fulfilled. An alternative, more recent, definition describes as 'to bring someone together from the neighborhood or community to carry out a certain project, such as building a house or providing help during the harvest season'.'Conceptual analysis of volunteer', 2004

The word may be related to the standard Arabic word () which describes a band, party, group or troop, typically mobilized for war. In standard Arabic, a () refers to a general call to arms.

has also been used in a military context in Sudan. For example, the term was used to refer to or "the People's Militias" that operated in the central Nuba Mountains region in the early 1990s.

Liberia Kuu is a labor-sharing arrangement in Liberia, especially for seasonal work.

Asia Indonesia

Gotong-royong () is a conception of sociality ethos familiar to Indonesia. In Indonesian languages especially Javanese, means 'carrying a burden using one's shoulder', while means 'together' or 'communally', thus the combined phrase can be translated literally as 'joint bearing of burdens'. It translate to working together, helping each other or mutual assistance. The village's public facilities, such as irrigation, streets, and houses of worship (mosque, church or pura) are usually constructed through , where the funds and materials are collected mutually. Traditional communal events, such as the slametan ceremony, are also usually held in the ethos of communal work spirit, which each member of society is expected to contribute to and participate in the endeavour harmoniously.

The phrase has been translated into English in many ways, most of which hearken to the conception of reciprocity or mutual aid. For M. Nasroen, forms one of the core tenets of Indonesian philosophy. Paul Michael Taylor and Lorraine V. Aragon state that " [is] cooperation among many people to attain a shared goal."

Background In a 1983 essay Clifford Geertz points to the importance of in Indonesian life:

An enormous inventory of highly specific and often quite intricate institutions for effecting the cooperation in work, politics, and personal relations alike, vaguely gathered under culturally charged and fairly well indefinable value-images— ('mutual adjustment'), ('joint bearing of burdens'), ('reciprocal assistance')—governs social interaction with a force as sovereign as it is subdued.Geertz, Clifford. "Local Knowledge: Fact and Law in Comparative Perspective," pp. 167–234 in Geertz Local Knowledge: Further Essays in Interpretive Anthropology, NY: Basic Books. 1983.

Anthropologist Robert A. Hahn writes:

Javanese culture is stratified by social class and by level of adherence to Islam. ...Traditional Javanese culture does not emphasize material wealth. ...There is respect for those who contribute to the general village welfare over personal gain. And the spirit of , or volunteerism, is promoted as a cultural value.

has long functioned as the scale of the village, as a moral conception of the political economy. Pottier records the impact of the Green Revolution in Java:

"Before the GR, 'Java' had relatively 'open' markets, in which many local people were rewarded in kind. With the GR, rural labour markets began to foster 'exclusionary practices'... This resulted in a general loss of rights, especially secure harvesting rights within a context of mutual cooperation, known as ."

Citing Ann Laura Stoler's ethnography from the 1970s, Pottier writes that cash was replacing exchange, that old patron-client ties were breaking, and that social relations were becoming characterized more by employer-employee qualities.

Political appropriation For Prime Minister Muhammad Natsir, was an ethical principle of sociality, in marked contrast to both the "unchecked" feudalism of the West, and the social anomie of capitalism.Natsir, Muhammad. "The Indonesian Revolution." In Kurzman, Charles Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook, p. 62. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 1998.

Ideas of reciprocity, ancient and deeply enmeshed aspects of kampung morality, were seized upon by postcolonial politicians. John Sidel writes: "Ironically, national-level politicians drew on "village conceptions of adat and . They drew on notions "of traditional community to justify new forms of authoritarian rule."

During the presidency of Sukarno, the idea of was officially elevated to a central tenet of Indonesian life. For Sukarno, the new nation was to be synonymous with . He said that the Pancasila could be reduced to the idea of . On June 1, 1945, Sukarno said of the Pancasila:

The first two principles, nationalism and internationalism, can be pressed to one, which I used to call 'socionationalism.' Similarly with democracy 'which is not the democracy of the West' together with social justice for all can be pressed down to one, and called socio democracy. Finally belief in God. 'And so what originally was five has become three: socio nationalism, socio democracy, and belief in God.' 'If I press down five to get three, and three to get one, then I have a genuine Indonesian termGOTONG ROYONG [mutual co-operation]. The state of Indonesia which we are to establish should be a state of mutual co-operation. How fine that is ! A Gotong Royong state! In 1960, Sukarno dissolved the elected parliament and implemented the Gotong Royong Parliament. Governor of Jakarta, Ali Sadikin, spoke of a desire to reinvigorate urban areas with village sociality, with . Suharto's New Order was characterized by much discourse about tradition. During the New Order, Siskamling harnessed the idea of . By the 1990s, if not sooner, had been "fossilized" by New Order sloganeering. The government cabinet under the presidency of Megawati Sukarnoputri was named the Mutual Assistance Cabinet (), which lasted from 10 August 2001 to 20 October 2004.

Philippines

(, ) is a Filipino term taken from the word , referring to a nation, country, town or community. The whole term refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective. It is focused on doing things as a group as it relates to one's community.

Etymology The term originated in the practice of volunteers from a community helping a family move by carrying the house itself, a tradition which remains the classic illustration for the concept as a whole. The feat is accomplished by building a frame from bamboo poles, which individuals stationed at the ends of each pole then use to lift and carry the house. The family traditionally shows their gratitude for the assistance by hosting a small fiesta.

Usage In society, has been adopted as a term to refer to a local civil effort to resolve national issues. One of the first groups to use the term is the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company which travels to countries to perform traditional folk dances of the country with the objective of promoting Philippine culture. The concept is related to ('to help one another').

In computing, the term has evolved into many meanings and incorporated as codenames to projects that depict the spirit of cooperative effort involving a community of members. An example of these projects is the Bayanihan Linux project which is a Philippines-based desktop-focused Linux distribution.

Filipino author Rhadson Mendoza and communication media law and ethics professor DC Alviar cited a case where bayanihan was brought into disrepute as they reflected on a publicity stunt of takoyaki store Taragis whose owner offered a prize for anybody showing a tattooed logo of the store on their forehead. The store owner would later claim that the prize-winning man needed more money and their April Fool's Day joke led netizens to "join bayanihan" which was wrong on many levels, according to Mendoza and Alviar.

In ethnic newspapers, Bayanihan News is the name of the community newspaper for the Philippine community in Australia. It is in English and in Filipino with regular news and articles on Philippine current events and history. It was established in October 1998 in Sydney, Australia.

Iran

Basij was created after the Islamic Revolution and during the Iran and Iraq wars. It was an organization which aimed to gather volunteers for fighting in the frontline. It was also a central idea of utilizing donations and volunteers to help the soldiers and bringing aid to the frontline. Women played a big role by knitting warm clothes, making foods, sewing new uniforms or religious accessories. Basij's aim and goals have been shifted and distorted after the war; after the war ended the Basij organization continue working as a center to spread ideologies of the Islamic revolution in schools and mosques. Basij now is part of the Sepah army (military, cultural and financial) organization which receives an undefined budget from the government.

Turkey

is a name given for a traditional Turkish village-scale collaboration. For example, if a couple is getting married, villagers participate in the overall organization of the ceremony including but not limited to preparation of the celebration venue, food, building and settlement of the new house for the newly weds. Tasks are often distributed according to expertise and has no central authority to govern activities.

Europe Finland & the Baltics

(from Finnish , almost always used in plural, ) is a Finnish expression for a gathering of friends and neighbors organized to accomplish a task. The word is borrowed into Finland Swedish as Mikael Reuter: En/ett iögonfallande talko? . Retrieved: 2010-10-04. but is unknown to most Swedes. However, cognate terms and in approximately the same context are used in Estonia (), Latvia (noun , verb ), and Lithuania (noun , verb ). It is the cultural equivalent of communal work in a village community, although adapted to the conditions of Finland, where most families traditionally lived in isolated farms often miles away from the nearest village.