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This article traces a participatory research model used in six village communities in the Central Region of the North-West of South Africa in order to achieve the following broad objectives: to obtain information on the challenges owners face in raising livestock in these areas and to evaluate the livestock owners' level of knowledge of internal parasites in their animals. Participatory workshops revealed a need for improvements in water supply, schools, job creation, and health services; and that lack of pasture for grazing livestock was an important issue. With regards to treatment of animals it was found that most owners used a combination of treatment ranging from traditional to folklore to commercial. Difficulties encountered in using participatory methods were due to the fact that it was the first time that the facilitators and the communities had been exposed to them, and as a result many had difficulty in dealing with the concept of finding solutions within the community, which is an integral part of participatory methods.

This report investigates the effectiveness of NGOÆs strategies and methods to influence land policy reform. It is based on a study of seven NGOs promoting land reform and land rights in Mozambique and Kenya. A number of key questions were explored: do NGOs influence policy or are structural, institutional and political constraints too great? should NGOs maximise their own advocacy roles or focus on building the advocacy capacity of less powerful groups? can NGOs engage with government without compromising their independence? do donors facilitate or constrain the work of NGOs?| A framework was used for assessment based on four main areas of impact: strengthened civil society organisations, consultative government procedures and practice, pro-poor changes in policy, and direct benefits to and improvements in living conditions of poor groups. There are two main implications arising from the study. Firstly, building the capacity of community groups to take informed action is important in itself and for long-term and sustainable pro-poor policy influence. Secondly, many aspects of laws and policies are actually made during implementation; monitoring this process is therefore a key role for NGOs.

This book is based on a synthesis of community perspectives from selected urban and peri-urban villages of Varanasi and Faridabad districts of the Indian states of Uttah Pradesh and Harayana. It approaches the topic of air pollution in a holistic manner considering local lives and livelihoods from the perspectives of local communities, in which impact of air pollution on agriculture has been viewed as part of a whole livelihood system. The objectives of the participatory field study were: to learn from local women and men groups of farmers about the importance of agriculture and their livelihood strategies; to learn about the constraints in agricultural practices and their coping strategies; to learn about the impact of air pollution on agriculture, health and others. The book is divided into six chapters. The first introduces the background to the study; the second describes community perspectives from Varanasi; the third from Fariabad; Chapter 4 provides a comparative picture between the two settings; Chapter 5 draws upon the lessons learnt from the field; and Chapter 6 describes the methodology of field inquiry. The main message of the book is that the rampant pace of industrialisation and urbanisation and their externalities/impacts are bringing chaotic conditions to the lives and livelihoods of countless farmers by weakening agricultural systems and human and animal health, as well as increasing poverty, disease and uncertainties. In order to learn about such impacts it is advocated that farmers are listened to, as they provide gateways to building micro-macro linkages in policies and actions towards sustainable development.

This report presents the main results and recommendations from the MRDP (Vietnam Sweden Mountain Rural Development Programme) village monitoring and review process for the period up to December 1997. The MRDP works in 259 villges in the provinces of Phu Tho, Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai and Ha Giang, in Vietnam. The report focuses on four main aspects: changing socio-economic situation; local organisational development; changes in land use and production; and rural finance (savings and credit. The report is based on the analysis and documentation made by villagers during PRAs (Participatory Rural Appraisals) and village planning exercises, with further analysis by province and district staff at a Monitoring and Review Workshop held in Ha Giang in 1998. It contains a summary of the ideas and learning as made by staff at all levels of the programme. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis and presentation are used, including: household and village examples summarising progress and achievements; data analysis and summary from activity monitoring and village wealth ranking exercises; organisational diagrams to show the evolution of local organisation over time; matrix ranking and scoring; and summary tables and ranking of peoples ideas on the progress, achievements and shortcomings of activities and on development trends in general.