Resources

A detailed account of a five day training course in PRA for NGO staff working on a project in West Bengal. After a day's introduction to PRA techniques, the field work in Kharamdanga village began: descriptions of each day's activities are given, with methodology used and findings. Time line, social map, transect and resource map are illustrated visually. The report concludes with a list of PRA methods found useful to the NGOs involved.

Forestry extension services have an important role to play in contributing to a participatory, decentralised and self-sustaining process of rural development. This article describes the approach and different phases of a six-week social forestry training course developed by Forestry Manpower Development (FMP) in Holland. Basic to the training methodology is that participants recognise the value of existing knowledge among the rural population. The participants are then assisted to develop their own participatory approaches to enable them, as extensionists, to make this local knowledge the basis of development initiatives.

Developed from an "experiential learning exercise" in Agro-ecosystem mapping held at Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, this book could form the basis for a training programme on the following mapping methods : map of typography & hydrology, map of enterprises, map of social groups and transect of agro-ecological zones. Section A describes the training programme with the emphasis on field exercises covering the above methods. Case-studies based on the findings and templates (suitable for xeroxing for overhead projection) summarising training objectives and activities, are given in separate sections. The appendices contain articles for background reading.

LEARN (Local Environmental Analysis and assessment of Rural Needs) is a development research approach designed to put people's priorities first, be cost-effective, and tackle rural environmental problems. Though similar to RRA, LEARN differs in that it is concerned with the "interrelationship between the environment and social processes" and distinguishes between outsiders' (etic) and insiders' (emic) knowledge. "Intelligent ignorance", a low profile entrance, selection of informants, observation and open-ended questions are all key to the LEARN approach. Methods used and findings from the Waza Logone region of North Cameroon illustrate how LEARN can help in "preparing research proposals and identifying development opportunities".

PRA methods are being used to study the effect of dams and drought on the fishery of a floodplain in 24 Nigerian villages. The problems and solutions devised to carry out participatory mapping and ranking exercises in such an area are described in detail, including the materials used.

This is abstracted in the annotated bibliography Famine Early Warning and Food Information Systems in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, Lambert et al, 1991, IDS Development Bibliography, no. 7.

This paper looks at two attempts by nutritional consultants to use a stress calendar to improve community nutrition. This technique involves plotting factors affecting nutrition on a monthly basis to see when there is likely to be a deterioration of nutritional status. Initially this was used to assist Save the Children Fund (Norway) establish the food, nutrition and health situation in their community development project area in East Palpa, Nepal. Using a diagrammatic nutritional calendar it was shown that months corresponding to the rainy season experienced a bunching of stress factors and consequent child mortality. There, the outcome was the decision to concentrate resources before the rainy season to familiarise villagers with the oral rehydration treatment of diarrhoea. Secondly it was used to examine at what time aquaculture could improve nutrition in villages on the Chipata Plateau, Zambia. Here the team noted the consumption of various foods throughout the year and they decided that the availability of fish could make a significant contribution to the diet and income of the poor. It is considered therefore that the way stress calendars portray information has a number of advantages, particularly the timing and nature of relevant interventions.

A comparison of two pieces of research for Save the Children, Norway which set out to compile "stress calendars" to improve community nutrition. There is a clear discussion of the research technique - plotting nutrition factors on a monthly basis, to establish when in the year nutritional status is most likely to be at risk. Case study areas were East Palpa, Nepal and Chipatu Plateau, Zambia. Although a smilar research technique was used, the object of the exercise was different in each case. In Nepal, the exercise determined that the greatest problems existed during the monsoon which fed into a decision to concentrate nutritional support in the period before monsoon. In Zambia the exercise determined when aquaculture could best be targetted to improve nutritional status in the villages.