Resources

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.

We all take economic decisions in our everyday life yet we are led to believe that "economics" is best left to the experts - that it is a beast beyond most people's understanding and control. This book is one representation of the efforts of everyday people to take matters into their own hands. It is a compilation of materials developed by community groups and economic educators who have collectively explored local, national and international systems and dynamics. It represents voices that, like the vast majority of people, don't benefit from economic policies but together say "We can understand economics. We know what is at stake. And we demand a voice at the table of economic decision-making, alongside the lobbyists and politicians". The book is divided into five sections:

À Popular Patterns (in our experience)
À Threading it Together: Activities
À The Fabric of our Work: Issues and Analysis
À Expressions (of our discontent): Using Multi-media Creatively
À Resources: Individual and Organisational Contacts

The purpose of the book is to share these activities with other people in the interest of economic and political empowerment. It aims to get rid of confusing language and put economics into terms that everyone can easily understand. It provides copious tools: it is full of activities that encourage involvement, understanding, learning and action.

This report is the result of a RRA training exercise for staff of ActionAid- Ethiopia (AAE). Its aims were to encourage adoption of participatory approaches in AAE's work, to encourage cooperation among AAE staff, familiarise them with the local area and with RRA methods. The exercises were held in two peasant associations (PAs). As a result of the training exercises, these two PAs are described, through reports of historical time lines, land tenure distribution, mapping, seasonal calendars of rain, water resource use, cropping, grazing, fuel, labour use and marketing, wealth ranking, pie charts, and Venn diagrams. For each PA, strategies for AAE involvement in local development, including those relating to water resources, grain mills, land use, income generation, forestry, pest management, livestock, credit, and agricultural innovation. The report ends with comments and reflections on the RRA training and on the differences between RRA in agroecosystem analysis and conventional agroecosystem analysis.