Resources

The paper describes some of the experiences of OUTREACH, an NGO based in south India, of using PRA in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of rural development projects. Attempts were made to increase the accuracy of information obtained through using PRA methods, and to broaden the application of PRA to a wider range of topics and situations. For instance, percentages were obtained by asking villagers to use 100 seeds to indicate monthly labour requirements of women and men, or to show the seasonal distribution of fish during the year. Examples are given from India, Nepal and South Africa.

Based in Mongolia, this study is an interesting example of combining natural resource ranking with seasonal calendars. The result is maps for different times in the year, which clearly show differentials between seasons and times when food is short. The method is clearly described and the uses to which the results can be put discussed.

This report describes the use of mapping in studying villagers' perception of poverty in two Indian villages. A clear description is given of the method, by which the villagers worked on understanding the basis of the ranking, identified the poor households in the village, ranked them and discuused the whole process. It is unclear whether the villagers were involved in the identification of criteria for the ranking, but these criteria included, living conditions, and assets. Most interesting is the inclusion of a concept of "access" in the ranking criteria - access to food, employment, public services and common property resources. These made for variations useful to the villagers themselves. In addition this concept of "access" is important in any attempt to include gender in a poverty stratification.

This report is based on the work of the group (SHAS), in Guinea Bissau, whose main aim is to improve the quality of the area's physical infrastructures and to develop human resource capacity. PRA methods have been incorporated into this work. Three examples of PRA in practice are given, weed-ranking which indicates land quality and suitability for cultivation, mapping of land distribution - a quick guide to wealth and poverty and the mapping of hydrological features in the area. The report concludes with lessons learnt from these exercises. In each instance farmers were crucial in the process and augmented their own knowledge of the areas and what was happening in them. [Abstract based on mimeo version]

This book introduces forest management from a macro perspective illustrating the increasing levels of participation in forestry. The most important aspect of these two volumes is the clear description of the steps which need to be taken to prepare for community forestry research. Issues higlighted include the use of secondary sources of data and the importance of the research team's approach. Details of the process of a rapid appraisal for community forest management are given. A wide spread of information sources need to be tapped for effective community forestry research (and possibly by implication for all development research). These include both community values and perceptions of the forest and levels of forest product use. All levels of forest staff must participate for effective interventions and truly participatory research. Ways of analysing, using and communicating this knowledge are discussed.

This article considers the use of PRA in the general area of health both in determining what peoples' percieved health needs are and in designing interventions. There has been a recent increase of interest in applications of PRA in this area. This paper documents this increase in interest. It considers issues in this respect, the first being that the type of information supplied tends to be localised and cannot form the basis for widespread intervention. Linked with this concern is the inability of professionals such as epidemiologists to accept the validity of the type of information that PRA methods can provide.

This article describes the adaptation of the matrix scoring technique to investigate local perceptions of agroecosystem properties - productivity, stability, sustainability and equity. Methods discussed include transects, mapping and modelling, matrix ranking of productivity, and matrix ranking of the productivity of different crop combinations, seasonal calendars and timelines.