Since 1995 PLAAS, working in association with Rick de Satgé of Developmental Services, has been commissioned to design and develop a range of training short courses customised to meet the needs of different government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). These courses have utilised a wide range of participatory training methods, combined with analytic activities, scenarios and case studies and related content inputs. Certain courses have involved field-based learning sessions with participants engaging in guided fieldwork activities. Below are brief profiles of courses.

Tenure Basics

Ben Cousins and Rick de Satgé designed a series of courses which they ran several times and in different formats between 1996 and 1999. The training was for the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) and NGOs in the land sector. The training focused on understanding tenure systems and the impacts of history and past policies on land and resource tenure, introducing essential tenure concepts, examining emerging tenure reform policy and the challenges of implementing tenure reform.

Restitution

Andries du Toit designed and facilitated a series of training courses introducing the Restitution of Land Rights Act (RLRA) and practical processes for handling claims for staff of the Land Claims Commission (LCC) and NGOs in the land sector.

Redistribution Policy and Procedures

Rick de Satgé designed and facilitated a series of five-day training courses introducing DLA planners to the policy and practice of land redistribution together with a team from the Department of Land Affairs (DLA). The course also created a space for reflection on practical challenges faced in implementing policy on the ground and policy issues identified in the process

Implementing the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA)

Rick de Satgé worked with a team from the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) to design and deliver a series of five-day courses on ESTA and the capacity, systems and practical skills required to implement the Act.

Participatory Planning for Effective Legal Entities

Rick de Satgé designed and facilitated a series of three-day courses on the challenges of forming legal entities such as Communal Property Associations (CPAs) and trusts to hold land on behalf of groups. The formation of a legal entity is required for groups of people to legally own land acquired in terms of the land reform programme. Legal entities also provide a framework for the management of the tenure rights of members.

Land Use and Livelihoods

Stephen Turner and Rick de Satgé designed and ran a 13-day course for the National Land Committee (NLC) in 1998 and 1999. This course combined both theoretical and practical dimensions of planning for sustainable livelihoods. Other PLAAS staff and associates made valuable contributions to this course. The course involved fieldwork in Herschel in the Eastern Cape and visits to land reform projects in KwaZulu-Natal. Participants completed a number of syndicate assignments that enabled them to engage with concepts and frameworks and apply skills and knowledge gained during the course. The course also facilitated practical exchanges amongst NLC affiliates on different planning approaches and the practical use of different fieldwork methods.

The Integration of Environmental Planning into Land Reform

PLAAS was contracted to design and deliver an extensive training programme, co-ordinated by the Danish Co-operation for Environment and Development (DANCED) and DLA, between 1999 and 2001. This programme involved a combination of foundation courses and field-based training and learning in the Free State and Mpumalanga provinces. Rick de Satgé was appointed as the training manager. PLAAS documented the case studies in each province and designed and facilitated the foundation courses. PLAAS worked in association with the Rural Action Committee (TRAC) and Common Ground Consulting (CGC) to deliver the field-based learning components.

In 2005 various PLAAS researchers (Ruth Hall, Thembela Kepe and Barbara Tapela) contributed to a large national training programme to support implementation of the guidelines by DLA and other government staff.

Forest Policy, Legislation and Participatory Forest Management

Rick de Satgé has been involved in the design of a series of courses for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) on new paradigms in forest management and the practical implementation of forest policy and legislation. Certain of these courses utilised PLAAS staff as resource persons and drew on PLAAS research into community-based natural resource management (CBNRM).

Governance in Community Based Natural Resource Management

Webster Whande and Rick de Satgé designed and facilitated a five-day course for CBNRM practitioners from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Mozambique in association with IUCN and the Centre for Applied Social Studies (CASS) at the University of Zimbabwe.
The course was divided into four components. Component 1 introduced the theory and practice of CBNRM and drew on a range of case studies from the fisheries, forestry and wildlife sectors to highlight governance dimensions of CBNRM. Component 2 drew on case studies to examine key concepts and their practical application. Component 3 focused on key trends emerging across the region while component 4 provided a practical guide to the planning and implementation of CBNRM agreements. The course drew on a wide range of resource persons and made good use of the expertise of PLAAS staff including Ben Cousins, Mafa Hara, Lungisile Ntsebeza and Phinda Ndabula.

Social Science Perspectives on Natural Resource Management

In August/September 2003 PLAAS staff and Rick de Satgé designed and co-ordinated a five-week course on Social Science Perspectives on Natural Resource Management (SSPNRM). Earlier versions of this course were run in Zimbabwe by the Centre for Applied Social Sciences (CASS), University of Zimbabwe and the southern African regional office of the World Conservation Union (IUCN-ROSA). A total of 35 natural resource management practitioners and policy makers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region participated. The course focused on livelihoods, poverty, resource tenure and institutions.