1 NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN RURAL AREA (DEVELOPMENT OF LIFE SKILL EDUCATION MODEL PROGRAM APPROACH) IN THE PROVINCE OF DAERAH ISTIMEWA YOGYAKARTA Yoyon Suryono Sumarno Entoh Tohani ABSTRACT Life skills education as a form of non-formal education has a strategic role in poverty reduction in rural areas. Various positive contributions have been demonstrated by the non-formal education through life skills education such as increasing the ability of entrepreneurship and increasing the income of the residents. However, within the framework of the poverty reduction in rural area continuously, it needs attempts to develop the life skill education. In accordance with this, research and development are done to produce a model of life skill education development. This research was conducted with the aim of the life skill education which is being implemented i.e. KWD rabbit breeding program in Gunung Kidul Region and KWK hair dressing in Kulon Progo Region. The model of life skill education developed is model of Life Skill 4-H (Hand, Head, Heart, and Health). The result of the research shows that, based on the assessment towards the need of 4-H life skill, there is an increased education output which was done to both target groups. Therefore, in the context of poverty reduction, life skill education model of 4-H needs to be developed into more structured and integrated way and guarantee all the life skill which become the focus of the life skill development efforts to reduce poverty. Keywords: Life skills 4-H, non-formal education, poverty INTRODUCTION Poor society is a group of people who lack or do not have access to the existing resources in the society or other opportunities so that they could not develop themselves and their life optimally, the have limitation in using various resources to lift their quality of life, for example not having job, lack of venture capital, low access to communication means, involving themselves in the community organization, etc Individual group or society become poor which can be seen from three dimensions, which also become the causes of the emergence of poverty phenomenon. The first dimension is poverty caused by certain individu, group or society own value, laziness, undiscipilned, wasteful, non achievement-oriented, etc. This poverty is called cultural poverty. The second dimension is the poverty caused by certain social structure which limit the individu to achieve improvement. This poverty causes what so called structural poverty. The last dimension is poverty