VILLAGE COMMUNITY THROUGH IN-DEPTH PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION FOR TRANSPARENCY IN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

                  The former village community meetings allowed the people to propose the projects and vote by raising hands in one round. The people, therefore, lacked opportunity for in-depth information study of the projects before voting. Projects passed the voting were mainly infrastructure development contracted by outsiders without people’s participation in implementation. Such process has affected the transparency of the projects. The problems found in the process of village community meetings were discussed with the village committee and together with the people made in-depth survey. It was found that threats being faced by the people were the indebtedness partly caused by chemical fertilizer investment in agriculture. It was also found that the community has potentials and resources to cooperate with external agencies in organic farming. The community then organized a seminar on organic farming and tried out rice farming by using earthworm vermicompost. The mixture of vermicompost and monosodium glutamate was innovatively found and helped improving rice produce, soil quality and environment better than chemical fertilizer. In addition, the results were extended in horticulture and other farm crops. The results of organic farming trials were extended to other villages. A seminar on village community meeting was organized and found that the people’s highest satisfaction was the participation of the people in the trials. Information of the trials was transparently opened and shared that made the people feel confident in bringing the results of the trials to mobilize support in organic farming project in village community meeting with related agencies.