Building Sustainable Societies Program

“Meeting the world’s social, economic and environmental challenges depends upon people who have the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions and the commitment to work together to transform harmful patterns of development into ecologically and socially sustainable development. “
Michael Bloomfield, Founder and Executive Director, Harmony Foundation

If we hope to deal with the major environment and development issues facing us in the 21st century, we must go beyond awareness-raising and promote active and informed public participation in local planning and decision-making.

Through our Building Sustainable Societies Program we are building the capacity of groups and individuals to act as catalysts for practical community initiatives on a variety of environment and development issues. We are increasing the effectiveness of projects in communities around the world and increasing cooperation and partnerships at the local, national and global levels.

Our participatory training programs are preparing community leaders with the knowledge and skills to be catalysts for positive change. Using a “train the trainer” approach we prepare community leaders to lead their groups to analyze local needs and assets and create effective projects which produce meaningful local results while contributing to meeting national and international goals.

Our innovative educational materials are helping communities around the world to harness the power of the decisions made in their communities; to create and sustain patterns of human development that protect the environment and human health, reduce poverty, create prosperity and improve the quality of life for current and future generations.

Together our Community Action Workshop Manual and accompanying series of Profiles for Community Action create a powerful, cooperative tool for achieving practical results. The Community Action Workshop Manual contains all the materials necessary to lead a workshop. This indispensable tool for planning projects in your community provides many resources including step-by-step instructions for identifying local needs and assets and developing a plan of action.

Climate change, the loss of biodiversity, the decline in the quality and supply of fresh water and the challenge of achieving green cities are issues of vital importance to communities around the world. As these issues are addressed through the Building Sustainable Societies Program, new Profiles for Community Action are in planning and development.