Day 1: Building on what we have: Activating assets for community-driven development

1. Day 1: Building on what we have: Activating assets for community-driven development Self Employed Women’s Association

2. Objectives for Day 1 • Get to know the participants and the basic structure and content of the course • Give a quick overview of ABCD • Show what Community Mobilisers do in their communities • Explain the qualities of good Community Mobilisers • Understand the importance of working with a team • Begin to look at key leadership skills

3. Activity 1: Getting to Know You! Your name One thing that people can remember about you One thing you want to learn from this training One unique skill that you have The happiest event in your life One thing that your group has in common (using pictures, words or phrases)

4. Overview: Asset-Based Community-Driven Development (ABCD) ABCD focuses on the half full part of the glass where the strengths, capacities and assets of the community lie. • For too long community workers have only paid attention to the half empty part: people’s needs and problems

5. What happens when we only focus on the empty part of the glass? • Leadership emphasizes community “needs” in order to secure resources: • “Our people are poor, we need your help!” • Community members internalize what their leaders are saying: • “We are poor, we have nothing, we need help” (a deficit mentality) • A dependence on relationships with outsiders rather than relationships within the community • We need you to help us because we cannot help ourselves or each other

6. ABCD also emerged as a result of: • a growing recognition of strengths and assets in every community

7. What happens when we focus on the full part of the glass? Leadership emphasizes community strengths and recognizes the contributions of all community members. “Look at all we have done in the past. We should be proud.” Community members internalize what their leaders are saying and feel confident in their abilities and capacity to act. “Here is what we can do. Let’s do it more!” Relationships and leadership inside the community are the forces that drive development activities. External actors are attracted to the community’s success. “Here is what we are doing. Would you like to contribute?”

8. “Community-Driven” • Communities are using their own resources first before trying to get external resources • Citizens (not governments or NGOs) through their local associations are "self mobilizing, or "driving" the community development process

9. Activity 2: What is a “community”?

10. Activity 2: What is a “community”? Group 1: • What does it mean to be a community? • What are some examples of community? • Draw a picture of what community means to you.

11. Activity 2: What is a “mobiliser”? Group 2: • What does it mean to be a person who can “move” people (“mobilise” people) to get things done in a community? • What are some of the ways to do this? • Do you know people who are good at doing this? • What kinds of things do they do? • What are some of the things that stop a community from moving ahead? • Draw a picture showing what it means to mobilise a community.

12. Activity 3: Facilitator or Teacher? (Role Play) • What is the difference between teaching and facilitating?

14. Source: PILLARS Facilitator Skills Workbook (http://tilz.tearfund.org/Publications/PILLARS/Facilitation+skills+workbook)

15. What do community mobilisers do? • they get things moving in a community • they bring people together to help increase collective economic activity • they build trust • they encourage participation • they facilitate discussion and decision-making • they help things run smoothly

16. Activity 4: Being a Mobiliser • In your community, what would you do today to encourage people to work together to improve their economic and social well-being? • Who are some of the individuals, groups and associations you could work with? • What do you think would be some of the problems or challenges that you would encounter if you tried to help people to work together?

17. Activity 5: Trust and Communication • Using your words only, help your blind-folded partner stack the blocks • How did each person feel about their role? • What can this tell us about leadership?

18. Activity 6:Appreciative Interviewing • Who is the person you think of a good leader? • What is it about that person that makes you think of them as demonstrating good leadership? • What are some of the attitudes, skills and behaviours that they show? • How do you and other people feel when you are around this person?

19. Activity 7-10:Team-building • The “Human Knot” • Drawing Activity • Communication • Symbols of Good Leadership

20. Activity 7: “Human Knot”

21. Activity 8: The Drawing Game

22. Activity 9: Non-Verbal Communication

23. Symbols of Good Leadership?

24. An Example of Good Leadership

25. How did Gandhijimobilise his community?

26. What can we learn from Gandhiji’s leadership about the role of Community Mobilisers?

27. Review and Evaluation of Day 1 • What did we do today? • Do you have any questions or comments?

28. Day 2: Building on what we have: Activating assets for community-driven development Self Employed Women’s Association

29. Objectives of Day 2 • Reflect on the difference between needs-based and asset-based perspectives and their consequences • See how asset mapping can uncover skills, abilities and local resources that the community can mobilise • Understand that even those labelled “the poorest of the poor” have assets • Share experiences of community-driven development and identify the common factors that lead to successful community-driven development • Highlight the importance of people’s capacity to organise as a group • Illustrate “active citizenship” of the Community Mobilisers in the group

30. Energiser: Paper Building

31. Activity 11: Community 1, Community 2 • What would make a difference in this community? • What would you recommend should be done? • What are the differences in what each team recommended? • Which community does the group feel will be most successful? Why?

32. Asset-Based Community-Driven Development (ABCD) ABCD focuses on the half full part of the glass where the strengths, capacities and assets of the community lie.

33. A Healthy Community • What would you expect to find in a healthy community that focuses on its strengths and assets (“the glass half full”)?

34. Community Assets

35. What happens when we see strengths and assets? Leadership emphasizes community strengths and recognizes the contributions of all community members. “Look at all we have done in the past. We should be proud.” Community members internalize what their leaders are saying and feel confident in their abilities and capacity to act. “Here is what we can do. Let’s do it more!” Relationships and leadership inside the community are the forces that drive development activities. External actors are attracted to the community’s success. “Here is what we are doing. Would you like to contribute?”

36. Unhealthy Community • What would you expect to find in an unhealthy community that thinks only of their needs and problems (“the glass is half empty”)?

37. Community Problems and Needs

38. What happens when we only see needs and problems? • Leadership emphasizes community “needs” in order to secure resources: • “Our people are poor, we need your help!” • Community members internalize what their leaders are saying: • “We are poor, we have nothing, we need help” (a deficit mentality) • A dependence on relationships with outsiders rather than relationships within the community • “We need you to help us because we cannot help ourselves or each other”

39. Activity 12: Group Reflection • How do you feel about this approach? • Can focusing on assets and needs complement each other? • What does it mean for the way that you work with communities? • Would the way you see communities have to change?

40. Energiser: Line up!

41. Activity 13: “Nobody Has Nothing” • These three groups are marginalised : ‘the poorest of the poor’ • Similar groups exist everywhere • What are their strengths ? • What livelihood opportunities are there ?

42. Scenario 1 • Experience frequent droughts • Population is dependent on agriculture, but cannot move beyond subsistence • Women possess traditional embroidery skills • Located close to urban markets • Women in the community have strong social bonds

43. Scenario 2 • Majority of the male population are day labourers • These workers are often exploited by their employers • Work is located at a distance and workers often arrive late as a result of poor transportation • Many women are unemployed, but are organised and savvy with money and possess small business skills

44. Scenario 3 • Farmers grow very little and do not earn much income as a result of droughts and poor irrigation • 40% of village farmers are forced to migrate to urban areas • Strong, organised groups exist with planning and budgeting skills • People have small savings and are willing to contribute • Outside institutions exist that can respond to the priorities of the community

45. Activity 14: Draw your Community!

46. Activity 15: The Wisdom of the Community • In what way is this case study community-driven? • In what way is this case study citizen-led? • What does it means to be an “active citizen”?

47. Activity 16: Sharing Stories • Tell a story from yourown experience about a community development initiative that was driven by the community and started with no outside assistance.

48. What do these stories tell us about community-driven development? • People started with what they had and not what they needed from outside • Initiatives started quite small and then grew to be more ambitious over time • Outside agencies were attracted to their success and external resources were seen as investments, not as hand-outs or service delivery • Leadership was spread throughout the community, not just vested in a particular charismatic individual

49. What do these stories tell us about community-driven development? • There were both formal and informal leaders – people who could bridge the gap (“gappers”) between informal associations and formal institutions; between generations; between residents and those who have settled in the community • Leaders tended to keep people focused on opportunities rather than problems or needs • Leaders were able to get people to sacrifice something now for later benefit

50. Activity 17: The Power of Associations