The purpose of this document is to summarize in an accessible fashion the experiences and results of nearly four years\u27 work in nonformal education in Ecuador. We intend the following chapters to serve as a reference to the many others around the world who are grappling with the problems of development at the most local level; who are motivated by philosophers like Freire and Illich toward a different outcome of the process of developent; who are committed to trying significant educational alternatives, and above all who are concerned with the impact of their efforts on the individual lives of people in the rural areas. If anything distinguishes our efforts, it is a constant striving to think and act in a way which affirms the legitimacy and the necessity of the participation of local people in the process of development as it affects their lives. The process has not been easy. It has required constant dialogue and confrontation within the staff, and demands a commitment to continual assessment of our activities and their results. We hope that some sense of this process is conveyed by the chapters of this document as different individuals from the staff strive to express in words what the experience was like
