Informal conversation contributes to the internalization of opportunities / initiatives to the community

That day, after a satisfactory and motivating three-hour session of work in the shade house and selling some greens to community members, 6 young women and 3 young men sat and engaged in an informal socializing conversation. The environment was conducive, they sat in an area they had previously cleared among the trees. “Why don’t we…

As the name, ‘self-assessment’ implies a community assesses itself based on the vision it has created. In its effort to achieve its dream “Peaceful retirement and healthier lifestyle through a better education and from SMART work”  the indigenous trusted leaders of Mainstay / Whyaka identified the following practices that will ensure that they achieve their vision:…

Progressing from the envisioning session: https://aidscompetence.ning.com/profiles/blogs/building-climate-resilience-in-mainstay-whyaka-indigenous-village ....residence of Mainstay / Whyaka #CFLI were engaged in a three-day event specifically on climate change and shade house as one mitigation effort.

The initial…

The Canada Fund for Local Initiative [CFLI] operated through the Canadian High Commission in Guyana is a top-down initiative intended to stimulate a bottom-up response of communities.  The REAL change however relies on how communities are stimulated to national and international commitment of provision of resources, human capital and financial. Herein lies the opportunity. How can communities, and in…

We are making progress as we take ownership and responsibility in sustainable ways is the theme of the SALT visit.

The Go Girls project takes place in Cameroon, India, Ghana, Kenya and India.

One of the Virtual SALT Visits was held during June 2022. Here is a snippet of that experience. (^_^)

Participants: Marlou, Dolores, Autry, Wiwin, Widad, Comfort, Aaliyah, Fanet, Isabela, Ornella, Rituu, Miel,…

Our level 5 when clear, means we are better able to measure progressively our journey towards our dream

This is our dream “Fairly competent as SALT facilitators contributing to making better societies.” Our journey towards the dream began when we created a safe space of trust where we identified who we really are. We understand why we are proud, that we also had similar concerns and…

We ALL  wish our hopes are achieved and our concerns are addressed. Achieving this begins with the individual dream, moving to the group dream and then to the community dream. The result is a statement that reflects the ‘spirit’ of what the community wants to achieve so that they can realize their full potential and live comfortable lives. It does not mean, however, that life is perfect, but people can cope…

During breakfast in Shulinab [an indigenous village] in the Rupununi on the border with Brazil, I met some personnel from the Ministry of Social Cohesion. A conversation about what I do ensued and to illustrate a point I engaged the team of four on the Ready Pull exercise, see…

The ‘climate crisis’ is real my friends! If you feel the micro-climate temperate is hotter than usual, that is happening all over the world. Not only in your neighborhood! Your micro-level experience is supported in a broader sense by the evidence of science. 

Climate resilience is the capacity for a socio-ecological system to: [1] absorb stresses and maintain function…

Is SALT truly a 'bottom-up approach?

Read this study of an intern [Kasper Moes] who did a study in the health sector within Holland. The assessment of how GGD employees working with communities view CLCP/SALT. The aim was to explore whether CLCP / SALT may be beneficial additions to Dutch health promotion in order to…

Soliloquy style [an utterance or discourse by a person who is talking to himself or herself or is disregardful of or oblivious to any hearers present]

“The good old days eh! These days are so full with threats of different types. How can young people especially, aspire to achieve their dreams? I want good for my family, but i am concerned about by 15yrs…

"We wanted to do this for ourselves as councilors, during heritage month, and especially so, because we are a new executive with responsibility to govern our village." Toshao Carl Peneux, the village leader of Orealla / Siparuta an indigenous community on the border with Suriname.…

We walked in single file because of the narrow path leading to the end of the short ‘panhandle’. Brush was overlapping the path so much that we had to push them aside with our hands. It was a lovely morning in Eijsden.  It is a custom [level 5]  that we engage with walking in the morning during the period of our FtF engagement. Laurie, who was walking in front of me, picked up a piece of paper. I began to wonder…

Guyana celebrates its 52nd Independence celebrations. Youth week engagement included schools who celebrated in several different ways. Bernice Edwards a teacher of grade 8 students in response to students interest in future careers and the fact that from Grade 9 class they begin to stream into career choices wanted to engage students in an interactive way so that conversation on career choice is stimulating to them.…

“Autry as I listen to your experience, I am reminded of the story of the candle and the dark room. One candle when lit, offers a glimpse of what is in the room while in darkness. However, if more than one candle at a time, is lit, the total strength of the once dark room is eventually revealed.” Tricia, a colleague with whom I shared the rewarding experience in the ‘City of Stars’ [Chiang Dao] and ‘City of City’ [Chiang mai], especially about the local…

Transfer begin with ‘mindset change’ with ‘S’ of SALT during the stimulation process. People begin to think differently; A different Way of Thinking [WoT]. Evidence of this is obvious when members of communities engage in conversations of Are we human? What makes us Human?; Identifying strengths and sharing common concerns and hopes, leading to a common dream. Members of these communities are motivated by these engagements.

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Mindset Change! “...if we have not made a mistake, means, we might not be doing anything. If we make the same mistake twice, then we may not be learning from our mistakes.” Hon. Sydney Aleacock. This encouragement of introspection came to members of the 17th National Toshaos Council conference. This encouragement follows the thought “if want different results [from our action], then we cannot be doing the same things we did in the past that yielded unfavourable results.”…

In marketing we learn that when a customer is satisfied, that excitement is shared with on average 6/7 persons. That happens naturally! When a community share common experiences and learn from those experiences they too would share their learning. The sharing could happen naturally or influenced. A Learning Festival is a tool allowed for conscious sharing and learning (^_^). During the Learning Festival held in Mauritius in April 2016, 30 foreigners from 13…

"Autry, can you come early, like one hour before so that we can prepare? would like to put somethings on powerpoint.." Piriscilla. "Okay.." said Autry. I always keep an open mind. In fact a colleague and me had a conversation on almost similar subject only recently. How does our way of working with only paper, markers etc fit in today's hi-tech world? How do we balance our traditional way of doing things with the fast-paced world, especially with a younger generation that is 'addicted' to…

I remember the words vividly "..happy couples make happy families, happy families make happy communities, happy communities make a happy nation and happy nations make a happy world.." of the song. But there is another saying "..a house is not a home.." When Le Pont du Tamarinier had the opportunity to support vulnerable / marginalized communities with houses, this was what it hoped for, making houses, homes. It dream created with support of SALT is "Equal opportunity for all peoples,…