Resources

This manual is an effort to fill the gap on the subject of farmers' institution building for watershed management in India. Strong farmers' organisations are the foundation of successful watershed development programmes, as well as associated income generating activities that also ensure women's empowerment and sustainable resource use. Gaps in participatory integrated watershed management training for the Himalayas and rainfed areas have been identified, bought about by most training and extension institutions in this region being modelled on top down management approaches rather than people or farmer led programmes. Many traditional approaches to the sustainable use of land, water and forest resources have been lost. This manual aims to provide structured training in participatory integrated watershed management that will assist the farmers in organising themselves. The manual is modular and organised in two sections: the first provides an overview of initial activities essential to the process and the seconds deals with the effective functioning of the groups themselves.

This is a group diary/training guide manual for trainers and organisers who work with the Participatory Internal Learning System for Micro-Finance Programs. The group diary tracks information on how a self-help group is progressing with its savings and credit program. This document discusses the group level of operation of the internal learning system that is composed of four levels: member, group, area organiser, and program levels. It provides skits and various examples of how groups collect, assess, think, plan, and share information about each other and how this collective interaction enables them to function more efficiently and achieve their tasks.

This document is a proposal by ActionAid and ProNet to add a child focus to the REFLECT process, a participatory approach to literacy and numeracy acquisition which has been geared to adults. The proposed location of the REFLECT youth club pilot program is the Dangme West District in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The goal is to help school and non-school going children to develop basic literacy and numeracy skills in their mother tongue and empower them to create social change. The proposal provides a detailed look at the program objectives, logistics, facilitation, implementation, and strategy.

This paper addresses the use of participative approaches in the development of information systems. It discusses some of the problems with this approach and suggests a more critical approach to participation in information system projects.

This paper discusses the use of PRA applications in the area of education and addresses how useful participatory research is in this area. The author argues that the combination of participation and visual analysis a faculty for life analagous and complementary to linguistic and mathematical skills. He suggests that they should be part of curricula. Chambers also notes that balanced reversals in the flows of teaching and learning would be useful, with adults learning from children and policy makers from farmers. The report also describes the use of visual analysis in empowering children and the poor.

This study is part of a global research effort entitled Consultations with the Poor, designed to inform the World Development Report 2000/1 on Poverty and Development. The research has used participatory methods to involve and give a voice to poor people in twenty-three countries around the world. This report is from Bangladesh, from sites selected to give a rural/urban balance. The study focuses on four main topics, each with a set of key themes, as follows: Exploring well-being À How do people define their quality of life, their ill-being or well-being? How have these changed over time? À How do people perceive security, risk, vulnerability, opportunities, social exclusion and crime and conflict, and how have these perceptions changed over time? À How do households and individuals cope with a decline in well being and how do these strategies affect their lives? Priorities of the poor À Listing of problems faced by different groups within the community and identifying problems faced by the poor. À Prioritisation of problems, in terms of the most pressing needs of the different groups. À Have these problems changed over time? What are people's hopes and fears for the future? Institutional analysis À Which institutions are important in people's lives? À How do people rate these institutions? À Do people feel that they have any control or influence over these institutions? À Which institutions support people in coping with crisis? Gender relations À What are the existing gender relations within the household? What is women's relative position today as compared with the past, and to men? À What are the existing gender relations within the community? À Are there differences in gender relations among different groups within the community?

This study is part of a global research effort entitled Consultations with the Poor, designed to inform the World Development Report 2000/1 on Poverty and Development. The research has used participatory methods to involve and give a voice to poor people in twenty-three countries around the world. This report is from Bosnia and Herzegovina, from sites selected to give a rural/urban balance. The study focuses on four main topics, each with a set of key themes, as follows: Exploring well-being À How do people define their quality of life, their ill-being or well-being? How have these changed over time? À How do people perceive security, risk, vulnerability, opportunities, social exclusion and crime and conflict, and how have these perceptions changed over time? À How do households and individuals cope with a decline in well being and how do these strategies affect their lives? Priorities of the poor À Listing of problems faced by different groups within the community and identifying problems faced by the poor. À Prioritisation of problems, in terms of the most pressing needs of the different groups. À Have these problems changed over time? What are people's hopes and fears for the future? Institutional analysis À Which institutions are important in people's lives? À How do people rate these institutions? À Do people feel that they have any control or influence over these institutions? À Which institutions support people in coping with crisis? Gender relations À What are the existing gender relations within the household? What is women's relative position today as compared with the past, and to men? À What are the existing gender relations within the community? À Are there differences in gender relations among different groups within the community?