Leader's Theses, Field Projects, and Reports

Over the past 30-plus years, RDLN rural leaders have implemented Field Projects with their communities, with some earning their Masters degrees through the RDLN program. We are proud to share a selection of their final written projects, including theses, field project reports and capstone reports. These works offer insight and solutions gained through hands-on practice to critical rural issues. Subject areas include: waste management solutions, cooperative models for farming, economic development models land and water rights and educational tools for youth. Communities include: black farmers and entreprenuers, indigenous groups of Mayan Indians in Belize, Appalachian youth, Hispanics in the Southwest and Puerto Rico, and Deleware, Creek, Anishinable, Cherokee, and Kootenai Indians, among others.

Here are links to final papers written by RDLN Leaders for a Master's degree through our arrangement with Antioch University. These include theses, capstone papers, or expanded Field Project reports:

A Plan for Rural Pregnancy Prevention:
An African-American Perspective
by: Minnie L. Bommer   read

Alternatives Through Video:
Video as a Tool for Popular Education Among Appalachian Young People
by: Meredith A. Dean   read

Economic Development for Maya Indian Women in Southern Belize
by: Cynthia Ellis   read

Southern Arts and Crafts Development Center, Inc:
A Plan for Economic Development for African-American Women in the South
by: Yvonne Hampton   read

The White Earth Anishinabeg Economy:
From Self-Reliance to Dependence and Back Again
by: Winona LaDuke Kapashesit   read

Characteristics and Strategies of Successful Small Business Leaders
by: Meredith C. McGee   read

Business Component Development for the Freedom Quilting Bee:
A Model for Economic Development in a Persistently Poor Community
by: Alice S. Paris   read

Appropriate Rural Technology for Rural Development:
A Guide for Teaching Rural People to Solve their Garbage and Waste Problem
by: Hector Correa Rodriguez   read

Health Wellness with Food and Fitness
by: Dorothy Grady-Scarbrough   read

The "Multi-Purpose" Farm Cooperative as an Approach to Saving the Black Farm
by: Shirley M. Sherrod   read

Water and Land Development in Canon De Fernandez and Northern New Mexico:
The Banking of Water Rights
by: Ben Tafoya   read

Revitalizing A Community:
A Case Study Method
by: Nancy Warneke   read

Thanks to Priyank Patel, who volunteered to scan many of these documents.