Consensus or cover-up? the limitations of group meetings

This article discusses concerns that information obtained in the public arena, a common forum for PRA work, can hide disparate, multiple and muted voices. Concern about these 'absent voices' arose during a participatory research workshop held in Uganda to find out how food insecure groups and individuals perceive obstacles to food security. It brought together outside professionals and a number of local people, who were chosen by the sub-county chief. It was found that although some coping strategies, such as food-for-work and collecting wild foods were discussed openly, others such as theft or food for sex/marriage could not be mentioned in public. A major obstacle is the public nature of such workshops, during which certain aspects of everyday social life must remain hidden from the outside world. Other 'absent voices' were those of the very poor, who did not take part in the workshop. The paper concludes that only through more intensive, longer-term field research can we understand how poor people organise themselves in situations of food stress.