The Volunteers for Development in Philippine Society Foundation, Inc. (DEVELOPERS Foundation) is a private, non-stock, non-profit organization committed to promote sustainable rural development particularly among farming and coastal communities. target beneficiary groups are the farmers, fisher folk, rural women, and youth. The Foundation is duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and has tax-exempt status under the rules of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). With the intention of making its services more available to the beneficiary sectors, DEVELOPERS Fountation presently holds offices in the province of Aklan.	• Our Vision • Our Mission • Our Core Philisophy • Framework for Development • Geographic Reach & Scope of Work
Our Vision DEVELOPERS Foundation is committed to building self-determining communities where common people are deeply rooted in life-nurturing and nation-loving values, blessed with proactive and healthy lives, empowered to work together to shape their future through increased democratic participation in governance and the sustainable use and management of farming, coastal and other resources; have created conditions of social justice, economic and gender equity, better quality of life and productive natural environment; and are able to meet their basic needs, live together in peace and achieve genuine food security. TOP
Our Mission DEVELOPERS Foundation promotes sustainable rural community development among the very poor, remote farmers, women, and fisherfolk in the Philippines. To help strengthen Philippine rural folk in addressing the challenges of hunger, poverty, social inequity, learned helplessness and a degraded environment through collective action and grassroots movements for sustainable agriculture, natural resource management and increased productivity in farming and coastal areas, livelihood development, increased democratic participation in governance, land tenure improvement and community food security. Based on an approach that is community-based, people-directed, economically productive and ecologically sound, the Foundation seeks to empower the rural poor to work together to improve their quality of life as they define it, and exercise sustained leadership from the local people, especially women in rural development. TOP
Our Core Philosophy DEVELOPERS FOUNDATION, INC. believes in the centrality of people's self-collective action in improving their lives and in building better communities. It affirms that when people are given the opportunity to mobilize and maximize the resources made available to them, they are able to direct their efforts toward self-development and them shaping of a humane, stable, fraternal, peaceful, healthful and productive society. The Foundation believes that development work must be wholistic, sustained and continually improving, and that it must be based on real and perceived needs of local people, in line with their dreams and aspirations, and adapted to their current and potential capabilities for self-direction and self- management. This way, development initiatives will become instruments to facilitate a dynamic social process where the restoration of hope, development of self-assertion, popular participation and self- government of the people work together and advance their socioeconomic and environmental development objectives. DEVELOPERS FOUNDATION,, INC. upholds the principles of self-help and cooperation whereby all individuals, regardless of age, sex, creed or philosophical beliefs should have a role in improving themselves and their community, as well as in working with others for the common good. TOP
Framework for Development DEVELOPERS Foundation subscribes to the COCOBREAD framework derived from reflective practicioners in the Philippines, of sustainable integrated area development. The COCOBREAD framework stands for: Critical Creative Collective Consciousness-Raising Organizational Development Coalition Effort and Advocacy Work Overcoming Gender and Other Biases Basic Services and Infrastructure Access Resource Tenure Improvement Economic Self-Reliance Strengthening Agricultural Development and Ecological Nurturance Democratic Participation in Governance TOP
Geographic Reach and Scope of Work Reach Although a national NGO, Developers Foundation works almost entirely in the Panay Region. Currently our operations are concentrated in Aklan Province, and we have an expansion area inside Capiz Province. We are presently working in nine towns in Aklan, and one town in Capiz. They include Balete, Banga, Altavas, Lezo, Makato, Tangalan, Batan, Nwe Washington (all in Aklan) and Dumarao (in Capiz). In the next two years, Developers may be opening new operations in at least two additional towns in Capiz, two towns in Aklan, and one town in the Province of Negros Occidental. Scope of Programs The core areas of focus of Developers Foundation programs are (1) strengthening civil society, (2) increasing food and income security, and (3) encouraging the creation of sustainable livelihoods, in poor rural communities. TOP