PRA in Bangladesh

This video looks at some of problems associated with questionnaire surveys and suggests that PRA methods provide an alternative way of understanding the situation and needs of a community. It documents the process of carrying out a one-day PRA with a rural community in Bangladesh. Questionnaire surveys do not always yield accurate information and are often time-consuming for respondents (03). Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is an alternative approach which attempts to overcome these problems (05). Being taught new activities by the villagers is one way of establishing a rapport between the outsiders and the community (06). The methods used during the PRA include transect walks to record the physical features of the village (08), mapping (10), modelling (13), mobility mapping (16), seasonality calendars (16), venn (or chapati) diagrams (17), group discussions about the changes which have taken place in the village in the last 20 years (17), matrix ranking (18), and sharing and observing indigenous practices eg the multi-cropping system (22). The maps, matrices and graphs were presented to the rest of the village to get feedback and cross-check for accuracy (23). Finally, the day's findings were discussed by the team (24).