Sustrainability offers training courses in Participatory Methodology.

This is methodology for assisting communities and beneficiaries to do research, planning and evaluation for their own development projects.

PLA activities are led by an experienced impartial facilitator, who is a catalyst for change, and guides people through processes designed to assist participants to be engaged in all steps of development.

These methods empower and build the capacity of those who use them, because they enable cooperative analysis of issues within a group and help reach an agreement. Projects become owned by the beneficiaries, who take responsibility for implementation, maintenance, successes and failures; instead of the implementing partners.

Participatory methods come under many names: Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Participatory Planning (PP), Participatory Appraisal (PA) etc... They are all essentially the same thing.

Participatory methods are very flexible, and can be used by all people from corporate members to illiterate farmers,
women and men, young and old, and in all cultures and languages.

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Sustrainability offers training courses in Sustainable Agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture is methodology for food production that has no negative impact on the environment; indeed, the impact is often positive. Sustainable agriculture seeks to maintain high yield intensive farming systems without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers, or widespread destruction of wildlife habitats and natural environments.

Sustrainability aims training courses primarily (but not exclusively) at the needs of tropical smallholders.

The smallholder is the landowner who owns just a small parcel of land, and so must farm it intensively to reach self-sufficiency or sufficient economic profit. The majority of the world’s farmers are classified as smallholders, and are generally unable to invest in expensive technology or capital intensive options. Sustainable agriculture for smallholders, therefore, must find solutions that are cheap and appropriate to the local situation.

In order to achieve these aims, agriculture must be approached with a set of ethics and principles that specifically advocate care for the natural environment, and the communities that exist within them. Food production must be well planned, so as to consider and account for the complexities of natural systems.

As a result, sustainable agriculture is more than just food production – it also encompasses farm design and design skills, soil and water management, pest control, forestry, integration of animal husbandry with vegetable production, wildlife management, appropriate technology, buildings and the role of community in food production.

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It is normal for Sustrainability to be contracted out to development organisations, institutions or community groups. The contracting organisation arranges the course venue, and organises the student group. Sustrainability provides the training. However, Sustrainability would be willing to be involved in the organisation of a training course as well for an extra fee.

The courses in Participatory Methodology are aimed at people who are likely to become facilitators. This includes NGO staff, community mobilisers and university students.

The courses in Sustainable Agriculture are aimed at people who either work in facilitating other people's livelihood development, or are engaged in sustainable agriculture themselves. The primary (but not exclusive) focus is on tropical smallholders.

Post-training reports can be produced on demand, for an extra fee. For an example, see the portfolio pages.