As part of the UNICEF relief programme to Angola, a technical team carried out a ranking exercise upon which this paper reports. It took place between December 1991 and June 1992. Ranking is defined here as a process of priority ordering, in this case administrative areas in relation to the need for assistance. It used the knowledge that informants possessed from the country, at a national level, as well as from the provinces. No quantitative data were used. The ranking technique was expected to provide a rational framework to deal with time and resource constraints. The paper looks at the ranking process at a central and provincial level, as well as looking at the limitations and potential of the approach. It concludes that ranking was useful with regards to outlining the humanitarian issues in Angola; however, its efficiency depends very much on the choice of information source.
This paper looks at the role of PRA in addressing inequality and argues that participatory methods themselves contribute very little to an emancipatory process. It suggests that unless PRA is explicitly linked with an educational process which enables people with little power and resources to gain more control over their lives, the term 'participatory' will remain meaningless. A critical step is understanding issues of difference among 'the poor,' especially gender difference. However, it is one thing to identify differences but another to deal with the conflicting interests that emerge. The potential for a backlash against weaker groups is a real concern and must be taken into consideration. While the facilitator has a role to play in enabling groups to analyze the effects of possible reactions to the action they propose, it is the group of participants who must make the final decision.
The report outlines the findings and process of a participatory planning exercise initiated by Oxfam in northern Mutara, Rwanda. After the genocide of 1994, some community structures were becoming visible in the Mutara region which indicated potential for a development programme. It was also seen as an important area because from 1994 there was an emerging environmental crisis with large numbers of people and cattle entering an environmentally fragile area. The first three days were spent training NGO staff and local authority and community members in PRA methods and participatory approaches to development. This was followed by one week working with three communities, and culminated in drawing up outlines of action plans. The report discusses the approach and process of participatory learning and planning; what was learned from secondary sources; and the methods used and findings of the PRA exercises in the three communities.
This book is the outcome of a workshop on participation organised by Duryog Nivaran, a South-Asian network of individuals and organisations concerned with large scale disruptions in society due either to natural disasters or conflicts. This introductory chapter gives a glimpse of papers included in the above book. The papers come from a group who have not only encountered the notion of participation in different capacities but have also understood it in different ways. Four of the seven papers included in the book look at participation primarily in the context of development and development projects; two of the papers look at the link between participation and political process at the macro level and raise questions about the relationship between development projects and political processes in wider society. Finally, one paper attempts to straddle these two worlds. The book contends that it is important to promote healthy critical debates on the concept and the experience of participation in various contexts. However, the emergence of participation as a new development orthodoxy needs to be questioned.
This brief report is based on the author's hands-on experience in participatory planning with disaster victims in India. The paper illustrates the ability of local people to influence the design of the rehabilitation and reconstruction programme using PRA methods. The reconstruction plan designed by technical experts without any consultation with and consideration to the needs of the actual users failed to work. The paper provides an example of using PRA in planning rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes with the victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes. A brief note on PRA and its use in a refugee situation is included.
This book presents a participative action model to assist groups in developing the organisational, analytical and management skills required for community action to achieve sustainable use of land and water resources at the local level. Groups using this book are expected to develop participatory mechanisms for planning and implementing land and water management projects. It is aimed at developing self-learning skills by community leaders, extension officers and students in Australia. The contents are divided into short learning units in which outlines of theories, concepts and principles are followed by personal and group activities. The organisation of chapters follows the pattern of group development. It explains the philosophy of participative action in land care (Ch. 2); and discusses learning to work together, development of leadership skills and defining of roles and responsibilities (Chs. 3-5). The next eight chapters are on 'how to' aspects of group functioning: running a meeting, organising activities, planning, motivating oneself and others, effective communication, finding human and financial resources for projects. The last two chapters discuss how to keep momentum going and how to manage conflicts that accompany change.
This report describes in detail the structure and operation of village institutions in Katheka Sublocation in Machakos, Kenya, with regard to natural resources management. It concludes that the village is an effective organisational unit to foster participation in project planning and implementation. villagers understand the relation between improved natural resource management and sustainable food production, and institutional structures are already in place in many countries. What is needed is organising and mobilising village institutions. This can be done through training of village leaders, for example by using 'exemplar' villages, carrying out PRAs and developing village resource management plans.
This is a report of a PRA workshop organised by he Near East Foundation held in Cairo, Egypt with participants drawn from; research political and religious institutions, and Sudanese indigenous groups resident in Egypt as refugees. The training was intended to equip the participants in their work with skills to identify problems and address the needs of the communities. The participants carried out a study in five districts with high densities of Sudanese settlers with particular emphasis on needs of women, health needs and overall economic condition.. The main theme of the 10 day classroom and fieldwork training are; Background of PRA methods and accept, PRA approaches in development, Team work and group dynamics, Methods for data collection and analysis and principles of needs assessment. The second part of the report is the summary of findings on the fieldwork conducted: It includes aspects on the economic characteristics of the Sudanese communities, Trading and street selling activities, Factory workers and lay people, income generating activities, expenditure patterns, health conditions, and the institutions and groups that serve the community. Drawing on the recommendations in the second part , a third section of the report is in a project design and proposal that has been submitted to the Ford Foundation. It concludes with a report on a one day workshop to share the findings of the research, a plenary session report and which would be fed into project document.
This document examines the factors that have contributed to the relatively quick restoration of satisfactory livelihoods for returning Eritrean refugees at a settlement site at the border with Sudan.
A document of the process and methodologies proposed for the Somali Natural Resources Management Programme for local level environmental interventions. These include international influences from relevant pastoralist and conflict affected situations elsewhere in Africa and a set of ideas generated by the author and his Somali colleagues.
This report outlines a local community project conducted in the Hollingdean area of Brighton in the UK in 1999. The participatory appraisal exercises conducted sought to highlight the most important issues identified by the local residents of Hollingdean. The report outlines the methodologies used and then goes on to detail the various issues that were identified:
| Children and young people| Transport| Sheltered housing| Housing| Drugs| Community safety| Environmental issues| Other community issues| Food
The report is illustrated, with visual examples and photographic documentation of some of the methods used. In addition, it presents a number of possible solutions to some of the problems identified and an update on some of those already implemented.
This article gives account for a domestic violence study conducted in 12 haor areas (areas that flood regularly) in the northeastern region of Bangladesh. Concern Worldwide (an international NGO) has been implementing integrated rural development projects in three remote sub-districts- Khaliajuri, Itna, and Gowainghat- or the last ten years. Key project activities include the formation of community groups with the poor for raising awareness, human development training, skill training, non-formal education, saving and credit schemes, and rural infrastructure development. Roughly 96% of the group participants are women and the activities aim to contribute to the socio-economic empowerment of poor women. A research study was undertaken in 2003 in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme; to determine the socio-economic factors contributing domestic violence; the most common types of abuse and their health consequences; reductions of physical and mental abuse of housewives due to Concern's interventions. The research methodology used was based on PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) methods with social mapping of poverty; family relationships diagrams; focus group discussions; and Venn diagrams. The results are presented defining the fabric of inter-household relationships; analysing abuse in family relationships; and looking at defence strategies. The authors go on to the effectiveness of the Concern Project, examining housewives' feelings about power and ways to achieve power. Lessons learned form the project are summarised and it is concluded that processes of change in gender relations and attitudes are ongoing and take time and that it is equally important to work with both women and men to change attitudes.