The Lesotho Primary Schools Sanitation Project, undertaken in 1976-9, had limited success. When a follow-up project was proposed, it was decided to hold workshops to find out the communities' views on how the follow-up should be designed. Workshop participants included school and community representatives, ministerial and donor agency representatives. This paper describes the results of those workshops held in March 1981. Most of the report discusses technical implications of the workshop discussions. A final section discusses the role of community based workshops in development planning.
This paper begins by tracing the development of RRA and later PRA. PRA is defined and its origins discussed. Eight steps involved in undertaking a PRA are outlined. Some assumptions or principles of PRA are outlined and its advantages are discussed. The next section discusses applications of PRA in Kenya. These have included water and soil conservation, child health, water and sanitation, natural resource conservation, irrigation and monitoring and evaluation. The paper then discusses problems and constraints of PRA, and challenges facing PRA. Training and institutionalisation are explored and the conclusion examines the role of the African Centre for Technology in PRA.