home grown development strategies have proved more effective than shock therapy that was considered the best practice of the leading agencies of 1990's. it would be unwise to deny the possible relevance of innovation but large scale institutional reforms and development strategies require a process of discovery about local capabilities and home grown solutions. Mernissi's early works and influence on development protocols, and contemporary narratives elicited on ongoing development projects in Tunisia demonstrate how women's voices and storytelling remain central to successful and sustainable development, and acknowledge the role of storytelling as a means of social activism that was embedded in traditional women's tales. in times of hardships, tounusian women have always relied on their wisdom, social capital and designed survival strategies, some kind of 'invisible adjustment'. this implies that women make adjustment policies socially possible by contributing to solving problems or increasing their own economic activity through saving in bayt al mina. in the present global austerity, nations need to find their own invisible and visible structural development rather than rely heavily on international foreign expertise.