By: Jojon Suria Nata

WWF Indonesia Central Kalimantan Program recently held a training entitled "Participatory Action Assessment Methodology Workshop" held for Field Guides of Sustainable Livelihood Development around Sebangau National Park Area. The training was held at Eco Village, Tangkiling, Central Kalimantan. The purpose of this training is to provide skills on how a field guide who has attended this training can master the methodology of community assistance in utilizing natural resources to increase sustainable livelihoods. A community facilitator will have the ability to identify what natural resources can be utilized, mapping, conflict and dispute resolution, and become a bridge between the community and the local government.

The five-day training was held from July 20-25, 2014. Participants came from community leaders, Sebangau National Park Center, community forums and village officials around the Sebangau National Park area. The training material was facilitated by Ilya Moeliono who is a social expert for participatory approaches. The series of activities carried out from morning to evening were filled with material in the form of an introduction to the study instrument, facilitation techniques for using the study instrument, to simulations and application of instruments that would later be implemented in the field.

As a series of the entire training process, in the future there will also be direct assistance in the field which will be carried out in two villages, namely Kereng Bangkirai Village and Tumbang Runen Village. These two villages represent the two major regions of Sebangau National Park, Pulang Pisau Regency and Katingan Regency. Each village will be accompanied by all trainees who are divided into two groups that apply all the material that has been received.

According to the coordinator of socio-economic development of WWF Central Kalimantan Didiek Surjanto, this training was carried out starting from the need for community assistance in Sebangau National Park, WWF and Sebangau National Park Center have done many activities with the community both in the form of economic development and physical activities that involve the community. In these activities there are still many shortcomings, this training is an opportunity to update the mentoring method itself. So that assistance to the community is really well coordinated starting from the assessment process, planning to documentation. With this activity, what is obtained will be applied to the community, mentoring will be carried out directly, continuously, in order to achieve the targets to be achieved.