HEART Institute

Curriculum Outline

HEART curriculum components are designed to address the most basic needs for self-reliant living. Each component provides a balance between theory and practice. Emphasis is placed on preparing the student to be a "generalist" in a sustainable life-style. Three to sixteen credit hours are available for the short term and semester programs, respectively. The following outline defines the topics covered in each of the curriculum components.

• APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
• SMALL ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
• SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
• PRIMARY HEALTH
• NUTRITION/FOOD TECHNOLOGY
• CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION/COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Appropriate Technology - 3 Credits

1. Lanterns, fire extinguishers, etc.
2. Water purification - sand filters, chlorination and sedimentation
3. Small engines - general maintenance
4. Health and sanitation - latrines and sanitation facilities
5. Cooking devices - Lorena and other efficient stoves
6. Hand tools - care and use
7. Concrete construction - material usage, block and brick
8. Construction materials for foundations, walls, windows, doors, floors, roofs - adobe, wood, concrete, thatch
9. Fencing construction
10. Plane table surveying and tube level techniques used in community development, agriculture, and construction
11. Developing water sources - water lifting and transport, well development and improvement
12. General servicing of automobiles
13. Basics of AC/DC wiring

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Small Animal Husbandry - 3 Credits

1. Animal project: each student manages a rabbit for the semester
2. Biblical perspectives of agricultural stewardship (both SAH and IG)
3. Philosophies of agricultural production (both SAH and IG)
4. Record keeping
5. Production management of poultry, goats and rabbits including housing, feeding, breeding, and care of young
6. Slaughtering of small animals: rabbits, chickens and goats
7. Animal nutrition/ration formulation
8. Tropical feedstuffs: grasses, forages, and other feedstuffs important in animal nutrition
9. Animal production in the tropics

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Sustainable Agriculture - 4 credits

1. Garden project: each student plants and manages a garden bed for the semester
2. General plant botany and physiology
3. Fertilizer: organic and inorganic
4. Soils: Structure, fertility, and conservation
5. Prevention, control, and identification of pests and diseases
6. Environmental factors in fruit and vegetable production
7. Irrigation and water management
8. Cultural practices for some major fruits and vegetables
9. Field trip to ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization)

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Primary Health - 2 Credits

1. Orientation, evaluation of needs and establishing a health clinic in the Third World
2. Basic physiology, skin diseases
3. Malnutrition - nutrition, vitamins, foods, and exercise with relation to good health and disease
4. Personal health problems in the Third World including psychological problems
5. CPR
6. Pediatric disease and immunizations, home-made teaching aids
7. Adult medical problems including infectious diseases, worms, and chronic diseases
8. Maternal health and family planning
9. Clinical session including injections, suturing, vital signs, first aid
10. Teaching health care

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Nutrition/Food Technology - 2 Credits

1. General human nutrition
2. Nutritional evaluation of diets
3. Menu planning
4. Food storage: preserving nutrients and preventing food poisoning
5. Cooking basic staples - beans, rice, cornmeal, etc.
6. Cooking skills - stir frying, bread baking, pressure cooking, etc.
7. Preparing foods from other cultures
8. Variety in cooking methods - 3-stone stove, hay box cooker, Lorena stove, gas stove
9. Canning and drying foods
10. Biblical principles of nutrition

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Cross-Cultural Communication/Community Development - 3 Credits

1. Foundations for cross-cultural communication
2. Understanding cultural differences
3. Coping with culture shock and missionary stress
4. The tasks of bonding with nationals
5. Concepts for learning new languages
6. The art of problem solving and conflict resolution
7. Principles and models for community development
8. Challenges of Third World ministry to the poor in urban and real settings
9. Leadership development and theological education by extension
10. Field Trips to ethnic churches and urban ministries

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