This hands-on workbook provides guidelines for conducting participatory rural appraisal and planning (PRAP) to identify and design community and regional level projects, based on local needs. It emphasises the "how to" of the PRAP methodology in a practical and understandable way. The workbook begins with brief descriptions of areas related to the planning and practical implementation of PRAP at the field level including: advantages and disadvantages, results, guiding principles, who applies and who participates in it, the role of the facilitator, time needed and concrete guidelines for planning the PRAP process.
The second part of the workbook explains, step by step, how to apply 22 different participatory appraisal and planning tools. More than 50 illustrations of actual field exercises, plus two complete PRAP case studies, document the process in detail. Recognising the gap between project identification and planning processes, this workbook's key strength is that it integrates participatory project identification (or appraisal) with the concrete steps needed to design realistic projects involving the active participation of community members.
Based on many years' field experience in Latin America, this guide is designed for practitioners directly involved in the identification and design of development projects in areas including agriculture, health, education and community development.