ABSTRACT
The International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, founded by Dr. Y. C. James Yen, is located in Silang, Cavite, the Philippines. There are field offices and programs in Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, India, the Philippines and Thailand. In 1984, IIRR was seeking to expand its Cavite approach to some other area of the Philippines and, at the same time, the Government of the Philippines was initiating a ten-year Local Resource Management program. With US Agency for International Development funding, the LRM was to be implemented in seven provinces. Santo Domingo is located not far from Mt. Mayon, an active volcano which has a history of eruption every ten years. In addition, the area is typhoon prone, as is most of the Philippines. Santo Domingo is a municipality with thirteen villages. Santo Domingo formerly was the center of a thriving handicrafts business, started by a German who lives in the area.
