Taylor, M.

This thesis explores the ideas and principles behind the development of R/PRA, and their application in practice. It also contains a report of a sociobotanical survey using RRA methods in two rural areas of Botswana. The exploration of techniques used in the survey provides a reflection on the theory and principles of RRA. The final section discusses two emerging issues in the PRA discourse: the commitment of PRA practitioners to social action and the problematic notion of outsiders accessing indigenous knowledge. The main focus of this thesis is theoretical.

This note argues that, in spreading PRA, normal professionalism is best overcome by direct experience. An example is given of a senior agricultural research officer who realises his erroneous stereotypes of farmers after interacting with farmers in a PRA workshop held in Botswana. The realisations derived from the experience prompted institutional changes to adopt PRA approaches.