Featured programme - Nurturing FacilitatorsPrimary Approach – rural facilitators trainingNo matter what the issues are in intervening in a community project, the keys to whether a project will bring long-term change depend on the people in the community, the enhancement of their capacity, strengthening of their inner power and their realisation of the interdependence between the individual and the community and that of everything in this earth. These changes grow from small seeds and can be discerned in the details of their everyday life. The villagers could be the ones who sowed the seeds and took care of their growth. They could be the farmers who cherish their produce and care for the land or women cadres concerned with community health. They could also be teachers who care for the emotional and intellectual growth of the children, or young people who love their villages. These people who lead the community in its changes are called “facilitators”, and they are the core of PCD’s rural programme which aims to nurture the growth of community facilitators.We build the capacity of community facilitators through specific programmes and integrating training activities in these programmes. Not only do we aim at enhancing their knowledge and skills in participating in and carrying out community activities, we also aim at fostering their ability in analysing issues and exploring the impact development has on community culture, ecology and social justice. By learning through experience, they collectively explore ways towards a sustainable community life. In our various rural projects, we have experimented with diverse methods of facilitators’ training. For example, in community health projects, we have made use of “health walks” to explore, together with community facilitators, the close relationship between ecology and community health. With their facilitation, we then explore with the community the problems they are facing and discuss response actions. In ecological agricultural projects, we focus on encouraging farmers to take their own initiative in carrying out field experiments so that local knowledge can be developed. The methods and skills of ecological farming are then passed on by means of a team of “setters”. The common history and the cultural life of the villagers is the foundation of a community. We encourage facilitators to carry out activities in the community. Whether these take the form of small-scale research, recreational activities or discussion forums, the overall purpose is to appreciate the enriching qualities of community culture and to recognise its core value in leading to a sustainable livelihood. Through these activities, a community understands the importance of mutual help and solidarity and rediscovers the wisdom of living in harmony with nature, a wisdom rooted in traditional culture. There is more than one method in the training of community facilitators. One-way transmission of knowledge has its constraints. More often than not, facilitators learn through exchange and interactive activities. In workshops to exchange experiences, everyone is a teacher and each encourages the other in the process of creating knowledge. We have built a platform to enable facilitators to exchange their experience. Through this, participants share their thoughts on ecological agriculture and discuss ways to enhance youth participation in community affairs. One facilitator’s attempts could provide important learning for another. For example, in an exchange meeting on community research, facilitators from different communities reported on their work and learned from each other’s research methods and how research can foster mutual support in the community. Activities of learning and exchange are also a platform for interaction between external facilitators (usually project partners or volunteers), PCD staff and community facilitators. These activities provide insights into levels of community activity and what the local perspectives are on issues like sustainable livelihood, health, as well as the relationship between human beings and nature, sometimes challenging standard assumptions. |
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