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Village Earth

VE acts as consultant to the Chicago Field Museum

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Last April, Village Earth was invited by the Chicago-based Field Museum’s Environment, Culture and Conservation Division (ECCo) to facilitate a number of workshops with indigenous Shipibo and Kakataibo communities in the Peruvian Amazon. Specifically, Village Earth was asked to help organize women artisans in these communities to form artisan committees as part of the communities’ “Quality of Life Plans”. These quality of life plans are part of ECCo’s conservation efforts to protect the Cordillera Azul National Park in the central Peruvian Amazon and its surrounding buffer zone. As a part of the conservation strategy of the buffer zone, ECCo and its local partners have developed quality of life plans with each community to maintain cultural autonomy and sustainable livelihoods in the face of intensifying pressure from extractive industries. Within these plans, each community has determined their  priorities for community well-being. Like so many of the other indigenous communities Village Earth has worked with in the Peruvian Amazon, issues like artisan cooperative development and clean water were noted as community priorities. It is hoped that alternative economic development projects like these will bring sustainable sources of  much needed income to communities and provide an alternative to the traditional extractive industries which threaten the conservation of the park and its buffer zone. Because of Village Earth’s experience in this region of the Amazon, they were hired as consultants to facilitate the artisans women’s workshops within the communities. The workshops were very successful in that the women analyzed their situation and came up with plans together to organize themselves. ECCo’s local partner, Peruvian NGO CIMA (Center for the Conservation, Research, and Management of Natural Areas) and the indigenous federations that represent these communities, are providing guidance and insuring that the artisan committees are continuing to receive training in business development and connection to markets. As Village Earth has seen over the past few years, artisan cooperative development has been a successful way for women to bring more income into their families, while at the same time continuing to value their cultural traditions as expressed in their arts and crafts. So far the project has been successful due to the dedication of the CIMA extensionists and tecnicos from the indigenous federations that continue to support the committees. For more information about our training and consulting services, please visit our website. For information about our own projects in the Peruvian Amazon, please visit our project website and blog.

Upcoming Courses in the Village Earth/CSU Online Certificate Program in Community-Based Development

Winter II Session

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.

Register Now »

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