The ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) Rural Adult Education Project was conceived in the spirit of empowering local people to help themselves. This book, a distillation of the experience of the project, was written with the primary object of being of practical use to those who are already involved, or would like to become involved, in the organization and tutoring of village-based rural community development courses. The handbook contains five chapters and five appendixes. information on village courses as a vehicle for community development, gives directions for using the handbook, and describes courses within a community development program and educational perspectives. Chapter 2 describes the formation and activities of a planning group prior to offering a course. Chapter 3 includes information for the teacher on developing the curriculum. Chapter 4 describes the format of the sessions and identifies techniques. Chapter 5 discusses course evaluation. A "postscript" provides a reflective analysis of rural educational activity. Appendix A describes community development courses in the west of Ireland at University College, Galway. Five examples of course programs are included in Appendix B. Appendix C provides an introduction to parish councils. Appendix D describes using press releases and press conferences to help in community development. A sample course evaluation questionnaire is provided in Appendix E. A prefatory note explains that ACRE is a charity taking action on jobs, housing, transport, shops, and other services in rural areas. It works at local and national levels providing information, advice, training, and action to improve the quality of life for those living and working in the countryside. A key to acronyms and abbreviations is included. (CML)