Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides Volunteer Training in language understanding and culturally informed dialogues with the goal of effective Multicultural Community Promoters who can raise awareness and initiate change that leads to improved community health outcomes.

Through our fieldwork with migrant agricultural families, we have identified a recurring challenge; The disconnection between community workers and the people in the community they aim to serve. This gap is primarily due to communication barriers. At NCAP, we believe that effective communication starts with language understanding and conversational, culturally informed dialogues. When communicators are trained to deliver messages in a way that aligns with the cultural background and language of the recipient, both parties can share a common understanding.

At NCAP we are training Multicultural Community Promoters, so that there can be fluid conversations and we can achieve our main objective: raising awareness and encouraging change that can lead to improved community health outcomes.

Training Objectives and Workshop Guidelines: NCAP’s Multicultural Community Promoter Program

The purpose of providing this training is to educate our Hispanic/Latino volunteer group by:

• Educating them about NCAP's bilingual and health programs
• Strengthening multicultural understanding and connection across communities from different countries and cultures, with diverse beliefs and lifestyles. 
• Equipping volunteers with practical communication and dialogue strategies.

Increasing support for volunteers is a part of our strategic plan to create effective Multicultural Community Promoters. Many of these volunteers have valuable life experiences that create a strong foundation, this foundation is enhanced with structured training in the culturally relevant communication practices. They can then use this training to make modifications to their outreach efforts and initiate change for families and communities.

How the Multicultural Community Promoter Program Makes an Impact

Our bilingual programs focus on key community health issues such as:

• Preventing exposure to pesticides and harmful chemicals.
• Promoting environmental health by advocating for clean air and water.
• Ensuring safe and equitable access to nutritious food.

We believe that every person has the right to live in a healthy environment and have access to basic necessities. These values are at the core of NCAP’s mission. By training community promoters to communicate effectively and empathetically, we can break down barriers and support healthier, more empowered communities.