Attitudes and Behaviour in Participatory Development: Case of Ambalayagama Farmer Organisation

This report documents the experience of a local Sri Lankan NGO, National Development Foundation (NDF) in participatory rural development. The report shows how NDF's approaches changed after being introduced to PRA methods, although NDF had been supposedly practising a participatory approach since the inception of the programme with an emphasis on providing technical support to villages and strengthening organisational capacities of farmers' organisations. The report concludes that the introduction of PRA in the programme has helped maintain a good relationship between the staff and the farmers' organisations, has encouraged active participation of the farmers' organisations in planning, decision making and in taking greater responsibility as the main actors of the programme.