FOREWORD
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Rural life improvement programs
in several APO member countries in the past have
had numerous features in common with the sustainable
livelihood approach, which has been in the limelight
as an innovative method for rural community development
in recent years. Generally, rural life programs
focus on not only improving the production aspect
but also the living conditions of rural people.
The Rural Life Improvement Program in Japan and
the Saemaul Undong in Korea, for example, have
succeeded in mobilizing a large number of local
people and broad-based local resources for rural
livelihood improvement and productivity activities.
4-H Clubs in the Republic of China and the Philippines
have also contributed greatly to the betterment
of rural living standards.
The distinctive features of successful rural
life improvement programs may be summarized as
follows. Community people, mainly rural women,
mobilize their local resources for the betterment
of daily life based on the spirit of self-help.
The construction of simple water supply systems,
communal cooking and childcare during the peak
agricultural season, and improvement of cooking
stoves and toilets are typical examples. Rural
life improvement officers and/or extension workers
play a significant role as motivators to encourage
villagers to initiate changes, as organizers to
promote group activities, or as coordinators between
the local government and community people. The
central and local governments provide minor but
effective assistance in the areas where local
people alone cannot manage by themselves. It should
be noted that these rural life improvement movements
include almost all the key elements of development
efforts which have recently been highlighted:
people’s participation; community-driven
development; human-centered development; social
capital enhancement; gender and development; facilitating
the role of outsiders in the development process;
and decentralization. In the Asia-Pacific region,
we can find ample examples of successful cases
of rural life improvement programs now. In this
regard, it is useful to learn lessons from boththe
past achievements and serious ongoing serious
efforts.
The APO organized the Seminar on Rural Life
Improvement for Community Development in Japan,
22-26 April 2002. This publication containsis
a report on the proceedings of the seminar, and
a compilation of the resource papers and country
papers presented to the meeting. It is my hope
that this will be a useful reference text for
those who are involved in rural development in
the Asia-Pacific region. The APO is grateful to
the Government of Japan for hosting the seminar,
the Association for International Cooperation
of Agriculture and Fisheries for implementing
the program, and the resource speakers for their
valuable contributions.
– TAKASHI TAJIMA, APO Secretary-General,
Tokyo, July 2003
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