The BCS is the PRRM’s basic course on sustainable development. The course will enable learners to understand the basic concept, discourses and practical implications of sustainable development. It has seven modules, logically sequenced and building from descriptive to analytical. The learners will construct webs of problems and webs of solutions, examine different perspectives, strategies and indicators of sustainability, and make individual and collective commitment.

“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” --- Albert Einstein

(Photo: Pedro Butali, municipal councilor of Hungduan, Ifugao Province, locates the sites of PRRM’s sustainable development projects.)

The course is about the kind of governance needed to shift development on a sustainable path. It will introduce learners to principles that make for good governance, enable them to critique governance practices from the perspective of sustainable development, and explore effective advocacy strategies. Special emphasis is given to local governance and its role in (re)building sustainable communities.

“We need to act together . . . to get our vision solid as a nation. We need a sense of economic nationalism, a sense of what we as a nation, united, can be capable of and can aspire to be.” --- PRRM President Wigberto E. Tañada, 1999

(Photo: PRRM President Bobby Tañada dialogues with farmer-leaders of Barangay Capitangan, Abucay, Bataan Province.)

The course combines theoretical and life-based inputs that broaden and re-focus one's perspectives to accommodate and see women's points of view, situation, capacities and aspirations in relation to men. Learners discuss the realities men and women face in the context of day-to-day engagements, establishing and improving local production, livelihood, community development, governance, education. They explore how men and women can contribute to sustainable development on a personal level, within the family, organizations, work site and the community. The course emphasizes participation, empowerment, sharing and respect within the frame of balanced gender relations.

”Women seek equality not in the sense of sameness but in the sense of equal recognition of their worth and value as human beings.” --- PRRM Chairperson Helena Z. Benitez, 1986

(Photo: Mothers in a remote upland village in Ifugao Province proudly pose with their healthy babies. Fathers (inset) do their share in rearing their children.)

This course is a community-based, holistic and integrated approach to managing coastal resources. It focuses on enhancing local capacity in developing and implementing projects to ensure the sustainability of coastal resources and livelihood for the local community. The course also equips participants with necessary knowledge, attitude and skills in mainstreaming CBCRM into current development policy and practice.

“Coastal resource management is a participatory process of planning, implementing and monitoring sustainable uses of coastal resources through collective action and sound decision-making.” --- Philippine Coastal Management Guidebook Series, 2001

(Photo: Members of PRRM’s partner fishers’ federation PUMALU-MV on patrol along Manila Bay’s coast.)

The course tackles ecotourism principles and practice in the context of sustainable tourism and PRRM’s community-centered area development. Learners will discuss the emergence of ecotourism as a reaction to the social and environmental impacts of mainstream tourism. They will look at ecotourism practices in and outside PRRM areas of operation and evaluate considered best cases. They will do participatory rapid appraisal and design a simple ecotourism plan for a community.

“Sustainable tourism operates in harmony with the local environment, community and cultures, so that these become the permanent beneficiaries and not victims of tourism development” --- Dutch professor T. van Egmond 2005

(Photo: Teacher helps his student during a People-to-People Aid Movement (Japan) study tour in a farming community in Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.)

The course will enable learners to understand climate change, the linkages between energy and the economy, social and health issues, environmental protection and security from the perspective of sustainable development. It will cover the basic concepts of renewable energy technologies as building blocks for sustainable development, as well as strategies and best practices in promoting and facilitating the entire process of planning, implementing and managing community-based renewable energy projects.

“Energy is not an end in itself, but an important entry point for achieving the goals of all three pillars of sustainable development: social equity, economic growth and environmental protection.” --- Energy for Sustainable Development, UNDP, 2002

(Photo: Household members happily welcome the first light from a micro-hydro power plant in Barangay Bangbang, Hungduan, Ifugao Province.)

The course is about managing development to become sustainable. It will introduce learners to the cycles and processes of strategic, program and project planning. At the end, learners should be able to do scanning, set goals, define purposes and objectives, explore strategic options, and set performance indicators.

“To plan is to build.” --- Prof Ed Morato, Asian Institute of Management

(Photo: Former PRRM trustee Japhet Badiola of Camarines Sur, explaining his group’s vision of a sustainable community during a Basic Course on Sustainability for PRRM Chapters at the National Training Institute, Barangay Nieves, San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija Province.)

This course focuses on the role of local (i.e., community-level) economies in ensuring national sustainability. It examines the elements that comprise a sustainable local economy. Specific cases will also be discussed, to give participants a realistic picture of the problems involved and options available in making local economies sustainable.

“The poor of the world cannot be helped by mass production, only by production by the masses.”--- Gandhi

The course is about community-based primary health care. It addresses issues of access, affordability and family or community-managed decision-making in disease prevention and treatment. Learners will gain knowledge and skill in managing health resources --- from food and nutrition intake practices, personal hygiene, cleanliness of the environment and sustainable living. Training approaches will be participatory, practical yet with clear and understandable theoretical underpinnings for community leaders to adapt.

“Good health begins at home.” --- Dr. Frank C. Laubach (1884-1970) Christian Evangelical Missionary

(Photo: A mother from a rural community in Nueva Vizcaya breastfeeds her child.)

This course will familiarize participants with the concepts of sustainable agriculture. General principles and specific practices such as diversified integrated farming systems (DIFS), system of rice intensification (SRI), nature farming, etc. will be covered. Participants will be expected at the end of the course to become familiar with the factors of sustainable agriculture (food crops for security, cash crops for higher income, elimination of poisons, biodiversity, and a new mindset) and to have a good idea how to make a farm sustainable.

“If we can take care of the land, the land will take care of us.” --- Dick Thompson, Iowa farmer

(Photo: A rice variety from India that usually produces few tillers shows the “SRI effect”: high tillering and robust root growth.)

One big downside of modernization is the destruction of local communities. In this course learners will explore the various perspectives, strategies and approaches to (re)building sustainable communities. The course will introduce learners to the basic steps of the community organizing process, help them analyze the different strategies in building local mass movements and apply instruments, like the Organizational Capability Index (OCI), for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of organizations and movements.

“Not to conform but to transform Not relief but release.” --- from the Credo of Rural Reconstruction

(Photo: A partner people’s organization of PRRM in Camiguin Island tackles community and organizational issues.)

The healing and wellness course is framed around one’s being whole, in the context of establishing nurturing relationships and achieving shared goals. By providing knowledge and skills in self-expression, the course creates space for participants to reach into their deepest feelings and process them. These become helpful 'handles' for coping with challenging circumstances.

“Without the pollinating presence of healed or healing motions, our actions cannot bear fruits.” --- Hildegard von Bingen, 12th century composer and herbalist

(Photo: Leaders of PUMALU-MV Virginia Abad, PRRM Trustee Emmanuel Gloria, Rene Bernal, and Joseph Marangga find time for relaxation in their hectic political and organizational life.)