Participatory Rural Appraisal: Some Practical and Methodological Discoveries

The paper describes some of the experiences of OUTREACH, an NGO based in south India, of using PRA in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of rural development projects. Attempts were made to increase the accuracy of information obtained through using PRA methods, and to broaden the application of PRA to a wider range of topics and situations. For instance, percentages were obtained by asking villagers to use 100 seeds to indicate monthly labour requirements of women and men, or to show the seasonal distribution of fish during the year. Examples are given from India, Nepal and South Africa.