CEN Overview
The Community Empowerment Network (CEN) assists rural communities in developing countries to acquire the skills, attitudes, and resources to lift themselves out of poverty by capitalizing on information and technology. While many recent development approaches have emphasized technology, experiences have shown repeatedly that technology alone is not a solution to poverty. Technology and information serve as development tools only insofar as communities are able to successfully use them in a meaningful way. Technology can be a valuable tool in poor rural communities when applied to developmental objectives such as: reaching markets for locally made goods, sharing ideas among communities, facilitating the implementation of projects, and accessing information on topics such as health, agriculture, or income generation. CEN empowers communities to utilize technology to achieve their own development objectives.
Where CEN Operates
Development Challenges in Rural Communities
Although each community is unique, many rural communities throughout the developing world share common challenges. Due to their remote location, rural communities consistently face limited educational opportunities, limited access to health care services, poor infrastructure and communications, and limited opportunity for employment. Due to such conditions, these communities have for generations relied primarily on others for their well-being, whether the patrón land-owner, the government, or NGOs. This cycle of dependency often inhibits the ability of communities to take on their own development projects. Regardless of how well intended outside agents might be, they have different agendas than the communities, and the communities are at their mercy.
Dependency has consistently been a major obstacle to development, reinforcing an "I can't" mentality among the rural poor - a feeling of helplessness where people believe that they are unable to control their own lives. On our recent visit to Suruacá in the Brazilian Amazon we observed a characteristic instance of this all-too-common "I can't" mentality.
During a meeting with a women's group we asked the women why the modern kitchen, which was built in the community with funds from a German foundation, was not being used. They responded that they were interested in using it to make fruit candies, but that they had not started because they were waiting for somebody to come and help them. They knew how to make the candies but didn't know where they could sell them, so they felt they needed outside help. The women were in a much better position than us or any outsider to work around these obstacles. What was necessary was for them to conduct some research and investigation locally. This could include seeking out and talking with neighboring communities that had experience making the candies or talking with local store owners about marketing their idea. However, the women were missing the skills and self confidence to make use of available resources.
Similarly, many rural communities around the world have ambitions to create small businesses, start organizations, or plan projects, but they get stuck because they feel they won't be able to succeed on their own. CEN works to overcome this "I can't" mentality that has inhibited so many from taking charge of their own community development.
Our Methodology
Energy and ICT can be important tools in breaking this cycle of dependency. If utilized effectively, ICT can empower users and their communities with access to information that helps them make well-informed decisions and take effective action to solve their own problems. Improved communications can also help communities share their solutions with other communities. ICT access alone is not enough, though. Communities need to develop skills to utilize the technology and apply information. Key skills include leadership, communication, organization, research, and project management. When people put these skills to practice in a meaningful way, they gain a feeling of empowerment. The "I can't" attitude becomes "I can", breaking down a major obstacle to development.
Mentoring communities as they learn by doing
A positive mentorship role with rural communities is critical for our efforts to be effective. The first step of the mentorship process is to investigate what issues communities identify as meaningful. In our experience, prominent issues have included health, infrastructure development, and small business development. As communities bring specific problems to our attention, we then determine the knowledge and skills that communities need to address the problem on their own. We work with the communities to create a plan that will not only help them solve the specific problem, but at the same time will help them develop the skills and confidence to independently address similar problems in the future.
While our role may include providing ICT and electricity, our primary focus is to foster the skill development needed to get the most out of the technology investments. In order to help communities develop these skills, CEN mentors them as they undertake projects of their own design, which are relevant and meaningful to their everyday lives. As a mentor, we help them develop methods of inquiry to explore the questions they truly care about, and to encourage them to develop a sense of ownership about their projects. Our "learning by doing" approach means that learners not only acquire knowledge about the project topic, but also develop a wide range of skills which are critical for them to manage their own development. In the process, communities adopt an "I can" attitude as they witness the concrete results of their efforts.
Recently, a group of four Brazilian men approached us for help creating a business plan. Rather than creating it for them, we guided them through the process by asking some critical questions that led them to produce the business plan themselves. Helping with this specific request was a start, but as we worked through this problem we determined that the broader goal was for community members to develop the skills necessary to be able to start and run businesses independently. Through discussing the interests and ideas of the group, we determined that organizing a basic business course open to all community members would help people to develop the business skills they desired such as management and marketing, as well as exploring their interest in a rotating community fund.
Similarly, community members have approached CEN with very specific health concerns, such as a high prominence of back problems or vision problems. We specifically addressed these health concerns by providing relevant information via the community information portal. We also helped to put communities in touch with local resources that they can approach to acquire glasses and specific health care needs. Ultimately, we don't want the communities to rely on contacting us with every new health problem as it comes up. Rather, we seek to help them develop skills that will allow them to address health concerns on their own. This may mean developing workshops on research skills or courses on more general health topics.
Establishing telecenters and information portals
Due to their isolation, rural communities often have limited access to the information needed to compete for resources. Computers and the internet can facilitate access to this information if applied effectively. CEN works with communities to determine what information interests them and then establishes telecenters and information portals according to their needs.
So far, we have used portals to provide information addressing a number of community interests, including specific health concerns such as HIV/AIDS, back problems, and vision problems. We have provided teachers with resources to help them teach math and Portuguese language skills. We have also provided community groups with study material on cultural and environmental topics of interest in the Amazon.
Screenshot of InfoCentro Comunitário
Oftentimes, low levels of education and inexperience with many types of information - especially in written form - are obstacles to using information effectively. CEN organizes workshops where community members learn how to utilize the info center and also develop writing and other communication skills. Also, we make sure that that the information in the portals is presented according to the skill level and educational background of the target audience.
Facilitating community networks
Many remote communities, particularly those within the same region, face similar challenges. Some communities have met considerable success addressing specific problems, however their isolation has prevented them from sharing their solutions effectively with others. By sharing ideas and experiences, communities have an alternative to relying exclusively on outside "experts".
Chat, on-line forums, and e-mail access can help tremendously to facilitate idea sharing between remote communities. We have discovered, however, that while electronic communication can be very effective where personal relationships already exist, it can be very challenging for people who are not accustomed to using the telephone - much less written electronic forums - to engage with strangers from communities they have never visited. Organizing periodic workshops and exchanges between communities has proven an effective way to help communities begin a dialog with each other, which can then be maintained and broadened by electronic communications.
Our methodology is innovative
Capacity building and even the use of ICT to reduce the cost of delivering training in isolated areas is not new. The unique aspect of our program is to use these and other tools to provide the skills and other resources communities need to access and harness information to learn to discover and implement solutions so they become more self-reliant.
Soft skills are the core building blocks upon which residents “learn how to learn”. They are also the skills individuals use to access, filter, adapt and apply the information available in an information society to address their particular needs. Our methodology, which is based on project-based learning (“PBL”), is more effective for “teaching” soft skills, than traditional classroom settings because it better facilitates learners’ internalization of complex and multi-faceted subject matter.
Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a learning methodology designed to guide learners towards a certain skill and/or content that is specifically relevant to the learners’ goals and interests. In PBL, the process of learning is focused on the learner and the instruction team is responsible only for guidance and management of the final initiative. A mentor provides advice, shares knowledge and experiences, and teaches using a low-pressure, self-discovery approach. The overall goal of the process is to drive the learner to develop a habit of self-education and create a culture of independent learning. The PBL approach is a dynamic process that is not predetermined but, rather, evolves over time through a continuous dialogue with stakeholders in order to properly align the program with their local needs and realities.
Although Brazil is a pioneer in PBL theory, it has rarely been applied outside of schools there. One notable exception is the Program for the Future (PPF) which successfully uses it to improve the employability of at-risk urban youth. Youth use the skills they learn to become excellent employees and citizens – and not simply find a job. We will apply a similar approach to address the needs and realities of isolated rural areas. This has rarely been done in Brazil or elsewhere.This approach requires frequent consultation between learners and facilitators, and can be costly. These costs would be prohibitive to provide on a large scale basis in remote areas and so we will incorporate ICT to complement “in person” delivery of the curriculum as a way to reduce delivery costs. We will experiment to find an appropriate mix of personal, workshop and ICT-based delivery which will minimize delivery costs, without sacrificing effectiveness of the program. Keeping the incremental costs of delivery low will be critical for the eventual scaling of the program in the future.
We believe that helping individuals and communities become more self-reliant in resolving their problems, by equipping them with the skills and other resources they need to harness information, is a strong basis for lasting social change. Our approach promises to be more successful than others because it chips away at many the barriers faced by isolated and poor societies and allows them to effectively exploit many the resources available to the developed world.The CEN Amazon Pilot
Project 
CEN has applied the methodology described above through a pilot project
consisting of three
communities in the Brazilian Amazon. In two communities located along
the upper Tapajós River,
we helped manage the installation of solar-powered, internet-connected
telecenters, which was
completed by mid-2004 (please see Rio
Tapajós (Brazil)
Telecenter Installation Project).
The InfoCentro Comunitário contains information that is
closely tailored
to the specific health, education, civics and entrepreneurial needs and
skills of the communities.
The third community, located 500 km north of Manaus along the Roraima
state border, already
had computers and internet access. We are now working with the three
communities to use this
infrastructure to become more autonomous.
Although autonomy building is an evolutionary process and cannot be completed overnight, we have seen many promising results within a relatively short period of time. For example, one of the communities in project, Suruacá, has made considerable progress on a project to provide adequate electricity throughout the community using a microhydroelectric dam. They have driven the process, identified partners, and prepared a project plan with only very modest assistance from us or any other outside organization. We are now working with them to help them secure funding; however they continue to drive the process. In another example, one of the communities in our pilot project, Xixuau, has been quite successful with eco-tourism, while many residents of Suruacá were very anxious to understand how eco-tourism — and the cash it would bring in - might impact their way of life. By discussing these concerns with Xixuau, Suruacá is more firmly united behind eco-tourism efforts. The exchange of Xixuau's experience is also proving useful in helping Suruacá avoid some of the problems faced by other communities who have pursued eco-tourism. We anticipate that such helpful exchange of ideas will continue through the Rede Amazônia, a network established by rural communities in the Brazilian Amazon.
During this project we achieved the following:
- Identified
obstacles which prevent information technology and particularly
information from achieving it’s potential impact
- Identified
a model for overcoming these obstacles
- Stabilized
the telecenter
- Developed islands
(points) of expertise within the community
- Developed
relationships with successful and innovative organization within the
region and around Brazil
- Achieved
palpable progress on our overall goal the program participants becoming
more self-reliant
cCLEAR Pilot Implementation Project
Today we are focusing our resources on communities in the Amazon, where we are operating a pilot project in three communities. Although the tools and methodologies CEN has developed targets the specific needs of the communities where we are currently engaged, our approach addresses needs that are nearly universal among poor rural communities and is transferable to rural communities worldwide. This pilot implementation of first phase of the Creating a Culture of Learning and Empowerment in the Amazon Region (cCLEAR) Program is scheduled to run until April 2009.
30 learners will directly benefit from the pilot project. Half of the participants will come from the community of Suruacá and half will come from Maguary. All residents of both communities, each of which has approximately 5001, will indirectly benefit from the project, as participants will apply the knowledge and skills they gain from the program to carry out development initiatives that will benefit larger groups or, in some cases, the whole community. Thus, 1,000 individuals will benefit indirectly from the pilot of the cCLEAR program.
Our objectives for this project are to:
- Develop
a toolkit with set of activities and other tools which we can replicate
this first phase in other communities
- Demonstrate
concrete/tangible results, including three income generation
initiatives which have already begun
- Lay the groundwork for CEN’s and Link Social’s on-going work in the region
Future Plans
In 2009 we intend to replicate Phase 1 of the cCLEAR Program in a new set of communities in the region through another local partner, and to implement Phase 2 in the original Rio Tapajós communities as well as the community of Xixuau. Phase 2 includes an integrated entrepreneurship development program. We will work with the communities to leverage the skills they have learned in order to generate additional income. Although entrepreneurship development has been an important emphasis to our programs since CEN started, we intend to enhance opportunities available to the communities by improving access to markets and capital through this integrated entrepreneurship development program.By 2010 we hope to replicate to other regions, such as Mozambique or South Asia, where we have received a lot of interest and there are many potential synergies with our current work. We also hope to disengage from the original communities through Phase 3, while leaving behind a sustainable infrastructure.
Our work will scale by partnering with select local organizations which have compatible values and have gained trust with communities in the region. We will work closely with the local partner on the first set of implementations, help them adapt our methodologies to local realities, and build their capacity. After a defined period we will disengage this intensive level of interaction, but leave behind a set of infrastructure, including social networks, to ensure their success at replicating the methodology throughout the region they serve.
|
| © 2007 Community Empowerment Network |
| All Rights Reserved |
|
|