Describes cooperatives as a new socioeconomic strategy for rural economic development. Cooperatives involve local control, local ownership, and empowerment through organization. Categorizes and gives examples of cooperatives in agriculture, retail grocery, credit, crafts, and health. Suggests some reasons why cooperatives tend to be ignored in…

Describes history, organizational problems and activities of Paraguay's Asociacion de Agricultores de Alto Parana (ASAGRAPA) and Programa de Ayuda Cristiana (PAC), farmer organizations. Details how cotton production losses forced farmers to invent new, varied markets, turning subsistence crops (peanuts, corn, and rice) into cash crops, while…

The Brushy Fork Institute at Berea College, Kentucky, helps develop the leadership skills that rural Appalachian communities need to solve local problems and spur economic development. Community members from 42 rural counties in 4 states (plus 2 student groups at Berea College) have attended weekend workshops at Berea College and returned home to…

Indigenous community organizations and organizational federations in Ecuador have moved from dealing with issues of land, civil rights, and cultural identity to promoting culturally appropriate, community-based, sustainable economic development ventures. The need for technical training and the success of Indian-to-Indian job training are…

An integrated set of teaching materials on community development is scheduled to be available by the spring of 1981 to Colleges of Education for use in regular vocational agriculture courses, inservice training, or short workshops. A task force of agricultural educators and community developers is aiming the materials at "teacher…

The Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development (COAD), a coalition of community action agencies, takes a regional approach to serving rural communities. Its programs focus on community and leadership development, early education and child care, and services and housing for seniors. Through COAD's Foster Grandparent Program, seniors mentor young…

This booklet suggests how rural pressure groups can be implemented. Listed among the variables of local structure which an organizer is to look for when assessing some particular rural area are: rural traditions, (exemplified by self-reliance and/or independent businesses), geographic and physical links, economic power conditions, social and…

Despite significant developments on the economic front, the Pakistani government's human development efforts have failed to serve the needs of the poor. Whereas the rural poor do not trust government schemes, they do trust nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), most of which are apolitical community-based grassroots organizations accountable to…

Now completing its second year, the Partnership for Rural Improvement (PRI) is a four year rural development program funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Its fundamental purpose is the development of a linkage system connecting the research and development of knowledge about rural improvement with the dissemination and use of that knowledge.…

Rural work-education councils are free-standing voluntary associations of community leaders averaging around 21 to 25 voting members who are organized by task-specific action committees working to improve and expand educational and economic development options and thus ease the education-to-work transition in rural America. There are currently…