Publication year:
1990
Brief notes on a village mapping project carried out in the village of G.N. Doddy, Dharmapuri district, Tamil Nadu, India. In an informal style, it describes the methodology adopted and the process used to draw up a caste profile of the village. Some of the key conclusions include: (1) rural people can draw and present diagrams when encouraged; (2) children are good at drawing and estimating distance, sizes and counts; (3) children also give information without fear and show no bias; (4) people identify with each other on the basis of caste; and (5) that it was however, difficult to ensure that the surveyers' opinions were not enforced on the participants.
Interest groups:
This personal communication will be of interest to economists and anthropologists, as well as researchers working at the community and project level.