Community building seeks to build new relationships among members in a community and develop change out of the connections these relationships provide for solving member-defined problems.

 

Significantly, community building focusses on utilising the existing assests within a community and not necessarily the provision of services for resolving deficits within a community. 

 

Essentially, community building aims to develop local solutions to local problems which enable comminoityes to deal with problems, ultimately without reling on external resources. It can also be one hte tools utilised by organisations in their community development on a time limited project based in a particular area.

 

The practices of community building can be seen as a series of grassroots processes which engage local communities to:

• organise and plan together

• develop healthy lifestyle options

• empoer themselves

• reduce poverty and suffering

• create employment and economic opportunitioes

• achieve social, economic, cultural and environmental goals together