A big boasting point for the Alma Foundation is the strong relationships we have with the communities we work in. I am often asked how we manage to maintain close ties with community members and also ensure that they themselves take on leadership roles in our projects; because although it appears that engaging a community that is benefitting from a project would be simple, unfortunately it is the elusive key to project implementation that keeps most organizations from succeeding in rural development – whatever their project’s scope.
Though there are many factors that go into building a healthy rapport with community members, one of the most important is the assemblea, or assembly.
Every community, and every association within a community, has assemblies in which all members discuss issues and make decisions on matters ranging from the pressing such as how to confront water scarcity to the less urgent such as what to do about Juan’s pack mule that eats too much grass. It is communal democracy at its best!
In all of our community projects, we use the assembly exactly as the community does – an opportunity to plan, manage, and evaluate our project with the respective community members. I was in Patabmaba last week to put the final touches on the planning for the 2014 Patabmba Academy Project. We discussed matriculation fees, academic materials, scheduling, professors, and transportation – which were all decided by consensus – and finally elected a new Academy Committee made up of responsible parents. The president, Luis, was reelected and the secretary and treasurer changed from Justina and Amparo to Herasmunto and Huberto.
Patabamba Academy Assemblea
The assembly is a local institution that has managed to survive uncounted generations and is still the main mechanism for decision making in rural communities. By including the assembly in our project development and coordination, the Alma Foundation has been able to create solutions for educational needs from inside the community, in partnership with the community instead of offering outside ideas as an external organization. It is essential to our model of small, locally-integrated projects that can eventually be passed over to local administration.
So for those wondering how we tap into local leadership and maintain close relationships with community members: it all starts with the assembly.