Oyate Wicozani and Village Earth recently hosted a organic composting workshop facilitated by John Anderson and Lauren Dittman. Oyate Wicozani is a community-based organization that brings together community leaders, activists, and academics from the reservation who share a common vision of healing and community-based empowerment. The goal of this group in the next year, with support from the Archibald Bush Foundation, will be to develop a model for Lakota governance to strengthen culturally-based institutions and empower the grassroots to serve a greater role in transforming their communities. Gardening will be used as a focus for mobilizing community participation and action in the coming months. 
John Anderson is a Master Gardener and Master Composter based in Fort Collins, Colorado whose done consulting and workshops on his craft across the country. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
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.
