Petals and thorns: the dilemmas of PLA and debt bondage
A fundamental principle of successful participation is that participants are enthusiastic, interested and choose to take part. However, in some cases, community gatekeepers prevent some people from becoming involved, whilst forcing others to do so. This article, in PLA Notes, No. 40 examines the dilemmas faced by a community development project working with sex workers in Cambodia, bound by debt to their managers who, by not complying to their managers restrictions risk violent repercussions from them, as well as potential arrest by external authorities.