Capacity Building for Community Leaders in Participative Planning of Rural Development at Kondangjajar Village, Cijulang District, Pangandaran Regency

Abstract

Community participation in rural development is not only in the implementation phase but also should start from the planning phase. Capacity of community leaders as actors who become representatives of the community will determine the amount of their contribution in formulating the development plan. This paper will describe the results of a capacity building study of community leaders in participatory planning of rural development. The study was conducted at Kondangjajar Village, Cijulang District, Pangandaran Regency through a workshop attended by community leaders from village officials, RW heads, dusun heads, members of BPD, and from the community itself. Aspects of the capacity of actors are examined on the basis of elements of the principles in the implementation of participatory planning: proximity, equity, commitment, verity, objectivity, and problem locality. The results of the workshop show that on the element of closeness there are still doubts about the thoughts of others. Although respect for others can be shown, but in the process of discussion there is still dominating efforts. Characters can accept collective decisions with openness to their personal attitudes. In looking at the reality of the figures still tend to be subjective according to their interests even though they can already limit the problem at the local level. The recommendation of this study is the reinforcement on the aspect of willingness to listen and observe other opinions and also objectivity in viewing common problems.