Kumar, Somesh

This report seeks to capture the broad scenario of life in a Nigerian village. The overriding question that the report grapples with is: how the people in the village can be helped along in a manner desired by them in order to fulfil their aspirations and realise their vision of life. It examines how the present state of life in the village has come to be what it is like over recent years, and attempts to probe into the apparent trends of change in the various dimensions of village peopleÆs life.

This is a workshop report in Hindi, which discusses the use of PRA methods with Dalits and women in India, focusing on three major themes. The first is the need to involve the people who are the 'target' of PRA approaches. Despite the emphasis on 'bottom-up' approaches, this has not been the reality, hence the call to revise and refocus on people. Secondly, PRA practitioners are urged to re-examine their roles and change themselves as part of returning to the roots of PRA. They need to become more helpers and facilitators and less teachers and leaders of PRA projects.

This article traces the origin of force field analysis, outlines steps for its use, and offers examples for its use in PRA. Its visual character, simplicity, suitability for group work and applicability in planning for change makes it a potential tool with wide application in PRA.

While there is general acceptance about the need for peopleÆs participation in development, there is a wide spectrum of views on the concept of participation and the ways of achieving it. This book is primarily focused on the question of how to achieve participation. It does this by providing examples from experience, material for use, and the space for innovations. The book is divided into five chapters. The first deals with the concept of participation and explores its multiple dimensions. It also considers the concept of PRA and its origin, principles, and applications.

Despite rapid strides and expansion of primary education, as well as a significant increase in gross enrolment rates in India, there remains high drop out rates at primary level, low academic achievement amongst those who complete primary education and wide gender gaps. In 1993, the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) was launched, which focused on the quality of primary instruction, particularly in-service teacher training, improved teaching and learning materials, and improved school facilities.

This article submitted for the Feedback section of PLA Notes describes a participatory study that took place in south-eastern Nigeria to investigate local knowledge of malaria among the Ngwa people. The study provided insights about the critical implications of the conduct and behaviour of the fieldworkers with regards to the quality of information and the data gathered.

This document reports on PRA experiences in the Aukpa Adoka village in the Benue state of Nigeria which were part of a PRA Training of Trainers Workshop. The report is organised into five main sections: the village, education, the society, agriculture, and household economy and decision-making, and it offers evaluations of the methods and field work conducted in these areas.

Genealogy is an analytical tool traditionally used for studying kinship which has potential of being used to study a variety of other parameters studie over generations. This article describes the expeiences of workshop participants in experimenting with the use of genealogy and suggests possible uses for participatory genealogy.

This article discusses elements of a code of conduct for PRA training, considered by PRA practitioners from around the world at a workshop on "Going to Scale: Challenges for Training" held in Calcutta in 1997.