Participatory Rural Appraisal: An Inititiation in Tamil Nadu

This study represents some of the lessons learned over three years by the Indian NGO, The Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA). The origins and principles of PRA are outlined. Six case studies of PRA are given of which two are health-related. Herbal PRA: herbal practitioners identified 144 herbs and their uses, a historical time line of diseases and treatments was constructed (this is given in an appendix). Twenty most important herbs were identified which the herbalists promised to help raise in village herb gardens. Health PRA: this was conducted as a training exercise with 20 NGOs in Tamil Nadu. PRA exercises helped replace curative notions of health care with a focus on the socio-economic causes of ill health. The results of a wealth ranking and a health matrix are presented in the appendixes.