This trip report clearly shows the benefits which can be derived from collecting secondary materials from archives. In preparation for a historical study of environmental change in Guinea, material was collected from colonial archives in France. These proved to be excellent sources of information, including maps which it was hoped would provide the basis for participatory mapping exercises during fieldwork in guinea.
The article discusses the issue of conflict and the skills required to deal with it, in the context of two FAO projects in Guinea and Tanzania. In the Guinea example an exploratory RRA investigating food security issues in a fishing community revealed conflict between the project credit scheme and the local community over the repayment of loans. In the second example an exploratory appraisal focusing on nutrition and food security in fishing communities in Tanzania uncovered layers of corruption and manipulation in the management of the credit team.
This paper considers the adaptation of Participatory Rural Appraisal to an urban artisanal fisheries environment in Conakry, Guinea. It describes how the Ministry of Agricultural and Animal Resources (responsible for fisheries), artisanal fishing port users, and the regional West African Integrated Development of Artisanal Fisheries Programme (IDAF) of the FAO have been collaborating to develop methods to help the fishing port users and the government fisheries officers work effectively together.
This paper focuses on methods which can be used to highlight food security issues and health problems in a community. A 'method' highlighted is the incorporation of local definitions of the issue - in this instance nutrition into the creation of hypotheses about the nature of the problem.