Rapid Rural Appraisal: An Evolving Approach to Development, and Reflections from a Sociobotanical Survey in Botswana

This thesis explores the ideas and principles behind the development of R/PRA, and their application in practice. It also contains a report of a sociobotanical survey using RRA methods in two rural areas of Botswana. The exploration of techniques used in the survey provides a reflection on the theory and principles of RRA. The final section discusses two emerging issues in the PRA discourse: the commitment of PRA practitioners to social action and the problematic notion of outsiders accessing indigenous knowledge. The main focus of this thesis is theoretical.