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A Participant's Diary of a PRA Exercise: Garuda-Kempanahalli
Abstract
The DVD documents a PRA exercise which was carried out in a village in Karnataka in south India, facilitated by the NGO group MYRADA. The PRA started the process of developing an integrated plan for the watershed with the village community. The film focuses on the sequence and methods used during the PRA. The first activity was an ice-breaker and equaliser, where the outside participants attempted to perform routine village tasks (02). Next, seasonality diagramming provided information on rainfall, employment patterns for men and women, and patterns of income and expenditure (04). Watershed resource mapping and modelling (06) and transects then gave more detailed information about the watershed (07). At an evening group meeting the information which had been gathered was presented and discussed, with a focus on the major issues and how they were to be dealt with. The villagers decided that it was important to reforest the upper catchment to minimise erosion (12). A matrix ranking of local trees was then carried out to determine the use and importance of different species to the villagers (13). This provided the basis for deciding the mix of species for the reforestation plan. Time lines and venn (or 'chapati') diagrams of village institutions depicted the social environment of the village (16). Wealth ranking information was added to a social map (17). The PRA concluded with an evening social event for all the participants (20).
A thematic study on the Poorest Household Focus Programme.
Abstract
Evaluation report of the Poorest Household Focus Programme (PHFP) which includes a critical assessment of the use of a participatory approach by the project. Discussion groups with various stakeholders were the main means of evaluation utilised in the study.
An evolutionary approach to facilitating organisational learning : an experiment by the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CDDB).
Abstract
In 1994 an experiment on participatory monitoring was carried out with CCDBÆs PPRDP programme. CCDB is a medium sized Bangladeshi NGO that provides development assistance primarily geared towards women. The purpose of the experiment was to explore more innovative approaches to project monitoring away from more conventional approaches that emphasise the use of indicators. The experiment hoped to establish a more æiteratedÆ process or evolutionary approach to project evaluation. The approach sought to highlight differing perspectives and interpretation of project developments in order to learn from their experiences. Monitoring was undertaken by members of the CCDB programme, field level project staff, senior staff at the head office, and CCDB donors. Each of these groups were asked to identify and select on a monthly basis the most æsignificantÆ impacts or changes experienced under the programme and explain the basis of their selections; however, the structure of participation followed a hierarchical process of selection whereby the choices of participants were forwarded to higher levels of staff and finally to CCDB donors. In effect, the number of identified impacts eventually narrowed at each level of the organisational hierarchy. The first section of the paper outlines the methodology following a series of steps and then describes the state of the experimental monitoring system as of March 1995. It is then contrasted with other conventional approaches to monitoring. While the experimental monitoring system continues to be operational and CCDB staff have identified a wider range of objectives for the monitoring system, several weaknesses of the system are identified. Most significant among these is the tendency at all levels of staff to focus primarily on describing the æsignificantÆ project impacts, with less emphasis on elaborating their criteria for selecting those impacts. Also, project staff tended to report and select mostly positive impacts of the programmes, suggesting that the system biased against more critical reporting of events.
An urbanite in the villages of Andhra Pradesh - getting away from development tourism.
Abstract
Authors personal account of a move during her career away from 'development tourism.' The paper recounts the challenges and opportunities faced by her in doing so, especially in her position as a woman.
Analysis of the environmental and social situation in Nahi Gewog, Wangdi-Phodrang District
Abstract
This report is of an RRA training workshop which was carried out in one of the pilot sites of the Bhutan-German Integrated Forest Management Project in Wangdi District, Bhutan, in 1995. The first part of the report outlines the purpose and approach of the different methods, and how they were used in the field. They included mapping, transects, semi-structured interviewing and focus group interviews, seasonal calendars, tree ranking, institutional diagramming, wealth/well-being ranking, 'vision-drawing' by children, and problem ranking. The results were then presented at a feedback meeting with municipality representatives. The second part of the report presents the findings of the RRA.
Publisher
Bhutan-German Integrated Forest Management Project
Assessing participation : a debate from South Asia.
Abstract
This book brings together papers presented in 1995 at a workshop organised by Duryog Nivaran, a South Asian network promoting participatory approaches in situations of natural disasters and internal conflicts. Many of the papers reflect on the limitations and challenges of applying participatory approaches in emergency situations.
Publisher
Assessing pollution from tannery effluents in a south Indian village.
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Abstract
This paper describes how the combination of chemical soil and water analyses and PRA exercises were found to be complementary methods in assessing the magnitude of the pollution problem caused by the tannery industry in Kamtchipuram village, Tamil Nadu.
Bibliography of Literature Related to PRA
Abstract
Divided into 4 regional and one worldwide section, this bibliography includes a wealth of material on all aspects of PRA. The first section, on Nepal, includes a number of titles in Nepali and includes publications by local organisations and Nepalese branches of international ones, as well as work within Nepal carried out by other agencies and individuals. For Nepal, there is a focus on forestry issues. In all sections, the subject matter covered ranges from forestry, agriculture, methodology, health, training, gender, women, evaluation, etc. The titles within each regional section are not ordered, but each item is described systematically. Articles are defined as thoeretical or practical, by region, by subject matter, classification, tools, a summary and key words.
Publisher
ICIMOD
Building on tradition: indigenous irrigation knowledge and sustainable development in Asia
Abstract
This paper discusses the importance of indigenous irrigation systems that have operated sustainably on indigenous technical knowledge that has ensured their longevity. Modern techniques have often ignored the importance of this knowledge and the role of such knowledge needs to be enhanced in the future.
Capacity-building in participatory upland watershed planning, monitoring and evaluation : a resource kit.
Abstract
This resource kit for trainers has been prepared to help develop facilitators for watershed programes enabling farmers to own and implement their own watershed management plans. Key aspects covered include, facilitating farmers to analyse their current situations, visualise a better future and the steps needed to get there and develop simple yet meaningful indicators to evaluate and monitor their progress along the way.
Publisher
PWMTA
Community based natural resource management (CBNRM)
Cost-effective targeting: two tools to identify the poor
Abstract
This manual presents methods by which the poor and the poorest can be identified so that they can be reached by the services of microfinance institutions - and so that the non-poor can be excluded from them. Whilst poverty targeting has long been regarded as difficult and costly, the authors argue that these methods, developed through field experience, are practical and cost-effective. The CASHPOR (Credit and Savings for the Hard-Core Poor) Network has developed a House Index that is adapted to the house styles of all countries in Asia where the Network programmes are operating. The Small Enterprise Foundation (SEF) has taken the methodology of Participatory Wealth Ranking and developed it to become an effective and cost effective means of identifying the poor. The manual gives practical details of these two methods for use by microfinance practitioners and others.
Publisher
CASHPOR
Enhancing ownership and sustainability: a resource book on participation
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Abstract
This is a resource book designed primarily for development workers working within the field of the rural poor. It describes a range of first-hand experiences with participatory approaches in the context of projects funded by The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and governments in Asia and the Pacific. The book is divided into a number of sections. Part One examines poverty and participation and explains why the poor should be targeted and in what ways this is possible. Part Two describes in detail the actual participatory approaches. Part three concentrates on participation in the project planning and implementation stage. Part Four assesses the monitoring impact and Part Five examines issues in participation with regards to institutions, partnerships and governance.