In July 2006, at Providence Farm in Duncan, about 30 local participants as well as guests from Haiti, Vancouver, the B.C. Interior and the Queen Charlotte Islands participated in a three day training program on the “Social Enterprise Program”. which assists individuals to develop a strong group process that leads to social action Many of these participants will be returning on the long weekend in September to the Shawnigan Community Centre to take part in the facilitator training that they will then use to teach others this approach.

Excerpts from the Badi Foundation China Program:

Five years, 2000 - 2004, have passed since the Badí' Foundation set in motion its Environmental Action Program in western China. During these five years, the Foundation has been able to change doubt into certainty and skepticism into enthusiastic support.

At first, our approach was not well understood. Our Chinese partners and funders are more familiar with costly programs which focus on raising income or promoting new technology. The Badí' Foundation, while recognizing the usefulness of many of these programs, chose instead to focus on training women in the skills and abilities they need to create a better world.

The year 2004 marked a turning point in the evolution of the program. Patient perseverance and hard work have managed to change doubt into certainty and skepticism into enthusiastic support. The program has gained considerable approval not only from our Chinese partners and collaborators but also from our sponsors and certain international agencies; at the Global conference on Poverty, the Badí' Foundation was included on the list of contributing international agencies in China's Poverty Reduction program; the Foundation implemented its program in cooperation with the World Food Program at one of its project sites in Gansu Province. This changed view has made it possible for the Foundation to host a consultative meeting with where leaders and representatives from all five leadership levels – provincial, city, county, township and village – met to exchange ideas and consult on the nature and range of their activities.

The Badí' Foundation staff believes this success comes from its learning attitude. Such an attitude allows the program to evolve in response to the development of the communities which participate. This evolution is not random, it has always been guided by two central principles: access to scientific knowledge and service. The training materials offer participants direct access to current scientific knowledge and introduces skills they need to make good use of that knowledge and to continue investigating after the training is over. The training exercises and activities generates enthusiasm amongst the participants and build their capacity for forming groups for the purpose of initiating social action. In addition, the program has generated an innovative locally based delivery system that ensures expenditure is kept to a minimum.

Listen to the voices of some of the Badí' Foundation's "partners".

Yang Chun'e, farmer, Huwa Village: "I have changed greatly since participating in the Environmental Action Program. It changed my life and my thoughts. In our village the custom is for women to stay at home, look after the children, cook, wash clothes, and take care of the elderly. We felt that we were always lower than other people.…After the training course, whatever I do is done with a greater sense of purpose. Now I am filled with confidence in my life, interacting with friends and neighbours with a kind, compassionate heart, showing more love to the children, treating every member of society harmoniously, with mutual respect and mutual care."

The Foreign Capital Management Centre of Gansu Province: "Since May 2003, the Badí' Foundation and Foreign Capital Management Centre of Gansu Province have established a partnership to complete a training program involving rural women in the poorer areas. To date, 200 rural women from 9 poor villages of 7 poor counties have completed the training. The outcome was hailed by many as a success. As a result of this training, these rural women were transformed and a new mindset was created. Their confidence increased and they began to expand their thoughts to explore creative ways of reducing poverty and hence, increasing prosperity."

Ms. Yuriko Shoji, former deputy representative of World Food Program, China, currently, Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of United Nations Development Program, Kazakhstan: "It has been a unique and inspiring opportunity for me to participate in the rural women's training with the Badí' Foundation . The training with Badí' Foundation instructors is intensive, with more than 60 women crammed into a cold classroom in the local training building. At the same time, you could feel that the women were having a rare opportunity to be away form their normal responsibilities and duties, to be together with their peers, and to think for themselves. Together, we had the sensation that a small step had been taken to bring greater self-confidence and open new horizons for these women between ages 20 and 45 who had the courage to participate in the course."