Community organizing for people's empowerment

In this book, the author seeks to portray the process of community organising as a collective endeavour where the people are the principal actors and the community organisers serve only as facilitators. He proposes that community organising is only meaningful if it promotes the continuing capability building, self reliance and empowerment of the people. The book starts out by giving a historical perspective of community organising in the Philippines, describing the state of the art of community organising and highlighting the ongoing debate on the meaning of development. He goes on to portray the poverty situation in most Philippine communities and provides an over-view of the community organising process that revolves around the lives, experiences and aspirations of the people. Case studies from rural Philippines are used to illustrate processes of community organisation, indigenous technology development, Christian community organising, and community-based education and training. Finally, a synthesis of lessons culled from the experiences gives practical guidance for promotion of community organising.