How we work

The operational strategies of ATprojects are shaped by the following characteristics:

ATprojects regards development as a process of increasing people's economic power by improving their access to technologies appropriate to their skills, incomes and environments.
ATprojects believes that true community-based initiatives can play a significant role in helping rural people to improve their standard of living.
ATprojects recognizes that women's knowledge and skills have been undervalued in the past and is promoting projects to ensure the equal access of women as well as men to resources, services and training.
ATprojects aims to carry out practical project work across all aspects of small-scale production, project identification, planning and funding.
ATprojects offers advice and assistance to communities, NGOs, and governments, and also tries to raise public awareness of issues that affect rural development in order to create a favorable climate for change.

Any organisation wishing to extend technologies and skills to the rural areas of the Eastern Highlands Province (or elsewhere in Papua New Guinea) has to adopt an extension operation strategy which will allow it to efficiently use the normally untapped media resources available in the Province. All too often the development of rural projects is carried out in an ad hoc and unorganized manner.

With the view of making the ATprojects operation and thereby its projects as effective as possible, we have adopted the IDDA extension technique (Information, Development, Demonstration and Assistance). This technique allows ATprojects to focus on the promotion of its projects in a unified manner, with a clear understanding and appreciation of the local conditions.

Below is a brief outline of the way in which the IDDA extension technique is used by ATprojects:

INFORMATION: In an effort to provide information about potential rural projects, ATprojects will utilize the current local radio station to put forward ideas, and these ideas will be backed up by a monthly newspaper which will be able to provide more in-depth information on potential projects and technologies of relevance to rural development.

DEVELOPMENT: One of the major problems facing rural people and potential rural entrepreneurs in the past has been the lack of proven and tested appropriate technologies and equipment to support small-scale rural projects. One of the main roles of ATprojects, therefore, is the identification of these appropriate technologies and equipment.

DEMONSTRATION: In an effort to reinforce the information provided through the radio programs and newspaper, ATprojects provides opportunities for rural people to see the information put into practice by demonstrating appropriate technologies and equipment at rural schools, district shows and at government and NGO training workshops.

ASSISTANCE: ATprojects offers assistance to interested rural people in looking at, and, if appropriate, setting up small projects. This assistance pertains mainly to technical topics, but, by using locally available skills, could also be in areas such as business management, bookkeeping and other non-technical areas.

Clearly the need for rural development is an area that must be addressed, and given the amount of work to be done both government and non-governmental bodies must work together. ATprojects addresses a particular subset of the overall problems facing rural development. We hope that by providing appropriate information and basic technical support some rural projects can be assisted and if successful used as models to show other rural people what is possible.