A non-government program trains local action-researchers from villages of Java, Indonesia, to work for grass-roots social change within their communities. Begun in 1977, the program trains local men and women to work with their neighbors to revitalize existing institutions and to gain control over the development programs and social services intended to benefit them, but which are often controlled by outside agencies which do not reflect community values and priorities. The program bases its training approach on adult/non-formal education and has its origins in participatory research, particularly Freire's "conscientizing research." Participants attend a 1-month residential workshop, complete 4 months of supervised field work, attend a series of planning workshops, and attend an evaluation workshop at the end of the 1-year training period. The four elements of the residential workshop curriculum are introduction to community development, action research methods, program planning, and problem solving. During fieldwork, participants identify village needs and concerns, develop action project plans based on their needs analysis during the planning workshops, implement the plans, and evaluate the outcomes of the projects after 1 year. The training system and approach, participant selection, curriculum, and evaluation system are described. Outcomes of the program are summarized. (LFL)