BAYAN Socio Economic Indigenous Development Association
Participative Assessment Report Project: Building Sustainable Livelihoods Through Agriculture Tutorial Learning System (SAT / Spanish Acronym)
Mario Ardon Mejía N0vember, 2007
Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 6 Project analysis and contextual and participative assessment .......................................... 7 Project objective achievement ............................................................................................ 9 Internal and external constraints in project implementation............................................... 9 Lessons learned and future application potential ............................................................. 10 Conclusions....................................................................................................................... 11 Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 12 Annexes: ........................................................................................................................... 15 Annex No. 1: Minutes of the Participative Assessment Workshop (24-10-2007) ........ 15 Annex No. 2: List of reference documents ................................................................... 19
Introduction The Bayan Social Economic Indigenous Development Association (BAYAN), in its two decades of operations, has mainly dedicated its efforts towards education. This is due to the conviction of the efficacy of this powerful tool, capable of developing the intellectual, emotional and spiritual potential of the rural children and youth who traditionally have not been given access to quality education initiatives within their community environment. BAYAN in a continuous effort to up/date its educational proposals has been accompanying the development of a pilot experience called the “Building Sustainable Livelihoods through Agriculture” Project. This initiative is part of the main axis of the Tutorial Learning System Programme (SAT) Curriculum content, that aims to develop within the communities, capacities that allow them to advance in their individual and collective transformation, based on acquiring moral principles, fostering self/esteem and appreciation towards cultural diversity, at the same time as preparing them to interact with the rural environment and to respond correctly to their continuing education, taking advantage of the educational opportunities provided by the national and foreign university systems. As part of the closing of the first stage of this pilot Project, a participatory assessment process has been carried out by an external consultant, in order to assess the achievements and lessons learned that can influence and strengthen the future performance of the SAT Programme. The guiding basis of the participatory assessment process has been the main objective and the purposes established at the beginning of the Pilot Project: Building sustainable livelihoods through agriculture: Objective: • The aim of this Project is to support the construction of sustainable livelihoods through sustainable agriculture, strengthening the social and human foundation for rural prosperity through a sustainable and equitable development (mainly on hill sides) in the northern and western communities of Honduras, mainly by means of an appropriate secondary education, women’s empowerment and adopting appropriate agricultural practices. Purposes: • Provide quality and relevant high school education based on agro/ecological practices, community service and quality universal values. • Gradually develop opportunities for a sustainable livelihood among SAT students their families and neighbours, through the utilization of quality agro/ecological practices in agriculture. • Contribute to the eradication of environmental problems (at long term (that stem from inappropriate agricultural methods and from poor or inadequate basin management. • Empowerment of SAT students for effective and more significant participation in community and family life, as well as agricultural activities and decision. • Organizational strengthening of a Consortium of Agricultural and Environmental NGOs in Western Honduras.
The participative assessment process has sought to order coherent and logically the project development, highlighting achievements regarding objectives established, lessons learned and other relevant aspects of the project, with the objective of enabling its projection towards the other experiences within the SAT Programme that are being carried out in eleven of the eighteen Departments of the country. Methodology The process development methodology has used the objectives established for the assessments: •
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Analyze the Project development process in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of the actions and resources invested, identifying how they contribute to achieving the proposed objectives with double emphasis, on one side on the expansion of the SAT Programme with quality and on the other the thematic axis of the Project regarding improvement of rural livelihoods, promotion of micro-basins, etc. Identify a considerable number of lessons learned and which were the best practices emphasizing the agriculture/cattle (management of diversity of species) and activities of micro-basin management during the performance of the project activities. Establish possible strategies for follow/up and improving agricultural aspects that promote human wellbeing in rural areas in future projects. Establish a process of systematizing the experiences of the first phase, to take advantage of the learning gained in the whole Tutorial Learning System.
To carry out the assessment process support was received from the Project Coordinator and BAYAN staff in providing follow-up for a methodological process that included: 1. Identifying the diversity of actors to be contacted and involved in the participative Project assessment events. 2. A participatory assessment event was carried out with tutors, advisors, coordinators, members of the parent associations, local leaders and Ministry of Education officials from 4 communities, where greater emphasis had been given to the Project initiatives. The event also allowed for the socialization of these initiatives among the participants from the four communities involved.
Participatory Assessment Workshop Methodological Process The participatory Assessment workshop was carried out within a sequence of activities, including: a) Explanation of purpose, b) Presentation of the participants, c) Establishing five working groups, d) Group work to visualize each community tutor group and advisor experiences, based on a: Successes-Difficulties, Potentials-Obstacles, to then reach conclusions, e) socialization in plenary meeting of the results of each working group, and f) Consolidation of the results.
3. Processing the information generated from the research among the different actors and at the level of participatory assessment workshop. 4. Revision of the documentation generated by the Project and other evaluation activities, carried out before this participatory assessment exercise. 5. Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data in order to measure the potential of the experiences for the strengthening of the SAT Programme initiative and its socialization towards a wider coverage of lessons learned, based on: ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
Examine the achievement of the Project objectives. Identify internal and external obstacles occurring during the Project implementation. Identify adjustment needed for the continuity of the Project initiative. Examine experiences that have potential for replication and promotion in other communities. Evaluation of lessons learned and their potential for future application within the SAT Programme.
Definitely the assessment was mainly centred on carrying out a contextual participatory measurement of the Project experiences in order to be able to offer recommendations for feed-back on the actual experiences in the participating communities within the pilot experience and for identifying lessons learned that may be useful for the accompaniment in other communities where the SAT Programme is working within a future development phase of the Pilot Project.
Project contextual and participatory analysis and measurement This Pilot Project initiative finds itself within a SAT Programme accompaniment strategy that currently attends the educational demand of 5,385 SAT students, segregated into 52% women students and 48% men students. The experience is located in 11 of the 18 Departments of the country. Departments Atlántida Colon Gracias a Dios Santa Bárbara Intibucá Lempira Yoro Copán Comayagua Ocotepeque La Paz Totals
SAT Programme statistics as of September, 2007 Communities Reference SAT Groups Institutes 39 5 126 7 1 19 12 3 26 8 4 19 12 3 35 16 5 38 9 3 24 5 1 5 6 4 6 4 1 4 1 1 1 119 31 303
Students 2,165 329 534 316 519 656 378 152 183 127 26 5,385
The participatory assessment was centred in the experiences of four communities within the initiative, in the Department of Atlántida: Las Marías, Diamante de Sion, Cantor and Danta 3. The attendance in the participatory assessment workshop, the following are the divers local actors involved in the experiences:
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SAT students (m/f) Community leaders and parents Tutors that accompany the process in these four communities BAYAN officials SAT Programme advisors
Rapid characterization of the participating communities in the Pilot Project experience Monte de Sion Community: Cantor Community: • Access to their own land and water. • Good leadership. • Active community organization. • Located beside a paved highway. • Spiritual unity. • Water and electricity services. • Future vision is shared. • Cattle activity. • Community security. • Strong quality orange crop. • High management capacity. • Improved living conditions. • Community infrastructure. • Large land holdings are present. • Institutional support. • They do not have a shared vision. • No electrical power. Danta 3 Community: Las Marías Community: • Property land holding of the micro• Most depressed situation of well-being. basin. • Difficult community access. • Cattle area. • Located on hillside lands. • The agricultural productive patrimony is • Isolated from communication networks. limited to corn and beans. • No access to electrical power. • Problems of deforestation and illegal use of • Located on hillside slopes. lumber. • Access to a bus. • Closer to the broad-leaf forest. • Large land holdings are present. • Ample forest micro-basin area where 7 communities have their water source.
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No access to electrical light.
Within the participants were four already graduated SAT former students, providing a propitious opportunity for some current SAT students to ask them about their experiences and the impact of the Programme on their lives. Diversity of the Aspects valued by the statements of the four SAT Programme graduates • • • • • • •
Attractive and in sequence learning. One continues to study a subject until you learn it well and then continue with the next one. The studies are useful for your whole life. I have my own business, which I am setting up in my community. I am 27 years old and I started studying when I was 21, and what is hard to achieve is appreciated more. Before there were only 8 graduated professionals in my community, now with SAT there are more than 20. It is important to become trained to serve and live in the community. I am carrying out a computer training initiative for members of my community.
In order to collect contextual information, a tour of the Municipality of Jutiapa was carried out where as well as interviewing the Director of the Reference Institute, there was a meeting of the Cefalu community, convened by the Director and where several aspects
regarding the validity of SAT were mentioned. Some concerns and doubts were also expressed by the villagers and the students, regarding the duties, rights and access to opportunities for SAT students and their reference Institute currently and in the future.
Achieving Project Objectives The contextual review of the pilot experience allows a series of findings that sets the pathway on the progress made in achieving the objectives of the Pilot Project initiative: •
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The interest awakened among the SAT student groups and their communities is relevant and unanimous due to the convenience of performing systematic actions for an integrated management of water and resources in the vicinity, starting with their involvement in the preparation project and the start-up process on the management plans on their water producing micro-basins. The methodological process initiated with this pilot Project has enabled the SAT students to have a closer and more precise approach to the knowledge and practice of conservation and the resource usage for local development, as well as its follow-up. It will be an opportunity for developing continuous experimenting and learning initiatives stemming from concrete and evermore refined practices. The process of preparation and the beginning of the implementation of the management plans have awakened the interest and expectations that with these other resources and opportunities, such as vegetable and animal bio-diversity, scenic beauty, especially of those sites that have attractions already identified by the villages such as recreation spaces for themselves and others, can be conserved and used appropriately. The communities, leaders and municipal authorities are recognizing the relevance of the knowledge, capacities, abilities and awareness of the SAT Programme students in the search of development for individual, families and the community. Project initiatives have contributed in initiating the generation of conditions for the systematic involvement of students, parents, leaders and local people, within the initiatives seeking conservation and usage of local resources for the wellbeing and development of the communities. The knowledge and deepening in the details of the experience with home vegetable gardens are relevant, as well as the involvement of more than 75% of the third year SAT students in the home vegetable garden initiative. Nevertheless this is an activity that requires greater methodological refinement and of a proposal for its future development and integration within the SAT Programme structure.
Internal and External Constraints In Project implementation the Pilot Project initiative has been faced with a series of internal and external obstacles, some of which we mention separately: Internal Constraints • Problems documenting the events and processes carried out within the Pilot experience. • Problems for adequate systematization of the experiences carried out.
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Setbacks for producer participation in the research actions along with the SAT students, as this interfered several times with their productive activities and their adequate participation was not achieved. Changes of Tutors assigned to community SAT groups has caused some level of lack of continuity in the accompanied processes. The work related to the vegetable gardens was not considered in its full weight as an activity of curricular content. The limitations of access to land on behalf of the families of some of the SAT students.
External Constraints • The greatest obstacle of the production of raising chickens was the dependency on accessing the chicks for raising and concentrated feed strongly control by monopolized businesses, as well as lack of access to electricity and market. • Interaction difficulties with other institutions, as sometimes efforts are duplicated and there is a lack of coordination of execution calendars that interfere with programme sequence as well as the isolation of the communities and available resources of the SAT Programme. • Dependence on personnel from other institutions for accompanying the implementation of the activities related to putting into practice the management plans of the micro-basins. • The same constraint is found regarding research using the CIALs methodology, which requires the support on behalf of personnel from other institutions and the establishment of another organizational process parallel to SAT. • The persistence of conflicts regarding clandestine lumber use in the micro-basins where management plans have been developed.
Lessons Learned and potential for Future Application The contextual analysis of the whole Pilot Project experience has allowed us to identify some lessons learned: •
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As the management experience progresses of the 4 micro-basin management plans included in this Pilot initiative, it is possible to garner lessons learned for the preparation of teaching material tailored for supporting the implementation of the experience among other participating communities of the SAT Programme. The implementation experience of the water-producing management plan must be transversally cross-cut by a vision of Alternative Conflict Management. It is convenient to be aware of this perspective, because within the complexity of the reality of the management there are situations of conflict that appear for which solutions are sought while working, that generally leave many lessons learned that are worthy of being recorded to enrich the management proposal within the local initiatives and for exchanging and promoting other micro-basin initiatives. The participative management of the micro-basin management plan under the leadership of the SAT Programme students and the community is an opportunity without precedent for establishing the different levels of students within a proposal of conservation actions at short, medium and long term, that surely will enrich the resources and opportunities for the SAT Programme curricula development, with solid foundations on local issues, generating the conditions for on-going learning, not only for the SAT Programme participants, but also for the local people.
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The work initiated systematically at the level of micro-basin management plans and its future implementation with the participation of the actors involved in the SAT Programme and the communities. The impact of the micro-basin management proposal has transcended the communities, reaching other populations. In the case of Diamante de Sión, they are consulting on the management of the neighbouring micro-basins, with the participation of 12 communities. The process has already initiated with awareness and motivation talks.
Conclusions The validity of the experience assessed can be appreciated in the following conclusions: •
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The relevance of an educational process that originates and is developed in its community and municipal context is to be highlighted, including its openness for including students, parents, population and the personnel accompanying the process. The development of initiatives such as those promoted by the Project within the SAT Programme, contributes to regard SAT as a systematic training alternative, where there is also a space for communication and interaction for a continuous and participatory learning in the search for local development. It is generally valued on behalf of SAT students and the participating population, that the rhetoric experience and the valuable opportunity of its practical application allows the students to exercise and “has the advantage of developing knowledge to avoid making mistakes in the productive activities and the general management of the resources”. Participation in the SAT Programme has the “importance of analysing where we are, where we are going and therefore establishing goals”. The fact that the SAT Programme is open to greater equity, spatial, intergenerational ethnic and gender involvement is an unprecedented opportunity for developing continuous and inclusive learning processes at the same time as the SAT Programme content is developed within the context of the complexity of life in the communities where it is implemented. The detailed analysis of the experience in the four communities clearly establishes the key role of water and resource conservation of the surrounding land, as a basis for the articulation and participation of the different local actors, which is more and more a teaching element that contributes in developing knowledge and lessons learned that are valid and pertinent for the learning process of the SAT Programme students as agents for promoting and participating in local development. This pilot experience contributes to clarify that promoting production, conservation and usage of the land and their resources initiatives, contribute, not only in creating adequate teaching conditions for developing the knowledge, attitudes and skills of the SAT students, but also contributes to generating local development experiences where it is possible to create and develop knowledge and integrated socially aware practices at the level of the communities within the very process of their being raised and in making more perfect the true situation. There is a high sensitivity on behalf of the SAT Programme students as far as the importance that they participate in searching for community development during their learning, but at the same time it allows them to increase their self-esteem by having their contributions recognized by their community leaders and population.
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The participative process and learning of the SAT students and neighbours is relevant, and has been developed to finalize in the preparation, appropriation and the will to participate in the community micro-basins management plans which have been prepared within the Project initiative. All of this contributes to creating a favourable context of life experiences and to consolidate the inter-action and living together values that go beyond achieving the objectives planned in this Pilot Project initiative. This Pilot Project initiative is a continuous creative and learning process, that step by step contributes to create proposals to enrich and overflow the process itself and at the same time generate elements that will positively influence conventional education programmes, such as is envisioned by the Director of one of the reference institutes that was interviewed in the Municipality of Jutiapa: “The day that the conventional education system, adopts the elements and values of the SAT Programme in education development, innovative impacts will be reached and thereby be able to get out of the crisis that we currently face”. The final challenge was expressed by some of the participants in the work shop on “how to work together to improve our lives, as part of the SAT experience in our communities”. The moment has still not arrived and in this partial assessment of a project within the SAT Programme to have all the possible elements to evaluate it to be able to identify significant changes on the impact in the families that can be measured against the already made base line study.
Recommendations The participatory approach to the context of the process has allowed us to identify a series of strengths and weaknesses which lead o the proposals of recommendations that provide elements for future orientation for the present and new initiatives: •
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The family vegetables gardens used as a teaching element should be taken into consideration from the ‘Impulsor’ cycle so that the evolution in management allows more time, so that it will allow a progressive accumulation of motivations and learning’s as the SAT student passes through the different formative levels. It is convenient that in the continuity of the family vegetable gardens there be more advantage taken of the resources and vegetable and animal bio-diversity belonging to the communities where the SAT Programme is taken place. The same way that it is valid to not use external supplies. In order to give the experience continuity it is necessary to train tutors to develop their conceptual, methodological and technical content capacity regarding principles and agro-ecological techniques, as well as techniques to promote conservation and resource usage from a sustainable development perspective. Within the teaching strategy, the chicken fattening experiences and supplies acquired in the businesses thereof are a valid alternative to learn from the practice about the disadvantages and advantages of practicing productive activities depending on supplies and their access and control on behalf of external agents. This is an initiative that could take place during the intermediate grades, so that students may discover and interiorize analysis elements to be able to value with greater objectivity the pros and cons of carrying out this type of activities, which occasionally may have profits, but are difficult to sustain at long term. This is why
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emphasis should be made in seeking diversification of agricultural and non/agricultural initiatives for training in the initiatives that generate income, that are more centred on usage of resources, knowledge, abilities and local opportunities, than those that depend on the outside.. The development of experiences with chickens managed within a proposal of rescuing and improving autochthonous species seems feasible. The adjustment to the family vegetable garden component requires additional training for the tutors in research, experimenting and development of a vegetable garden experiences. (Knowledge on vegetable and animal bio-diversity management, practices, technologies, associations, etc.) Identification of experience and promotion of exchanges regarding family vegetable gardens and farmer experiments. It is convenient not to un-link the vegetable garden work, the experimenting and the conservation and resource usage such as water producing micro-basins as a group of actions that need to be intimately linked and re-linked within a community strategy of local development generating opportunities for continuous learning for the entire community and the students involved in the SAT Programme. As the perspective of a multiple and open vision little by little leads to explicit and implicit realization that conservation is a process that gradually leads to greater value and opportunities of conservation, regeneration and enrichment of all the resources and better usage of opportunities such as vegetable and animal bio-diversity, as well as the possibilities for tourism, which diversifies the possibilities of strengthening old and new life-styles based on the resources and local opportunities. Go forward towards a diversified family-farmer unity strategy that takes into consideration the establishment of short, medium and long term crops. The research process within the SAT Programme content would be better served within the guidelines of the Field Agricultural School Methodologies (MECAs) about which there are methodological manual and publications on the results prepared by the National Association for Promoting Ecological Agriculture (ANAFAE). The advantage of the MECAs is that they do not require the establishment of another parallel organization, and once the members of the SAT Programme participate in the theoretical/practical training, they are trained to accompany the process in their communities. The organizational and linkage experience of the students in the community of Monte de Sion and the communities that have integrated into the process of preparing the management plan of the micro-basins and their implementation are valuable motivations for exchanging experiences between them and other communities where accompaniment to these process will be initiated. The identification, access and establishment of SAT learning plots at community level. The potential of the Monte de Sion community could be used, where the SAT families have access to land. Also the possibility of establishing these plots within the context of the protection areas of the micro-basins that are community property should be considered. This is a little confusing as it could be interpreted as promoting agricultural activities in areas that should be protected because of the problems that can occur, such as contamination and its effect on the quality of water. There are foundations on the Project Pilot experience for a second stage of the initiative to be developed and for producing teaching materials for a wider validation regarding:
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Teaching material for enriching, establishing, management and usage of biodiversity (vegetable and animals) from the SAT student vegetable gardens. Preparation of teaching material for water producing community micro-basin management. Production of a video on water producing micro-basin integrated participatory management. Teaching material on micro-business initiative management starting with the experience of fattening chickens that has the potential for generating learning and facing the positive and negative aspects stemming from the experimenting initiatives carried out by several SAT groups. As well as the experience with chickens, this material should be complemented with a diversification proposal of productive initiatives with the qualities for greater sustainability such as: experimenting with raising autochthonous hens with initiative for improvements. Production of concentrate feed based on local resources or recovering local experiences that are less dependent, such as raising fish. Support material to provide orientation for the activities related to the vegetable gardens requires greater refinement. (concepts, climatic variables, technologies, diversity and adjustments). Preparation of a book or manual on managing bio-intensive vegetable gardens in dry tropical and damp tropical areas. Create texts with the contributions from the pilot experiences in developing the micro-basin management plans and their implementation so that they may be useful for utilization in other communities where SAT Programmes are implemented. Documentation of professional video of the progress achieved in the 4 pilot experiences for micro-basin management plan preparation and their subsequent implementation are a necessary activity in order to collect visual resources and after a time prepare teaching material and communication material valid for socializing the experience among other communities that initiate or advance in similar processes within or outside the SAT Programme
In order to achieve a continuous systematization process of the experience periodical work-shops should be carried out with the participation of communities of the pilot experience. These participatory assessment exercises should be considered during several instances of the projects in such a way that they may analyse and provide feedback to these pilot initiatives during the process and not waiting until the end of the process, as in this way, the lessons learned will not be able to redirect the processes. Opportunities can be stressed for extending the possibility for other pilot experiences in other environmental and socio-economic surroundings regarding experimenting and exchanging agricultural and micro-basin management experiences, using the capacities and experiences of other counterparts of the consortium CEEDUCA such as CIDICCO and World Vision It necessary to clarify that the actions promoted and carried out within the SAT Programme content seek a continuous learning process at the level of the students, their families and communities, but should not seek to measure their impact by massively adopting isolated technologies, but in valuing the multidimensional aspect of their impacts within the true reality of their communities, whether this be performed by themselves of others.
Annexes Annex No. 1: Minutes of the participatory Assessment Workshops (24-10-2007) Introduction This annex contains the results of the work carried out by 4 community groups and one group of tutors and advisors from the 4 communities participating in the workshop. It is also a consolidated table developed at the time of the plenary socialization, as well as the enumeration of lessons learned and recommendations. The workshop included 40 participants involved in the Project initiative on Sustainable Livelihoods. Workshops Results Diamante de Sion Community Group Potential: Successes: • Forest protection. • Marking of micro basin. • Trained personnel. • Historical information collection of our community. • We have the infrastructure. • Youth trained in chicken • Fertile land. management. • Improve family diet. Obstacles: Difficulties: • Lack of awareness on behalf of • People harming the micro basin. people outside the community • Little family information. destroying the fauna of the micro • Lack of economic resources. basin. • Lack of animal control. • High costs for chicken production. • Lack of irrigation. Conclusions: • We have improved in the social, environmental, cultural and spiritual aspects of our community, regardless of the problems. • “This inspires us to continue fighting for the Benefit of our community” Cantor Community Group • We covered the area of the micro basin. • Knowledge about GPS. • Construction of coops, accounting management. • Learning to manage a micro business. • Measure the land areas, seed classification. • Reforestation of public areas. • Participation of SAT students and community leaders. Difficulties: • A large part of the community, especially the cattle-men were not involved.
Potential: • The main water line for the tank is being improved and expanded. • Planting fruit trees in the micro basin. • Acquiring knowledge on small business management. • Acquiring knowledge to teach other people about agricultural technology. • Establishing the boundaries of the micro basin. Obstacles: • Lack of community cooperation and lack of funds. • Illegal logging.
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We do not have plots for the • Not having accessible land for field students. work. • Little technical assessment. Conclusions: • We learned to seek for solutions to the problems found during the process. • Seek external aid from institutions such as NGOs and also seek help from the central government. • Work in teams and in unity. Las Marías Community Group Successes: Potential • Acquire micro basin land (8 • Functionality of the community manzanas first and 4 later). organizations. • Lessons learned on micro basin • Water system clients are punctual good management. with payments. • Acquire knowledge on raising • Youth with vision and desire to chickens. serve the community. • Learn to manage fish. • Rebuild community centre. • Arrival of SAT system. • We were able to ban the sale of alcohol in the community. Difficulties: Obstacles: • Problems with land tenants. • immigration of community members, especially men. • Community did not give much • Lack of jobs. importance to micro-basin management. • Lack of support on behalf of public • There is no electrical energy and organizations. difficulty in storing and selling chickens. • Insufficient water for fish tanks. • Low income in the community. • Little credibility of the SAT system in the beginning. • Road in bad condition. Conclusions: • Community integration has been developing and is being achieved through the process. Danta 3 Community Group Successes: Potentials: • Knowledge of the micro basin area • Tourist site can be created within identified. the micro-basin. • Experience in raising chickens. • Community reforestation Project. • Techniques manager in the plots. • Natural resource protection. • Participation and learnings of the organization. • Improving abilities and willingness to share with others.
Obstacles: Difficulties: • Little external community Project • Little community participation. support. • Deficiency with lighting. • Lack of organization. • Lack of access to chicken feed. • Lack of SAT classrooms. • Difficulty because of lack of quality chicken feed. Conclusions: • The isolation limits access to the community of electrical energy service and access to supplies for developing the experiences such as fattening chickens. SAT Tutors and Advisor Group Potentials: Successes: • The management plan is a valuable • Integrated management plan for the tool. micro basin of each community. • It serves as a basis to develop a • Technical knowledge provided on micro enterprise. chicken raining management. Difficulties: Obstacles: • Opposition to participate in the • Legal aspects to clean the microProject. basin. • High cost on feed and in buying • Monopolies that impede Project chicks. development (ALCON). • Inadequate management conditions (lack of electrical power). Conclusions: • There is greater integration of community-students-tutor. • Preparing agents of change. Consolidated socialization of group work presentations Potentials: Successes: • improving community • Forest improvement (IIII) organizations functioning (III) • Training in raising chickens (IIII) • Youth with vision and willing to • Micro-basin demarcation (III) serve (III) • knowledge to improve micro basin (III) • Development of the forest in • Acquire land for micro basin (II) the micro basin already • Improving diets (II) identified (II) • Management of associations and types of • Trained youth crops (II) • Infrastructure to carry out • Recovering native fruit trees. projects • Historical community knowledge. • Farmer store • Vegetable gardens within the school • Developing initiatives for premises. producing concentrates and • Managing vegetable garden diversity. integrating several projects • knowledge of the perimeter of the micro• Water service clients pay basin. punctually • Rebuilding and old building • We have fertile land • knowledge of GPS. • improve the water Project • Increasing fruit trees in the homes. infrastructure with support • Learning to manage a micro-business form leaders based on developing true experiences.
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Organizing the CIAL Putting knowledge into practice Student and leader participation The arrival of SAT Opinion of the 7 communities regarding water
Difficulties: • Lack of economic resources (II) • There is no electricity in the community. Lighting for chickens is provided by oil lamps (II) • Marketing chickens (II) • Little credibility of SAT at the beginning • People harming the micro basin • Timidness in families for facilitating information. • Problems for conserving chickens once slaughtered. • Problems for management of animals in the field. • Problems for acquiring concentrate. • Access to varieties for the community • Problems for growing trees in private plots. • Adequate water sources for fish tanks even in Summer Non involvement of the community, especially cattlemen. • SAT does not possess land for carrying out timely practices in crop management. • Little technical advice • Problems with land owners. * “In all type of work one learns and gains experience”.
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Plant fruit trees in micro basin and not only lumber trees • The importance of attracting wild animals • potential for tourism (in Danta 3 and Diamante de Sion) • knowledge fro managing small businesses Obstacles: • Emigration of men (IIII) • Lack of awareness (II) • Lack of support from outside institutions (II) • Lack of irrigation • Lack of participation and cooperation. • Illegal logging has been reduced. • Not having land available for practical work within the SAT contents. • Lack of employment opportunities. • Lack of organization. • Lack of classroom for SAT students.
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Environmental, social, economic and spiritual improvement. Spiritual growth and the availability to continue with community development. SAT promotes a greater integration of actors in search of community wellbeing. The importance of unity and teamwork as keys for going ahead. Development of human resources with abilities and knowledge for participating in the search for local development. The importance of support from community organization leaders. Projects completed have left some benefit. We have reforested the micro basin with the participation of students and people from the community.
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Valuing local species. A case of conflict resolution was presented because of harm caused to trees planted. Improvement in local organization functioning. Learning to identify and seek for a solution to the problems of the communities.
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Gradual fattening of chickens should be organized. The use of oil lamps causes problems in raising chickens. Dependency on access to quality chicken feed is a strong constraint for carrying out the chicken raising activity. Access to chicks for fattening is another strong constraint. In the future the diversification of activities within micro enterprises should take into account a greater usage of resources and local opportunities. The above happens, for example because of seeking response to the question about how to make the concentrate. There is the possibility for training on making concentrate at INFOP in Olanchito. Recognizing that fattening farm chickens is an activity that depends greatly on outside products, it would be good to reflect within the teaching process upon the perspective of product and process supplies.
Elements for analysis of future productive endeavours SEC non/dependency Clarity Conservation of resources Diversity as foundation of Time Key requirements for sustainability developing a microenterprise initiative Development and usage of Access to resources and Valuing local resources local abilities and resources. materials Annex No. 2: List of reference documents ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
Participatory reference – terms of reference. Final report on drop-out behaviour on the SAT models, 2007. Pilot project reports. First stage assessment of support for SAT by the Pestalozzi Foundation, 2006. Report of the vegetable garden experience implemented with students from third year of high school, 2007 Traditional vegetable garden, 2006. External assessment report from the Alternative Education Entity Consortium (CEEDUCA), 2007. Project Logic Frame, 2004. SAT statistical Tables, 2007. Micro-basin management plan documents (4). Project photo revision.