The Village Polytechnic Movement consists of setting up training centers for the purpose of teaching locally-needed skills to primary school dropouts in rural Kenya. In addition to explaining the philosophy of the movement, the author comments upon its organization and future. (AG)

Focuses on how India's economic planning and development efforts since 1950 have affected rural areas and small towns, which comprise nearly 80% of India's population. Presents several case studies of rural development and concludes that the major keys to the stability of India as a democracy are population control, a unifying language, and…

An effort to introduce the plow to Timor farmers faced following barriers: nature of the land and climate, strongly demarcated traditional system, tensions among ethnic groups, cattlelords system, necessary time to place/retain trainers in villages. Positive factors were concrete results, use of small groups and native trainers, age of adopters,…

This model for promoting rural community development through adult education is particularly valuable for rural areas because these areas often lack adult education opportunities. There is a need for access to information in isolated areas, and changes in the rural economy require diversification. The model shows the necessity of nontraditional…

Traces the struggle of southern Mexican communities to resist established outside exploitation and gain control of local rainforest resources. Discusses the role of local politics in resolving the conflict between economic development and conservation adherents and pursuing the goal of sustainable production. (SV)

Reviews the history of Canadian rural development, comparing Canadian rural policy with U.S. rural policy. Canada's programs, although sharing some features with U.S. programs, are often delivered in a manner that emphasizes local planning and encourages rural areas to make a long-term commitment to integrating programs into a broader development…

The introduction of cash cropping in the Solomon Islands and Tonga has had negative effects on women, leading to deterioration in their status, decreased leisure time, fewer opportunities to earn cash, increased birth rate (to help with the increased workload), and more sharply defined sex roles. (SV)

Evaluation of a project in which Botswanan extension agents used participatory rural appraisal showed that agents can develop attitudes for adopting more participatory approaches, but they are hindered by institutional and contextual constraints, such as government bureaucracy and the political economy. (SK)

This paper focuses on the capacity building of "local partnership" members or leaders as development agents in their Mayan communities. It relates to an education/training process started in 1995 in four different regions of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, which was carried out by Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) and academic…

Some actors in the ''mainstream'' agricultural sector are beginning to engage in strategies of influencing public perceptions of farming, responding to public anxieties over industrialised agriculture and to a supposed separation of non-farming publics from food production. This paper focuses on agricultural shows as sites and events central to…

The Dutch countryside forms the scene for pressing problems of management and allocation of land and water. These problems underscore the need for comprehensive rural policies. For that purpose, area-based rural policy has been initiated. This new policy is part of a larger policy shift, labelled in literature as "new rural governance".…

This paper explores the migration and cultural consumption practices of lesbian households within processes of rural change. Taking forward Phillips' (2004. Progress in Human Geography 28, 5-30) discussion of neglected geographies of rural gentrification, and building upon Halfacree's (2001. International Journal of Population Geography 7,…

Changes in education and agriculture in South Africa indicate that agricultural extension practitioners should facilitate continuous learning among farmers. This requires that extension practitioners acquire new skills. To provide these skills requires a critical examination of agricultural extension curricula in the light of South Africa's…

The impact of HIV/AIDS on food security and rural livelihoods is still insufficiently understood. It is evident, however, that rural development professionals need to respond to the changes that have taken place in rural areas due to the pandemic. This article explores competencies that they need in order to deal with the complex HIV/AIDS issues…

This report provides the recommendations made by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology based from its examination on the accessibility of post-secondary education in Canada. Colleges are the advanced skills educators of choice. Aligned with the needs of…