Resources

1 - 5 of 5 items

Mental Maps

Authors: 
Gould, P.
White, R.
1986

Abstract

This book examines 'the ways in which people form images of other places and how these images influence many decisions'. Examples are given of how people's mental maps reveal their perceptions and beliefs about the world. Planners asked people in Birmingham, UK, for 'the maps that they had in their heads and which they used in moving around the centre of the city'. The response was very large because 'people seemed to like the idea of helping planners and being involved in some small way with the planning process going on in their town'. As in PRA mapping activities, the maps drawn reflected people's experiences. In another example, a black school boy in Boston drew five educational institutions in the area, 'indicative of his perception of education as an escape route from the segregated life he leads'. Our mental maps are influenced and shaped by information, such as that provided by the media and school text books. School leavers ranked the places where they preferred to live, revealing 'local domes of desirability and a shared national viewpoint' regarding images of certain towns. The book ends by looking at how to change people's mental maps : 'the maps and models of the world we carry around with us need larger and much more relevant information inputs'.

Publisher

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA): Mbusyani Sublocation Case Study

Authors: 
Kabutha, C.
Kariuki, F.
Lezberg, S.
1989

Abstract

This report presents the results of a PRA focusing on natural resources management in Kenya. It contains descriptions of historical background on the locality, natural resources, water and soil conservation, agricultural practices, discussions of key social issues and infrastructure (health and education) and analysis of institutions and local leadership. Problems and opportunities are identified, and a village resource management plan was devised. Action by the community and other actors as a result of the PRA is discussed, and some problems in implementation are noted. The report ends with reflections on PRA and the participatory planning process. Positive reflections include enabling the community to undertake their own analysis, promoting an integrated view of development, and development of the village plan. Problems included insufficient participation by marginal groups and by women, and the feeling that PRA is inappropriate to statistical analysis.

''NKASIRI'': Participatory Rural Appraisal and Planning Techniques: Workshop proceedings, Maralal, Kenya, 1996

Authors: 
Samburu District Development Programme (SDDP)
1996

Abstract

This paper documents a workshop run by SDDP for trainees on PRA and participatory planning. The introduction to the workshop raised issues like what participatory development actually entails in practice, and introduced the '' ladder of participation'' i.e. different degrees of participation. The trainees were divided into four teams and introduced to a range of PRA tools, with a list of do's and dontÆs. Community action plans were introduced. The document concludes with discussions arising from the process and their implications for workshop participants and communities. The annexes include a discussion of the relation between PRA and rural development and workshop participantsÆ evaluation comments.

Beating hunger: the Chivi experience

Authors: 
Murwira, Kuda
et al
2000

Abstract

Amid the growing realisation that top-down, technocratic approaches to agricultural development largely fail, alternative approaches have begun to emerge, based on participatory methods, the use of local technologies and resources and the notion of 'farmers first'. In this context, a project began in the Chivi District in southern Zambia, which aimed to work, using alternative methods, with smallholder farmers to develop technological options in order to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods in marginal areas. The book describes the background of the farmers, and then details the community-based approach which involved needs-assessment surveys, institutional surveys, participatory planning, awareness-raising training, visits to view new technologies and local seed varieties. The ways in which the project sought to strengthen women's position in the local community is also described.

Publisher

Land reform and participation in South Africa

Download available

Authors: 
Bradstock, Alistair
2005

Abstract

Since coming to power in 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) has been implementing a land reform programme, which includes land tenure reform, land restitution and land redistribution. The Department of Agriculture however, has no methodology for supporting land reform groups in the process of developing and implementing land management plans. To address this FARM-Africa has developed and piloted a participatory land use planning methodology with eight land reform groups: this paper describes the experiences of implementing this new approach with these groups, many of whom had little experience of farming. With the help of diagrams and examples it runs through the steps of developing a participatory land use plan which are: identifying project stakeholders; understanding the situation; sharing and making use of the information; training the planning sub-committee and approving the plan, and implementing the management plan. Finally it concludes that the participatory process offers the chance to learn new skills, to understand the institutional and organisational environment and to improve day-to-day effectiveness. Access to agricultural knowledge is important but must be inclusive, and importantly this planning method should be initiated much earlier the land reform process.

Publisher