Examples of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in wetland development in Guinea Bissau

This report is based on the work of the group (SHAS), in Guinea Bissau, whose main aim is to improve the quality of the area’s physical infrastructures and to develop human resource capacity. PRA methods have been incorporated into this work. Three examples of PRA in practice are given, weed-ranking which indicates land quality and suitability for cultivation, mapping of land distribution – a quick guide to wealth and poverty and the mapping of hydrological features in the area. The report concludes with lessons learnt from these exercises. In each instance farmers were crucial in the process and augmented their own knowledge of the areas and what was happening in them. [Abstract based on mimeo version]