This article draws on research in Tanzania to explore the socially embedded
nature of institutions for common property resource management and collect
ive action. The article challenges the design principles common in resource
management literature and explores instead the idea of 'institutional bric
olage' - a process by which people consciously and unconsciously draw on ex
isting social and cultural arrangements to shape institutions in response t
o changing situations, The resulting institutions are a mix of 'modern' and
'traditional', 'formal' and 'informal'. Three aspects of institutional bri
colage are elaborated here: the multiple identities of the bricoleurs, the
frequency of cross-cultural borrowing and of multi-purpose institutions, an
d the prevalence of arrangements and social norms which foster cooperation,
respect and non-direct reciprocity over life courses.