Village Earth’s “Adopt-A-Buffalo” campaign, already in it’s 4th year, will be delivering 15 more bison to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation September 29th, 2007. The bison were donated by the Danylchuck Bison Ranch in Rye Colorado, their 4th donation of bison to-date. After receiving the necessary vaccinations and quarantining for cross state travel, the bison will make the long journey to south Dakota and will be released on the lands of Lakota Bison caretakers. For a tax deductible donation of $500 you will receive a certificate of adoption for one of the bison in your name or in the name of a friend or loved one. The funds will be used to help develop and expand bison restoration on Pine Ridge with needed infrastructure such as fencing and wells. To date, Village Earth’s “Adopt-A-Buffalo” campaign has helped start 2 new herds of buffalo and expand an existing one and in the last year alone has helped acquire over 2000 additional acres of land for bison restoration. Smaller donations are also welcome. Click here to learn more about contributing to the Adopt-A-Bison Program.
GSLL 1501 – Approaches to Community Development
This course provides a framework for community development based on a participatory, bottom-up, multi-sector model. Various approaches have been used in community development with varying degrees of success. One approach that has consistently demonstrated effectiveness is the Village Earth model based on participatory practices.
Through personal and structural empowerment, the objectives of economic well-being, environmental sustainability, and socio-cultural vitalization can be met. By looking at an overview of the entire development process and using case studies, this course will prepare participants to work in the field of community development and illuminate how all of the development efforts fit together to support the overall goal of sustainability.
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
Compare different development approaches and evaluate their effectiveness.
Understand the basic principles that underlie sustainable development.
Incorporate participatory practices into community development activities
Design a development project based on the Village Earth model
Who should take this course? This course is suited for people who are interested in community development and work or plan to work in this field. This includes people working or volunteering at NGOs, NPOs, governmental organizations, without border organizations, or missionary organizations. In addition, people involved in funding community development projects benefit from this course.
