Lakota Lands Recovery Projects, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota: Assisted with forest management plans; provided outreach and mapping support for home weatherization initiatives; adopted seven buffalo, sold 600 lbs of bison meat at Winter Markets and distributed another 600 lbs of meat to the elderly plus taught programs to dozens of youth about the spiritual connection with the buffalo. Earth Tipi: Built a house using reclaimed pallets and petitioned Congress to maintain funding for tribal housing; planted a fruit orchard of 30 trees. Peruvian Amazon Indigenous Support Network: Initiated petition to Maple Energy to address multiple oil spills and inadequate clean-up in two Shipibo communities; supported flood relief efforts (thousands of Shipibo families experienced losses of homes and crops); supported land demarcation projects; partnered with Engineers Without Borders on clean water/renewable energy project. Empowering Youth Cambodia: operated three schools serving 350 children from slum communities in Phnom Penh; provided medical and dental care and 33 scholarships (19 at university,14 in high school). Sarada Group of Development Initiatives in West Bengal, India: grew 10 women-owned micro-enterprises, involved 5 women groups in plantation projects on barren lands, assisted with 100 children attending school, saw attendance in literacy campaign increase by 50%, provided health and nutrition training for women and families. Currently, we are planning to expand our support to Maloca, working in Ecuador with indigenous peoples in Amazon basin on strategies for defending cultural rights to land in the face of oil and gas extraction; Village Care Initiatives in Sierra Leone, dedicated to caring for widows and orphans with the resources they have on hand; Living Roots, Baja working to protect the endangered Ranchero culture of Baja California Sur, and Jenzera in Colombia and Dineh Voices of the People, both groups advocating for civil and human rights and protecting cultural self-determination.
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.
