Engendering resource management: a PRAGEN pilot project in the Itogon Community, Benguet Province, Philippines, using Participatory Rural Appraisal and ECOGEN tools

PRAGEN (PRA and ECOGEN - Ecology, Community and Gender) tools were tested in a pilot project with a community in the Philippines. The tools used included "the village map, the village transect, the time line, a disaggregated seasonal activities calendar, the gender resources map, problems/opportunities ranking and a gender resource mapping action plan." Selected in-depth household interviews and participant observation also took place. Through the ECOGEN activities, the community, together with the local government and implementing NGO, prepared a Gender Resource Mapping Action Plan, identifying agroforestry as central to their livelihoods as gold becomes less available. Although women were active in the planning process, "the analysis did not adequately indicate the actual roles that women will continue to play in the project" and the project's future impact on women's lives.