Getting the message across

Title

Creator

Marcos, Agayo D.

Language

English

Source

The Republic

Subject

Information dissemination

Communication

Participatory Campaign Strategy

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

[Professor Mercado and students at Bicol College and the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Mass Communications devised an information campaign model which they called the Participatory Campaign Strategy, or PCS as a new solution to get their development messages across.]

Fulltext

1-15 August 1978 9. by Marcos D. Agayo Getting the message across is a problem all communicators face, whether they are trying to sell their audience on the effectiveness of a particular brand of soap or on the benefits of family planning. Now it doesn’t make much differ ence to national development whether the majority of Filipinos prefer Lux to Lifebuoy or vice versa. But it does make a difference how many listen to- and act on-govemmcnt messages on family planning, nutrition, rural development, etc. That is why. says University of the Philippines Professor Cesar M. Mercado, government planners ought to consider new ways to get their development mes sages across. For a long time now, says Mercado, the government has relied primarily on field technicians tq spread development ipessages. Sadly, this strategy has not worked especially well. There are too few technicians, too little coordination between government and private agen cies, too few opportunities for field workers to plan projects or to update their skills. Another strategy-using mass media - had other drawbacks. Campaign plans were rarely systematic or comprehensive and there was limited feedback from the target audience. To overcome some of the problems, Professor Mercado and students at Bicol Modular learning for teachers Keeping up with the latest methods in teaching is never easy. But it is particularly Uffttult for rural elementary school teachers who must not only conduct classes but also participate in all village socials, attend barangay meetings and involve themselves in other government The Research and Technical Services Division of the National Meat Inspection Commission (NM1C) has found a new way to use carabao dung and rice hulls as cooking fuels. Rather than using only animal dung, which emits offensive odors, or only rice hulls, which give off too much smoke, the NMIC method combines the two “ingredients.” Mixed in a six-to-one ratio, hull and dung are molded into briquet tes and dried, under the sun in the sum mer or in an oven during the rainy sea son. The result is a cheap, odorless fuel which bums steadily and leaves little soot on cooking vessels. The only dis advantage of the briquettes is that they tend to build up a great deal of ash, which must be cleared periodically lest it smother the fire. To eliminate this snag, the NMIC is working on new stove designs. Using dung-hull briquettes may help rural folk reduce their living costs, if only because the materials needed are both cheaper and more readily available than the traditional firewood. But the NMIC and its parent agency, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), are not bank ing only on briquettes. They are also working on producing methane gas from such waste products as straw, grain offals, chaff, weeds, and vegetable, ani mal and household wastes. This system, called bio-gas generation, has an addition al advantage: the humus left after fer mentation is a fertilizer which is far su perior to ordinary compost. Though most of the bio-gas genera tors now in use in the Philippines are dependent on pig manure, the BAI is hoping Filipino farmers will consider Getting the message across The use of field technicians to carry development messages hasn't worked too well. College and the University of the Philip pines’ Institute of Mass Communica tions devised an information campaign model which they called the Partici patory Campaign Strategy, or PCS. According to its developers, PCS’s chief virtues are that it: □ minimizes the probleih of too few technicians by tapping local manpower, including school teachers, barangay leaders, store owners and the like; inter-agency activities. These teachers rarely have the time-much less the fundsto take off for week-long education seminars or workshops, no matter how dedicated they might be. But that may be changing-thanks to Learning Modules for Rural Elementary Money saving fuel substitutes other sources. They point out that 100 pounds of chicken droppings could gen erate as much as 450 cubic feet of gas, enough to supply the basic power needs of a rural family of four for as long as 10 weeks. The same amount of pig ma nure could generate only 112 to 115 cubic feet of gas. The added burden of collecting chicken manure is thus made up for in terms of fuel economy. Bio-gas digester: Power for the people. □ allows field techniciansand intended recipients of service's to participate in the planning process and thus obtain a broader view of the government’s de velopment programs; □ makes use of local resources and pro motes self-reliance among barangay members. Good research, better results PCS requires that the people who design School Teachers, or LMREST. Similar to the programmed instruc tional materials which have proved more effective than textbooks arranged in the traditional manner, LMREST allows teach ers to keep up with the latest develop ments at the place and pace most conven ient to them. The modules, which were developed out of a UNICEF-funded proj ect, cost very little and can accomplish as much as a seminar or workshop, pro viding the teacher applies the necessary time and energy to her studies. The LMRESTcomes in three parts.. The use of bio-gas generators has already helped some food-processing in dustries reduce their fuel costs. The BAI now hopes to persuade sugar cen trals to do the same using their own waste products. Research has shown that sugar cane distillery slops (what remains after alcohol has been extracted from molasses) has produced gas sufficient to fuel boilers, generators, kitchen appli and the people who use government programs work closely together. They must analyze the effectiveness of past programs and spell out what they want of new ones. They must survey avail able resources and decide how to obtain whatever else is needed for a new pro gram’s success. Lastly, they must monitor the program so that they can learn from their successes or failures. In two information campaigns (on food production and family planning) built on the PCS model, analysts found that films -especially transistorized VI Rs, which allow people to see themselves as well as their barrio on a scrcen-attract far more people than do lecture-discus sions or demonstrations. Not surprisingly the analysts also found developmental messages built into sports, recreational, religious or folk-actiyities were able to reach more people than were programs designed to deliver only the develop ment message. The PCS model is of course, far from perfect. The coordination required be tween government/private technicians and ordinary citizens demands a good deal of time and patience. Decision-mak ing is slow and the likelihood of con flict between agencies and individuals high. Still, says Professor Mercado, the potential bene fits are worth the imme diate problems.Time and experience, he says, will reduce the problems and help deliver an even better system. The first part helps a teacher decide what particular module will best fit her needs. Once that is decided, the second part details learning activities. (Some “second parts" are complete in themselves; others refer the user to other resource materials.) The third part assesses how well the teach er has done her “homework.” The prime advantage of the module system is that-it can be used anytime, anywhere, for either individual or group study. LMREST may thus be the answer to the rural teachers’ desire to keep up with their urban counterparts. ances and kilns previously dependent on liquefied petroleum gas. Dr. Jose A. Cayabyab, BAl’s assistant director for research, is currently working with Cen tral Azucarera de Tarlac to determine the economic viability of generating gas from sugar slops. Through its extension workers, the BAI carries out direct consultations and •provides plans, bills of materials and technical assistance to small- and medium scale farmers. Anyone desiring more in formation about bio-gas generation should contact the nearest BAI regional office or visit the BAI Central Office in the Rita Legarda Bldg., Magsaysay Blvd., Metro Manila.

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