Empowering Communities: An Analysis of IIRR’s Development Activities in Bicol, Philippines

The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) has worked in the Bicol Region at the southern end of the main island of Philippines, Luzon, and among the country’s poorest. Since beginning in the Diwata watershed on the island of Ticao, and more recently in Lagonoy and Mt. Masaraga-Quinale, IIRR has sought to improve the standard of living through participatory planning methods and the use of natural resources as an organizing structure independent of political boundaries. The objective of the workshop was to assess the organization’s approach to community development in three watersheds.