In different corners of the world, self-reliance workshops in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are growing in popularity and scope. These initiatives are designed to help participants learn to provide for themselves, find better employment, and, ultimately, find ways to serve others.
The Church seeks to help individuals build self-reliance through free courses, lifelong learning, service projects and volunteer work. Below are three recent examples.
Riohacha, Colombia
Members of the Riohacha Branch in the Colombia Barranquilla Mission participated in a garden project launched by local Church leaders to promote self-sufficiency in September 2024.
The Productive Garden Project was headed by Jean Carlos Guerrero, a local manager of Welfare and Self-Reliance for the Church. During the day of the project, people learned about agriculture, farming and planting crops. They also learned about the importance of growing crops in their own homes, and were encouraged to take advantage of any available space — regardless of size — to begin planting in their homes.
Hermen González was in charge of training the participants who agreed to contribute their time, space, resources and talents to start the project. “This land will be a great opportunity for all of us to collaborate on this inspiring project,” he said.
Weeks after the start of the project, participants began working on the land — plowing, clearing and preparing the soil under González’s guidance. The space, though small, left attendees enthusiastic and grateful, reported the Church’s Colombia Newsroom.
The project continues to progress, and tomato seeds have already begun to grow.
Chimbote, Peru
The self-reliance committee of the Chimbote Peru South Stake organized a Self-Reliance Fair to help the community participate in self-reliance workshops.
Forty entrepreneurs showcased their products and others prepared artistic presentations, reported the Church’s Peru Newsroom in early October. Educational institutions and universities participated, as well as nonprofit and charitable organizations and a representative of the municipality of Nuevo Chimbote.
The fair was held at the Nuevo Chimbote meetinghouse, and several local Church leaders attended. The committee is planning to hold another fair on a larger scale to benefit the Chimbote community.
Daejeon, South Korea
The Daejeon Korea Stake held a special event, with the theme “Preparing for Worldly Self-Reliance,” on July 20. This event built on previous training and plans made at a stake level to improve self-reliance and emergency preparedness, reported the Church’s Korea Newsroom.
The event was divided into three separate activities. In the first activity, Kyung-Im Kim, of the Daejeon 1st Ward, shared what she learned from the Church’s “Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience” course. She talked about the importance of emotional independence and healthy lifestyle habits.
Kyung-Sook Baek, also of the Daejeon 1st Ward, taught about building a food storage and the blessings one may receive from it.
In the second event, each ward or branch had prepared booths with information related to different aspects of self-reliance, such as an emotional resilience booth, and a personal finance booth. Other booths included preserved foods, 72-hour kits and short-term food storage.
The third activity included various humanitarian projects, introduced by Hyun-Seok Cho of the Welfare and Self-Reliance Department. These humanitarian projects emphasized the ultimate goal of self-reliance, which is the ability to serve others. After the event, 55 members started actively participating in the stake’s self-reliance classes.
