Towards a rural immersion: a World Bank journey

This booklet gives account of a village immersion programme for World Bank staff carried out in 1997, in collaboration with the Gandhigram Rural Institute (GRI) in Tamil Nadu, India. Four groups of staff (altogether 15) were despatched to different villages where they stayed for a four day period. The participants went on transect walks, met with leaders, examined social amenities, observed community projects and interacted with the people. Focussed group discussions and certain PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) methods such as livelihood analysis, social mapping, Venn diagrams, linkage maps and historical transects were also conducted. Participants visited public institutions such as schools, hospitals, banks and local enterprises. At the last day of the programme the team converged at the GRI and discussed their experiences with GRI staff. This document gives a background to the GRI and describes the planning and execution of the immersion programme. It goes on to present brief reports of the different village teams on their experiences. Reflections from World Bank staff are included looking at the paradox of government services, where villagers were both positive and negative; the complexity and impact of cultural norms; and capacity for sustainable change and development. Furthermore the reflections from the immersion facilitators are included and the programme agenda.