The elderly elite constitute a category of social actors implicated in local development through
consciousness-raising. The analytic ideas of empowerment and agency, asset-based approaches, social
capital, and relational networking inform this paper. Utilising a case study approach, and empirical
accounts from the Ndong Awing Cultural and Development and Association (NACDA), in the North-West
Region of Cameroon, this article explores conscientised empowerment, a strategy deployed to awaken
the local community for social change. The interplay of sociocultural dynamics, gender considerations,
community mobilisation and sustainability are intricately balanced, resulting in the community being
revived through a renewed development mindset. While expectations of elite involvement remain
grandiose; the elite involved in this village-centric development project navigate community aspirations
while safeguarding their self-interests. Though elite involvement proves contentious, the community is
galvanised by a development manifesto calibrated through relational networking. Local development
policy and planning require the harnessing of incremental community resources, building on the
agency of key stakeholders, in synergy with the state and other external partners, to realise an effective
repositioning of social development.