● Collection of baseline data on the community;
● Stakeholder identification;
● Meeting with local leaders and government officials;
● Obtaining government approvals; and
● Initiating the programme with the community.
As with other activities of the co-management programme, the timeframe for community entry and integration will depend on the level of effort needed and objectives and outcomes set by the community, the programme and the community organizer (CO).
community should not become dependent upon the external agent to lead the co-management programme. As stated earlier, the role of the external agent should be to facilitate the co-management programme. The external agent and CO may need to continue to visit the community and provide assistance as needed after the phase-out (Boxes 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 and 6.6).
Box 6.3. Case Study: The Local Community Organizer Model in Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines.
The Local Community Organizers (LCO) model was implemented in Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines. It shows that while a CBCRM project may be externally initiated, promoting self-reliance and development of local capacity to prepare local organizations for the eventual phase out of the NGO or a project is important. With the LCO model, fisherfolk leaders were nominated by their organizations as ‘community scholars’ who learned the skills and attitudes of a community organizer. They were regarded as representatives of the PO, not the NGO; they regarded organizing as a learning opportunity that was awarded to them as a public trust. The LCO development emphasized sharing, confidence-building and learning-by-doing activities. The advantages of the LCO programme come from three aspects: local organizers are given opportunities to make unique contributions to organizing work, it is replicable and it is sustainable. With the LCO model, training and organizing became continuous and integrated in the learning process. Local leaders were movers and doers in organizing their own communities. Expanding organizing work was more cost-effective too because the LCOs organized adjacent communities by themselves. When Haribon Foundation, the facilitating NGO in Bolinao, eventually phased out, the PO federation continued to work on their own even up to now. For KAISAKA, the PO federation, their work continues even with the termination of the CBCRM programme.
Source: Arciaga et al. (2002).
Box 6.4. Local Community Organizers, Philippines.
In the Philippines, some NGOs select members from the community to act as local community organizers or LCOs. The tasks of the LCOs are essentially the same as the external COs, although they would usually focus on explaining the project objectives and activities to different community members thereby increasing awareness among the people. They also play a critical role in continuing the task of meeting people in the community, even informally, while the CO is away. In Bolinao, Pangasinan, Philippines, the LCO was distinguished from the leader of the community organization. The former was involved in expanding community organizing tasks in other villages, i.e. externally focused, while the latter led internal organizational tasks and activities. The LCOs in Bolinao were not employed by the NGO but rather considered as ‘community scholars’
and were given a small allowance for doing their tasks (Arciaga et al., 2002). In Taytay, Palawan, Philippines, the LCOs were employed by the project implemented by an NGO and thus paid for their work. However, their tasks were similar to those implemented by the Bolinao LCOs.
Community Entry and Integration 67
Box 6.5. Local Community Organizers, Africa.
In Africa, different from Asia, many of the co-management programmes have been initiated and facilitated by government staff rather than NGOs. In South Africa, many of the co-management programmes (for example, Sokhulu Mussel, Klienmond Inshore Fishery, Kosi Bay Gillnetting, Amadiba Tourism) have been initiated and facilitated by provincial and national government officials. These individuals have acted as catalysts for partnership development with local leaders and fishers. This role has been particularly significant with respect to securing funds for project activities, lobbying for access rights, mediating disputes, implementing training initiatives and exploring alternative economic opportunities.
Source: Sowman et al. (2003).
Box 6.6. Case Study: Community Fisheries Facilitation in Pursat Province, Cambodia.
The term community facilitation is used in Cambodia to describe the community extension work of supporting organizations. Facilitation in Khmer is translated to samrob samrourl.
Samrobmeans ‘to make things go together in the same direction’ while samrourlmeans
‘to make things easy’. Thus, samrob samrourlis simply ‘creating a process of doing things together in the same direction in an easy way’.
In Kampong Por commune in Pursat Province, the Cambodia Family Development Services (CFDS) has been working to improve the poor’s conditions and spur their empowerment. Pursat is one of the six provinces surrounding Tonle Sap Lake. The programme is focused on helping villagers in the planning, organizing and facilitating of participatory local development, which is from the village to the provincial level. The programme is a strategic part of CFDS’s vision of a Cambodian civil society of a fair, just and peaceful society, which will be achieved through an acceleration of economic growth to raise the living standards of all Cambodians.
The CFDS programme also supported a pilot project in developing a community fishery in Anlong Raing as a model of community fishery in Pursat. Until the change in government policy in 2001 towards fishery reform, there was little or no external support for the fishers and their communities. In addition, the outdated fishery law and lack of control and management of fishing lots, pollution and degradation of ecosystem and biodiversity has contributed to the heavy burden of most fishers for survival. Thus, the community did not benefit from the rich resources of Tonle Sap and currently they are being asked to take on the responsibility to manage their own community without building any capacity to take on the new task. The CFDS programme is an opportunity for them and the community to become better engaged with the Department of Fisheries in Pursat and the provincial officials looking for future collaboration in supporting the community fishery to build necessary knowledge, skill and attitude towards effective and sustainable management of resources in their community.
Sources: Cambodia Family Development Services, unpublished programme documents;
Rivera-Guieb (2004).
The CO may be male or female depending upon the context of the community. One or more COs may live in the community. Often the external agent will provide technical support to the CO with other staff members who may have specialized skills. Many COs have a college degree in social work or community development, although those with other degrees make excellent COs. The external agent will need to train the CO on their philosophy of co- management and on methods and tools to be used. Many external agents have developed a specific co-management, community organizing or development process which they follow in their work.
The CO should have the following skills:
● Open-minded;
● Creative;
● Respectful;
● Sensitive to local culture and gender;
● Sense of humour;
● Modest and humble;
● Puts people at ease and does not set himself or herself apart or act superior;
● Facilitate and guide rather than lead the process;
● A clear understanding of the different theories of development;
● Familiarity with the concept and process of community organizing and participation processes;
● Social and community relationship skills such as skills in establishing rapport, conflict management and group maintenance;
● A clear grasp of community-based co-management concept and process;
● The ability to work with teams of professionals involved in the management of marine and coastal resource;
● A clear perspective of when to phase-out and to ‘let go’;
● Interviewing and documentation skills;
● Ability to facilitate group meetings and discussions;
● Communication skills (DENR et al., 2001c).
Among the many skills and qualities a CO should have, the ability to dialogue – a fundamental aspect of community work – is one of the most crucial yet difficult tasks. Dialogue is an interchange and discussion of ideas based on a process of open and frank questioning and analysis in both directions between the community workers and the people. Community organizers cannot do their task if they do not take the time to listen to the people and constantly look for venues to interact with people. These may be in the form of meetings or house visits. The key element is to be able to dialogue with people in informal and intimate ways. A CO does not decide in advance what the community needs to know but dialogues with them to understand their needs.
The external agent should make logistical and administrative arrangements to support the CO. In many cases, the CO will need to travel to several communities or government offices. Resources will need to be made available for travel. Arrangements for communication through telephone and internet will need to be made for the CO. The external agent will need to provide back-
up to the CO in case of sickness or other problems and in case a CO needs to be changed for any reason. In some situations, a CO may not be acceptable to the community and will need to be replaced. The external agent will need to make arrangements to pay the CO’s salary and provide benefits.
Before entering the community, the CO should become familiar with the area, including its history, resources, culture, economy, social structure, problems, needs and opportunities. This information may be obtained from secondary data sources such as reports and publications and from key informant interviews with those knowledgeable about the area such as local elected officials, other NGO staff that may have worked in the area and government agency staff.
In conducting community entry, the CO should:
● Know the audience;
● Know the background of the community and its leaders;
● Initiate informal discussion with local government officials;
● Become acquainted with leaders and key informants;
● Know the potential topics they might want to discuss;
● Prepare appropriate techniques (for example, interviews and visualization techniques);
● Prepare secondary materials as background information.