Introduction to training

There are two threads running through this training program: one of technical training, in the areas of food drying and storage, and one of extension training, in the concept of appropriate technology community development

The main focus of the program, of course, is the technical training of Peace Corps Volunteers and their Counterparts, to be able to design, build, use and maintain improved food dryers and stores. But from an extension standpoint, the technologies themselves will not do anyone any good if they are not presented as community development tools. The community development philosophy that has been inherent in CHP/Farallones training programs over the years is one that takes people into account and builds on what they know to help them solve their own problems.

Technologies that do not take a people and their culture into account are doomed for failure and it does not take long to develop a list of improperly introduced technologies. But technologies that use locally available resources, both human and materials, to meet community-felt needs, have a good chance of succeeding and growing. Improving traditional technologies is more acceptable to a community than importing completely foreign ones. Technologies are only tools with which true community development work can proceed.

This training program is designed to model and parallel community extension work. Participants are asked to take a full and active role in their own education. They are urged to cooperate with others to identify and use the talents and resources that are available to the group and to practice skills that help motivate people, instill within them a feeling of self-confidence and involve them in the process of their own education.

The approach to training is based on the principles of non-formal education and is designed to strike a balance between structured learning and guided, yet independent discovery. The sessions, resources and methods that are included reflect the belief that people are capable of self-direction and creativity when encouraged to apply their knowledge and skills in ways that are relevant to their lives. It is the intent of the program to offer a framework to the participants to apply what they have learned in training to service in their own communities.

This program offers skill training in all stages of technical development: the design, construction operation, maintenance, evaluation and modification of prototype devices. The designs selected will be as consistent as possible with the realities of rural areas in most parts of the world and are based on the following criteria: affordable and low in capital investment, simple and adaptable in both design and scale, easily understood by people with little or no formal education, responsive to local needs and capabilities, able to be constructed, operated, maintained, repaired and managed by the users, based on the use of renewable sources of energy and local resources, both human and material and characterized by the potential to contribute to local cooperation, self-reliance and good health.

Throughout the program, there is a focus on the principles and techniques of non-formal education and adult learning, methods and approaches to solving problems, development issues, cross-cultural perspectives and the process of assessment and evaluation.