The Nhlangwini Integrated Rural Development Project aims to empower local people, in order that they may improve their quality of life, by helping them develop strategies for addressing basic needs. The Nhlangwini Ward is situated in southern KwaZulu, South Africa. Three workshops were held over a period of three months during 1989. The first examined development problems in the area; the second specifically probed those problems associated with family planning; the third was a development planning workshop, employing visual techniques described in some detail by the paper. Participants were asked to draw local resources by imagining they could view the area from a helicopter. The process of adopting visual techniques has resulted in a change in emphasis - as a result of findings, the integrated development programme has switched approaches with regard to issues facing women, and in terms of its goal setting mechanisms.
"The gender equivalent to Chambers' poverty biases" is summarised as an ironic checklist of ways of "keeping women invisible in development planning" - eg treat the household as a homogenous and harmonious group of people. Concepts for gender training for development planners are discussed : i) The distinction between "biological" sex and "socially constructed" gender ii) The different processes that construct gender in different cultures iii) Focus on the gender division of labour iv) Rethink the meaning of production in the light of our analysis of the gender division of labour v) Shift from planning for practical needs to strategies for empowerment. Such training should help to get away from "aggregated concepts of development that planners have worked with in the past".
PRAGEN (PRA and ECOGEN - Ecology, Community and Gender) tools were tested in a pilot project with a community in the Philippines. The tools used included "the village map, the village transect, the time line, a disaggregated seasonal activities calendar, the gender resources map, problems/opportunities ranking and a gender resource mapping action plan." Selected in-depth household interviews and participant observation also took place. Through the ECOGEN activities, the community, together with the local government and implementing NGO, prepared a Gender Resource Mapping Action Plan, identifying agroforestry as central to their livelihoods as gold becomes less available. Although women were active in the planning process, "the analysis did not adequately indicate the actual roles that women will continue to play in the project" and the project's future impact on women's lives.
"The gender equivalent to Chambers' poverty biases" is summarised as an ironic checklist of ways of "keeping women invisible in development planning" - eg Treat the household as a homogenous and harmonious group of people. Concepts for gender training for development planners are discussed : i) The distinction between "biological" sex and "socially constructed" gender ii) The different processes that construct gender in different cultures iii) Focus on the gender division of labour iv) Rethink the meaning of production in the light of our analysis of the gender division of labour v) Shift from planning for practical needs to strategies for empowerment. Such training should help to get away from "aggregated concepts of development that planners have worked with in the past".
The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) had two main objectives: i) to assess the effectiveness of participatory methods as a means of collecting baseline information; ii) to identify indigenous indicators of women's health and wealth status. A 'smorgasbord' of participatory methods were used; social and demographic mapping; health and wealth ranking; timeline and focus group discussions; key informant interviews and life histories of women. Fieldwork was conducted in a village where the BRAC had been active for five years and another where it had been involved for six months. Participatory methods were confirmed as a means of gathering information 'quickly and relatively accurately.' A 'remarkable consistency' emerged as to indigenous indicators of women's status from which BRAC constructed a seven component measure of household well-being: food security; land ownership; types of income; agricultural assets; homestead condition; days off work due to illness and education.
The paper summarises an RRA conducted over nine months in the Parbhani district of Maharashtra. There were four aims: 1) to evaluate techniques of RRA as a basis for community assessment, nutrition planning and programmes; 2) generate insights into factors that influence the nutritional status of rural inhabitants; 3) recommend interventions to improve nutrition; 4) identify problems for further research. In depth interviews and group discussions were held with 200 families. Results generated an insight into agricultural practices, cash cropping, marketing, storage practices and infant feeding practices.
This paper considers the suitability of a housing project in Cordoba, Argentina for poor women-headed households. The project was designed to rehouse squatters who occupied land needed for public works. The paper considers the planning and the implementation of this project and examines the extent to which women-headed households participated in the project, documenting a considerable number of "hidden" women headed households. The objectives of the research were to make women and their needs visible, and to contribute towards developing a greater understanding of how women are affected by social housing policies directed at the poor urban sectors. Research methods used include interviews with women heads of households and key informants. The paper concludes with recommendations on how housing and human settlements policies can become gender-aware.
This short article describes the process and the outcome of a participatory urban appraisal carried out in Chainda (a large slum) on the outskirts of Lusaka. A number of methods used in the PRA approach were used for appraisal and planning. Although the process involved discussing most issues, people carried out detailed analysis and planning involving issues of improving livelihoods, support required by the women for the informal sector and institutional and power relationships. A number of adaptations were needed for use of PRA methods. The paper concludes that many participatory methods developed in rural areas work equally well in urban situations but need continuous adaptation. Also due to the intensive nature of the process in participatory urban appraisal the planning process gets linked with the political and administrative process quicker than happens in rural areas (author's abstract).
The dilemmas faced in PRA, both during the fieldwork and in implementing findings, are discussed in the light of the massive increase in popularity in PRA. It has become so popular that there is a tendency to think that once the root problems and the main issues of a community are known that it is easy to solve them. this is shown to be untrue. The PRA should allow community members to participate in the problem solving process and in the planning process.
The Forestry Cooperation Programme in Vietnam initiated a training process to develop an approach to gender analysis and implementing gender-sensitive programmes at the village level. The report describes a training programme which included two days classroom session on gender concepts and a period of fieldwork using PRA methods for gender analysis. The fieldwork focused on resources, activities, decision-making, social relations (between individuals and institutions) and the impact of project components. PRA methods were used to explore the gender dimension of all these areas. The transect walk revealed insights about women's workload that contradicted verbal discussions with women and revealed issues around what is considered 'difficult' or 'light' work. Another issue that arose was around 'inside' and 'outside' work. The analysis revealed the reasons why women were not fully involved in project activities and suggested ways of institutionalising gender-sensitive project planning. There was particular need for separate PRA activities within women's groups and gender disaggregated monitoring and evaluation. The appendix includes an impact diagram of planting orange trees by a women's group and seasonal analysis done by women-only, men-only and a mixed group.
This handbook is based on the experiences of the CUSO-CCPD Training Programme for NGOs in Northern Ghana. However, examples are used to bring out the underlying principles which shaped the training process and generated participants' experiences. The emphasis of the book is strongly towards participatory approaches to development and training. Chapters 1 and 2 present the theoretical framework of the handbook - participatory training and the designing process of a participatory training programme. Subsequent chapters cover the basic concepts on gender in development, how gender analysis may be done, and the preparation of gender-oriented extensions programmes. The handbook is very clearly written and organised, making the concepts extremely accessible.
This document reports on an Oxfam project in Vietnam aimed at addressing gender issues in the context of rapid structural change. It begins by outlining the challenges posed by the socio-economic reforms in Vietnam, and identifying gender and environmentally sensitive project planning as roles which foreign NGO's can perform. The bulk of the report describes a PRA focusing on gender and the environment. In a brief discussion of PRA methodology it is cautioned that PRA is not inherently gender sensitive - this depends on how the PRA is conducted. In this case, to ensure greater gender sensitivity: (i) prior to fieldwork, the team was formed composed of a majority of women and during training gender issues were emphasised; (ii) During fieldwork male and female villagers participated in equal numbers, a female translator was used, data collected was gender disaggregated, and women's many responsibilities were accounted for in the way exercises were conducted; (iii) the planned activities derived from the PRA includes gender-sensitive objectives, indicators and a monitoring plan. The PRA was also used to identify local women who can act as contact people in the future.
This paper concerns PRA capacity building in the implementation and monitoring of the Village Development Programme of Kalam Integrated Development Project (KIDP) in northern Pakistan. It discusses the adoption and institutionalisation of PRA in village planning activities of the programme, which has involved the training of village extensionists to participate in PRA teams. The selection of these persons is discussed. Among the many comments on this innovative approach, the author notes that the pace of adoption has been appropriately slow given the experimental nature of this approach. Developing an understanding of PRA before any field work begins is important, particularly since it differs from conventional prescriptive interventions. Identification of initial activities, and the involvement of women are discussed. The need for caution in developing village action plans is noted, as is the importance of follow -up to PRA activities, particularly as expectations may have been raised. The need for monitoring structures and the possibility of future training are explored.
This is a training report of the organic matter management network (OMMN)in Kenya and Tanzania, involved in promoting sustainable agricultural resources management approaches in partnership with farmers. A training/ workshop was held with the broad objectives to build participatory planning skills and to facilitate behavioural and attitudinal change in individual participants which in turn facilitates the formation of a divisional level forum to enable them tackle micro level natural resource management problems in the Tiriki district.
