The primary objective of our community development program is to develop projects that will bring economic and social benefits to local communities, and satisfy the needs of different stakeholders through a participatory approach.

One aspect our community development program is purely project-related. It seeks to influence the development of the project by maximizing the following:

• Local employment.
• Local subcontracting.
• Use of local materials and supplies.
• Local enterprise development potential.
• Use of local resources and services.

The establishment of companies, associations, community-based organizations, and/or cooperatives for local hiring, contracting and the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will enable the program to accomplish these things:

• Fully engage available local labor and contractor capacity in the project in a productive manner before external labor or companies are mobilized.
• Improve the capacity of local labor and contractors to perform jobs beyond construction and take on larger and more complex jobs.
• Encourage local labor and contractors to look beyond construction phase jobs.
• Encourage enterprise creation potential, including by the Ngöbe population.
• Help identify, develop and market local resources that are in line with community aspirations.
• Develop the capacity to operate the resulting enterprises in a sustainable manner.

In addition to the project-related objective, the program seeks to encourage sustainable, community-driven initiatives and/or enterprises that will respond directly to pressing needs, such as food production and health, as well as others that will arise over time.