Methods for Community Participation: A Complete Guide for Practitioners 1853395544, 9781853395543

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METHODSFOR ‘COMMUNITY ,

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Ac m om Guidefor

With a foreword by Robert Chambers

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation

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Methods for Community Participation A Complete Guide for Practitioners

Somesh Kumar

(TDG PUBLISHING

Intermediate Technology Publications Ltd Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development Bourton Hall, Bourton on Dunsmore,

Rugby,

Warwickshire CV23 9QZ, UK

Copyright

© Somesh Kumar, 2002

First published in 2002 Reprinted 2005, 2006 ISBN 1 85339 554 4 ISBN 978 1 85339 554 4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or

hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publishers.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

IIntermediate Technology Publications Ltd, is the wholly-owned publishing company of Intermediate Technology Development Group Ltd (working name Practical Action). Our mission is to build the skills and capacity of people in developing countries through the dissemination of information in all forms, enabling them to improve the quality of their lives and that of future generations.

Typeset by Siva Math Setters, Chennai Printed by Replika Press Pvt. Ltd

to my par ents

Contents

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes

List of Abbreviations Foreword by Robert Chambers Preface Acknowledgements

1.

Conceptual Specifications

1.14 115

2.

Introduction Meaning of Participation People’s Participation: Advantages Obstacles to People’s Participation Enter RRA and PRA Origin and Sources of PRA Rural Development Tourism and Biases Transition from RRA to PRA PRA Methods Principles of PRA Reversals: Distinguishing Features of PRA Myths about PRA Attitudes and Behaviour Applications of PRA Concerns about PRA

Space-related PRA Methods Social Map Resource Map Participatory Modelling Method Mobility Map Services and Opportunities Map Transect Participatory Census Method

8

3.

4.

5.

Contents

Time-related PRA Methods Scie 3.2.

Lone Line Trend Analysis

3.3.

Historical Transect

3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7.

Seasonal Diagram Daily Activity Schedule Participatory Genealogy Method Dream Map

PRA Relation Methods 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5. 4.6 4.7. 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13

Cause Effect Diagram Impact Diagram Systems Diagram Network Diagram Process Map Well-being Ranking Method Venn Diagram Pair-wise Ranking Method Matrix Ranking/Scoring Method Force Field Analysis Pie Diagram Livelihood Analysis Spider Diagram

4.14

Body Mapping

Summary 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11

Introduction Enter RRA and PRA Principles of PRA Reversals Salient Features of PRA Myths about PRA ABC of PRA: Attitude and Behaviour Change PRA: Concerns and Challenges PRA Methods Applications of PRA Conclusion

References Index About the Author

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes

Figures 1.1. 1.2

=Spectrum of Participation Sources of PRA

2.1 2.2. 2.3. 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 gaze 2.23 2.24

Social Map of Chetlamallapuram Village Map of Ambjharan: The Local People’s Perspective Map of Ambjharan: The Arrtist’s Perspective Social Map of a Big Village Social Map with Asset Details Social Map with Group Membership and Well-being Category Details Social Map of a Chinese Village: Focus on Special Groups Resource Map Watershed Map on Public Wall Resource and Mobility Map Watershed Maps: Then and Now Changes in Cropping Pattern in Giddanakatte A Typical Model of a Watershed Participatory Model of a Watershed: with Treatment vs without Treatment Participatory Modelling by Gender and Age Mobility Map of Women Mobility Map of Migrant Workers Mobility Map and Venn Diagram of Health Services Services and Opportunities Map Education Services and Opportunities Map Services and Opportunities Map of Agricultural Inputs Iransect Participatory Census: Household Card Matchstick Technique

3-1, 3.2.

lime Line Time Line of Drought and Natural Disasters

10 List of Figures, Tables and Boxes en a

heI SBS) 3.24 ea) 3.26 SPI EVA) bed)

Time Line of Education related Activities Time Line of a Child Labourer Time Line: Circular Representation Trend Analysis: Natural Resources Drought Severity Matrix Trend Analysis of Forest Trend Analysis of Agriculture: Women’s Perspective Trend Analysis of Problem Prioritisation Generational Trend Analysis Trend Analysis: Then and Now Method Historical Transect Historical Transect of Natural Resources Seasonal Diagram: Agriculture and Education Seasonal Diagram: Circular Method Seasonal Analysis: Food Availability and Employment Opportunities Seasonal Diagram: Impact of Lift Irrigation Scheme Daily Activity Schedule of Women Daily Activity Schedule of School-going Children: Circular Depiction Daily Activity Schedule of School-going, Non-school-going and Drop-out Children Daily Activity Schedule of Women Daily Activity Schedule of Women across Seasons Daily Activity Schedule of Migrant Men and Women Participatory Genealogical Chart of Krishna Participatory Genealogical Chart of Rambarna Dream Map of Kolhua Village Snake and Ladder Diagram: Women of Dorapalli Village Snake and Ladder Diagram: Rag Pickers of Hyderabad -

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15

Cause Effect Diagram of Illiteracy Cause Effect Diagram of Poverty Cause Effect Diagram of Land Alienation Poverty Web: Process of Impoverishment Problem Tree of Illiteracy Problem Tree of Hunger Impact Diagram: Effects of Drought Impact Diagram: Effects of Bore-well Household System Diagram Network Diagram Process Map of Yam Processing Process Map of Migration Well-being Ranking of the Ganda (SC) Households Matrix Scoring of Socio-economic Status of Various Groups Venn Diagram of Different Institutions

oS) 3.4 Bue 3.6 a 3.8 39 3.10 3.11 S312 3.13 3.14 3615 3.16 Sel? 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes

11

4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23

Venn Diagram with Stones Venn Diagram of Markets and Agriculture Venn Diagram of Caste Hierarchy 3-D Venn Diagram—Disease Perception Venn Diagram of Institutional Relationship and Changes Pair-wise Ranking Method: Problem Prioritisation Pair-wise Ranking with Visuals: Problem Prioritisation Pair-wise Ranking Method: Caste Hierarchy

238 240 241 242 245 247 249 23

4.24 4.25

Multiple Matrix for Comparative Analysis of Six Kindered Multiple Matrix of Conflict Resolution

4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30

Matrix Ranking for Crop Preferences Force Field Analysis: A Visual Depiction Force Field Analysis: Primary Education in Bihar Force Field Analysis: Balloon and Stone Method Force Field Analysis: Participation in Local Women’s Group—Inducing and Inhibiting Forces Force Field Analysis: Migration Force Field Analysis: Building of Latrines Present and Previous Income Sources of Bechu Income before and after Lift Irrigation Livelihood Analysis in Mahilong Land Type of Sana Rana Seasonality Analysis of Vegetable Cultivation and Workload Expenditure and Income from 0.60 acres of Vegetable Cultivation Income and Expenditure Details of Sana Rana Spider Diagram: Gender Roles Spider Diagram: Status of Self-help Groups Evaluation Wheel: Participatory Evaluation of Field Work Body Map of a Woman Body Map of a Pig

255 27, 267 271 273 276

4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 4.37 4.38 4.39 4.40 4.41 4.42 4.43 4.44

278 280 281 285 289 291 296 297 298 299 301 304 305 308 311

Tables 26

1.3. 1.4 1.5.

Comparative Analysis: Participation as Means vs End Comparative Analysis: Participatory Development vs Participation-in-Development RRA and PRA Compared The RRA-PRA Continuum Verbal and Visual Modes Compared

2.1. 2.2.

Comparative Analysis: Mapping on Ground vs on Paper Ready Reckoner of Space-related PRA Methods

58 117

3.1

Trend Analysis: Then and Now Method

141

1.2.

27 39 39 45

12

List of Figures, Tables and Boxes

3.2

Comparative Analysis: Linear and Circular forms of Representation

3.3.

of Seasonal Diagram Ready Reckoner of Time-related PRA Methods

155 187

4.1. 4.2 4.3. 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9

Calculation of Scores for Well-being Categories Calculation of Average Score for each Household Trends in Well-being in Chinnavaigudem Well-being Categorisation in Dhauradadar Class-wise Well-being Analysis in Dhantia 3-D Venn Diagram—Disease Perception Preference Ranking for Fodder Varieties Comparison of the Criteria of Scientists and Farmers Ready Reckoner of Relation Methods

224

Boxes 1.1 1.2. 1.3. 1.4

Defining Participation Typology of Participation Terms: Participatory Approaches in Development PRA—Attitudes and Behaviour: Recommendations

2.1 2.2 2.3

Necessary Details on a PRA Output Analysis and Reflection with Social Mapping: Visual Synergy Information Collected and Symbols used in Aukpa-Adoka

3.1 3.2

Genealogies and Development Work Conventional Symbols Used in Genealogical Chart

4.1

‘Pass On The Pen’ Approach: An Improvisation to Identify the Poorest of the Poor Families Matrix Method: Points to be kept in Mind Seven Steps to Matrix Ranking as Suggested by Robert Chambers Case Study: Impact of Lift Irrigation Scheme on the Livelihood of Bechu

4.2 4.3 4.4

List of Abbreviations

NTFP

Agro Ecosystem Analysis Aga Khan Rural Support Programme Beneficiary Assessment Common Property Resources Department for International Development, United Kingdom Food and Agricultural Organisation Force Field Analysis Farming System Research Girijan Co-operative Corporation Human Immuno Virus Institute of Development Studies, Sussex International Institute for Environment and Development, London Integrated Tribal Development Agency Junior Agriculture Officer A Voluntary Organisation National Environment Secretariat Non-Government Organisations Non-Timber Forest Produce A Bangalore-based NGO Participatory Analysis and Learning Methods Participatory Appraisal of Natural Resources Participatory Action Research Participatory Learning and Action Participatory Poverty Assessment Participatory Rapid Rural Appraisal Institute for Participatory Practices Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques

Rapid Rural Appraisal Rapid Assessment Procedure Resource Centers for Participatory Learning and Action Rapid Ethnographic Assessment A Madurai-based NGO Village Agricultural Worker

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Foreword

The widespread adoption of the rhetoric of participation in development is welcome for the legitimacy and space it accords to those who genuinely want to practice it. In parallel, the phenomenal spread of practices described as PRA (originally Participatory Rural Appraisal, now sometimes Participatory Reflection and Action) has shown practical ways in which participation can be made real, and has inspired and provided opportunities for many. These successes have brought many benefits. Among the best have been the empowerment of poor people through their own analysis and action, and new insight gained by professionals into their realities and priorities. There have also been many problems. Much of the rhetoric has been cosmetic and hypocritical as advocates and practitioners have failed to realise the need for personal and institutional change. The practice with communities and poor people has often been exploitative, wasting their time and raising their expectations when the main beneficiaries are the facilitators who extract data and use it for their own purposes. Those who take part in appraisal and analysis have often been members of local elites whose interests, rather than those of the poorer, have tended to take precedence. Consultants and trainers have claimed proficiency in PRA and gained contracts when they are anything but proficient—their attitudes and behaviour are superior and dominating, and they are given to imposing their own ideas as they have always done. Many have thought that PRA begins and ends with methods, and have applied these in a standardised top-down and exploitative manner. Many have methods failed to realise the importance of ‘handing over the stick’ and using PRA approaches and have Many as part of longer processes of empowerment for those who are poor, marginalised and weak. expecused PRA methods for their research and have raised ethical questions about raising people’s tations and taking their time while giving nothing back. It can help To tackle and avoid these abuses is not easy. The ethical issues are a continuous challenge. points of view, to approach them through self-critical reflection, through trying to see things from others’ was recognised and through personal behaviour and attitudes. The primacy of this personal dimension Kumar was a and elaborated in a workshop held in Bangalore and Madurai in 1996 of which Somesh of PRA: Attitude co-convenor, and the outcomes of which he edited into the seminal book ABC still remains in Behaviour Change, more than 10,000 copies of which haye been distributed and which participants demand and in print. The importance of participatory methods was noted, and the workshop could creatively stressed that the very act of facilitating and observing the way in which poor people and attitudes of s perception the on effect tive transforma a have could express and analyse their realities was that ‘we’ —the the facilitator and others. At the same time, the major message from that workshop to sit down, listen, learn to sort—have whatever of workers field facilitators, administrators, researchers,

16

Foreword

learn, not put forward our own ideas, reverse power relations rather than criticise them, and, in every good sense of the word, facilitate others. It is then much more ‘they’, and not ‘we’ who do the appraisal, analysis and planning. It is then they who are empowered to take action, and to conduct their own monitoring and evaluation. PRA methods are an important part of such processes. Their power and popularity have given rise to a great demand for manuals. The desire to know the right way to do something is deeply ingrained in us from our educational systems. If there are manuals for vehicle maintenance, cooking and flying an aeroplane why not for PRA methods? It is, after all, comforting to have a book of instructions and know that when you are uncertain you can go to it and look up what to do next. Some have resisted this. For them, the key insight was embodied in the manual with a single sentence, ‘Use your own best judgement at all times’, in which all the other pages were blank. The message was experience, experiment, invent and learn for yourself and then ‘write your own manual’. Any manual, it has been felt, would inhibit creativity and encourage wooden and insensitive facilitation. Others saw that sourcebooks, rather than manuals, if they presented a range of experiences, techniques and options, could, if well used, open up space for innovation. Through sharing insight gained and techniques already used, they could open up options and encourage further invention. It is in this spirit that Somesh Kumar has compiled this useful collection, with the intention, as he stresses, of promoting ‘creativity, experimentation and growth’ . This is, then, a source of ideas and advice, not a set of marching orders. He has been well placed to make this contribution. As one of the pioneers of PRA, he has over a decade of experience. As a person who right from the beginning stressed behaviour and attitudes in training, he is able to take a balanced view of priorities. As one who has worked not only in India but in other countries, he has a breadth of experience which shows through in the examples he presents. In consequence, he has been able to bring together here a useful compilation from a variety of sources and from his own experience. He illustrates the extraordinary richness and diversity of methods which have been evolved. This book then complements the earlier publication which he edited, on behaviour and attitudes. Indeed, I would recommend readers that they walk on two legs, that they treat the two volumes as a pair, each essential to the other. That will make it clearer than ever that much of

the value of this second volume is precisely that it does not lay down one best way to facilitate a method, but rather spreads out choices illuminated by experience. The reader then has to use his/her own best judgement and should feel liberated and inspired rather than instructed and constrained by the wealth of detail which can be found here. There are many, many paths, and many, many ways of

navigating them; and this should not bewilder but exhilarate.

There are many versions now of PRA, and interpretations of its principles and methods. The spirit of PRA is that each of us can decide and evolve these for ourselves. Each of us can think out our own changing watchwords for what the esssence of good practice is. For me these include diversity, inventiveness, self-critical awareness and empowering process. It is especially with diversity that this book makes a significant contribution, by indicating and describing an astonishing range methods. Intelligently used as a source of ideas, it can also contribute to inventiveness by inspiring facilitators to be creative and to encourage the creativity of poor people, empoweri ng them to appraise and analyse their lives and conditions. It can also point to the need and importanc e of yet other methods

for planning and taking action. Part of the excitement of PRA is that there is no end. There will

Foreword

17

always be more to discover in our search for better ways of doing things. And we can be grateful for the way this book provides us with a resource of experience and insights on which to draw, helping us to travel further and faster on our individual paths of exploration.

15 September 2001

Robert Chambers

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Preface

PRA has been my passion for over a decade now. I have found the PRA experience fascinating and

have realised that although it may not be the ‘panacea for all the ills in development, it definitely opens up new ways of approaching various problems. I have found the principles and methods of PRA equally useful in both government and NGOs. It provides those interested with practical ways of making people’s participation a reality. By means of my experiences as a practitioner and facilitator, | have been striving to stretch its boundaries and make of it a life-changing force. | have read many books on the subject. Most of them are manuals, of course, among which are some of my own. | have attended and conducted PRA workshops in countries with varied socio-political and economic scenario on a wide range of topics for participants from different backgrounds and with different needs, yet have never been able to find one book which combines concept, practice, a and application in a comprehensive manner. I have been hounded by learners and participants for PRA. of limits the expanding for single publication that could become their source-book . The And so | began putting together a thought process that could be structured yet open-ended result is this book. also I have put in all of my efforts into writing a book that provides the concept and practice while material experience, from examples promoting creativity, experimentation, and growth. It provides s and actually for use, directions for use, and, unlike other manuals, it provides space for innovation tips on the contains also and field the in encourages them. The book is rich in insights from practice . facilitation their in best practices which the readers and practitioners will find valuable e developIt may be read and used by all those who are interested in the promotion of sustainabl all trainers— s, consultant rs, Researche ment as well as by practitioners in the field looking for details. , will find this book a valuable aid. Read it cover-to-cover or method-to-method reference—this has material to suit your needs.

or use it as a

The book is divided into five chapters: multiple dimensions. It also Chapter 1 deals with the concept of participation and explores its Chapters 2, 3, and 4 deal delves into the concept of PRA and its origin, principles, and applications. ely. The methods are respectiv with methods of PRA that are related to space, time, and relationship d with an introexplaine is illustrated by a number of examples and easy-to-use steps. Each method steps, the time the g outlinin duction, suggestions for application, examples, an overview of the process of PRA summary a provides and material required, its advantages and limitations. The final chapter n to attractio major a be to and aids in recapitulation. The ready reckoner of the methods will prove the readers and practitioners.

20

Preface

Having said all this let me warn you that in no way is this book intended as a substitute for experiential learning. The use of this book will be realised only when you go into, the field and augment it with experience. PRA terminology and parlance are easy to memorise but without the appropriate attitude and behaviour, they will be of no use. The data will come but people’s empowerment will be missing, and that is the greatest misuse of this concept and its methodology. I will consider the effort of putting this book together successful if it caters to your needs and expectations. The litmus test, however, is whether it ultimately helps you to come closer to the realities of the poor and marginalised in order to make some difference in their lives. I hope you will use and reuse this book, refine it, add your own dreams to it, and allow me the benefit of your learning and feedback!

Hyderabad

Somesh Kumar [email protected]

Acknowledgements

This book has been made possible by the active and unstinted support of a large number of individuals and organisations. In fact, it would be an onerous task for me to list all of their contributions. I owe a great deal to all of them. 1 am indebted to Praxis—lInstitute for Participatory Practices, Patna, and Action Aid India, for

providing me with the opportunity to learn and explore new vistas in participatory approaches to development. The four-year stint at Praxis and Action Aid India, nurturing a new institution, facilitating large-capacity building programmes, and leading multidisciplinary teams for field-based participatory action researches opened up for me new lines of thinking on participatory development. | am also grateful to Praxis for allowing me to use outputs and examples from various studies. The Institute for Development

Studies

(IDS), Sussex

and the International

Institute for Environment

and

Development (IIED), London, have played a key role in the promotion of PRA, and | owe a lot of my understanding of PRA to them. PRA Contact of IDS and PLA Notes published by IIED still remain major sources for updating myself on the developments in PRA. In line with PRA/PLA traditions of openness and sharing, I have benefitted in my understanding and quoted from publications of IIED, particularly RRA/PLA Notes which have been a major source of exchange of information on participatory approaches. I am thankful to ITED for the same. I have benefited a lot from my interactions with colleagues from the two institutions, particularly Kamal Singh, Patta Scott, John Gaventa, Jo Abbot, and Laura Greenwood. H, Similarly, my interaction with a number of organisations and networks like RCPLA, OUTREAC

and NEPAN provided me with a lot of opportunities to learn. I am grateful to Dr Peter Reid, Dr Richard Montgomery and R.S. Sharat of DFID India for providing me with opportunities to explore PRA methods. My thanks to Stephen Betram of DFID’s in Nigeria Decentralised Capacity Building Programme of Nigeria for his support for the fieldwork which I have quoted in the book. I learned the ‘ABC of PRA’ from Dr Robert Chambers. I have benefited a lot from the close interthe force actions and collaborations that I have had with him for over a decade. He has not only been for behind the fast spread of the PRA movement world-wide but has also been a source of inspiration 1, most of the PRA practitioners. The book draws heavily from his writings, particularly in Chapter grateam | Sri B. N. Yugandhar with his infectious enthusiasm has been a source of inspiration to me. d PRA. understan to pursuits my in me d encourage and guided has who ful to Dr Amitava Mukherjee family. I have been really fortunate to share and learn from a number of friends from the PRA James Mascarenhas, In fact, my association with Mr Anil Shah, Mr Sam Joseph, the late Mr

22 Acknowledgements Ba |Sa ARO tsa 958 I RI

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Mr Kamal Kar, Dr Ravi Jayakaram, Ms Sheelu Francis, Dr Neela Mukherjee, Dr Parmesh Shah, Ms Meera Shah and Mr Girish Bhardwaj date back to the early 1990s. My colleagues at Praxis have helped me to develop my understanding of participatory approaches further. | am thankful to Mr Anindo Banerjee for his comments and advice. Mr Shailesh K. Singh, Mr Harshvardhan Patnaik, Mr D. Rajeshwar, Mr C. Upendranadh, Ms Aparna Chandrasekhar, Mr Amitabh Pandey, and Mr Shirshendu Ghosh have all contributed in their own significant way to this book. I am also thankful to other colleagues in Action Aid—Dr Ambika Prasad Nanda, Mr Saroj Das, Mr Bijoy Kumar, Mr Amar Jyoti Nayak, Mr Tom Thomas, Mr C.P. Vinay Raj, Mr D Satyamurthy and Ms Sheeba—for their encouragement and support. Mr Girish Chandra Misra has toiled hard with the manuscript and various drafts. Later, Mr N. Murali Krishna, Mr S. Srinivas, Mr S. Narayana, Mr C. Venkateswarlu and Mr K. Sambiah provided his able assistance in giving the final touches to this book. I am thankful to Mr S.P. Tucker, Mr Ajay Sawhney, Mr K. Raju, Mr Binoy Kumar, Mr K. Pradeep Chandra, Mr D. Chakrapani, Mr D. Raman Kumar, Mr L. Prem Chandra Reddy, and Mr Prabhakar

Reddy for their moral support and encouragement. I am also thankful to Dr Amar Lal Vaish and Dr Arun K. Jaiswal for their moral support in writing this book. Dr N. Satish Chandra, Mr G. Sai Prasad and Mr Kumar Rakesh have always encouraged me to put my experiences in writing.

Above all, I am indebted to the villagers from a large number of villages in India and abroad where I have conducted PRA and quoted outputs of PRA done by others. In fact it is with them that I have learned the most. Mere mention is no way of really acknowledging their efforts and sacrifices. I am thankful to my wife Dr Gyanmudra for her understanding and for freeing me of all responsibilities in order to concentrate on the book. My daughter Sai Garima (Mini) and niece Gini allowed me to work and also refreshed me at regular intervals with their playfulness. My father Sri Sukh Nandan Sinha and mother Smt Meenakshi Singh have been a source of inspiration for me. I am thankful to Sage Publications and particularly to Mr Tejeshwar Singh and Ms Omita Goyal for publishing the book. Somesh Kumar

Chapter 1

Conceptual Specifications

1.1

INTRODUCTION

funding Participation occupies a central place in development thinking and practice. Governments, World the like agencies al multi-later and NGOs agencies, donors, and civil society actors including nt developme that consensus near a at arrived all Bank and the International Monetary Fund have developthe to central made is on participati people’s cannot be sustainable and long-lasting unless on in development process. While there is a virtual unanimity about the need for people’s participati achieving it. of ways the and on participati of concept ment, there is a wide spectrum of views on the on ‘how’ focused primarily 1s , application and This book, being admittedly an exercise, exploration, understand to necessary is it , perspective in to achieve participation. In order to put the discussion we will attempt to the framework and principles of participation in development. In this chapter, contextualise briefly the discussions in Chapter 2 and beyond. of participation. There are 15 sections in this chapter. In Section 1.2, we will explore the meaning the obstacles to at look will we 1.4, Section 3 deals with the advantages of participation. In Section (RRA) and Appraisal Rural Rapid of e participation, and in Section 1.5, we examine the emergenc Section ae and PRA of sources and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). Section 6 details the origin 1.8 is Section offset. to attempts is concerned with rural development tourism and the biases that PRA PRA of account brief a gives 1.9 Section an account of how the transition from RRA to PRA took place. 1.12 reversals as distinguishing methods. Section 1.10 cites the principles of PRA. In Sections 1.11 and and behaviour are dealt Attitudes features and myths about PRA respectively have been enumerated. ons of PRA is given. applicati with in Section 1.13 and in Section 1.14 a brief account of different to scale. going on focus r Finally, Section 1.15 deals with concerns about PRA, with a particula 1.2 MEANING

OF PARTICIPATION

offers a few definitions of participaParticipation means different things to different people. Box 1.1 context and background in which tion. The way participation is defined largely depends upon the Latin America (1973) considers conparticipation is applied. While the Economic Commission for exclusion of any involvement in the tributions by the people to public programmes to the complete (1977) maintain that participation decision-making process as participation, Cohen and Uphoff

24

Methods for Community Participation

includes the people’s involvement in the entire decision-making process. Like Cohen and Uphoff, FAO (1982) emphasises participation in all decision-making processes but by the people’s own organisation and through self-organised action. Paul (1987) introduces the concept of enhancement of well-being in terms of values cherished by the communities as being the ultimate objective of participation.

Box 1.1

Defining Participation

© Participation is defined:asa voluntary contribution by the people in one or another of the public | programmes supposed to contribute tonational development, but the people are not expected to take part in a shaping the programme or in criticising its contents (Economic Commission for Latin America, 1973). Participation includes people’s involvement in decision-making processes, in implementing programmes, _

_ their sharing in benefits of development programmes and their involvement in efforts to evaluate such a programmes (Cohen and Uphoff, 1977). ee .« “What gives real eerieto peel Sola iss the collective effort by the people concerned to oy :

their efforts and

Ee

by which Vase or dea:groups Apdinenke the ttn. :a viewto ee their eine interms: =Soe

A review of the literature on participation as well as the ways in which participation is operationalised in different development interventions reveals that participation is conceptualised and understood differently. The manner in which participation can be enlisted also varies. Various attempts have been made to develop a typology of participation (Arnstein, 1969; Hart, 1992; Pretty, 1994). Box 1.2 gives details of seven types of participation as conceived by Pretty et al. (1995). How participation can be enlisted clearly demonstrates the different conceptions of participation that people have.

te

2 Typology of pene

° “Pane Parveipaion: People vanticiparebybeing told what is seine to oe or hoe aa lied : _Itis a unilateral announcement by an administration or project management without listening to peoele) 84 responses. The information being :shared belongs only to external professionals. _

ticipation inInformation Giving: People. ‘participate by answering questions researchers using questionnaire surveys or similar approaches. People do not have theoj a ence eccene asne fading of oe Tesearch are heavier — nort checked oe

Conceptual Specifications

25

° “Participation by Consultation: People participate by being consulted, and external people ee toviews. _ The external professionals define both problems and solutions, and may modify these in. the light of be people’s responses. Such a consultative process does not concede any there in deciiormebin | ani _ professionals are under no obligation to take on board people's views.

|

fonAS ‘abou, return re Participation for Material Incentives: People participate by providing resources, for food, cash, or other material incentives. Much of the on-farm research falls in this ek as farmers pre)

seerik calledparticipation, yet people have noostake iin prolonging acti Functional Participation: People participate by.forming groups to meet ti to the project, which can involve the development or promotion of externall i _ tions. Such involvement does not tend to occur at the early stages of project cycles or Slanplngs but ay and initiators: external on dependent me to tend institutions These after major decisions have been made. : i] i facilirators, but may become self-dependent. Interactive Participation: People participate in joint anal sis,develope

ngthening of local institutions. Participation isseenas; elf-mobilisation: People participate by takin, initiatives indepe

tems. They develop contacts with external institutions forresot cesandthete

ver how resources are used, Such selfinitiat

Source: Pretty (1994) in Pretty et al. (1995).

participation at As depicted in Fig. 1.1, participation may be viewed along a spectrum with passive is where suggests, term one end and self-mobilisation at the other end. Passive participation, as the s themselve people local people are told what to do. On the other end is self-mobilisation where the Figure 1.1

] Passive Participation

aD. Participation in Information Giving

3 Participation by Consultation

Spectrum of Participation

4 Participation for Material Incentives

5 Functional Participation

6 Interactive Participation

7 Selfmobilisation

26

Methods for Community Participation

tie wa

Se

Participation as Means e

Table 1.1 Comparative Analysis: Participation as Means vs End earth a er cee Se ie Participation as End

It implies use of participation to achieve some

e

predetermined goal or objective.

e e

e

e e

It is an attempt order to achieve The stress is on so much on the

to utilise the existing resources in e the objective of programmes/projects. achieving the objective and not e act of participation itself.

[tis more common in the government programmes, etc., where the main concern is to mobilise the community and involve them in improving the efficiency of the delivery system. Participation is generally short-term. Participation as a means, therefore, appears to be a passive form of participation.

¢

e

.

Participation as an end attempts to empower people to

participate in their own development more meaningfully. The attempt is to ensure the increased role of people in development initiatives. The focus is on improving the ability of the people to participate rather than just in achieving the predetermined objectives of the project. This view finds relatively less favour with the government agencies. NGOs in principle agree with this viewpoint. Participation as an end is viewed as a long-term process. Participation as an end is relatively more active and dynamic.

Source: Oakley et al. (1991).

are in total command. As one moves from passive participation to self-mobilisation, the control of the local people and outsiders over the processes varies. At one end of the spectrum, say in the case of passive participation, people’s control is almost non-existent while at the other end, in case of selfmobilisation, people have almost total control over the processes while the role of outsiders is at best minimal. It is also possible to have manipulative participation where participation is simply a pretence, and people have no role as in the case of nominated members to some official boards, who have little say in decision-making processes. If we look at the typology of participation, the impact of different kinds of participation will be different. While participation by manipulation and passive participation can disempower community, both interactive participation and participation by self-mobilisation can be highly empowering.

Participation is therefore being increasingly viewed as the process of empowering the local people. The focus is on transfer of power and change in the power structure. Thus, interactive participation and participation through self-mobilisation are critical for participation to become a process of empowering the people so that they gain more control over their own resources and lives. Participation as Means vs End

Participation as a means or end is an issue which has bothered both development thinkers and workers. Table 1.1 provides a comparative analysis of these concepts. We are not going into the details of : ; the ‘means or end’ debate except to say that PRA inherently sees participation more as an end than as a means. We will have occasion to discuss this issue further later in this chapter. Participatory Development vs Participation-in-Development It is also important to distinguish between participatory development and _participation-indevelopment. The distinction between participatory development and participation-in-d evelopment

Conceptual Specifications

Table 1.2

Comparative Analysis: Participatory Development vs Participation-in-Development

Participatory Development

e

lt approaches conventional project practice in a more participatory and sensitive manner. [tis introduced within the predetermined project framework.

e

e

e

27

Participation-in-Development

e e

It isa top-down form of participation in the sense that ¢ the management of the project defines where, when, and how much the people can participate. It is the more prevalent practice. It is more dominant ¢ in terms of resources available.

It entails genuine efforts to engage in practices that openly and radically encourage people’s participation. It stems from the understanding that poverty is caused by structural factors. It attempts to alter some of the causes that lead to poverty. It is a bottom-up form of participation in the sense that the local people have full control over the process and the project provides for necessary flexibility. It is more prevalent with NGOs than with the government.

ee

—————————————————————————————————————————

Source: Oakley et al. (1991).

is central to an understanding of the practice of participation. Table 1.2 provides a comparative analysis of the two concepts. PRA has been widely used for participatory development but by its nature and content PRA seeks to promote participation-in-development.

1.3 PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION: ADVANTAGES

Participation in development is now being sought the world over, not because it is a fad but because there has been a consensus on the usefulness of participation in development projects. The major advantages of participation as enumerated by Oakley et al. (1991) are:

Efficiency: Participation can ensure effective utilisation of available resources. The people and other agents work in tandem towards achieving their objectives. The local people take responsibility for various activities. All these improve efficiency and make the project more cost-effective. There is the danger, however, that the government and other agencies, in the name of people’s participation, may assign fewer resources and transfer the burden of project costs onto the local people. Effectiveness: Lack of people’s involvement has been seen as one of the major causes of the failure of most projects to be effective. People’s participation can make the projects more effective by granting them a say in deciding the objectives and strategies, and by participating in implementation, thereby ensuring effective utilisation of resources. Self-reliance: Many development interventions have been seen to create a kind of dependence syndrome. For instance, in India, because of widespread government development programmes, people

have started looking to the government for solutions to every problem that they face. If the local resources however—both human and material—are utilised on the basis of decisions taken by the solutions people themselves, the realisation grows that many problems faced by the people have local the break to only not possible is at their levels. With active involvement of the local people, it the ~ of control and nce, self-confide mentality of dependence but also to increase their awareness,

28 Methods for Community Participation Se cient Ta EOE SI ego lp

ey a

ore

Rae Im

ee

i

cee ce ee

development process. In fact, the involvement in decision-making, implementation, and monitoring helps in developing local human resources. Coverage: Development interventions are directed towards the upliftment of the weaker sections of society. Despite professed target groups and attempts to cover the weaker sections, however, most projects have been at best only partially successful. The benefits are cornered off by the nonpoor, the elite, and the powerful. People’s participation can be a potent way of ensuring the flow of the benefits to the target groups. Furthermore, the cost-effective operations can ensure that resources are available for wider coverage of the weaker sections of society than would otherwise be possible. Sustainability: Generally, development interventions are funded either by governments or by donor agencies. Experience has shown that development interventions from the externally assisted projects fail to sustain the required level of development activity once support or inputs are diminished or withdrawn by the funding agencies. People’s participation is regarded as an essential prerequisite for the continuity of the activities. The involvement of local people and the utilisation of local resources generates a sense of ownership over the development interventions to the people. This sense of ownership is essential for the sustainability of the interventions even after external funds cease to flow. Argument against Participation

Though the advantages are many, there are certain limitations to people’s participation in development. Oakley et al. (1991) have identified the major arguments against people’s participation:

e e

e

e

Participation may lead to a delayed start and slow progress in the initial stages of the fieldwork, thereby delaying the achievement of physical as well as financial targets. An increased requirement of material as well as of human resources to support participation may become necessary because in a participatory process, we have to move along the path decided by the local people or communities. This may be a more costly method of executing development interventions. Since participation is a process, once it is initiated the process has to be allowed to take its own course and hence may not move along the expected lines. Since participation is an empowering process where the people or communities are empowered to make decisions, donors, governments, and other players have to relinquish power and control. Relinquishing power and control is not easy. When people’s or community participation—in the sense of interactive participation or parti-

cipation by self-mobilisation—is pursued, a lot of expectations are generated. Increased expectations due to the involvement of the local people, however, may not always be realised.

Hence, many projects prefer to involve people only in the implementation stage of the development intervention to avoid some of the problems mentioned above. In most projects participation is more illusory than real. Therefore, participation remains rhetoric rather than a reality. This is despite a general realisation that participation in the sense of interactive participation or participation by self- mobilisation has to be an essential ingredient in development processes.

Conceptual Specifications

29

1.4 OBSTACLES TO PEOPLE’S PARTICIPATION People’s participation takes place in a socio-political context. A host of factors have been identified as obstacles to participation. Oakley et al. (1991) have identified three major obstacles to people’s participation: structural obstacles, administrative obstacles, and social obstacles. Structural obstacles comprise those factors which form part of the centralised political systems and are not oriented towards people’s participation. The situation is typified by a ‘top-down’ development approach adopted by development initiatives like IRDP (Integrated Rural Development Programmes). The other set comprises administrative obstacles. The administrative structures that are control-oriented are operated by a set of guidelines and adopt a blue print approach, providing little significant space to local people to make their own decisions or control their resources. Finally, the social obstacles like mentality of dependence, culture of silence, domination militate against people’s participation.

of the local elite, or gender inequality,

Most of participatory development fails to take into account the larger obstacles and hence the impact is hardly sustainable and pervasive. 1.5 ENTER RRA AND PRA How did RRA and PRA emerge?

The pitfalls of the ‘top-down approach’ to development, the difficulty of making correct appraisals, and the search for a means to evolve a method of enlisting true people’s participation led to the emergence of what came to be known as Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA). There was a lot of disillusionment and discomfort with the questionnaire surveys, which constituted the predominant ways of conducting rural research. They were cumbersome and tiring. The findings came quite late. There were problems with the accuracy of the data as well. The development professionals were on the look-out for something that could be administered easily and which was not so labour intensive. These factors also contributed towards the evolution of RRA. Participatory methods and approaches showed a way out and hence they were received with a lot of enthusiasm as even the non-literate and less articulate people could participate meaningfully in depicting their situation by making maps and diagrams, by analysing the same, and by coming out with plans to change their situation. They provided a space for many more poorer and marginalised people to articulate their problems and to indicate what could be done to ameliorate their conditions. This led to a popular surge in favour of the participatory methods. A number of participatory approaches with varying terminologies have since come into practice over a period of time. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) was first to appear. RRA was then used to denote Relaxed Rural Appraisal. It later evolved into PRA or Participatory Rural Appraisal. Subsequently, instead of PRA some started using the term Participatory Learning and Action or PLA. However, all these terms—RRA, PRA and PLA—are commonly used for related participatory approaches. It is not the use uncommon to find people debating which is a better term: PRA or PLA. The problem with also has however, of the term PRA is that it initially stood for participatory rural appraisal. PRA, advocacy, and been used in urban areas and in other fields like adult education, policy influencing than mere and organisation development. In addition, it has wider applications extending to more ‘appraisal’, which concerns only the identification and assessment of longer processes.

30 Methods for Community Participation a Na ae Te

PLA (participatory learning and action) may be a suitable replacement for PRA, but PRA is more popularly used in comparison to PLA. Hence, I prefer to use ‘PRA’ not as an acronym of ‘Participatory Rural Appraisal’ but as a concept with the wider connotations of all that PRA encompasses today. Besides these terms, there is a plethora of terminologies, which require to be examined so as to enable a wider understanding of participation and its practice. Box 1.3 contains an illustrative list of some of these terms used for different participatory approaches. The terms and the approaches they denote represent plurality and local creativity in line with the basic philosophy of participatory approaches.

i) I}

Source: Pretty et al. (1995).

Some of the approaches, AEA, BA, FSR, etc., emerged on their own, while others emerged when

PRA was applied in a particular context, for example PALM, RPRA and PANR. Though the plethora of terms may at times create confusion, it is, nevertheless, an expression of local creativity and of attempts to address the specific needs of the' local people. The participatory approaches provide the necessary space and flexibility for such expressions. But all these approaches have some common elements, e.g., scope provided for local people in depicting and analysing their realities and focus on

use of visuals and symbols. The scope for involvement, however, varies quite significantly.

RRA—Cost Effective Alternative

On the positive side, RRA promised to be a cost effective alternative. Most of the late 1970s professionals used methods that were much faster and cost effective than questionnaires. The dominance of

Conceptual Specifications

31

questionnaires and the lack of credibility of these upcoming and alternative methods, however, did not allow them to come out publicly. During the 1980s, RRA attained increasing acceptance. The international conference on RRA held at the University of Khon Kaen in 1985 granted RRA a status and legitimacy. Similar approaches in the field of health—rapid assessment procedure (RAP)— and in agriculture farming systems research (FSR), provided the necessary impetus to RRA. 1.6 ORIGIN AND SOURCES

OF PRA

PRA is described as a growing body of methods to enable local people to share, enhance, and analyse their knowledge of life and the conditions to plan, act, monitor and evaluate. It has drawn from various sources to develop its body of methods and tools, some of which have been in use for decades. As shown in Fig. 1.2 Chambers (1997) has identified five major sources of PRA: Participatory Action Research Agro Ecosystem Analysis Applied Anthropology Farming Systems Research Rapid Rural Appraisal

We will deal briefly with these for clarity. Participatory Action Research

Participatory Action Research, Participatory Research and other similar approaches have significantly influenced PRA. Paulo Freire and his books, particularly Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), and his experiences of conscientisation in Latin America have inspired these approaches. The basic premise has been that the poor and marginalised people are capable of analysing their own realities and that they should be enabled to do so. These approaches have been used in the adult education movement. Participatory Action Research has focussed on how people generate their own realities and how they reflect upon them so as to bring about changes in their situation. Meetings, group discussions, socio-drama, collective research, production, and the sharing of knowledge generated through various forms of folk, oral, written, and visual arts have been commonly employed in Participatory Action Research. However, the contribution of Participatory Action Research to PRA has been largely in terms of concepts than methods. Some of the basic principles of PRA that can be traced back to Participatory Action Research include:

The poor and marginalised are capable of analysing their own realities. They can and should be empowered to analyse. The outsiders should act as convenors, catalysts, and facilitators.

Self-critical awareness of the facilitator is an essential prerequisite. The facilitators should reflect critically on their concepts, values, attitudes, behaviour, etc., on a regular basis.

e

Learning should be experiential in nature and based on principles of adult learning.

“1GO06

32 Methods for Community Participation RSE ENS SSSI PRs A US aA

re oe er

ee ieep Figure 1.2

Sources of PRA

Negative

Positive

Biases of rural development

Applied

tourism

anthropology

Defects of questionnaire surveys

Farming

. ,

systems research

Agro-ecosystem

analysis

Participatory

action-reflection research

ones commitment and empowerment

Self-critical awareness

Source: Chambers (1997)

Conceptual Specifications

33

In fact, Participatory Action Research has shaped the basic principles of PRA in terms of its faith in the capability of people in general and the poor and marginalised in particular to depict and analyse their realities and plan for their own development. Therefore, it has enabled PRA to serve the local people more than the outsiders. Agro-Ecosystem Analysis

Agro-ecosystem Analysis has contributed significantly to the repository of PRA methods including maps, transects, seasonal calendars and trends, flow diagrams, Venn diagrams, and pie-diagrams. The major contribution of agro-ecosystem analysis to RRA and PRA has been the thrust on visuals and diagrams, which enable even the non-literate to participate meaningfully. Gordon Conway and his colleagues at the University of Chiang Mai in Thailand initially developed the agro-ecosystem analyses in the late 1970s. It first spread to South-East Asia and later to other parts of the world. It draws heavily from the systems approach and ecological analysis. Later, Conway worked on this approach in the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Pakistan and developed it further. The agro-ecosystem analysis methods became quite popular and were soon adapted to RRA. These methods contributed to the growth of RRA in the early 1980s. Applied Anthropology

Anthropology has had a major influence on PRA. Classical anthropology was more concerned with understanding traditional communities. However, the emergence of applied anthropology and developmental anthropology during the 1980s marked a major shift from mere understanding to changing the situation and application of rural people’s knowledge among those associated with development work. A distinction between emic and etic perspectives and their importance for development work has also emerged. Etic presents the outsiders’ perspective while emic represents the insiders’ perspective. In PRA the focus is on the local people’s perspective rather than on the outsiders’ perspective. Rapid: Assessment Procedure (RAP) was one of the applications of the anthropological approach in the area of health and nutrition. Rapid Ethnographic Assessment (REA) employed a host of methods including conversations, informal interviews, focus groups, observation, and detailed J recording. PRA draws heavily from anthropological insights about rural people and methods of studying them. The major contributions of anthropology to PRA include understanding and appreciating the

importance of: e

e

e

Field work, staying in the field, relaxed participant observation, and conversation.

Rapport with local people and adopting the right attitude and behaviour. Etic—emic distinction and the use of the emic perspective in obtaining a better understanding of people's realities. People’s knowledge and respect for it.

34

Methods for Community Participation

Farming Systems Research

Farming systems research has influenced PRA in particular ways. The recognition that apparently untidy farming practices are not as unsystematic as they appear has enabled a deeper look at farming practices, making it clear that they are quite complex, rational, and systematic. Another related area, which had a clear influence on PRA, was research and extension work where farmers played an active role. This clearly revealed the capabilities of the farmers. The important contributions came from the concepts ‘informal R and D’ of Stephen Biggs (1980), ‘Indigenous Agricultural Revolution’ of Paul Richards (1985), and “Two Ears of Corn’ of Roland Bunch (1985). All of these clearly established that farmers are indigenous researchers. Thus, it became clear that

farmers could and should be more actively involved in agricultural research. The contribution of farming systems research to PRA included the realisation of:

e e e

The complex and diverse nature of farming systems. The knowledge and experimental mindset of small and marginal farmers. The ability of the farmers to carry out their own analysis.

In addition to the contribution at the conceptual level, its contribution in terms of methods was in the form of analytical and flow diagrams. Rapid Rural Appraisal

Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) has actually been the principal source of PRA. A responsible for the emergence of RRA. As already shown in Fig. 1.2, these factors sified into two headings. The negative set of factors included rural development frustration with the questionnaires and surveys, and an inability to involve local

host of factors were can be broadly clastourism, failure and people, particularly

the poor and non-literate, in the process of development. On the positive side, RRA sounded quite

promising in its ability to provide scope for the poor, marginalised, and non-literate to get involved in the process of their development. RRA could also attract development professionals because of its cost effectiveness. A brief account of the positive and negative factors follows in subsequent sections. 1.7 RURAL DEVELOPMENT TOURISM AND BIASES

Traditionally, the people who matter in initiating and acting as catalysts in development such as development professionals and development administrators, are not usually local: they are outsiders. Their understanding of poverty is based on visits and interactions which they organise with the local people, their readings of published research and other writings, and interactions with significant ‘others’. One of the major sources of outsiders’ understanding of poverty is their visit to the localities where poor people stay. These brief and hurried visits are marked by different anti-poverty biases. The effect is that the poor people’s realities and priorities are not understood properly. Their poverty and problems are at best underperceived. Hence some experts have called these rural visits ‘rural development tourism’. Various such biases, which play a vital role in this context, have been enumerated in what follows.

Conceptual Specifications

35

Spatial Bias

Rural visits suffer from spatial bias, i.e., the visits are generally to easily accessible places such as places near the main roads. The reasons for this may include: distances, lack of proper roads, lack of places to make night halts. Development professionals most frequently visit places that are well-connected and are close to airports and urban centres. In addition to the main roads, the spatial bias also operates within a locality. In a village or an urban slum, the outside development professional generally stops and interacts with the local people at a central location. Thus interior parts of the locality are not visited. Even when the development professional visits interior areas, the time spent is proportionately much less in the non-central localities. Not going to the non-central locations means that the chances of interacting with the poorest people are reduced significantly. In India the weaker sections stay in the periphery of the village. Many of these people do not even visit the central locations of the village. Thus the ideas of outsiders about poverty are based on their visits to these easily accessible places, which may not give a full and fair account of poverty. The inaccessible areas, which require the most urgent attention, are often neglected. This leads to a further widening of the gap between roadside and inaccessible locations. In the case of ongoing programmes and projects, NGO, government, and other organisations equally susceptible to the spatial bias, have all been found to have institutionalised development tourism in their respective organisations. While analysing existing projects and programmes, certain

routes with a few sites where the interventions have been very successful are ear-marked for outside visitors. Donors, development professionals, and researchers thus get only a partial picture of the reality. In fact, the spatial bias does not permit the outsiders to get a real feel of the situation at the ground level. It also does not allow the development professionals, donors, researchers, and development administrators to meet and interact with the poorest of the poor and marginalised sections of society. This leads to an incorrect and impressionistic understanding of the impact of different interventions. Personal Biases

In addition to the spatial biases, personal biases also play an important role. The persons with whom outsiders (such as the development administrators, development workers, officials, and researchers) interact are not from the poor and marginalised sections. They often interface with the better-off,

generally male members of a community, who are vocal, well-dressed and treat them well by offering them a place to sit etc. The poor and the marginal do not figure in their interaction. This leads to different types of biases.

Elite Bias

The outsiders interact with the elite among the local people, which comprises the relatively less poor and more articulate. The outsiders find it comfortable to interact with the elite. Information flows more easily. The elite also understand the expectations of the outsiders and speak their kind of language. In fact, because of their ability to interact with the outsiders, these elite have a higher chance of influencing the outcome of the visits, thereby cornering off most development interventions. The poor and the marginalised are generally left out in the process.

36

Methods for Community Participation

Male Bias

The outsiders interact more with men than women. Obviously women are even more weary of outsiders and do not come forward to interact with them. This is particularly true of traditional societies where women are supposed to remain inside their homes and not discuss issues with men, even the men in their own village or community. The outsiders who have limited time and who, in most cases,

do not know the local language, compromise on the coverage of women. Special issues concerning women do not enter into development debates. In most development interventions, therefore, women are left out of the interventions unless special efforts are made. Users and Adopters

The outsiders are more likely to interact mainly with the users of the services provided by their agency or by the adopters of new practices. This means that outsiders do not get an opportunity to interact with the non-users who, in most cases, are in the majority and represent the real poor and needy.

Thus, the understanding that the outsiders develop of the people and their priorities, and of problems about the services and new practices, is not based on the realities of the majority, who are poor and marginalised. Active, Adult, Present and Able-bodied Biases

The outsiders get more opportunities to interact with the active people among the locals. Those who are disabled, old, infirm, and sick do not come forward to interact with the outsiders. Most of them are actually not visible unless a special effort is made to locate them. Those who do not have any means of livelihood in their own localities migrate out temporarily or seasonally. These migrant people are not readily available for consultations with the outsiders. The important point here is that the disabled, old, sick, infirm, migrants and children are also the poorest and most vulnerable among

the local people, but get little opportunity to present their problems and find solutions. Any understanding of the situation which does not take into account those who are not active and not present is not representative of the real-life situation. Seasonal Bias

Seasonal variations influence the lives of people in general but the impact is more pronounced on the poor and marginalised. Various factors like food availability, work-load, availability of wage employment, diseases and requirement of credit, vary with the seasons. There are certain periods of stress and of considerable difficulty. The effect of the seasonal variations is more pronounced in rural areas, for people dependent on agricultural and other primary sectors, and for those with non-assured regular income. Most of the poor people of the world live in areas which have clear wet and dry seasons. The wet seasons are generally periods when they have little food. Diseases are widely prevalent during the wet season. This is the period which is also marked by higher requirements of credit. However, during this

period, most remote rural areas become inaccessible. Even some of the urban areas, particularly slums,

become slushy, slippery and filthy, and are thus inaccessible to the outsiders.

Conceptual Specifications

37

Hence, most outsiders are not able to visit the remote and inaccessible areas during the wet seasons. The seasons when outsiders visit the poor areas are during the pleasant periods that are not wet and not very hot or cold. Such periods are periods of relative plenty for the poor, in most cases marked by festivities. The outsiders, therefore, don’t get to see the real conditions of the poor.

The seasonal bias also has implications for the amount of time that the local people are able to give to interactions with the outsiders. Outsiders visit the communities when it is most convenient for them, displaying little sensitivity to the convenience of the poor. As a result the outsiders are not able to meet those who need to be met because the latter may be pre-occupied with their work and with earning a livelihood for themselves and their families. Timing Bias

In addition to the seasonal bias, there is another bias which comes into operation because of the time of day during which the visits are made. This is called ‘timing bias’. The local officials as well as outsiders make most visits during office-hours, that is, between 9 AM and 5 PM and for a very limited time. This is also the time when large sections of the poor are away in the fields or are busy with things related to their daily work-schedules. For instance, daily wage-earners and the landless may be away in the nearby towns earning their daily wages. The herdsmen may have taken their herd for grazing. The women may have gone out to collect water, fuel, fodder and even food, from the common property resources. All these have a major effect on the availability of the type of people with whom interactions take place when outsiders visit the poor communities. As a consequence the outsiders miss out on meeting large chunks of the marginalised sections of society. Diplomatic Biases

The outsiders find it difficult to ask certain questions which they think are sensitive. For example, questions relating to the adoption of family planning methods are seldom posed to women’s groups by male outsiders. The tendency is to avoid asking questions that the outsiders perceive the local people would not be comfortable answering. When voices of dissent emerge during discussions with the local people, the outsiders prudently avoid talking in detail to such people in order to avoid causing embarrassment to the local officials. This distorts reality, particularly in situations in which strong pressures are applied on the local people to avoid getting into situations that would warrant discussions of the darker side of the situation. This kind of bias creates a strong barrier between the outsiders and the poor, with the result that the outsiders are not able to get closer to the realities. t It has also been the case that the poor people who have been exposed to considerable developmen in Thus, outsiders. the offending avoid to want They tourism say what the outsiders want to hear. far is that priorities their and problems, their locality, turn, they give the outsiders a picture of their removed from the realities.

Professional Biases Development administration and development professionals, as also researchers, are professionals. They have a specialised training and education. Each outsider has a professional background, which First, the acts as a strong bias against arriving at the poor people’s realities for different reasons.

38

Methods for Community Participation

professionals have a tendency to look at different aspects of local people’s lives from their own perspective. An animal husbandry specialist, for example, looks at things from his/her own perspective. The education specialist looks primarily at everything from the perspective of education as does the health specialist, and so on. Ultimately this means that while the focus of the outsider remains on the area of his or her specialisation, a vital connection with other aspects of the lives of the poor people and with their deprivation are generally overlooked. The professional approach of looking at problems of poor people, thus, provides a narrow view and misses the integrated view. This has been one of the major reasons behind the failure of most development projects which look so sound on paper but fail to take root in reality. The other important factor is that with increased specialisation and years of experience, most professionals tend to become less open to new ideas. They tend to suffer from the delusion that they ‘know all’ while the local people are devoid of any common sense. This leads to the common tendency of lecturing and not listening. Project Bias Outsiders can misunderstand people’s realities due to project biases. Some of the successful development interventions are pushed to the forefront to the extent that they become showpieces. Any visitors coming to the area are taken on a fixed route, and they talk to the same set of people. In fact, the local officials find that it is practical to have a prearranged route for the visitors. The local people also get an understanding of the kinds of questions that the visitors ask, and form an idea of what kind of replies

should be given. The focus is more on showcasing the project in a good light and as highly successful than on unearthing reality. In effect, the basic issues and challenges are relegated to the background. The inquisitive visitors are provided with a load of reports on different aspects of the project. More visitors mean more visibility and more interest. This influences both the development interventions as well as the outsiders. The outsiders fail to get a real picture of the situation on the ground and of the people’s realities. The project also fails to take any corrective measures based on a realistic assessment of the work at hand, as they do not understand their problems. This bias becomes a real barrier between the outsiders and the poor people. 1.8 TRANSITION FROM RRA TO PRA

During the mid-1980s, with the increased credibility of RRA, the term ‘participatory’ became associated with RRA. At the international conference on RRA at the University of Khon Kaen, a typology of RRA was developed. Participatory RRA was one of them and others included exploratory RRAs, topical RRAs, and monitoring RRAs (McCracken et al., 1988).

In 1988 two parallel events—one in Kenya and the other in India—marked the evolution of PRA. In Kenya, the National Environment Secretariat (NES), in collaboration with Clark University, conducted an RRA which led to the development of a village resource management plan (Kabutha and Ford, 1988). This was described as Participatory Rural Appraisal—PRA. During the same year, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), India, with the support of ITED, London, carried out participatory RRA in two villages. These proved invaluable in the

overall development of PRA (Chambers, 1997).

Conceptual Specifications

Table 1.3

RRA and PRA Compared

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Major development Major innovators in Main users

Late 1970s, 1980s Universities Aid agencies, Universities

Key resource earlier overlooked Main innovation Outsiders’ mode Objectives Main actors Longer-term outcomes

Local people’s knowledge Methods Eliciting Data collection Outsiders Plans, projects, publications

Late 1980s, 1990s NGOs NGOs, Government field organisations Local people's capabilities Behaviour Facilitating Empowerment Local people Sustainable local action and institutions

nn ee Lean EEE nnn

EEnEEESEnnD

Source: Chambers (1997).

Table 1.3 provides a comparison of RRA and PRA on various grounds such as: period of development, innovators, first time users, main innovations, ideal objectives and long-term outcomes (Chambers, 1997). The differences between RRA and PRA are based not so much on methods or principles, but on

degrees of variations on different dimensions. Actually, Chambers (1997) has described RRA and PRA as a continuum (shown in Table 1.4). It is not proper, however, to treat RRA as second best. In many circumstances, particularly more specific in the case of research etc., RRA becomes inevitable and PRA may not be possible. The bottom line is to ascertain whether or not the local people benefit from the RRA. Table 1.4

The RRA-PRA

Continuum

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Methods for Community Participation 102

Space-related PRA Methods

103

After returning, draw a transect on a large sheet of paper. Let the local people take the lead in drawing the transect diagram. Use your notes and the notes of other members of the transect

e

team, while making the diagram.

Show the transect to others in the locality and ask them their views. Clarify your doubts. This helps you to triangulate the details. You can also use details generated from other methods to triangulate the findings of transect. Thank the participants for their active participation and time.

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Two Sets of Processes

Making a transect consists of two sets of processes. A systematic walk by the facilitators and the local people to observe the nature-scape and clarify doubts with them in order to arrive at a detailed understanding of the area—its topography, natural resources, entitlements, problems, opportunities, etc., as perceived by them. The second process is the production of the transect diagram depicting the crosssectional view of the walk route in terms of various agro-ecological zones in conjunction with a matrix of comparative analyses of the zones across certain parameters. Deciding on a Transect Path

The transect path can be decided in different ways using: e

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Remote Sensing Photographs and Data: This has potential but is infested with problems. They may not, however, be readily accessible. The participants and the facilitators may not feel confident on deciding the path on the basis of remote sensing photographs. The scale of maps used may also make their use difficult. Random Selection Method: All transects done without marking the transect path may come under this type. The problem, however, is that you may not be able to capture the maximum information. Other Maps of the Area: You can use social maps or natural resource maps if ready, to select the transect path. Other regular maps of the village can also be used if necessary. While markdiversity ing out the path for the transect, the guiding principle should be to capture maximum access. physical and time of limitations the and details within

involved in Irrespective of the approach you follow to decide on the path, local people must be process. But the process of decision-making. The maps can be useful tools in the decision-making and knowledge local for substitute a be can tion, sophistica and no map, irrespective of its details expertise.

Types of Transect Paths walk from a high There are different types of transect paths of which the commonest one is where you one extreme from walk line straight a just is one point across to a low point in the area. The other transect S-shaped an area, the of view detailed point of the area to the other. However, to get a more transect. walk is also undertaken. Another possibility is a ‘sweeping’

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Methods for Community Participation

Transect Team

The transect walk can be carried out by a single facilitator and a couple of local people. However, it is generally better to have at least 2—3 facilitators and as many local people as possible who can be engaged fruitfully in a discussion. About 2-3 local persons per facilitator should suffice. In order to get the maximum out of the transect walk, each sub-team with one facilitator and a few

local people can fan out from the same point to meet at another fixed point. It has the advantage of covering the area in more detail. Even if the teams use the same path, it is advisable to divide responsibilities and allot focal topics to each sub-team. The fixing of responsibilities for the sub-teams or individuals with respect to the collection and recording of data helps as follows: e e e e

It provides different groups of local people an opportunity to express their perspectives freely if they are homogenous Parallel processing of information by different sub-teams helps in maximising information collection The other teams cover items missed by one sub-team It provides an opportunity to double-check the information as the same detail is also collected by different sub-teams. Later they can look at the data collected and prepare a composite transect of the locality.

Sequence

As mentioned earlier, transects are generally conducted after social and resource mapping. They provide opportunities to the participants to look for details based on the issues emerging and gaps found in the information. However, transect mapping can also be a warm-up activity. It helps to establish an instant rapport between the outside facilitators and local participants. The participants also start gaining confidence. The questions put by the facilitators, and subsequent note-taking, makes the local people realise their local knowledge and expertise. It improves the quality of interaction. Material Required

During the transect walk, the basic material required is pen and notebook to take notes. But if you have maps of the village—both participatory and regular ones—carry them along as you may need to

consult them during the discussion and the transect walk. Colour pens, markers, and large and smallsized papers are required for making the transect diagram after the walk. Time Required

Time required for a transect may vary considerably. A lot depends upon the area, length and terrain of the transect path, number of participants, interest of members in the topic, and targeted details. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Transect, like other PRA methods, provides scope for improvisation. It has also been used to complement other methods like resource mapping. Some of the issues arising during resource mapping can

Space-related PRA Methods

105

be easily clarified and investigated during the transect walk. As the local people and the facilitators move together in the field. they observe what is there, ask questions, listen carefully to the local people, and get an in-deptn understanding of the natural resources in the locality. Gender Dimension in Transect

It is not uncommon to have two transects done for the same area—one by local men and another by local women. What is very striking is the different perspectives the two transects produce. They reflect the differing needs of men and women. This method of doing transects separately with men and women not only brings forth their different perspectives and needs but also helps in designing programmes to suit the needs of local women. Such a comparison helps in sensitising the participants as well as the facilitators to the gender dimension.

Different Perspectives: Socio-economic Groups The transect walk carried out by the different groups in the same locality saves time and resources. It also provides an opportunity to double-check certain information. The small homogenous groups make for an environment of openness conducive for discussions. Different groups can be involved in this process. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

A transect can be used effectively for monitoring purposes. Using the transect method, you can assess the degradation or regeneration of natural resources over a period of time. It can also be used to assess interventions in areas like, watershed development or soil conservation work.

You can carry out transect walks after a particular time period or at regular intervals over a period of time. The intervals can vary depending upon the indicators. If you are interested in seeing the impact of an integrated pest management programme, even daily transect walks may be necessary during the period of pest attack. But for assessing the impact of a soil conservation programme, visits every 3-4 months may suffice. While comparing the results, please keep in mind that the seasonal factors may be important and hence should be taken into account. If you compare the data on indicators like vegetation or foliage coverage over pre-rainfall and post-rainfall months, you may be in for a shock. But comparing the post-rainfall data of the present year with that of the previous year can provide valuable insights into the impact of the intervention. The path, as far as possible, should remain the same for different transect walks. It helps in making the data more comparable. If you want the coverage to be detailed, you can select more than one path and have the same or different team do the transect walk. The indicators for recording the information should be decided in advance by the participants and facilitators. Those for farming projects could include weeds, pests, production, food production, etc. Information should be recorded on all these indicators. If they find, however, that there are certain other striking observations, they should also record them. In course of time, if it is realised that some

indicators need to be added to the original list, the design should have the flexibility to include data on the newly incorporated indicators. However, such data will not be available for the earlier rounds of the transect walks which have already been completed. The indicators need not be visual. Some

106

Methods for Community Participation

indicators can be obtained through discussions during the transect walk. While going on a transect walk, carry a copy of the old transect diagrams. They will help in triggering your memory and can be helpful for on-line comparisons. Advantages Transects have certain in-built strengths. In fact, transects provide a quick cross-sectional overview of the different agro-ecological zones of the locality. They have both an outdoor component— walking along with local people, observing, asking questions and listening—as well as an indoor component—the preparation of a diagram which enhances their utility. They provide an opportunity to double-check the information generated through social maps, resource maps, and other PRA methods. They serve as an important entry point for the PRA facilitators into the community in an unintrusive and non-threatening manner. Walking together in small groups, local people and facilitators tend to become informal and shed some of their inhibitions. This brings about more openness and frankness. The local people tend to express their views on different aspects more candidly, which does not happen usually in a community meeting or even in a one-to-one interview.

The transect walk can have a significant effect on the attitudes and behaviour of both the participants and the facilitators. There is a role reversal. The local people are looked at as experts and facilitators try to ask and learn from them. Listening is considered a necessity for the facilitators. The knowledge of the local people about their surroundings and natural resources has a humbling effect on the facilitators. The local people also tend to gain confidence. This improves the quality of interaction significantly. Limitations

While most practitioners find the transect walk easy to facilitate, the subsequent drawing of the transect by the local people is more demanding. The tendency to focus on the output can really influence the quality of transects. The discussion during the walk, and the asking of probing questions, are important. Further careful planning of a checklist beforehand enhances the quality. On the whole, transect walk is a powerful PRA method which provides valuable information on natural resources. The combination of outdoor and indoor activities so characteristic of transect adds to the strength of this method. 2.7 PARTICIPATORY CENSUS

METHOD

Introduction

Traditionally, questionnaire surveys have been the most predominant mode of data collection. But such surveys have been accompanied by numerous problems. In fact, disenchantment with questionnaire surveys was one of the reasons behind the emergence of RRA and the subsequent evolution of PRA. Though participatory census is yet to establish its credibility with the researchers, it has come up as a possible alternative to questionnaire surveys.

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Space-related PRA Methods

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RR eR

107

Applications

Participatory censuses generally follow social mapping and are aimed at taking a closer look at the individual households. They have been used to collect household level data. The information collected from a participatory census has shown a very wide range including: Demographic details, for e.g., age-group and sex-wise distribution. Ethnic group details, for e.g., caste, religion, etc.

Productive assets, for e.g., land holding, livestock, trees, equipment, means of transportation, etc. Health-related information—prevalence of particular diseases, children requiring immunisation, pregnant women and lactating mothers, malnourished children, etc. Once the household-wise details are available, they can be compiled and figures arrived at. The data generated from participatory censuses have been used for various purposes including: e e e

@ @

e

Identifying households with specific problems. Arriving at an estimate of the magnitude of the problems and issues at the local or community level. Providing a baseline for planning as well as subsequent monitoring of changes in the situation due to intervention. Analysing of the problems and issues to design projects to improve the situation. To initiate a process of thinking and analysis among the local people about the problems and what they can do themselves. Identifying the households which require immediate intervention and which fall under the target group.

Background

One of the first cases of participatory censuses was reported from South India, where Sheelu Francis collected information on the health status of individuals in each of the households using a social map of the village. The detailed information on health status was marked on each household using different types of ‘bindis’ (colourful stickers of different shapes which are commonly used by Hindu women to fix on their forehead). The details were later tabulated (Chambers, 1997).

A Case Study of Participatory Census A case study of a participatory census conducted in Aukpa-Adoka village of Benue State, Nigeria, which briefly describes the process, the learnings and challenges emerging therefrom, is given below: Participatory Census for Collection and Analysis of Household Details in Aukpa-Adoka Village

A participatory census was conducted in Aukpa-Adoka village to collect household-wise details. More than 70 persons participated in the exercise. At the outset, the purpose of the exercise was

108 Methods for Community Participation SSS a

Se

explained to the participants. They were then asked to list the different kindred in the village. The participants listed the six kindred and they assigned colour codes to each kindred. They had an interesting rationale for allocation of the colour to the kindred. The participants were asked to sit down as per their kindred grouping. Each group was then asked to write names of all the household heads belonging to their kindred on separate cards of the colour

allotted to them. A discussion was then carried out on what information should be collected. The participants agreed on this as also on the symbols and the recording system to be used as shown in Box 2.3. To make the work simpler, posters were displayed at appropriate places for the participants to refer to as ready reckoners. Fig. 2.23 depicts a sample household card. Members of the facilitation team later helped the kindred groups in filling the information on the household cards. This became necessary because of the low literacy level of participants, the large number of cards in some kindred and the detailed information required.

Findings

A large amount of data on the village was generated in a short time. It was done in front of everybody. The use of symbols made it simpler and also fun. They discussed the concept of household in detail because there was a heated debate on a woman’s household. The participants agreed on a consensus definition of household much in line with the sociological definition. The concept of male and female was not discussed, under the presumption that it is simple and there would be no ambiguity. However, the exercise revealed that participants had different interpretations. Some of the kindred groups included children under male and female while others marked only the adults. This kind of inconsistency in recording made the data almost useless on demographic details. For want of time that day, the cards with household details were not displayed for the local people to have a look. However,

Space-related PRA Methods

Figure 2.23

109

Participatory Census: Household Card

revalidation by the as the same cards were to be used for the social map later, there was scope for community.

on. This can There is a possibility in such an exercise that the people may not give correct informati who are poor those only that feeling a get be due to some expectation on the part of the villagers. If they cuts to get short no are There poor. as may get some benefit from the project, they may show themselves which are processes out carrying and over these kind of problems. Explaining the purpose of the exercise staff can local the with rapport transparent and can be understood even by the non-literate helps. Good . generated on informati also be helpful. Triangulation is another common way to validate the

110 Methods for Community Participation a

ee

Different Methods of Participatory Census

The major ways of doing participatory censuses are: Social Map Method Card Method Match Stick Technique Social Map Method In the social map method of participatory census as discussed earlier, the details on the individual households are shown on the map itself. Fig. 2.5 (see p. 65) is a social map of Dhani Gopera village in Rajasthan, which contains information on the individual households. The information collected

has been shown by symbols. The information available for each household includes: type of house (i.e., new or old); trees; livestock (cows, sheep, camel etc.); land holding (extent and crops); and

wells. This method proves quite effective for localities with a smaller number of households as well in cases where the information requirement is limited. Process: The steps in participatory census using social mapping include:

Follow the steps of social mapping to arrive at a detailed map where each household is shown clearly with a lot of space around. Ask the participants to check whether each and every household is represented, and whether any modifications are required. Also ask some of the bystanders, particularly children and women, to locate their houses. It works as a cross-check for the map as well as an indicator as to whether those not participating actively are aware of what is happening. Now explain to the participants the purpose of the second phase of the exercise, i.e., the objectives of participatory census, and arrive at the following in consultation with the participants:

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What information is required? What symbols can be used for the required information? What should be the process of collecting the details?

Write down the information you are looking for on a chart paper in bold letters and also indicate the symbols. For example, you may use different types of seeds for men, women and children. Similarly you may like details on literacy which could be written or depicted using symbols. This display helps the participants as a ready reckoner and reduces the chance of error due to memory lapses or different understanding. Use the step-by-step approach to keep things simple. Take up one item or at best a few related items of data collection at a time. Ask them to put the seeds, etc., and note down the details. Seek their clarifications and move to the next set of items until all details you are looking for have been collected.

In the end, ask them to have a careful look and see if they are satisfied or if they still want any modifications. Encourage them to feel free to make changes without any hesitation. Encourage them to discuss and debate among themselves to arrive at a decision.

Space-related PRA Methods

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111

Ask them about their findings: are there any major trends, which are becoming clear. Also encourage them to reflect on the findings and see what they can do themselves as also with a little assistance from others.

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Details on economic

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conditions, assets, and income

in most communities

are sensitive issues

and are likely to be influenced by local people's expectations. Thus, it becomes important to ensure that the data generated is put to triangulation. In this connection, you can take the help of other persons in the village in small groups or individually. Listen carefully to the discussions participants engage in—these provide valuable insights. Record and tabulate the data carefully in a suitable form. Thank the participants for their active participation and time.

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Limitations: The problem with this method is that it can be too time-consuming, as only a few individuals can work on the households. Furthermore, the amount of information that can be displayed on the social map itself is limited. Packing too much on the social map may make it clumsy and difficult to use and interpret. Most of the facilitators have therefore found it useful to depict the bare minimum information on the social map and then append a table to it where details are shown against each household. The households in the table and the households in the map are linked by household numbers.

Advantages: The major advantage of this approach is that everything happens and the symbols/seeds etc., are kept only after reading the name of the head of and their status on the item being filled up. Others present are proactively correctness of the information and add details wherever necessary. This helps

in front of everyone the household aloud asked to check the in ensuring that no

wrong information is given by any one.

Card Method

one Perumal The card method of participatory census was innovated by a young girl Anusuda and for particards small used They Nadu. Tamil in Madurai near Naiker of Kethanayakanpatty village on written was number household The card. a allotted was s cipatory census. Each of the household later compiled and cards the on noted were s household the each card for linkage. Details of each of on (Chambers, 1997).

census uses Since then this method has become quite popular. The card method of participatory . households individual the on on informati required the individual cards for collecting and depicting are: method card the The main steps in participatory census using

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list. But you Prepare a list of households. You can do this by using the social map or any other map, as social the from generated those than other lists using need to be careful in case you are entries. bogus or omissions they might be outdated and have s. Write Give each household a number in the social map. Have a card for each of the household letters. bold in d househol the number and name of the head of the like to colAfter explaining the purpose of the exercise, arrive at the items on which you would that you symbols the at arrive Also group. ative lect information in consultation with a represent on. informati the may like to use along with the way of recording

112

Methods for Community Participation

Make a few charts with those items, their details and recording symbols. Display them at vantage points as ready reckoners for the exercise. Initiate the exercise at the prefixed time and venue with an adequate number of participants. Explain the purpose and procedure of the exercise. Hand over the cards to either representatives of the households or small sub-groups based on compounds, kindred, neighbourhood, etc. to fill details. Ensure and ascertain that the participants have a shared and common understanding of the

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items on which they are collecting information. Even simple terms like ‘men’, ‘women’ and ‘children’ may mean different things to different participants. Move around with the other facilitators and help the participants to record the details clearly. Display the cards on the ground preferably in a form resembling the way the village/locality is spatially organised. Ask the local people to have a look and make changes wherever necessary. Also ask the participants to share their findings and learnings particularly as they discern the patterns and trends. Encourage them to discuss problems, issues and possibilities. Record the details carefully and tabulate them for further analysis. Thank the participants for their active participation and time.

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Advantages: In comparison to the social mapping method of participatory census, the card method has certain advantages, which include: e

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Parallel processing and collection of data in sub-groups which can mean significant saving of time. More space on the cards for recording means that more information can be collected using the card method in comparison to the social mapping method.

Limitations: The problem, however, is that the recording does not happen in front of everyone but in small groups, which may provide scope for manipulation and presentation of wrong information. However, the common practice of displaying the cards and even reading aloud details about each of the households provides at least an opportunity to enable the information to be scrutinised by the community. Matchstick Technique

It is one of the ways of participatory information gathering. Here the matchsticks are marked in different ways to describe different persons. Fig. 2.24 is an example of how matchsticks can be used for information gathering. Process

The steps in this process of participatory census are:

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Explain the purpose of the exercise to the participants. Keep a list of the households of the locality handy. It can be a household list or a detailed social map. If neither is available proceed to generate a list first.

Space-related PRA Methods

Figure 2.24

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Matchstick Technique

House

Women

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Pregnant Women

Teenagers over

14 years old

6 to 14 years old children

6 to 14 years old children not attending school

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0 to 5 years old

children not enrolled in immunisation

programme

0 to 5 years old children

Any of the matches with a patch means the person is illiterate (above 14 years old)

Source: Sujeevandas (undated).

Any of the matches without the ‘head’ means the person is ill

Alcoholics

113

114

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Methods for Community Participation

Take a household. Write the name of the head of the household or its serial number on a matchbox. Ask the participants to concentrate on that particular household and to recall who are the members. Let one person recall the names aloud while others speak of the omissions. Once the correct list is arrived at, ask them to select appropriate matchsticks for each of the members and after checking the correctness put them inside the matchbox. Move to the next household and repeat the same process of writing the details of next household, arriving at the list of members, selecting appropriate sticks for each of them, checking the corrections of details, and then putting the matchstick in the matchbox. Repeat this process till all the households are completed. Count the particular types of sticks and arrive at the totals for each of them. You can also prepare list giving details house-wise and then arrive at the tally. Thank the participants for their valuable time and active participation.

Advantages: The advantages of matchstick technique of information gathering include:

e e e e

Simplicity—it allows even the non-literate to gather information. If the details are not many, it can be fairly fast and accurate too. It provides an opportunity for everyone to participate. The process helps in gathering correct information. Matchboxes and matchsticks are readily available in plenty even in remote villages and are quite cheap.

Limitations: The major limitation of this technique is its inability to handle detailed information and complexities. Having so many types of matchsticks to depict different aspects makes it difficult to manage data. Instead of matchsticks, you can use seeds, pebbles, etc., of different types. On the whole simple and useful, matchstick technique or its modification can be used to collect limited information. Material Required for Participatory Census

Locally available material like seeds and pebbles, in addition to 3” x 4” cards of different colours and chart papers, are required in adequate numbers. Time Required for Participatory Census The time required for a participatory census may vary considerably depending upon the quantum of information being collected and the method used. Approximately three to four hours may be necessary. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Participatory census generally follows a detailed social mapping exercise with a specific focus on the collection of details on individual households. In fact at times, it becomes so integral a part of social mapping that the participants fail to see it as a separate exercise. Now it has almost become a

Space-related PRA Methods e Eee e SS

115

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practice to collect certain basic information on the households like caste, number of men, women and children, their educational status, etc., as part of social mapping itself. Similarly, participatory census works well with well-being ranking. Some facilitators do the well-being categorisation and then ask about the assets of the household which are then recorded on the card representing the household, or

in a tabular form. Participatory census shows a lot of scope for improvisation. The method can be easily adapted depending upon the requirements of the situation. When the participants are non-literate it is possible to use symbols and visuals. In fact once the social map is made the outline can be used to collect detailed information. The main benefit is that each time you collect information you do not have to make the social map again and you can use the outline of the social map made earlier and save a lot of time. Participatory Census for Monitoring and Evaluation

Participatory census proves to be a valuable tool in monitoring and generate baseline information. Subsequently every time a household happens like death, birth, sale, or purchase of assets, etc., it can be table. This way, time-series data can be collected easily and analysed

evaluation, as it can be used to has been assisted or something recorded on the cards or in the later on. This will help to get a

clear understanding of the changes over time with respect to the households, causes of the changes,

impact of the interventions, and will also prove to be helpful in planning for interventions to bring about desired changes.

Advantages of Participatory Census a Participatory census, as mentioned earlier is still a growing method. It has been generally tried at major small scale. Many are not yet convinced about its efficacy vis-a-vis the traditional methods. Its strength is that the local people get involved in the process of collecting data. The public eye on what is being recorded improves the credibility of the data. In the traditional methods, the surveyor asks questions and records responses. It is difficult for the investigator to know whether correct information is being given.

Limitations of Participatory Census

A common concern with participatory censuses is that they are susceptible to deliberate distortion. Local people, in expectation of certain benefits, want to project themselves in such a way that they become eligible for them. it Though the use of symbols helps, participatory census still requires some literacy skills. Hence using becomes a difficult exercise where most of the people are not literate. Collecting too much data participarticipatory census has always proved to be a difficult task. As it does not involve all the data related well-being or h non-wealt collecting While interest. lose may pants very actively, some assets of details correct collect to g challengin quite been has it and easy, it has proved to be relatively and income.

116 Methods for Community Participation a a ee Te

A varied understanding of items on which data is being collected however, can lead to serious inconsistencies. Even items like ‘household’ and ‘family’ can mean different things to the participants. These need to be clarified in the beginning so that every one does the recording consistently. Participatory census method has the potential to become an alternative to the traditional method of data collection but needs to be further tested and explored.

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Chapter 3

Time-related PRA Methods

This chapter deals with time related PRA methods, which help in exploring the temporal dimensions of people’s realities. What is unique about these PRA methods is that they allow people to use their own concept of time. The methods covered under this chapter are as follows: 3.1 3.2 3.3. 3.4.

Time Line Trend Analysis Historical Transect Seasonal Diagram

3.5 3.6 3.7.

Daily Activity Schedule Participatory Genealogy Dream Map

Time line provides an aggregate of the various landmark events as perceived by the local people. Trend analysis is focussed on changes that have taken place across certain time landmarks. Trend analysis has its variants such as historical transect, ‘then and now’ and ‘past, present and future’ methods, which are

also described in detail. Daily activity schedule is used to depict how the people spend their day from the time they get up till they go to bed. Hours are generally the unit of analysis for daily activity schedule. Seasonal diagram depicts the changes in people’s lives across the annual cycle with seasons or months as the units. Participatory genealogy is a method, which is helpful in arriving at the various generations, descent and the changes that have taken place over the generations. Dream map can be made for anything but it usually depicts the future vision or aspirations of the people. Snake and ladder diagram, an improvisation of and improvement on the dream map, is also described in the section on dream map. You will find the ready reckoner of the time related PRA methods given at the end of this chapter in the form of a matrix quite handy. 3.1 TIME LINE Introduction

Time line is an important PRA method quite commonly used to explore the temporal dimension from a historical perspective. Time line captures the chronology of events as recalled by local people. It is

Time-related PRA Methods ee Fe

119

enn

drawn as a sequential aggregate of past events. It thus provides the historical landmarks of a community,

individual or institution. The important point to note here is that it is not history as such but events of the past as perceived and recalled by the people themselves.

Applications

The time line method helps: e e

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To learn from the community what they consider to be important past events. To understand from the community the historical perspective on current issues. To generate discussions on changes with respect to issues you are interested in, e.g., education, health, food security, gender relations, economic conditions, etc. To develop a rapport with the villagers, since a discussion about the past of the village can bea good non-threatening and enjoyable starting point.

A Typical Time Line

Fig. 3.1 depicts a typical time line. It provides a historical perspective of 49 Bannur village, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. As in most cases, this time line depicts the time landmarks on the left side and a brief description of the major events as recalled by a group of villagers on the right. They traced their history back to 1905 when an irrigation tank was constructed in the village. A number of other major events mostly related to developmental activities, e.g., construction of school buildings, roads, wells, and two droughts of 1931 and 1960, were also recalled. The exercise was carried

out in the initial stages of the PRA in 49 Bannur village and was helpful in developing a rapport with the participants. Process Steps

The suggested steps in the process of doing a time line include: ¢

e

Identify some elderly persons in the village willing to talk about the history of the village. Invite them for a meeting. Explain to them the purpose of the exercise. Initiate a discussion on the history of the village. The key questions you can ask may include:

When What What What e

was the village established? are the important events in the history of the village? major changes took place? are the reasons for these changes?

in bold Preferably, ask one of the participants to note down the major events in brief on cards role. this letters. If the participants are unable to do so, ensure that one of the facilitators takes Anyway, make a note of the key points and be willing to do this task yourself if necessary.

120 el

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for Community ian ic Participation RANE NAA AI

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Figure 3.1

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Time Line

' April 1999

Village: 49 Bannur 1905

Construction of irrigation tank Main crops were jowar, horse gram and a coarse cereal

locally known as Korra 1931

Drought—20 families migrated

1940

Private school building constructed

1945

10 irrigation wells excavated. Led to changes in crops cultivated later.

1950

Church built

1954

First ‘sarpanch’ (chief of the local self government at the village level) was elected

1960

Drought

1969

Gravel road laid

1977

Electricity connection to the village

1983

Government school buildings—one Telugu and one Urdu medium constructed

1985

Two drinking water tanks built

1991

Bus service started to the village

1992

Savings and credit programme started

oes)

First woman elected as ‘sarpanch’

1996

Sanction of governement housing colony for the weaker section

OO7,

Intervention of BIRDS—a voluntary organisation in the village First television set in the village

Participants: Fakruddin (male, 70 years), Sarojamma (female, 50 years), Subbamma (female about 90 years), Tirapalu (male, 55 years) and others Facilitator: Anil Kumar

Time-related PRA Methods

e

e

121

Ask them for more such events that they would like to add. Once you feel that the list is more or less complete, ask them to keep the cards in a chronological order—the earlier events on the top and the later events lower down. Read out the events and ask them whether they are happy with the order or if they would like to modify it. Add years to the left side of the list of events. Failure of memory, use of different time frames and calendar systems may present a big obstacle for the participants in arriving at the exact years. You may have to use your own improvisations or your best judgement to arrive at the

years. e

e

You can focus on those aspects that are your area of interest. Suppose you are interested in education in the village, then try to make the participants focus on events related to education after getting the events of general nature. Initiate a discussion on the time line to help the participants analyse and reflect on it. Some key questions which can be helpful in this regard may include:

What What What What

e

Interview the time line by asking questions to clarify your doubts or to get an in-depth understanding. Certain questions which can be helpful include: e e

©

e

was the situation in the past? were the major events? changes have taken place? were the reasons for change?

‘Can you tell me more about...” ‘What does this mean...”

Copy the details onto paper. Note down the names of participants, facilitators, location details, dates, legends, etc. Triangulate with other elderly persons in the village to see the correctness of the information given in the time line. Secondary sources of information can also prove to be helpful in triangulation.

Concept of Time

[t is quite common while facilitating a time line to encounter expressions like: About In the In the In the

50 years back... year | had my first son... year the country became independent... year a temple was built in the village...

These are particular instances of problems of interpretation in how people relate to time. The expres-

sion ‘about 50 years back’, for example, may mean long back and may run to 60-70 years in the past. Another problem is the common use of local time frames, particularly within communities which follow a different time frame and don’t use our calendar. People may talk about a particular event but may not recall the exact time period. It may be difficult to establish the precise time of the event.

122

Methods for Community Participation

ingenuity and There are no set procedures to get over these problems. You have to use your own improvise methods. some One way out is to find parallels between the major events recalled by the local people: with They way. that in events certain recollect may other regional or national events. People themselves to may remember the year of the country’s independence, etc. Now it becomes slightly easy for you the that know now You built. was school a ce, relate to. They may say that 10 years after independen school was built in 1957, because India became independent in 1947. Similarly even references to you personal events or age may help you. They may not be very precise but they may definitely give secondary of use the and persons elderly some idea of the time period. Triangulation with other sources of information are also helpful. Interviewing the Time Line

Interviewing the time line, i-e., in-depth probing of aspects about which you are not clear by asking questions in a relaxed manner, can provide valuable insights into the historical perspective and the perceptions of change that the local people have. Asking more questions can solve some of the problems of the correctness of information generated in a time line. Please remember that the time line output is not the end. It only captures limited information. The points raised during the discussions while the time line process is on and the subsequent interviewing of the time line provide even more valuable information than what the time line output captures most of the time. Material Required

The material required for time line includes cards, chalks, chart paper, bold markers of different colours, seeds and pebbles.

Time Required 1

;

‘

:

:

:

:

Around 13 to 2 hours should suffice for time line analysis. However, the time requirement may vary with the skills of the facilitators, details aimed at and scope for discussion. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Time line provides enough flexibility for innovation and improvisation depending upon the context and your requirements of the content as well as of the form of presentation. A few instances are offered as illustrations in the following sections. Time line can also be used as a precursor to taking up other time related methods like historical transect, trend analysis, etc. More focussed information can be collected using other timerelated methods and the community can analyse how changes have taken place over the years. In fact, irrespective of the PRA method you have planned to use, a quick time line on the topic of your interest by participants can be helpful. It can set the right kind of historical perspective for further analysis using other methods. Many issues may go unnoticed if a time line is not done in the beginning.

Time-related PRA Methods

S ee ee SS (ee Figure 3.2

123

Time Line of Drought and Natural Disasters 23 July 1998

Village: Padiabahal 1916-17

* Drought

1936

* Drought *

School started in cowshed

*

Cholera broke out

193?

*

Drought

1956

* Drought

* Supply of rice from Khaprakhol & Dhandamunda

1960

*

Primary school set up

1962

* Land settlement

1964

¢ Major pest attack

1965

* Drought

* Milk, wheat, rice supplied by government 1972

* Drought

* Distribution of land deeds * Construction of road by panchayat

1975-78

* Four years of drought

1980

* Drought

1988

* Installation of tube well

1994

©

1996

¢ Drought

Construction of club house

Panika Participants: Pabitra Bag, Baichandra Panika, Miniketan Bag, Gautam Chhalvu Patra

Facilitators: Chintamani and Anindo

and

124

Methods for Community Participation

Time Line of Drought Time lines giving a general historical profile of villages are the most common ones. However, time lines can be focussed on specific issues as well. For example, Fig. 3.2 is a time line of natural disasters in Padiabahal village of the drought-hit Bolangir district in Orissa. This time line is focussed on the chronology of droughts, which have been a frequent cause of distress in the village. Certain other major development interventions having a direct or indirect bearing on the drought were also recalled. These included the distribution of relief, setting of the primary school, installation of the

tube well and the construction of a club house. Time Line of Education Fig. 3.3 is a time line of another village Abdullapuram of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh where the focus is on education related activities. The time line goes back to 1929 when adult education classes were started. The first slate was brought to the village in 1939. Regular night schools were started in 1950. Figure 3.3.

Time Line of Education related Activities

Village: Abdullapuram

April 1999

Teaching of adults started Slate came to the village

Night school for adults Schooling for farmers’ children by private teachers

First school building constructed Schooling started for scheduled caste children at a church

Upgradation of existing school

Women's savings and credit group started

Telugu 'Ganga'project started Construction of building for upper-primary classes Extra teachers added to the school

Time-related PRA Methods

125

na ——__—— a —————EE—E

You events move figure

can start making a focussed time line say on education directly by asking the people to list out related to education. However, the other way can be to start with a general time line and then towards a more specific one. It also gives you an idea of where education related activities vis-a-vis other general events.

Time Line of Individuals Most time lines focus on villages. But they can also be on individuals, institutions, programmes, etc. Fig. 3.4, which depicts the life history of Panchawak Bag, a child labourer of Khairmal village of Bolangir district in Orissa, India, is an example of a time line that focusses on an individual. It provides a time line of Panchawak from the seventh to the sixteenth year of his life, an account of what activities he was engaged in, and the compensation he got for the labour. Other Variations

As mentioned elsewhere in this chapter, the time lines are dominated by written and spoken words. But the use of visuals is a growing trend. Fig. 3.4 is such an instance. Although the time lines list the years and the major activities it is not uncommon to list the events in chronological order without years. While most time lines depict time in a linear way, time can also be depicted in a circular way. Fig. 3.5 depicts the time line of one of the villages of Huaian county in China ina circular way. Monitoring and Evaluation

Time line basically depicts the events in a chronological order. It thereby provides a chronological record of the various activities or events and becomes the basis for any monitoring and evaluation. Advantages

the local Time line has been used frequently to initiate a dialogue. It helps to build a rapport with of history entire the almost you tell people. They are relaxed. In line with their oral tradition, they their village, which may range from a few decades to centuries. people, Another advantage of drawing a time line is that you give a clear message to the elderly also be will views their that who are generally left out in other kinds of PRA exercises in the village, taken into consideration and given due importance. you can use Time line provides you with a good understanding of the historical perspective, which proper disa for nt further to explore present and future possibilities. It actually creates an environme planning to central are cussion. It helps in understanding the local people’s views on change, which any intervention. Limitations

elderly people can There are certain limitations to the time line method as well. For example, most may have problems recollect the major events and the chronology rather correctly. However, they

126

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 3.4

Time Line of a Child Labourer

Village: Khairmal

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Time-related PRA Methods ER ee

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127

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Time Line: Circular Representation 21 November 1998

Huaian county, China

1998

1949

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128 Sa

Methods for Community Participation eS ee

with recalling the precise years of their occurrence. Some of the elderly people have problems of memory as well. . The time lines are generally dominated by written or spoken words. Visuals are used’ in very few instances. The reasons are numerous. Elderly people may be reluctant to draw. Since the discussion or explaining of the time line of the village goes on at a fast pace and mainly by one or a few elderly persons, it makes it difficult to present it visually. However, of late there have been attempts to represent the time lines with more visuals. The local concept of time, a different calendar system, etc., pose major problems to the facilitators in drawing parallels between the local system and his/her frames of time. The tendency is to impose our understanding of the time on that of the local people, which can actually vitiate the process. Mostly elderly men are the participants in time line exercises. Women are left out. It is important to consult both women and men because they often mark time by different kinds of events. The tendency to glorify the past is found to be strong among the elderly people. They also digress from the topic and the facilitators have to try hard to keep the discussions focussed. Time line is a popular PRA method used to determine the important events of the past. Commonly used in the initial stages of PRA, it is quite helpful in developing a rapport with the local people, particularly with the elderly. It is generally a precursor for most other time-related methods. 3.2 TREND ANALYSIS Introduction

Trend analysis is a popular PRA method used to explore temporal dimensions with a focus on change. It captures changes and trends related to certain variables over different spans of time. It is, thus, people’s account of the past and of how things have changed and hence also provides a historical perspective. The local people have a good understanding of the present situation and the changes that have taken place over the years. Trend analysis can provide a good idea of the quantitative changes over time in different aspects of village life, such as yields, population, livestock population, the number of trees, area under cultivation, rainfall, etc. It helps to understand increases and decreases in the variables under study over a period of time. It generally charts broad movements in different aspects of the local people’s lives rather than precise shifts. The discussion that follows a trend analysis may also look into the causes of changes and thus provide an understanding of the dynamics of change. Applications

Trend analysis is useful to

¢

Learn from the community as to how they perceive changes over time in various areas/aspects

of their lives. Integrate significant changes in the village profile. Discuss village problems and any increase or decrease in the severity of the problems over the years rather than asking direct questions.

Time-related PRA Methods

e e e

129

Discuss interventions and measures which had worked out or failed in the past and the reasons thereof. Understand people’s perception of not only the past and present but also of the shape of things to come in the near or distant future with or without intervention. Produce a conducive environment, after discussions on reasons for the present state of affairs, to plan the possible interventions.

Other Possibilities

It is also possible to carry out trend analysis across places, groups, individuals, community, etc., rather than over time alone. What has happened to particular aspects across various communities can also be called a trend, though it has been popularly used as a time related method. Trend Analysis and Other Time-related Methods Trend analysis shares certain elements with other time-related methods. In fact, the overlap at times has created confusion. Time Trend

Time trend is another method to explore the temporal dimensions of people’s realities. It overlaps with trend analysis in some ways. It was used more during the earlier periods. It is like trend analysis in that it also focusses on change. However, it has traditionally been used for depicting more precise increases or decreases in the variables studied. It actually looks like a graph with time along one axis and the magnitude of other variables along the other axis. Historical Transect

Historical transect is another time-related PRA method which overlaps with trend analysis. Historical transect has traditionally been used for depicting changes in different aspects of natural resources, while trend analysis may cover many other aspects as well. Historical transect can be described as trend analysis focussed on changes in natural resources. Historical Matrix

Historical matrix is another name which is sometimes mentioned. A careful examination reveals that

it is in no significant way different from trend analysis. Time Line

Trend analysis is different from time line in many ways. Time line gives a general picture of major events as perceived by the community over a period of time. It is generally done with elderly persons in the village. But this may not be true for trend analysis. Trend analysis is more focussed on the changes over a limited period of time in comparison to the trend with reference to the present

130

Methods for Community Participation

situation. Time line may be used as a precursor to trend analysis in order to create an environment for doing analysis by setting the landmark years and aspects to be covered.

Seasonal Diagram Seasonal diagram focusses on changes over the annual cycle while trend analysis focusses on change over a longer duration—at least a few years or a few decades and even centuries. A Typical Trend Analysis

Fig. 3.6 illustrates a typical trend analysis done by a group of women from a Nigerian village: AukpaAdoka. The items covered are the three most important natural resources, i.e., water, trees and farm-

land over four decades. The group itself selected and prioritised the resources. The landmark years selected were: 1960, when Nigeria got independence; 1970, when the civil war ended; 1979-80, Shagari’s regime; and 1999, the year of the field work. Water was not a problem as the Onaji river never dried up. No dug wells were there, as they were not needed. In the 1970s, rainfall during June reduced to once in 2—3 days and occurred up to once in four days in the 1980s. Now it rains only once in 8-10 days. The number of dug wells is 19 but they are dry even before the real summer sets in. Trees have dwindled significantly over the four decades and now hardly 30 per cent of tree cover is left. Belief that trees are nurtured by gods and not by human efforts has led to this situation. With increasing population pressure, the left-over cover is under severe pressure.

Farmland was in abundance at the time of independence. The per capita availability, however, has been declining at quite an alarming rate. It is likely to become a significant problem soon. The skewed distribution would further worsen the situation. Process

Steps

The suggested steps in the process of trend analysis are as follows:

e e

¢

e

Select a group of local people who are interested in the exercise. Explain to them the purpose of the exercise. Initiate a discussion on the present situation and then move on to the aspects you are interested in pursuing. This sets the climate for trend analysis. You may be interested in the trend analysis related to forest with respect to its different aspects: density of trees, grass, wild animals, collection of minor forest produce, income from forest, moisture content, etc. In the spirit of a participatory approach, however, ensure that the participants themselves arrive at the aspects to be studied. Facilitate the discussion further to arrive at the aspects of trend analysis. Explain the objective and make the group of participants brainstorm and come out with a list of aspects related to the forest they would like to study and then select the most important ones.

Time-related PRA Methods

Figure 3.6

Trend Analysis: Natural Resources June 1999

Village: Aukpa-Adoka, Nigeria

Natural resources

"

ws1

SO oeSTE Se

Farmland

Rains daily during June

1960 (Independence)

No wells Water always in the river

1970

Rains at least once

(End of civil war)

in 2-3 days in June

1979-80

Rains at least once

(Shagari)

131

in 4 days in June

Rains sometimes once in 8-10 days in June River and well dry in dry season

Okpachu Participants: Adama, Elizabeth Sule, Omojo Peter, Ochesija Nichlas and Oglinulu Facilitators: Paul C

Methods for Community Participation

132

could be studied. Also facilitate the selection of time landmarks across which the trends

©

preferably by symbols Encourage the participants to depict the selected landmark years on cards way. same the in aspects various t or visuals. Similarly also have them represen to represent from them Ask chalk. using ground, the on Ask participants to make the matrix density of trees, like aspects various right to left from top to bottom the landmark years and grass, wild animals, etc. the situation Take up one of the aspects, say, density of trees. Ask the participants to depict may be. case the as etc., sand, sticks, seeds, visuals, today in the relevant cell using symbols, comthe After on. so and landmark time next the to Leave the choice to the participants. Move the time all the pletion of one aspect, move to the next one and follow the same process till

©

cells are filled in. Once the diagram is ready, ask them whether they are satisfied with it or whether they would like to make any changes. is Also find out whether they would like to add new aspects coming up during the process. This you which but list their in figure not did the time to ask them to depict certain aspects which are interested in studying. Ask the participants to explain the diagram. Encourage them to discuss their findings and reflect on them. Some key questions for the discussion could include:

iaid i

e

e

Major trends and findings Causes of the trends What can be done? Who can play a role in it? What can the participants and local people do themselves? What can they do with a little assistance from outside?

Interview the diagram. Ask questions to clarify your doubts and gain an in-depth understanding of the trend. Copy the diagram onto a sheet of paper with details of the legend, the scoring system, the participants and facilitators, and the location and date. Thank the participants for their active involvement and for their time. Triangulate the diagram and other findings generated during the discussion with others having knowledge about the topic.

Fixing Landmark Years

The major landmark years are quite critical to the process of trend analysis. The landmark years should be decided based on two factors. First, they should be relevant to the topic of the study to capture the changes in all their details and diversity. Second, they should be friendly to the participants so that they are able to relate to the years easily. If the landmark year is such that the participants are not really familiar with it, they would not be able to give a correct picture of the situation in the year. Thereby the purpose of the exercise itself gets defeated. There are two common practices. You can select fixed intervals—present, 10 years back, 20 years back, etc., and note down the years. Or, instead of selecting fixed time intervals, you can identify the

years that may have implications for the topic of trend analysis you have selected. For example, if you

Time-related PRA Methods

133

want to study the trends related to forests in a village in India, you could consider time landmarks such as the year of Indian independence, the year of nationalisation of forests, the year of the introduction of joint forest management, the present year, and any other years with some direct implication for forests. Please keep in mind, however, that whatever practice you follow the decision should be taken with the active involvement of the participants. Reflecting on Trend Analysis Facilitating discussions on the trends can bring rich dividends in terms of furthering an understanding of change. Remember that while the diagram is no doubt important, perhaps even more important are the discussions, reflections and analyses which follow. See that such discussions and analyses are encouraged. Interviewing the trend analysis provides you with an opportunity to further your understanding of the people’s perception of trends of change over the years, clarify doubts about certain abrupt changes and see how the problems can be solved in light of the aspirations of the local people. Material Required

The material required for trend analysis includes cards, chalks, chart paper, bold markers of different colours, seeds and pebbles. Time Required

Around 2-23 hours should suffice for trend analysis. But the time requirement may vary with details aimed at and the topics for discussion. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Trend analysis is a versatile PRA method that has been used in widely varied contexts and it complements other PRA methods quite well. It has also proved quite suitable for improvisation and innovation. Historical Matrix: Trend Analysis of Drought in Padiabahal

Fig. 3.7 presents the trend analysis of drought and its effect on various aspects in village Padiabahal of Bolangir district, Orissa in India. The participants recalled the various droughts of 1936, 1956, 1965, 1972, 1980 and 1996. These were then evaluated on the basis of eight criteria, including lack of food, scarcity of water, migration, starvation deaths, diseases, etc. The participants took one criterion and assessed the impact of the drought years on it. They gave a score of 10 when the impact was high and zero for no effect on the criterion. This process was repeated till all criteria were covered for the various drought years. The droughts of 1936, 1965, and 1996 were severe on food and water scarcity. Migration, which became the major coping strategy to mitigate the distress caused by drought started within 1965 and was most severe during 1996. Starvation deaths were maximum during 1956. Distress sale of assets was maximum in 1936 (barring sale of land), but with assets having been liquidated during the subsequent droughts of 1956 and 1965, sale of land was high during the drought of 1972. But more recently, with

134

Methods for Community Participation Figure 3.7

Drought Severity Matrix

Village: Padiabahal

June 1998

1936

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Tikeshwar Bag and Gautam Panika

Time-related PRA Methods oe Me

ie

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135

en a

no one really willing or even having the capacity to buy land, migration is the forced choice as a coping strategy.

This exercise provided a significant understanding of drought over the past six decades, particularly during the six most severe droughts. This specific way of depicting information could be called a historical matrix and falls under the broad category of trend analysis. Trend Analysis of Forest Fig. 3.8 depicts a trend analysis of four different forest patches of Dhauradadar village of Bolangir district in Orissa over a period of about five decades. The five landmark years selected were: before Indian independence, i.e., before 1947; during the drought years—1956 and 1962, i.e., year of clearance of forest by the local forest department; and the next severe drought years of 1972, 1979 and 1996. As the figure reveals the forest was quite dense before independence. But the drought of 1956 put pressure on the common property resource for survival by selling firewood in the nearby town. It led to about a 20 per cent depletion of trees. The cutting down of trees made all the forest patches almost bald in 1962. During the drought of 1972, the people cut down whatéver was left since the selling of firewood was the only available coping strategy. The 1979 drought saw a virtual clearance of all the patches. What happened during the period 1979 to 1996 led to a reversal of trends with different forest protection committees taking over the protection of the patches with the help of the villagers. This brought about significant improvements. The Kendukhai and Patharkudi patches have performed better in comparison to the other patches, as shown in the second part of the diagram. A distinctive feature of the figure is that this focusses on the status of forest cover over the years in four different patches.

Trend Analysis of Problems in Agriculture Fig. 3.9 is a typical output of trend analysis on problems in agriculture done by a group of women farmers in a Nigerian village Aukpa-Adoka. The years selected by the participants ranged from 15 years back, five years ago, the present and five years hence. The problems they identified and analysed included pests, weeds, lack of fertilisers, lack of transport, and non-availability of processing machines. About 15 years back all the problems were mild but the problem of weeds was most severe and nobody felt the need of processing machines. The problem of fertilisers followed by lack of transport became markedly significant in comparison to other problems. At present, with the agricultural the most cooperative in place, the problem of fertilisers has come down a bit but it still appears to be the taken, is action no If transport. severe problem followed by the lack of processing machines and availabilmachine processing women felt that the severity ranking of problems would be: transport, to a discusity, fertilisers and then weeds, followed by pests. This created an environment conducive

sion on how and who can solve these problems.

Time Line and Trend Analysis using a historiTime line supplements trend analysis by setting an environment conducive to analysis and aspects years cal perspective for the deeper analysis of trends and changes. In fact, the landmark that need analysis come out clearly if the time line is facilitated well.

136

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 3.8

Trend Analysis of Forest

Village: Dhauradadar

June 1998

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138

Methods for Community Participation

Seasonality and Trend Analysis

Seasonality analysis is another method that goes well with trend analysis. The seasonality analysis carried out for a number of years can provide information on the trends, in turn providing valuable insights into the functioning of programmes or projects. Trend Analysis in conjunction with Problem Prioritisation

Trend analysis of problems over a period of time can also provide valuable insights into how the problems and their severity have been changing, as also into the aspirations of the people and possible solutions. Fig. 3.10 depicts the priority ranking of problems of men coming from the lower socio-economic

group of a village Guruvaigudem in Khammam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It formed a part of the

‘Consultations with the Poor’ study to inform the World Development Report 2000-01 of the World Bank, conducted by a team of facilitators from Praxis. This exercise combines trend analysis and problem prioritisation. The participants first listed the problems which were their priority at the time of study. They were: permanent housing, lack of employment/wage employment, lack of credit, lack of land for food production, lack of irrigation, clearance of the forest by the forest department, lack of fuel wood, etc. But when the participants looked at how the situation was 10 years earlier, they showed that their priority problems were different. In fact housing and credit were listed lower down the order indicating that they were not severe problems then. The participants also discussed the reasons for their prioritisation. In fact, the exercise also reflected on how the changed aspirations affected their problem prioritisation. Some problems, e.g., lack of wage employment, lack of land for paddy cultivation and lack of irrigation did not figure in their priority list of problems at all. Thus, this exercise provided valuable insights into the trends of problems in the village over the decade. Trend Analysis and Participatory Genealogy

Trend analysis can be combined with the participatory genealogy method. Fig. 3.11 is an example to this effect. It can be called a generational trend analysis. The distinguishing feature here is that instead of using time landmarks, individuals representing a particular generation from the genealogy were used as time landmarks (please refer to Fig. 3.25 in participatory genealogy). Actually it followed as a logical sequel to the participatory genealogy. There was a discussion on how things had changed over the generations. Ram barna the main respondent actually talked taking names of certain persons, such as, ‘when my grandfather was young’, and so on. He provided very rich information on how their cultivation practices, crops, clothing, utensils, ornaments and marriage practices changed across generations. Although this improvisation does not enable the observer to fix the exact year, on the whole, it provides valuable insights into how things have changed across generations and the participants find it quite easy to relate to the data. ‘Then and Now’, and ‘Past, Present and Future’ Diagrams

‘Then and now’, and ‘past, present and future’ diagrams can be considered as simplified versions of trend analysis which take into account two and three time frames/periods respectively within

Time-related PRA Methods

Figure 3.10

139

Trend Analysis of Problem Prioritisation

Village: Guruvaigudem

7 March 1999

Priority Ranking Problem

Observation 10 years ago Have huts and want houses with tiles

Willing to contribute labour House

and wood

Beedi leaf is not available

They want to have micro enterprises etc.

Wage labour 3

Credit not available, forced to sell cashew and mango crop at low price Require credit

Willing to level, clear and do planting on bunds

Want government to allot such land Willing to contribute labour for soil & moisture conservation works Expect government to support water-

Irrigation facility

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Electricity

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Methods for Community Parti cipation 140

Time-related PRA Methods

Table 3.1

Trend Analysis: Then and Now Method

Then

1. 2. 3. 4.

Camels were used to draw water out of the wells. There was no electricity. Wheat was pounded by traditional methods. Villagers had more livestock, very few were employed.

Now

1. 2. 3. 4.

Today, electric pumps are used to draw water; hand pumps have also been installed. Houses have electricity connections. Power-driven flour mills are there now. Livestock has dwindled considerably and more people are turning to employment.

5.

There was no mode of transportation other than

5.

Today, there are bus services.

6. 7.

camel carts. Cultivation was done by camel driven ploughs. The school conditions were deplorable.

6. 7.

8. 9.

There were very few girls who were educated. Women were more confined to the houses.

8. 9.

These have been replaced by tractors. Today they have improved and more staff and teachers have been recruited. More girls are attending school. Women are more aware and have formed women’s groups. All these have reduced.

10.

141

Untouchability prevailed and villagers were highly superstitious.

10.

which the condition of various aspects can be depicted. In the ‘past, present, and future’ diagram, in addition to the ‘then and now’, the future is also added. In yet another variation, the future

can be depicted in two ways: One, as aspired by the people or two, as it would be if nothing was done. Table 3.1 is an example of a ‘then and now’ diagram from a village in Rajasthan. The objective of the exercise was to generate a comparative status of the village 10 years before and today in the areas of health, water source, education, economic status, and attitudes towards social change. The villagers

were asked to identify the changes over the last decade. It was quite clear that the situation had improved over the decade. The problem, however, was that while referring to the past, the people had a tendency to go back 20 years and, sometimes, even further down. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

As mentioned earlier, trend analysis is a PRA method that focusses on change. It is a useful tool for monitoring and evaluation. Fig. 3.12 is an illustration of how trend analysis or ‘then and now’ method(s) were used for the evaluation of the effect of provisions for bore-wells and latrines in village Odubwo of Benue state in Nigeria by an NGO. The participants first brainstormed and came out with a long list of criteria on which they wanted to assess the situation before and after the intervention. They finally selected 10 criteria, including the distance traversed to fetch water, sickness, time

available ta pursue other things, hunger, quarrels, etc. All the criteria were represented by simple line visuals, which were made by one of the participants on the advice of others. The cards were placed in a vertical order. The next step was to ask them to put on each card a number of stones in such a way that they represented the status of the concerned parameter. The participants took one criterion at a time and then scored it against the past and present. In this way all the criteria were covered. For the criterion of distance traversed to fetch water, however, sticks of different sizes were used.

142

Methods for Community Participation Figure 3.12

Trend Analysis: Then and Now Method 23 June 1999

Village: Odubwo, Nigeria “INENE’

CRITERIA

(5 years back)

Distance traversed to fetch water

Sickness

Time available to pursue other

things

Dirtiness

Quarrels

Water requirement

Happiness within household

Productive skills

Bad odour and flies

{ { i { { i i i {

Time-related PRA Methods

143

rT

A cursory look at the figure reveals that the interventions have had a significant impact on the lives of the people in the village. Advantages

Trend analysis is a useful way of understanding the local people’s perception of change over a period of time across certain intervals. The visual depiction makes the process interesting, and even the nonliterate can participate actively. The discussions that follow the exercise also help in identifying the causes of change and also suggest how things can be improved. Limitations

Trend analysis like other PRA methods, reflects the people’s perceptions and not the actual measurements. Another limitation of trend analysis is that it depends heavily on the skills of the facilitators. If not facilitated well, the chances of the exercise becoming facilitator-driven are pretty high. Trend analysis is not very suitable in the initial stages of the PRA exercise, as it requires rapport with the community and is somewhat complex. Sometimes people themselves have a tendency to glorify the past and, if not monitored carefully,

can provide wrong inferences. Trend analysis is a powerful PRA method used to capture changes and trends, in different spheres. 3.3 HISTORICAL

TRANSECT

Introduction

of Historical transect is another PRA method used to explore and represent the temporal dimension so people’s reality. Historical transect and trend analysis have been used in an overlapping manner often that today it has become difficult to differentiate between the two. Applications

in Historical transect has been commonly used to explore, along with the local people, the changes and the natural resources over a period of time. It is also used to generate discussions on causes for planning to shifted is focus the identified, are causes the Once factors responsible for the changes. the desired changes. A Typical Historical Transect include seed Fig. 3.13 is a historical transect from Pampanur village. The various aspects covered years across The food. of y availabilit and cover, vegetative varieties, level of ground water, forest and year 2020. the future, the in and 2000 1970, 1950, which the trends have been studied are before down gone has cover vegetative and forest the that A look at the historical transect makes it clear and down come have crops of varieties The scarce. drastically over the decades. Water has also become

144

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 3.13

Historical Transect

Village: Pampanur

16 December 2000 Seed variety

+

Time Period Before 1950

Participants: Chalama Reddy, Vadde Eswarappa, Yada Norayanappa, Nagi Reddy,

Ramanna, Ranga Reddy, Chandrappa,Ramachandra Reddy and Chinna Ramappa Facilitators:

Murali Krishna and Ravi Kumar

Alli Anjanaiah,

Time-related PRA Methods

145

the mono-cropping of groundnut and sunflower has become the order of the day. To some extent, paddy and onion are also being grown. What is alarming is that the villagers are not very optimistic about the future. Their fear is that if the same trend continues there will be no ground water available and the bore-wells will go dry. There would hardly be any trees available because of indiscriminate felling. With mono-cropping and cultivation of cash crops, there would be acute food insecurity. Migration has actually been on the rise over the decades. The diagram also clearly highlights the interrelationships between various aspects, e.g., the crops cultivated and food security. Visuals have been used quite effectively to represent various aspects and changes. Even the time intervals have been depicted using the various visuals related to mode of water withdrawal during that period of time. For example, the period prior to 1950 has been shown by wells with pulleys while 1950 has been represented by animal-driven wells. There are a number of other examples. The historical transect from Ardanaripura village is one of the most often quoted examples of historical transect (Mascarenhas, 1991). All historical transects

have one element in common. They deal with natural resources and depict how over a period of time certain aspects have changed. For example, Fig. 3.14 is a historical transect from Pampanur village which provides snapshots of a particular cross-section of the village over five time intervals ranging from before 1950 to the present and extending to the future year 2020. The aspects that have been depicted include land use, trends in terms of plantation, trees, water, etc. As depicted in the figure, the vegetative and tree cover have come down significantly over the decades. In fact, the footpath has been replaced by a road and more area has been brought under cultivation. The participants were quite apprehensive about the future as the whole area will be ecologically degraded with fewer trees and depleted ground water. They also discussed and came up with action points for the proper management of natural resources in their areas. Historical Transect vs Trend Analysis

A closer look at the similarities and differences between historical transect and trend analysis reveals that the historical transect is actually a type of trend analysis focussing on the natural resources. In a historical transect, therefore, the term ‘historical’ stands for the time dimension, while ‘transect’ denotes the natural resources dimension. Process

Steps The suggested steps in the process of doing a historical transect are as follows:

e

e

Identify and invite a group of local people with an interest in natural resources and who are also familiar with the situation of the past. Explain the purpose of the exercise to the participants. In line with the objectives of the exercise identify the aspects that you would like to study from a historical perspective and also identify the time landmarks that you would like to work on. It is, however, advisable to finalise both in consultation and preferably with the active involvement of the participants.

Methods for Community Participation 146

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Time-related PRA Methods

147

Encourage the participants to use symbols or visuals to depict the landmark years as well as the aspects being studied. Visual depiction is a must if the participants have limited literacy skills. Otherwise also, visual depiction adds fun, synergy, and makes the process interesting and

e

participatory.

e e

e e

Depict or write the aspects as well as landmarks on cards in bold. Draw a grid on the floor and place the cards marked with the aspects horizontally and time period cards vertically. Ask them to take up one aspect at a time. Start with the present and depict it. Move to the next time period. Depict that and move ahead. After the completion of one aspect, move to the other aspect and continue till all are covered. Ask them to explain the diagram once it is ready. Find out whether they would like to make any modifications or additions. Encourage the participants to engage in a discussion on the historical transect at this stage. Facilitate a discussion among the participants. Some key points for discussion could include: What is it like today? What was it like earlier? What are the causes for change? Are the changes desirable or not? @ + “ett What can be done to improve the situation? Who will do it? What will the time frame be?

e

e ¢

Remember that the output is not the end. Discussion, analysis and subsequent action by the people are what you should aim at. Copy the diagram on a sheet of paper with all details. Thank the participants for their time and involvement. Inorder to verify the correctness of the information given in the historical transect, discuss the diagram with others; get more views on items you are not very clear about.

Material Required

The material required for historical transect includes cards, chalks, chart paper, bold markers of different colours, seeds and pebbles. Time Required

Around 2-24 hours should suffice for historical transect. However, the time requirement may vary with details aimed at and the scope for discussion. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Historical transect provides scope for improvisation to suit the demands of the situation. The use of local material, symbols and visuals makes the process inclusive even for the non-literate. Time line has been generally used as a precursor to the historical transects. Historical transect is generally not used at the beginning of any PRA exercise and is taken up only after the completion of initial rapport building.

148 Methods for Community Participation es

A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

Historical transect captures changes with respect to certain aspects related to natural resources at a few time intervals. The focus is on change with respect to natural resources. It provides snapshots of natural resources with reference to a particular locality over a time span. There is a baseline which depicts the situation at the beginning or in the initial stages of the time span under study. The subsequent changes are also recorded at different time intervals. Changes can be monitored in comparison with the baseline. Hence this method is inherently suitable for monitoring and evaluation. Advantages

This method provides the local people a simple way of representing their situation with respect to the natural resources over a period of time. Use of visuals and symbols makes the process interesting for the participants. Limitations

Some of the facilitators find the exercise difficult to facilitate, particularly in communities which have a strong oral tradition and in which the people are not inclined to drawing visuals. Further, lack of proper facilitation skills means that the whole process becomes facilitator driven. Historical transect is a useful PRA method to study changes particularly with respect to natural resources. 3.4 SEASONAL

DIAGRAM

Introduction

Seasonal diagram is also called seasonal calendar, seasonal activity profile and seasonal analysis. Seasonal diagram is one of the popular PRA methods that has been used for temporal analysis across annual cycles, with months or seasons as the basic unit of analysis. It reflects the perceptions of the local people regarding seasonal variations on a wide range of items. Seasonal diagrams, however, are not based on statistics, though they may be triangulated against secondary or primary data in order to verify the information generated. Seasons are an integral part of people’s lives and exert an important impact upon the livelihood of the local people, particularly in rural areas. Seasonal diagrams have been used to explore what

happens during the year and when. Quantification and depiction of the magnitude of the various activities adds to their utility and richness. Applications

Seasonal diagram helps to identify heavy workload periods, periods of relative ease, credit crunch, diseases, food security, wage availability etc. It has proved to be useful in project planning, i.e., when to implement various activities. It has been used to identify periods of stress and to plan for when intervention is most required. With a seasonal diagram it is possible to identify and analyse the

Time-related PRA Methods a

3

ee

ee

en

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149

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livelihood patterns across the year. The major strength of seasonal analysis is that it depicts a range of items and their magnitudes, which help in understanding how these items are related to and influence one another. These relationships can be quite revealing. A Typical Seasonal Diagram

Fig. 3.15 is an output of seasonal diagramming done by a group of youth and school children from the village Aukpa-Adoka in Nigeria with a special focus on agriculture and education. The aspects studied included activities of children, their diseases, percentage of attendance, education expenses and happiness. For some of these aspects, e.g., activities and diseases, unquantified details are marked, while for the remaining aspects their magnitude and intensity is also given. Aspects like workload, diseases and even expenses determine the attendance in school and the attainment of education. Happiness is determined by various factors, including workload, availability

of food and cash, education-related expenses, festivals, etc. During the analysis, the children came up

with the suggestion of shifting the vacation from the month of August, which is a happy month, to the months of June-July, which are the saddest months on account of there being a higher workload at the farm as well as a lack of food and cash at home. Process Steps

The suggested steps for making a seasonal diagram are: e

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Explain the objective of the exercise to the participants. Start a discussion on the present season and the work they have been doing during the season. Move to the present month and then the other relevant ones. Write the names on cards in bold letters. Ask them to identify a unique characteristic of each month, one by one, that would remind . It can them of the month. It can be a symbol or drawing. Encourage them to do it themselves participate e non-literat the even that be fun and add to their involvement. This will ensure meaningfully. as Draw a grid with chalk on the floor. In the grid have at least 13 columns and as many rows symbols or visuals and months the the items you want to study. Keep the cards with names of in the top boxes in order, horizontally.

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Now on the vertical axis, take the aspects whose seasonal variations you are interested in them exploring. Ask the participants to show the months when the aspect or activity is on. Ask different of sticks or to represent the magnitude of the activity using different number of seeds seeds sizes. You may be interested, say, in the availability of wage labour during various months; indito used be can be used to indicate the number of days. Similarly, sticks of different sizes can to move cate the quantity of rainfall during the month. After completing one aspect or activity another, until all of them are similarly covered. or make Ask the participants whether they would like to take up any other aspect or activity any modifications to the diagram.

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Interview the diagram, i.e., ask them questions on aspects about which you are not clear. Facilitate a discussion and analysis among the participants and others present. The points of discussion could include:

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Major findings and learning Implications of the findings

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Recommendations and action points.

Please keep track of the points arising out of discussions among the participants right from the beginning. These provide equally valuable insights, if not more important ones, than the output itself. Copy the diagram on a piece of paper with legends and details of the participants, facilitators, locality and date. Thank the participants for their active participation and valuable time. Later triangulate the findings with other key informants to ensure that the information generated is correct.

Interviewing the Seasonal Diagram

The seasonal diagram output is not an end in itself. It is aimed at the depiction and analysis of seasonal variations. Interviewing the seasonal diagram is helpful in many ways. You develop insights into like: the seasonal variations and how they are interrelated. For further probing you can ask questions e e

Can you explain why you have shown it like this? Can you explain this part of diagram?

be helpful Ask them to explain things that are not clear to you. Asking such probing questions may to light, ps relationshi and facts new brings in developing new insights and in-depth understanding. It depiction visual of use the through which even the community is not aware of at a conscious level, and analysis in the group. People’s Concept of Time

precise units People have their own systems and units of time. Some communities have their own in any seaHence, have. we that while others do not have. Many may have the same divisions of time the local of time of system sonal analysis, it is important for the facilitators to first understand the render may time of system people. And obviously, this system has to be given primacy. Imposing our the seasonality diagram totally meaningless. l months can The key questions helpful in arriving at the patterns of local seasons and individua include: What month/season is this? What are the other months/seasons?

What is the sequence of the months/seasons? What are the major activities during the different months/seasons?

152

Methods for Community Participation

In some communities the concept of months may not exist at all. Similar questions with respect to the seasons may be quite revealing there. Which Month should be Kept at the Beginning of Seasonal Diagram?

The decision about the first month in the seasonal diagram should be left to the discretion of the people themselves. Whatever they are comfortable with should be fine. In fact this question need not be raised with the participants at all; just allow them to arrange and start from whichever month they are comfortable with. Experience shows that the rural and agricultural communities generally start the year from the month which marks the beginning of a major agricultural season. You should develop a parallel between the two systems of time. Where to Make the Seasonal Diagram—on the Ground or on Paper?

Seasonal diagrams done on the ground with chalks, seeds, powder, symbols, sticks, etc., have several advantages: like providing more space for people to participate, providing flexibility for change if desired, and enabling every one to see what is happening and to contribute meaningfully. Floors with square or rectangular tiles are even more useful as they save you the burden of making the grids. Symbols and Visuals

While working with largely non-literate communities symbols are most commonly used. But even with literate communities symbols are useful. Experience has shown that people are quick to find something unique with which to represent the month. Symbols or diagrams used commonly include: e e e

Fruits and crops unique to the month. Equipment, work, clothing, games, etc., unique to the month. Unique items or articles associated with the festivals falling during the month, etc.

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Seasonal aspects, e.g., rain, snow, sun, etc.

What and How Many Aspects should be Studied in a Seasonal Diagram?

The objectives of the exercise and the availability of time would determine the aspects and their number. In case you are interested in running a thrift and credit programme with the community, you would perhaps do better to look at seasonal variations with respect to wage employment, food availability, expenditure, credit requirement, festivals, and other social occasions requiring expenditure and inputs for agriculture, etc. Another facilitator interested in primary education may look at aspects like diseases, rainfall patterns, workload of parents, work for which children are required at home and on the farm, education-related expenditure, food availability, migration, etc. You can study as many aspects as you are interested in. The problem, however, is two-fold. One, people may lose interest beyond a certain point of time. Two, showing too many aspects of seasonal variations in the same seasonal diagram can only be at the cost of its simplicity and visual attraction. Hence it is advisable to confine yourself to those aspects that are directly relevant.

Time-related PRA Methods

153

Material Required

Seeds, cards, marker pens, chalk of different colours and other locally available materials like twigs, pebbles, etc., should suffice. Time Required

The time required for doing a seasonal diagram may vary depending on a host of factors, including the topic, interest of the participants, depth of information and analysis aimed at. Two to three hours, however, should be sufficient. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Improvisation, creativity and flexibility are the hallmarks of PRA methods and seasonal diagram is no exception.

Linear vs Circwar Representation

Seasonal diagram can be depicted in various forms. One is the linear form, as shown in Fig. 3.15. On the other hand, Fig. 3.16 depicts a seasonal diagram from a village in Rajasthan, India in circular form. The aspects depicted include diseases, agricultural operations, crops cultivated and migration. The other feature of the diagram is the use of visuals to depict the various months and also the migration trend. In the linear representation, the year comprising of months or seasons is shown as a straight line while in the circular representation the months or seasons are shown in a circular form. Circular diagrams have the advantage of showing the seasons and months in a continuous manner—after December comes January and so on. That is important because some of the activities that start during the later part of the year may continue in the months beyond. In such cases circular representation is better. In order to avoid the problem of discontinuity, some of the facilitators using a linear form, instead of taking 12 months have gone beyond to cover upto 18 months. Circular representation of seasonality has the clear advantage of continuity. It also looks attractive to many. One limitation is the visual distortion it creates. Concentric circles represent various items. The circles close to the centre are smaller. So, items represented by them look less important than

others. The circular form also poses obstacles to indicating the magnitude of the items. As the number of items increases, the circular representation becomes a bit messy. It is also not very convenient if you want to record and compare more than one annual cycle to identify the changes in seasonal trends. A comparative analysis of the two forms is presented in Table 3.2.

Seasonal Diagram: Complementing Other Methods

Trend analysis can be clubbed with seasonal diagram to show how the trends of livelihood, credit, consumption pattern, food security, etc., have changed across seasons over the years. Daily activity schedules can be studied across seasons for the same individuals or groups.

154

Methods for Community Participation Figure 3.16

Seasonal Diagram: Circular Method 18 February 1997

Scorpion and snake bites Malena”

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Preparation of field

Participants: Dani and Bhanga

Facilitators: Ganga and Rameswar

Time-related PRA Methods

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Table 3.2

Comparative Analysis: Linear and Circular forms of Representation of Seasonal Diagram

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Linear Form

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ee ee ee e Ituses a matrix or grid, which is simple to record. e Its problem is continuity. Using a straight line showing 18 months instead of 12 months is one way of solving this problem. e It can handle large data on a number of items. It is useful even for comparing seasonal information over a number of years.

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Circular Form eee ee ee It uses concentric circles to record information. Its strength is continuity. It reinforces the circular nature of annual seasonal cycle. With an increase in the number of items, it becomes a bit messy and difficult to interpret. It cannot effectively handle large comparative data.

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Fig. 3.23 is an example of how daily activity schedules can be combined with seasonal analysis to provide an in-depth understanding of changes in the daily activity profile of the same group of individuals across seasons (see p. 167). A Gender Sensitisation Tool

Seasonal diagrams have sometimes been made separately by men and women. These have then been analysed by them together. These diagrams provide valuable insights into how the perspective differs across gender. It has been used as a tool to increase gender-sensitivity in a manner similar to that of the daily activity schedule. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

a Seasonal diagram is a potent monitoring and evaluation tool. Fig. 3.17 offers an example of how of formation the e.g., , intervention seasonal diagram can be used to gauge the effect of a particular diawomen’s groups in Laxmipalle village of Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The seasonal time the at es opportuniti gram provides month-wise details of food availability and income generation earlier the of the study and prior to the formation of the women’s groups. The exercise revealed that with an four, to lean months from the point of view of food availability were six, which came down front, generation overall improvement in food availability in other months as well. On the income while month, the improvement was seen to be even more significant, March remaining the only lean were and groups earlier, February to May was the slack period. The women formed thrift and credit provided with a revolving fund to start small businesses.

Impact of Lift Irrigation

to study the Fig. 3.18 is another example of how seasonal diagram and focus group discussions were used Movaikalan impact of the lift irrigation scheme on the status of migration and food security in village compare the of Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh, India. Seasonal diagram method was used to y across the availabilit food and migration to respect with scheme changes due to the lift irrigation on discussion group focus a had and diagram the on reflected and months. The participants analysed included: findings major the impact of the lift irrigation. The

156

Methods for Community Participation Figure 3.17

Seasonal Analysis: Food Availability and Employment Opportunities

_ 18 April 1999

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The number of families with members migrating reduced from 40 to 16. Migration of women members totally stopped. The period of migration reduced from 10 months to five months. In families with members not migrating or migrating for five months, children were no more burdened with taking care of the cattle and their education received an impetus. Earlier, the food grains (paddy and kodo—a local cereal) grown on their own land were available to the families for only five months. After lift irrigation, the food grains (paddy and wheat) were available to them for more than 10 months (Arthik Anusandhan Kendra, 1999).

Advantages Seasonal diagram is one of the most popular time-related PRA methods. The local people enjoy using it to explore seasonal variations of various aspects of their lives. It not only depicts when an activity is on but also represents the magnitude and intensity of the activity. It helps the local people to understand the interrelationships between various aspects. Limitations

A few facilitators find it difficult to arrive at the local concept of time. Imposing our own time frames generally vitiates the whole process. Seasonal diagramming requires facilitation skills. If not handled properly, seasonal diagramming can turn into a facilitator driven exercise. Focussing on the diagram alone may actually mean that a lot of valuable information generated during the process and discussions is lost. Seasonal diagramming is, thus, an important PRA method, which provides local people with an opportunity to depict the impact of seasonal variations on various aspects of their livelihood. It has been found quite useful for planning the timings of activities. 3.5 DAILY ACTIVITY SCHEDULE Introduction

Daily activity schedule, also referred to as daily schedule, daily activity profile, daily routine and 24-hour method, is a popular PRA method used to explore the activities of an individual, group or community, on a daily basis. This method forms part of the family of temporal PRA methods. In seasonal diagrams the temporal analysis is done on a seasonal or monthly basis, while in daily activity schedule the basis of temporal analysis is hours or periods of the day. It depicts not only the various activities but also the duration of those activities. Its visual nature makes it an attractive method. Applications

Daily activity schedule has been used to:

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Enhance an understanding of who does what, when and for how long, in the community Increase gender sensitisation, and create an awareness about who is responsible for what activities in the community and why Finalise timings of interventions, e.g., training classes, literacy classes, non-formal education, etc., for the target group, based on their convenience and availability of leisure.

Time-related PRA Methods eae

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A Typical Daily Activity Schedule Fig. 3.19 is a typical output of a daily activity schedule exercise done with women in the Nigerian

village of Aukpa-Adoka. This is one of the various ways of depicting daily activity schedule and is also the most common one, where 24 hours are shown on a straight line. The different activities taken up, along with their duration, are marked against the 24-hour time line. The day begins quite early at 5 aM with prayers, followed by household chores and sending the children to school. The farming work begins at 8 AM and continues till noon. After preparation of food, they rest for a while. The farm work continues in the afternoon as well. They prepare food in the evening and have dinner around 7 pm. They offer prayer at around 8 pM, rest and talk with their near and dear ones and finally go to bed around 10 pm to get up again at 5 AM to start a fresh day.

Process

The steps and other aspects which need to be kept in mind while doing a daily activity schedule are enumerated as follows: Steps

The steps in the process of doing a daily activity schedule are:

Explain the purpose of the exercise to the participants. Keep the group homogenous and the number of participants relatively small. Initiate a discussion on what they do on a normal day. Ask them to list the tasks or activities they perform from the time of getting up until they go to bed. If the e Make arrangements to see that the activities are listed down by one of the participants. participants are not able to write, ask them to depict the activities by visuals or symbols. Ask the participants to depict the duration of the activities. in-depth Interview the output by asking questions to clarify your doubts and to gain understanding. can e Discuss the daily activity schedule with the participants. The key points for discussion about feel include: their free time, period of strain, workload, liking for the activity, what they

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the way they utilise time, etc.

Keep a record of the proceedings and make a note of points emerging during the discussions. and date. Copy the diagram on paper noting details of participants, facilitators, location . cooperation and time their for Thank the participants daily activity Triangulate the output generated and also outcomes of the discussion on the and verify group the or individuals the observe also can You schedule. You can talk to others. not. or whether the output depicts the reality

On the Ground or Paper?

the floor using chalk has Daily activities schedule can be drawn directly onto paper. But doing it on involvement of more active for scope and space its own advantages, which include flexibility, more

160

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 3.19

Daily Activity Schedule of Women

Village: Aukpa-Adoka, Nigeria

June 1999

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Fetching water

Going to school

Weeding/ Planting

Marketing

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Time-related PRA Methods

161

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participants. But then you have to copy it onto a piece of paper again. The major disadvantage of doing it on paper is that people are hesitant to make any changes. They leave the mistakes as they are since they don’t want to do it all over again. Use of Symbols and Visuals

Daily activity schedule allows for the use of symbols and visuals without any problems. The use of symbols and visuals is not only a necessity when you have participants who are not literate, but also adds a lot of fun, creativity, and involvement to the exercise. It is quite interesting to find people who are not literate doing their daily activities using various ways of representing time, e.g., placing the sun in different positions along with the moon, electric or oil lamp, etc. In addition, prayers, birds, etc., have also been used frequently as symbols to represent time. Number of Participants Daily activities schedule is generally done in smaller groups because it takes time with larger groups. You will also realise that it is quite difficult to have a typical daily activities schedule when you have a heterogeneous group. One way to sort it out is to ask the people to select a few individuals who could do the daily activities schedule. Making small groups of homogenous members has generally helped to speed up the process. Material Required

Material required for daily activity schedule will depend upon the method (particular form) that you

follow. However, if you have with you some seeds, small cards, marker pens, chart paper, chalk, etc., it

should be sufficient. Anyway, you can always improvise and use the locally available material as well. Time Required 1

: p : 3 Time required may vary depending on various factors. However, experience has shown that 17 to 1 , 2; hours should suffice.

Scope for Improvisations and Complementarity with Other PRA Methods

Daily activities schedule provides ample scope for innovation both in content and form. In addition, daily activity schedule complements and supplements other PRA methods and hence it has been frequently used in combination with other PRA methods.

Various Ways of Depiction There are other ways of depicting the daily activity schedule. These include: activCircular Depiction: One of the ways is to represent 24 hours by a circle like a watch. Various timings. their per as ities are listed or depicted using symbols,

162

Methods for Community Participation

Fig. 3.20 is an example of circular depiction of daily activity schedule of school-going children from a village in Huaian county, China. Various activities have been shown by different symbols and their timings have also been clearly marked in the diagram. Use of symbols makes it easy even for those not able to read the language to understand the diagram. Matrix Form: Another effective though less commonly used way of depicting daily activity is a matrix. It has been found particularly useful when a comparative study of daily schedules of various individuals or groups is to be made. This is also helpful for comparisons of the daily activities of the same individual or group across locations or seasons. The matrix method of depicting daily activity schedule has the advantage of handling more information at the same time thereby making comparisons more effective.

Daily Activities of Different Groups of Children: Fig. 3.21 is an example of daily activity schedule of three categories of children, viz., school-going, non school-going (not enrolled ever) and drop-out, depicted in a matrix format. Day and night were divided into five parts, and against each time period the corresponding activities of each of the groups were recorded in visual form by the children themselves. Since some of the children were not literate, the five time periods were also depicted visually, using sun in different shapes, moon and stars. The daily activity schedule in this form helps to enable easy comparisons. In this particular case, there were a lot of similarities in the activity patterns of the three groups of children and hence 24 hours could be divided into five time periods. The 24 hours, however, could be divided into 24 periods, or even more, to get a more accurate picture of the daily activities of different individuals or groups if required. Card Sorting Method

This is another way of depicting and doing a daily activity schedule. As the participants list down the activities they engage in, right from getting up to going to bed, the same are noted down or depicted visually on the cards. Once all the activities are listed, the participants are asked to lay the cards on the ground in order of their occurrence. The participants are then asked whether they are happy with the sequence of activities or whether they would like to modify it. The next step is to ask them to show the duration or timing of each of the activities. Giving a score to each of the activities could show the duration. One common practice is to use seeds; each seed may represent a fixed time period. Another way is to mark the hours and show the period for each activity. Daily Activities of Women in Odubwo

Fig. 3.22 is an output of a daily activity schedule done with women of Odubwo village of Nigeria using the card sorting method. As most of the women were non-literate, the various activities, as they

listed them, were depicted by simple line drawings. They were laid down in a sequence and time was mentioned against the activities. The use of visuals and simple steps makes this an attractive method. The daily activity schedule exercise was done as an attempt to see how the intervention by the local NGO in the field of water and sanitation has helped women. A discussion was carried out further on the changes in the lives of women after the interventions. The discussion based on the daily activity brought up interesting findings, which have been described elsewhere in this chapter.

Time-related PRA Methods

Figure 3.20 Huaian county, China

163

Daily Activity Schedule of School-going Children: Circular Depiction 25 October 1998

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Daily Activity Schedule of Women

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Daily Activity Schedule across Seasons and Locations: Daily activity schedule of the same individual or group could be studied across seasons or locations to look at the seasonal or locational changes and their impact on the activities. This complementarity of methods helps in developing an in-depth understanding of the situation. Daily Activity Schedule of Women across Seasons: Fig. 3.23 is an example of daily activity schedule of women across the summer, winter and rainy seasons. A cursory look at the diagram reveals the differences in the activities and timings of women across the three seasons. Daily Activity Schedule across Locations and Gender: Fig. 3.24 is an example of daily activity schedule of migrant workers across two locations: brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh and transplantation sites in canal irrigated areas to which they migrate every year during different months. The depiction is also across gender and is insightful in many ways. A Tool for Gender Sensitisation

One of the major applications of daily activity schedules has been gender sensitisation. The daily activity schedules of men and women are drawn. The discussion on who is responsible for what activities in the community and why is then facilitated. It helps create an awareness about gender roles and clarify reasons for gender-based divisions of labour and control over resources. The comparisons of the workloads of men and women and how the counterparts perceive each others’ work have also proved helpful. In order to improve female education, comparative daily activity schedules of school-going girls and non school-going girls etc., have been found to be useful by initiating a process of analysis at the community and parental level.

A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

One of the uses has been to compare the daily activity schedule of local people before and after the project or any intervention, with an aim to examine whether the drudgery of women has come down or not. Fig. 3.22 is an example of how daily activity schedule could be used as monitoring and evaluation tool. The objective of the exercise was to find out the impact of the NGO's intervention of a borewell on the lives of women. The discussion and comparison of their schedules before and after the intervention revealed that: ¢

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After the intervention the women could sleep comfortably. Earlier they had to sleep near the stream to be ahead in the queue to fetch water. Earlier, due to shortage of water they used to skip some of the hygienic practices. They are now able to follow more hygienic practices, e.g., washing clothes daily. The borewell has helped the women reduce their drudgery significantly. They have been spared the hour-long ordeal of fetching water.

Thus, the daily activity schedule can be done before and after intervention to find its impact.

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Advantages Daily activities schedule is non-threatening. It can be great fun too. It can be done without problems at the start of a PRA exercise. The use of symbols and visuals make the exercise interesting and fun for even children and the non-literate. It helps in proper time management. Limitations

The daily activity schedule diagram is not an end in itself. The discussions during the exercise and later provide valuable insights. It is also necessary to triangulate in order to see whether the information depicted is correct. You can do it in various ways. Observation of people when they are doing their work can provide you clues on the authenticity of the information given in the diagram. Semistructured interviews with others can also be useful in finding out whether the information given is correct or not.

On the whole, daily activity schedule is a useful PRA method, particularly for understanding the ways in which people organise their time and address gender-related issues. 3.6 PARTICIPATORY GENEALOGY

METHOD

Introduction

Genealogy is an important anthropological method which has been used extensively to study kinship and descent. It has potential for application in the development sector, which, however, has not been utilised. There are two reported cases of application of genealogy in PRA (Mosse and Mehta, 1993; Kumar and Srivastava, 1998). Genealogies were used for anthropological work by the ‘founder’ of kinship studies, Lewis Henry Morgan (Morgan 1985[1871]). But the genealogy method itself was developed by W.H.R. Rivers, the British anthropologist, around the turn of the twentieth century, while he was on the Torres Straits expedition. Genealogy is defined as an ‘account of one’s descent from an ancestor or ancestors by enumeration of the intermediate persons’. It is a statement ‘of the way in which individuals are, or assert that they are, connected with one another through marriage and common parentage’. Genealogy is an analytical tool used for studying kinship: the descent groups, households and their fission, cross-cousin and parallel-cousin marriages, kinship terms, inheritance of property, and transmission of status. It has also been used for understanding migration, inter-generational mobility, marriage distance, changes in the names of people, etc., and it has the potential of being used for a variety of other parameters studied over generations, Experienced ethnographers advise the fieldworkers to commence their fieldwork with genealogies, for they not only yield substantial information on households but are also helpful in establishing a rapport with people. For demographic and biological purposes (such as the study of the transmission of hereditary diseases), the family charts prepared by investigators are called pedigrees. Here only consanguines are included; those recruited by adoption (with whom biological links do not exist) are important for sociological studies but not for genetics. While using the genealogies method, the fieldworker identifies an elderly informant (referred to as ‘ego’). The fieldworker asks the informant the names of the persons, their biological relationship to

170

Methods for Community Participation

him/her, and how they are referred to by him/her etc. The fieldworker keeps noting down the information and then puts it down in the form of a chart which is the genealogy chart. Thus, in the traditional approach, the role of the informant is limited to providing the information, asked for by the fieldworker. The informant is not actually involved in the process or in the analysis of the data. This does not in any way come close to the participatory approach.

Box 3.1

Genealogies and Development Work

- Although thechelone:mn sibel has traditionally focussed on the study of kinship and sitiesiret topics, -it has scope for usage in the field of development. There are, however, few reported instances of application — ‘of genealogies in ne sector.vA notable ee is Hieuse of geen in social mapping in Acres

he shesApotneTeck as far as possible. The elders went up to the one started working buek from the man in terms s ofhisbrothers, sone,,

Source: Mosse and Mehta, 1993.

Applications

The scope for application of this method in the development sector is tremendous. Possible applications include: Entry Point and Rapport Building Experience shows that participatory genealogy method can be an excellent entry point activity and help build instantaneous rapport. This helps the facilitator in knowing a large number of persons in a village and how they are related to each other. In some areas, the majority of the families in a village and at times even the whole village may be related to one another. The hamlet may be a big descent group.

Time-related PRA Methods

171

Group Formation

A clear understanding of how various families or households are related (as seen from the genealogy chart) may be helpful in the process of group formation.

Conflict Resolution The understanding of various issues and underlying currents may be helpful in facilitating conflict resolution in villages and amongst the families. Collection of Information

The genealogical charts can be used to collect and depict information on various relevant aspects, including education, traditional skills, land holdings, livestock, age at death and cause of death, female infanticide, etc.

Mobility and Generation Change

The detailed information collected using a genealogical method can give an idea of mobility and change over generations. Extension Activity

The genealogical chart showing land holdings, livestock, assets, etc., can help the informant and other family members realise how their assets have become fragmented and highlight the importance of small family norms. This method can thus be used to initiate dialogue and intervention. Thus, it provides a participatory method for the study of how families and individuals are related and how changes have taken place over generations. A Typical Genealogical Chart

Fig. 3.25 is a participatory genealogy of one Krishna from a village in Rajasthan. In fact five generations and 31 individuals are depicted in the chart. In addition to the names, the participants also collected information about activities like weaving, hand spinning, skill training and immunisation.

The conventional symbols used in the genealogical charts and other points to be kept in mind while reading or drawing are given in Box 3.2.

(Continued)

172

Methods for Community Participation

Box 3.2 (Continued)

Represents offspring (descent) 1 ————

KL +

1) (2)

_

Represents adoption Represents siblings

’

Represents deceased person Represents dissolution of marriage

The offspring oftheparents areanunged My vlekcending order from left (oldest) to right (youngest). Ina patrilineal society (which is the most common case), the descent is traced only from the males. The

women

(sister, daughters etc.)married out are shownashaving migrated out, using an arrow (-4).

Fig. 3.26 is another genealogy chart of one Rambarna of Utlabari village of Tripura consisting of six generations and 121 members and giving the details of the names, educational qualifications, and, in case of migration, the place of migration, etc. The participants used locally available material like: flowers of colour one/tamarind seed to depict male; flowers of colour two/red beans to depict female (marrying in); flowers of colour three/white beans to depict female (marrying out); thin bamboo sticks/paddy straw/strings/matchsticks to depict offspring and siblings and chalk/colour powders/small seeds to depict various kinds of information.

Small cardboard papers can be placed under the seeds giving the names of the individual. Other information, depending upon need and usefulness, can also be collected and depicted, symbolically or in writing. The participants, in case of any mistakes/wrong depictions, could remove seeds/sticks, etc., without any problems. In addition to the participants, others could also relate to what was happening and involve themselves in the process. The local persons, when asked by pointing to a particular seed were in a position to identify the individual. The facilitator then recorded the chart on a paper with details. Process

Steps

The process of doing a participatory genealogy described earlier may be considered as an example. The method when used in field can have a number of variations depending upon the locality, purpose of the study, availability of materials, and creativity of the local people. Suggested steps in the process of doing a participatory genealogy include:

¢

e e

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Chapter 4

PRA Relation Methods

The PRA methods covered in this chapter are as follows:

4.1 4.2 4.3. 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7. 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14

Cause Effect Diagram Impact Diagram Systems Diagram Network Diagram Process Map Well-being Ranking Method Venn Diagram Pair-wise Ranking Method Matrix Scoring/Ranking Method Force Field Analysis Pie Diagram Livelihood Analysis Spider Diagram Body Mapping

In all, 14 methods have been described in detail in this chapter. The first five methods can be clubbed under the broader category of flow diagram methods. At the end of this chapter. is a ready reckoner of PRA relation methods, which will prove to be a handy tool for reference and recapitulation. 4.1 CAUSE

EFFECT DIAGRAM

Introduction

Cause effect diagram is a popular PRA method which falls under the larger family of flow and linkage diagram methods. Also known as fishbone or Ishikawa diagram, it focusses on the causal factors of a phenomenon, activity, or problem, and the effects thereof. The cause effect diagram presents visually the

PRA Relation Methods

189

causes, effects and their inter-linkages, which help in arriving at an in-depth understanding of a particular topic, and provide scope for analysis and subsequent action by the local people. Applications

Cause effect diagram has been used for the study and the analysis of the problems of a wide range of areas including illiteracy, the dropout rate of children of women, migration, low productivity, drought, food of a cause effect diagram is to identify the causes and used to plan interventions to resolve some problems. actually helps in arriving at the possible solutions.

from school, drinking or alcoholism, the status insecurity, ill-health, etc. The main application effects of a problem or phenomenon. It is also The identification of the causes of a problem

A Typical Cause Effect Diagram

Fig. 4.1 presents a cause effect diagram of illiteracy done by the villagers of Aakakumba village of Hazaribagh district in Bihar. Various causes of illiteracy identified by the villagers include poverty and low income leading to child labour, children employed in grazing cows, irregularity of teachers, illiterate parents with little interest in and awareness of education, etc. The effects identified include

exploitation, lack of jobs, lack of enterpreneurship, illness, neglect of the education of children, etc. The inter-linkages between various causes as well as between effects have also been depicted. The major advantages of cause effect diagram include: e e e e e

Visual depiction of causes and effects of a problem, situation, phenomenon, etc. Focus on causes rather than just on symptoms. Providing an opportunity to the local people to express the complex realities of the causes of their specific problems and the consequences thereof in a simple visual mode. Identification of linkages between various causes and effects. Discussion of possible ways of solving the problem by focussing on the causes and identifying ways of approaching them.

Process Steps

The suggested steps in the process of making a cause effect diagram include:

e

e

e

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Methods for Community Participation

Table 4.4

Well-being Categorisation in Dhauradadar

Well-being Category

Manages well Somehow manages Manages with difficulty Dependent on labour and forest Total

Caste

'

Keulta

Saunra

Ganda

Total

7 8 12 5 32

D 7 40 20 70

1 5 10 14 30

11 20 62 39 132

This improvisation actually helps in arriving at a detailed understanding of the well-being categories, the criteria of well-being and the relative status of the well-being categories on the whole as well as on different criteria. The participants themselves identified the criteria for comparison. They also used visuals and symbols to depict particular aspects: for example, good land was indicated by fertile soil, irrigation water by, livestock by cow dung, etc. It meant that everyone understood what was happening and contributed to the process although they were not literate. Modified Well-being Ranking

The well-being ranking of all the households may not be really possible because of time and other constraints. At times, a complete ranking may not be necessary at all. In fact, while carrying out an evaluation of community contracting in Cuttak, Orissa, India for DFID, one of the goals was to study the involvement of the relatively poorer sections of the slums in the process. Hence, instead of doing a detailed well-being ranking, only the top and bottom 15 per cent of the households were marked on the social maps of the slums. The next step was to find out which of the households were actively involved in managing and decision-making, who worked as wage labourers and for how many days, etc. In addition, the distance of the location of infrastructure—both desirable ones, e.g., water tap and pathways and non-desirable ones, e.g., community toilets—from the top 15 and bottom 15 per cent, was also examined. This modified well-being ranking fared quite well in its purpose. A Tool for Social Analysis and Awareness

Well-being ranking is not just a method to generate a relative well-being profile of the households in

a locality, but one that can also be used as a tool for sensitisation and awareness-generation. Table 4.5 is the output of a well-being analysis carried out by World Vision India (North Zone) in 1999 in Dhantia village of Nainital, Uttaranchal, India. The villagers identified three well-being categories—rich, middle and poor—and then did a comparative analysis on as many as 18 aspects including productive assets, house-type and amenities, social and cultural practices, etc. The discus-

sion was later focussed on why there are rich and poor people in the society as well as on what the poor themselves could do to improve their condition.

PRA Relation Methods

Table 4.5

231

Class-wise Well-being Analysis in Dhantia

a

Serial No. and Item

Upper Class

1. Number of families

15

2. Extent of land owned

5 bighas (a local measure

Middle Class

Lower Class

33

20

1 bigha

0.25 bigha

of land)

3. Leased land for floriculture

Many

A few

Most work in floriculture farms

4. Irrigation

Available

A little

No question

5. Livestock

4 buffaloes, 4 cows, 15-20 goats

2 buffaloes, 1 cow, 4-5 goats

1 cow or | buffalo or 2 goats

6. Jewellery

Gold and silver

Silver-— only a few

Not available

7. House type, location, and water availability

Concrete houses in lower reaches -- water easily available

| Mud/wood houses at heights — few concrete houses

Government assisted mud/wood houses in

higher reaches. Scarcity of water

8. Toilet facility

No problem

None have it

Not at all available

9. Cooking gas

Most use it

Gas not available, use

Gas not available at all — depend on wood

wood

10. Electricity

Almost all have it

A few have it

Not at all

11. Savings

Habit— savings in banks or post offices

Most do not save

Not able to save— earn daily and then eat

12. Access to loans

Reasonable

Less

Nominal

13. General level of education

X or above

VII

V

14. Education of girl children

Both boys and girls goto school

_Less girls go to school

Very few go to school

15. Age of girls at marriage

25 years

18-20 years

15-16 years

High prevalence —-huge

Prevalent and increasing

Less prevalent and

16. Dowry

increasing

amounts

17. Marriage ceremony

In night, lasts two days-.

| Day time—a few invitees

invitees

many invitees

18. Number of children

2-3

_ Day time — very few

4-5

5-6

i

Source: Sujeevandas (1999)

Well-being Ranking in Combination with Social Mapping and Participatory Census Well-being ranking can also be easily combined with other methods, like social mapping and the participatory census as shown in Fig.2.5 in which the social map not only depicts the habitation pattern but also the productive assets—land, livestock, trees, type of house, etc.—of village Dhani

232

Methods for Community Participation

Gopera in Western Rajasthan. Box 4.1 gives an account of an improvisation to identify the poorest of the poor families using ‘pass on the pen’ approach.

Box 4.1 ‘Pass on the Pen’ Approach: An Improvisation to Identify the Poorest of the Poor Families ‘Pass on the pen’ is an improvisation that was found useful in identifying the poorest families for government

|

intervention in India (by Chandramouli, [1991]), The identification of beneficiaries for various development | programmes is based on economic criteria, In reality, to arrive at the income of households provestobea difficult task. Household surveys have been conducted to prepare the list of eligible households. There isastrong tendency among the people to show their income below the minimal level. This situation is further compounded — due to many other factors including:

©

e Factions and groups in the villages. Tendency among people to vie with one another to get into the list of eligible households. Neglect of the real poor while better off sections of the society get into the lists.

e Interference bynon-officials and political party leaders. © Corruption among the officials. :

The: ‘pass on the pen’ method was first tried in Obuladevaracheruva village of Anantapur district of — Andhra Pradesh, where household survey and subsequent verification had failed to arrive at a proper list of

eligible households. The steps in the process were:

neeting wascalled u der the shade of a tamarind tree and the purpose of the meeting was ° The gathering was asked to name the pootest person, who was then asked to stand in front of the. a

_ gathering.A pen, which is considered sacred by the local people and identified with ‘Saraswati’—the

___ goddess of learning andtruth—was handed over to him.

—

—

e The person was asked to say something about himself, hisassets, income etc. Once theperson hai _ of this, while holding thepen in his hand, the others were asked whether what he said was correc ° Once there was an agreement, the person was asked to identify the next person and tohand ov ° The next person was aske tospeak d about himself, the villagers were asked about the cor he had said and then the person was asked to identifthe y next person, 7 e This way the process continued till the required 31 persons were identified.

"The process was open and everything happened in front of everyone. There were two factors that enab information to emerge. These were: (a) the belief that while holding the pen, you cannot give ncorrect ; : mation, and (b) the fact that the whole village was there to contradict the speaker if any incorrec _ was given, Those who did not make it to the list were also satisfied because they felt that th process. There was no corruption, favouritism, or interference and only the most deserving wer

officials were glad that what had seemed impossible, happened without any problem. — A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

Well-being ranking can be used effectively as a monitoring and evaluati on tool. A well-being ranking with some socio-economic data before an intervention or during the initial stages of the intervention can work as a baseline to see its impact at a later date. Whether the well-being of people

PRA Relation Methods

233

has improved over a period of time due to the intervention can be determined. It amounts to doing a well-being ranking before and after the intervention. Even if the baseline well-being ranking is not there, a well-being ranking of the present can be done first and then the participants can be asked to go down memory lane and do the ranking for those households as they were before the interventions. It therefore, helps in arriving at the way the households have benefitted from the interventions. Advantages of Well-being Ranking

Well-being ranking represents the perceptions of the local people of well-being. It also helps to understand the local conception of wealth, the good life, and the local people’s views on socio-economic disparities between households. It is also used for identifying target groups here. Well-being ranking also avoids the pitfall of the economist’s bias as the focus is more on the quality oflife. Well-being ranking is used to explore issues related to livelihood, vulnerability, and constraints to development, as people perceive them, and to design intervention strategies in line with the people’s aspirations and conceptions. The major advantage of well-being ranking is that it makes it possible to arrive at an understanding of people’s criteria and indicators for wealth, the good life, well-being, development, etc. It is also used to study the impact of interventions or programmes on ‘different well-being groups or households and to develop a baseline for monitoring and evaluation. Limitations of Well-being Ranking

Well-being ranking relies heavily on cards marked with the names of household heads. The nonliterate do not find the process very participatory and inclusive unless special efforts are made. A common practice is that one of the participants reads the names on the cards aloud, allows the participants to think, discuss and then place the cards in the appropriate category as suggested by the group. Well-being ranking provides the relative status of different households based on their well-being. It does not, however, cover the process of the accumulation of wealth, the enhancement of status,

impoverishment, etc. Further probing using other PRA methods including livelihood analysis etc., may be necessary to understand these processes. Well-being ranking is based on the assumption that the key informants or the participants in the wellbeing ranking are knowledgeable about the relative well-being of all households in their locality. This assumption proves to be incorrect in certain cases. In large localities or communities, it is difficult to find participants who know about different groups. This holds true even for urban or semi-urban areas. One way to deal with this problem is to engage more informants or to do the well-being ranking for neighbourhoods with the local inhabitants. However, comparability of data becomes a problem in such cases. Wealth, income, assets, etc., are generally considered sensitive topics and are not discussed openly in many communities. Well-being ranking becomes a difficult exercise in such communities. A strong tendency has been noticed among people to present themselves in such a light that will bring them benefits. Mostly this results from the expectations they have of the facilitator or project. Households identified as poor will get benefits and subsidies and hence most of the households make attempts to be treated as poor. Well-being ranking is a powerful method which is quite helpful in arriving at the people’s concep-

tion of well-being. Despite the sensitivities involved, it has tremendous potential for application in the development sector.

234

Methods for Community Participation

4.7 VENN DIAGRAM Introduction

Venn diagram is one of the commonly used methods in PRA to study institutional relationships and is sometimes also referred to as institutional diagram. It is, however, popularly known as chapati diagram (chapati means ‘round bread’ in Hindi), as this method uses circles of various sizes to repre-

sent institutions or individuals. The bigger the circle, the more important is the institution or individual. The distance between circles represents, for example, the degree of influence or contact between institutions or individuals. Overlapping circles indicate interactions and the extent of overlap can indicate the level of interaction. Applications

The Venn diagram method in PRA has been found very useful to study and understand local people’s perceptions about local institutions, individuals, programmes, etc. The method provides valuable insights into and analyses of the power structure, the decision-making process, etc. The need to strengthen the community’s institutions can also be ascertained. The relative importance of services and programmes has also been studied using the Venn diagram. Venn diagram is particularly useful when you want to study and analyse: e e e

Variots institutions and individuals and their influence on the local people. Various groups and individuals in the locality and their influence. The main actors in the community and their conspicuous and inconspicuous influence.

However, you could also use a Venn diagram to study e e e

Relative importance and usefulness of services and programmes, People’s perception about diseases and their prevalence, and Social hierarchy in a locality, etc.

In fact, you can use a Venn diagram if you are inclined to use a simple participatory visual method and have:

e

A number of items to be studied: institutions, individuals, diseases, social groups, natural

e

To study these items in relation to a few variables, preferably two, which could include importance, prevalence and perceived proximity.

resources or any of their combinations;

A Typical Venn Diagram Fig. 4.15 is a typical Venn diagram output from Ghantabahal village in Orissa. The participants identified 22 institutions and individuals, which were then assigned circles of different sizes based

on their perceived importance. The primary school, gountia (traditional head) and sarpanch (elected

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.15

235

Venn Diagram of Different Institutions

Village: Ghantabahal

June 1999

Block

development officer

Public health Gountia (Traditional head)

centre

¢

Amar

Jyothi health centre

Sub-health centre

Hospital (Titlagarh)

Doctor

Bank

(Kharihar)

manager Village level worker

Legend

1. Size of the circle is proportionate to perceived importance—i-e., big circle more important 2. Distance from the centre proportionate to access —i.e., less distance means easier access Participants : Solman Tandi, Senapati Ratai, Man Ratai, Madhu Bhoi, Shanker Bhoi, Sudan Gahir,

Dhani Nag, Chharsing Manjhi and Judhisthar Sahu

236

Methods for Community Participation

head of the village local self government) figure in the top few places. The bigger the size, the more important was the institution. The circles representing the various institutions were placed on a chart paper in such a way that the distance from the centre of the chart represented accessibility. The longer the distance, the lesser is the accessibility. So though the primary school was considered important, it was placed far away, meaning thereby that the villagers did not enjoy easy access. The youth club, gountia, Jani (an individual), though less

important than the primary school, were more accessible. The overlap between various institutions and individuals, e.g., Jani, youth club and gountia, offers a clear indication of the degree of interaction amongst them. In addition to the output, the discussion that followed provided valuable insights into the situation at the village level. Process

Steps

The suggested steps in the process of doing a Venn diagram are as follows: Explain the purpose of the exercise to the participants. Ask them to list the various institutions, individuals, etc., as per the objectives of the exercise.

Ask them to write and/or depict them on small cards. Visual depiction becomes necessary if there are non-literate participants.

e

e

e

¢ e

e

¢

e

Ask the participants to place the cards on one of the variables of study, e.g., perceived importance of the institutions, in a descending order. Once the cards are arranged in an order, ask them whether they agree or would like to make modifications. Encourage them to make changes, if they are interested. Ask them to assign paper circles of different sizes (cut and kept ready) to the institutions or individuals in such a way that the bigger the circle, the higher that institution or individual ranks on that variable. Paste on the circles the cards with names of institutions or individuals. If you want, you can simply note down or depict the institutions or individuals on the circles. Draw acircle on the ground representing the community. Ask them to place the circles in such a way that those high on the second variable, accessibility, are kept close together, while those low on the variable are kept away from the circle representing the community. Once all the cards are placed, ask them if they agree with the placement. In case they want to, encourage them to make changes. In case, there are certain institutions/individuals who interact or work closely, they could be placed with an overlap. The degree of overlap indicates the degree of interaction. Ask them to discuss and explain why they placed the cards in such a manner. Note down the points of discussion and explanation. Copy the output onto a sheet of paper. Record the name of the village, participants, date, legends, what the size of the circle represents and what the distance represents. Thank the participants for their active involvement and time. Triangulate the diagram and the major findings with others knowledgeable about the situation to ensure that your information is correct.

PRA Relation Methods

237

Problems in Facilitation

Quite a few new facilitators find Venn diagramming a difficult method to facilitate. They fail to identify the variables—perceived importance and accessibility—and the dimensions clearly. The way out is simple. You should follow a step by step approach. Do not explain the whole process to the participants at the outset. Go one step at a time. Ask the participants to list the institutions. Once the list has been made, go to next step. Ask them to put them in descending order based on each variable, and once that is over, ask them to assign paper circles of different sizes and so on. Also ask them what they mean by the two variables. Make sure that the participants are clear on which dimension represents what variable. One simple way is to write it down legibly in bold letters and keep it in front when the exercise is on. Material Required

Paper circles are the most frequently used materials in Venn diagramming. It can also be drawn directly on the ground or on paper, but that does not allow the size or location of circles to be changed. Sometimes, after the circles are drawn, participants discuss the diagram and want to change the size or location. They hesitate to do so if the Venn diagram has been drawn, but if the circles are cut from

paper, they find making modifications easy at any point in the process. Venn Diagramming with Stones

The use of paper circles is infested with problems. During a PRA exercise in Thippapur, a remote tribal village of Khamman district of Andhra Pradesh, it was discovered that the villagers were find-

ing it difficult to use paper chapatis due to the heavy breeze and because of the villagers’ feeling of discomfort while using paper. The use of stones of various sizes lying on the road where this exercise was being conducted solved the problem (Kumar and Kumari, 1991). Fig. 4.16 is the output of the Venn diagram. The villagers identified the departments they interacted with, which included ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Agency), GCC (a co-operative of the tribals), village panchayat, revenue department, forest department, police department and excise department. Stones of various sizes were allotted to the departments and institutions depending upon their perceived importance. The stones were kept at different distances from the circle representing the village in such a way that distance represented psychological distance. Police, forest and excise departments were kept outside the village which clearly reflected the way the people perceived them. In fact, one of the villagers took the stones and threw them far away to express the feeling that they did not want them in the village. Please note that the tribals and the local officials of the three departments were in conflict quite frequently over various issues such as the cutting of trees and the brewing of country liquor. The use of locally available material is always better because it is easily available and the people are comfortable using them. Cow-dung cakes (Irene Guijt and Jules Pretty, 1992), stones, leaves of different sizes etc., have been found useful for Venn diagramming. If you want to use paper circles, keep circles of various sizes made of thick paper ready. Also keep paper and a pair of scissors handy for additional requirements.

238

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 4.16

Venn Diagram with Stones

Village: Thippapur

'

April 1991

ingay.e

( Integrated tribal

development agency)

GC:

Village

(A tribal co-operative)

O Traditional village panchayat

Forest O

CO Police

SS Excise

Education department

Land

Cie) Ca (i) revenue department Health department

Participants : Villagers of Thippapur Facilitators

§: Somesh Kumar and Shanti Kumari

PRA Relation Methods

239

Time Required

Time required for a Venn diagram may vary considerably depending upon the details that are being represented. However, you should plan to spend 2—3 hours on the Venn diagram and the subsequent discussion. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Venn diagram is a versatile method with ample scope for improvisation and application in widely diverse areas. Venn Diagram of Markets

Fig. 4.17 is an output of a Venn diagram exercise carried out in Aukpa-Adoka village of Benue state in Nigeria, depicting the markets and input-output flows. The circles represent various markets and size of the circle represents the relative size of the market in terms of volume of trade as perceived by the local people. The distance of the circle from the village indicates the relative physical distance. While all types of farm produce make up the outflow, the agriculture inputs that are purchased by the farmers are mainly chemicals and fertilisers. Another interesting usage has been reported from Tamil Nadu, India, where in one village, the

villagers combined the resource flow diagram of inputs and Venn diagram of institutions supplying the inputs (Rama Gounder et al., 1993). Venn Diagram of Caste Hierarchy

Venn diagram can be used effectively to identify various groups, their relative influence, relative strength, interaction pattern, etc. Fig. 4.18 is a PRA output depicting caste hierarchy of Dhauradadar village of Bolangir district, Orissa, India. A Praxis team facilitated the exercise as part of a poverty profile study of the district. The figure shows the eight caste groups of the village. The size of the circle represents the place of the caste in the social hierarchy. Keulta caste occupies the first place in the social hierarchy in the village while the ganda occupies the lowest place. From the perspective of the three groups keulta, ganda, and keuta (fishermen), the social distance is also observed. Ganda finds keuta closest followed by gonda. In case of keuta they find a cluster of gonda, sabar and saunra close and keulta, sundhi and gouda far away. This provides an interesting and quick understanding of the social hierarchy and groupings at the village level. On the social front, Irene Guijt has used Venn diagram method to study inter-village marriage ties. 3-Dimensional Venn Diagram

The common practice in Venn diagram is to study and analyse a number of related items in two dimensions. It is possible, however, to depict more than two dimensions in Venn diagrams. In this regard, the 3-D Venn diagram is an important improvisation,

240

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 4.17

Venn Diagram of Markets and Agriculture

Village: Aukpa-Adoka, Nigeria

;

Port

Harcourt

Fertilizer Chemical &

village

-

sdoi9 |v

4q---------------------------------

Fertilizer

Chemicals Inflow

Outflow

* Size of the circles indicates the size of market * Distance of the circle from the village indicates physical distance of the market

June 1999

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.18

Venn Diagram of Caste Hierarchy

Village: Dhauradadar

June 1998

@ As perceived by a Keulta—Biswal

©

Se

es (ST)

Keulta

241

Gouda

Keuta

Ganda(SC)

Saunra

Sabar

Sundi

@ As perceived by a Keuta—Nanda Sahni Keulta

Sundi Sabar

Saunra

Gouda

Ganda(SC)

@ As perceived by a Ganda-Sridhar Mahipal

Keulta

Sundi

Legend ® Size is proportionate to importance in caste hierarchy e.g., bigger the circle, higher the caste. ® Distance reflects perceived proximity, e.g., less the distance, closer to the caste

242

Methods for Community Participation Figure 4.19

3-D Venn Diagram—Disease Perception

1996

Village: Ashabani

Tuberculosis

]

&)‘nis Fever 12

Diarrhoea ]1

Malaria

Malnutrition 5

OO OOO Legend

e The size of the circle indicates perceived danger i.e. bigger the circle more dangerous the disease e The distance indicates prevalence of the disease i.e. closer to the human figure more prevalence

@ The number of coins (shown as O) indicates the cost of treatment Participants: Poor men and women of Ashabani, Bihar Facilitator: Somesh Kumar

PRA Relation Methods

Table 4.6

243

3-D Venn Diagram—Disease Perception

Item

Dimension

Represented by

1-D

Width

Size of the circle

2-D

Length

Distance from the person

3-D

Height

Coins/flat tiles

Studied Variable Perceived danger—the bigger the circle, the more dangerous the disease Prevalence—the closer the circle to the village, the more prevalent the disease Cost of trearment—the higher the pile of coins/tiles, the more expensive is the treatment

Fig. 4.19 depicts the output of a 3-D Venn diagram exercise conducted in Ashabani, a tribal village of Dumka District in Bihar, India where the local people analysed and depicted the perceived danger of diseases which afflicted them, the prevalence of diseases and the cost of treatment. The perceived danger of the disease has been represented by the size of the circle while the prevalence of the disease is represented by the distance from the people. Perceived cost of treatment is represented by the third dimension, i.e., height, using coins or flat tiles. The details are elaborated in Table 4.6. Process

The process of making a 3-D Venn diagram is quite similar to that of the standard Venn diagram. For the sake of clarity, the steps for making a 3-D Venn diagram for health have been enumerated here as follows: Ask the participants to list the diseases prevalent in their area. List the names of the diseases and ask them to depict the disease visually on small cards. Ask the participants to put the cards in descending order of perceived danger of diseases. Ask the locals to allot different sizes of circle (cut on paper). The more the perceived danger, the bigger the circle. Draw a circle representing the community and ask them to place the circles representing various diseases around it in such a way that closer the circle—more prevalent is the disease. Ask them to represent the cost of the treatment for each of the diseases using flat tiles. Ask the participants to explain the diagram. Interview the diagram to clarify your doubts. Copy the diagram on a piece of paper with details. Thank the participants for their co-operation and time.

The materials used for the third dimension may vary. For example, in Ashabani village, the villagers used broken flat tiles. In another tribal village, D. Mallavaram of East Godavari District, instead of using tiles the villagers preferred using currency notes or coins to depict the cost of treatment. The exercise can be used not only to study diseases but also for understanding various other issues, including food security, effectiveness of programmes, etc.

244

Methods for Community Participation

Thus, 3-D Venn diagramming provides a valuable tool to the locals to express themselves in three dimensions and for the outsiders to understand complex relationships. The same technique can be used for studying more than three variables also. However, adding more variables may make the visual complex and incomprehensible. Kate Kirsopp Reed (1994) has found this method useful in gathering information on the relative importance of various livestock diseases and the relationships between them. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

Venn diagram is used mostly to depict the present institutional analysis and interrelationships. It is also used as a monitoring tool. It could be done in two ways. One is to get Venn diagrams made at regular intervals. Starting from before the project or intervention was launched, a comparison of the time series diagrams done at various intervals could reflect how the roles of various institutions and their interrelationships have changed. It can give an idea of whether the project has been able to move towards its stated objectives. If you do not have the time series Venn diagrams, it is still possible to do an evaluation. The participants can be asked to do a Venn diagram of the present and then show what was different before the intervention or vice versa.

Fig. 4.20 is an example of a Venn diagram showing a change in situation—it depicts how the influence of moneylenders has gone down with the increasing role of the local NGO. The dots and arrows reflect the present situation while the regular lines reflect the situation before the NGO started working. In a similar vein, Anabela Braganca (1994) has used Venn diagramming to show the level of institutional interaction before and after the civil war in Mozambique. Carin and Duke Duchscherer (1996) have reported the use of the Venn diagram method to enable villagers to identify perceived basic minimum needs, to assess their relative fulfillment at the village level and to evaluate their relative importance. Advantages of Venn Diagram

Venn diagram is a simple but useful visual tool to study complex relationships between various institutions, groups, individuals, programmes, etc. The use of local material, visuals and symbols generates a lot of interest among the local people, and participation is quite high. Even the non-literate are also able to follow the proceedings and participate effectively. The instances of the use of Venn diagrams in very diverse contexts is evidence that this method allows for improvisation and innovation. Limitations of Venn Diagram There are, however, certain limitations to the method. Venn diagram generally becomes difficult and

complex when the number of items increases. Relatively inexperienced facilitators find it difficult to explain the Venn diagram process to the participants. It may become facilitator driven. Another practical problem with Venn diagramming is that sometimes it can become sensitive. In the presence of some of the individuals or representatives of institutions that are being rated in

PRA Relation Methods

245

e —————————————— e SS

Figure 4.20

Venn Diagram of Institutional Relationship and Changes

1997

Village: Lalpur

Situated in ‘Kedma’

Money lender

Society cum

Fair price shop ‘ Prabhas’

(N.G.O.)

Participants: Jagmaniya Bai, Piyajo Bai, Devkunwar, Anita Bai, Dhanmatia, Subro, Tuni Bai and others

246

Methods for Community Participation

the Venn diagram the participants may play safe. Hence the output in such cases may not reflect the realities. In brief, Venn diagram is a popular PRA method used extensively for institutional analysis. 4.8 PAIR-WISE RANKING

METHOD

Introduction

Pair-wise ranking is a popular PRA method. It has a history of wide application in market research. It helps in arriving at people’s priorities and preferences. It also leads to developing insights into people’s decision-making processes and the criteria used by them to arrive at their preferences. In pair-wise ranking method two items, attributes, factors, etc., are compared at a time. This process of comparing two at a time is carried on till each item has been compared with the other. The frequency of how many times each of the items have been preferred is ascertained. This frequency gives an idea of preferences of the people. The more the frequency, the higher the preference for that item. As the people arrive at their preferences for the various pairs, they engage in discussions. Such discussions provide valuable insights into their decision-making processes. Applications

Pair-wise ranking method has been used to find out the preferences of people. The possible applications of the pair-wise ranking method are too numerous to list out. The initial applications were largely in the fields of agriculture and forestry—to study preferences for crop variety, tree species, fruit trees, etc. Later, sources of income, credit, diseases, problems, subjects in schools, etc., also became

popular applications of pair-wise ranking methods. In addition to preferences, finding the priorities of the local people is another area of application. It is also used to understand decision-making processes and the factors that influence the people's decisions. Planning of new products and concepts that will be more acceptable to the local people is another area of its application. One of the innovative applications of this method has been to study social exclusion, caste hierarchy and social structure. When to use Pair-wise Ranking Method? If you are faced with a situation where: e

You have a few items or options but not too many.

e

You want to get an understanding of their decision-making processes and their criteria for arriving at decisions.

You want to get people’s preferences or priorities.

In such circumstances, pair-wise ranking method may be of immense help to you. A Typical Pair-wise Ranking

Fig. 4.21 is an output of a pair-wise ranking method exercise conducted in Nathusar village of Bikaner district,Rajasthan, on prioritisation of the problems of the villagers. The problems in the

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Methods for Community Participation

village were alcoholism, lack of infrastructure like roads, a community hall, electricity for the Harijan colony, public distribution system, medical facilities, unavailability of teachers and a lack of employment opportunities. As shown in the figure, the unavailability of teachers was perceived as most important and its priority frequency was seven. Other problems in descending order of priority were roads (6), health (5), community hall (4), employment (3), alcoholism (2), public distribution system (1) and no electricity (0). Problem Prioritisation

Fig. 4.22 is an output of a pair-wise ranking exercise, where visuals have been used, conducted in village Dhani Bhopalaram of Bikaner, Rajasthan on problem prioritisation. The use of visuals can really help the non-literate and less articulate ones to get involved. The problems in the village include a lack of drinking water, medical facilities, transportation, veterinary care, middle school and fodder. The participants in the exercise were village women. The problem of drinking water was their top priority while the middle school was at the bottom of the list. Process Steps

The suggested steps in the process of pair-wise ranking are as follows:

e

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number of participants to get involved. It is also more flexible and changes can be made easily. You can use a table as well and people can stand.around it. Chart paper can also be used. Keep one set of the cards depicting the problems in the grid from top to bottom. -Keep another set of cards from left to right on the top (as shown in Fig. 4.21). You are free to follow any order of cards but ensure that you follow the same order for both sets of cards, i.e., top to bottom and left to right.

e

Now take up the first card. Compare it with all other cards. The question you ask the participants for comparing the two items will depend on the nature of your study. Some helpful questions would include:

¢ ¢ ¢ ¢ e

e

e

e e¢

e e

Between Between Between Between

......... ......... ......... .........

Ta fa barrett and «acho Tee |age a ANC hs pas

which which which which

is more one do is more is your

serious? you like or prefer? important? priority?

Record the preferences in the matrix by putting the name, symbol, abbreviation or serial number of the item preferred in the relevant cell. At the end of the exercise, count how many times each item has been preferred. Note it down against the item at the end of the row. The higher the frequency of the item, the higher is the preference or priority of the same. Ask the participants to explain the output and also to encourage them to draw their findings. Record the main points of discussion throughout the process. They are as valuable as the output, if not more. Interview the output by asking questions on points you are not clear. The questions that you ask will depend on the context and subject of study. Copy the output on a sheet of paper with details of participants, facilitators, date, location and legend. Thank the participants for their time and active involvement. Triangulate the output and related findings with others.

Questioning in Pair-wise Ranking Method Remember that it is important to use the same question. Every time you compare two items, do not paraphrase or use a different set of words. It may make the participants confused and the responses

may not be comparable, as they might have had different aspects in mind while responding to the different questions. This has been found to be one of the common problems in many pair-wise ranking exercises. You should find out from the participants in the beginning what they understand from the question and proceed with the exercise only after all the participants and the facilitators share a common understanding.

Recording Preferences The responses need to be recorded in the matrix. There are various ways of doing this. You can write or depict the preferred item in the relevant cell. Visual depiction becomes necessary in cases where a

PRA Relation Methods

251

significant percentage of the participants are not literate. However, that requires more time and space

may be a constraint. You may number all the items and write the number of the item preferred in the cell. You can also use abbreviations instead of numbers. Once you have initiated the process and the local people have understood it, you can hand over recordings to them. Your job will be to record the matrix on paper and also to observe and listen carefully to what is going on. Analysis and Reflection The exercise does not end with the production of the output. Further discussion with the participants on the frequency of preferences of various items, trends, criteria used for arriving at their preferences, etc., are essential aspects which are quite often neglected. The output in the form of the pair-wise matrix gives a visual depiction of the preferences of the participants but does not capture the rich information and insights that are generated in the process of doing the pair-wise matrix. Many such exercises suffer from this problem. Diagonal Cross You might wonder why there is a cross diagonally in the matrix. The reason is simple. You cannot compare the same things, i.e., you cannot prioritise between ‘road’ and ‘road’. Hence the relevant cell is crossed out. The same is the case with the others. Hence you get a diagonal cross. You may also wonder why all the cells on one side of the diagonal are left blank. A look at the matrix will reveal that if you do a comparison taking up item by item moving across the columns, you would do comparisons for the same pairs twice: e.g., you compare alcoholism and road once in the first row. Later in the second row you again compare road and alcoholism. If you do the comparisons and fill all the cells, there is nothing wrong. However, the point to remember is that you have got the preference frequency for the same pairs twice. Also, it means more time—both yours and that of the participants. The process may thereby become boring for the participants. Material Required The material required for pair-wise ranking method includes cards of small sizes, seeds, colours, markers,

chalks, large size paper, etc. Time Required

The time required for pair-wise ranking would depend on the topic, interest of the participants, scope for discussion etc. However, approximately a minimum of 1} hours should be planned for. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Pair-wise ranking method provides for significant scope for innovation and wide ranging applications in diverse areas. A few instances follow:

252

Methods for Community Participation

Studying Caste Hierarchy Pair-wise ranking method has been used to find out preferences and priorities. It can, however, be used

in other areas as well. One of the striking examples is the use of pair-wise ranking for studying the social structure in India as shown in Fig. 4.23. The various castes in the village Dhauradadar of Orissa were identified. The participants were then asked to think of symbols for each of the castes and to draw them on the small cards supplied. Later these symbols were shown and others were asked to spell out which castes the symbols represented. All of these symbols were correctly identified by the participants. Another copy of the symbols were made on similar cards. These symbols were arranged in

a matrix. Diagonal cells were crossed off. Two dimensions were added—oneof the caste offering water (left to right i-e.,column-wise) and the other accepting the same (top to bottom i.e., row-wise). The first column representing offering of water by keulta caste was taken up. For helping the participants concentrate, a ruler was kept along the column separating it from others. A pointer was kept in the second cell representing acceptance of water by gonda caste. The participants were asked whether gonda caste would accept water offered by keulta caste. The negative response was recorded by drawing a glass of water and crossing it off. The pointer was then moved down to next cell representing acceptance of water offered by keulta caste by saunra caste. The affirmative response was recorded by drawing a glass of water. Once acceptance or otherwise of the water offered by keulta was recorded for all other castes, next column representing gonda caste was taken up. The ruler was moved one column towards right to focus on column representing water offered by gonda. One by one acceptance or otherwise of the castes were ascertained and recorded. The participants were encouraged to take over the process themselves at the earliest. The discussions were carefully listened to and recorded. The frequency of acceptance of water offered by each of the castes was also recorded in the matrix. The participants also did an overall ranking of the castes in the social hierarchy. The gonda caste was ranked fourth in the hierarchy though water offered by them had higher acceptance. It was obvious that direct observation or questionnaires would have taken much longer. With pair-wise ranking, however a lot of details were generated in an hour or so in a visual manner, making it widely applicable in social science research.

Exploratory Exercises

Pair-wise ranking method is useful as exploratory exercises. When you have only a rudimentary understanding of a particular subject, pair-wise ranking can prove helpful in enumerating the dimensions of the subject that need to be further explored. Pair-wise ranking method is also used as precursor to a detailed matrix scoring or ranking method. The criteria are generated by using pair-wise ranking. As the participants give their preference or priority, you can ask them the reasons for their preference or priority. The reasons are nothing but the criteria people use to arrive at decision. List them down. They subsequently become the basis for a detailed matrix exercise. Multiple Pair-wise Matrix

In a regular pair-wise ranking all items are compared with the others on the basis of one dimension, e.g., preference, importance, priority, etc. It is, however, possible to use the pair-wise ranking method on multiple criteria to study the relative status of different caste groups, kindred etc. It is like doing

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.23

253

Pair-wise Ranking Method: Caste Hierarchy

Village: Dhauradadar

18 June 1998

XC

AN

CA

2 |

=i afta]

ee ~

| CX

| AU |

r\

eX

Sas ae Frequency of acceptance

by others Overall rank in caste hierarchy ee BS

> Legend: Es Acceptance of water/food

Participants: Gopinath Tundi, Shridhar. and Ranjit

254

Methods for Community Participation

a pair-wise ranking on multiple criteria for the same items and recording them together on the same output using different symbols and abbreviations. The advantage of this method is that it helps the local people to explore some of the realities about which they have not thought much or analysed in-depth. This would include particular aspects of their lives, which they take for granted. Comparing the two options at a time in relation to different criteria provides the local people with the space to think and work some things out. The same information can also be collected using the matrix method. But in the case of areas that they have not analysed earlier, the multiple pair-wise method proves better as it provides the people with more time to think through the process and realise the details themselves. Multiple matrix can be done in two ways. The first is to take up one of the criteria and then do all the pair-wise comparisons one by one. After each comparison, the response is recorded in the relevant cells. Once the items have been compared with the others and the responses recorded, the next step is to take up another criterion and to repeat the process until all the criteria have

been covered. The second way is to take up a pair of items and to do comparisons on all the criteria, record the responses and then move to the cell representing another pair of items. This can be quick and useful, but it can also be problematic at times if the criteria used are of a very diverse nature. Two examples of the use of the multiple pair-wise matrix are enclosed for the interested readers. The first one is a comparative study of six kindred in a Nigerian village (Fig. 4.24) while the other, also from the same village, is an innovative attempt to use multiple pair-wise matrix for studying conflicts and their resolution (Fig. 4.25).

A Comparative Study of Six Kindred using Multiple Pair-wise Ranking

The objective of the exercise was to arrive at an understanding of the relative status of the six kindred groups of Aukpa-Adoka village in Nigeria. A cross-section of Aukpa elders and young men participated in the exercise. The major steps in the process of making a multiple pair-wise matrix comprised of:

¢

e e

Explaining the purpose of the exercise. Listing the six kindred by writing their names on small cards. Preparing a matrix (6 x 6). Selecting the criteria/variables for comparison and understanding what the participants meant by the criteria. Comparing in pairs two kindred groups on the basis of various criterion, taken one by one. Recording the better-off kindred within parenthesis after writing the code of the criteria in use. Completing comparisons in pairs for all the kindred on five criteria and recording the same in the relevant cell. Analysing the information generated criterion-wise, i.e., taking up one criterion and counting the frequency of various kindred on it. Discussing the reasons and implications.

The beginning of the exercise was tense and a little frustrating as the participants perceived that the exercise was a means of devising a formula to share the allocation of benefits/projects coming from government. But once the purpose was made clear, the exercise generated enthusiasm and fun.

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.24

Multiple Matrix for Comparative Analysis of six Kindred

Village: Aukpa-Adoka, Nigeria

me Ocheme (Oc)

255

June 1999

Ed(En)

Ed(Oc)

Ag(En)

Ag(Oc)

EclEn}

Ec(Oc)

La(En)

La(Oc)

Wo(En)

Wo(Oc) Ed(E ae

Enyikola (En)

Ag(En) La(En) Wo(En)

Akeyi (Ak)

Alome (Al)

Ed(Al) Ec(Al) Ag(Al) La(Al) Wo(Al)

Ed(Ak) Ec(Ak) Ag(Ak) La(Ak) Wo(Ak) Ed(Ak) Ec(Al) Ag(Al) La(Al) Wo(Al)

———

(Ag)

Status of

women (Wo)

Participants: A mixed group of villagers from Aukpa—Adoka Facilitators: Dr Steve Abah and Paul Chionuma

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Methods for Community Participation

The participants themselves generated the criteria for comparison of the six kindred. The criteria were: economic status, as evident from the wealth, positions and cost-intensive activities; agriculture, assessed in terms of the extent of land owned and cultivated; education, in terms of the

number of persons having studied upto secondary school; the status of women, in terms of the number of happy marriages and their economic well-being; and land in terms of the actual extent of land within the kindred. ; Fig. 4.24 is the output of the exercise. The frequency data gives a clear idea of the relative status of the kindred groups in relation to the various criteria. The inter-kindred differences on various aspects are significant. Another interesting finding was that a strong relationship existed between agriculture and land. The kindred with more land were better off in agriculture than the others. Multiple Pair-wise Matrix for Studying Social Control and Resolution of Conflict

The objective of the exercise was to study the system of social control and conflict resolution in Aukpa-Adoka village, including the punishment system. The participants included a group of old men and women and a few youths. Multiple pair-wise matrix method was used for this exercise. The objective of the exercise was explained to the participants. The different symbols were arrived at with the participants. The participants were asked to mention the different types of conflicts that occured in their village. They also mentioned the different steps in conflict resolution. The participants arranged the different conflicts in relation to occurrence, degree of offence and the different steps taken to resolve each conflict. The participants also described different types of punishments and fines. Fig. 4.25 provides a visualisation of various types of conflicts, process of resolutions, fines, etc., in brief. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

There are hardly any reported instances of the use of the pair-wise ranking method for monitoring and evaluation purposes. However, it can be used for detecting changes in people’s preferences over time by doing the same matrix at different time intervals. Advantages of Pair-wise Ranking Method

Pait-wise ranking method is a simple method. It has been used in diverse areas. It has been found to be particularly useful in exploring new areas. Even a simple pair-wise ranking can turn out to be very informative. In a very short period of time, depths of decision-making processes can be explored, which would not be possible in a casual conversation or through direct observation. The real advantage and strength of this method lies in its simplicity. At any time the participants compare two items, and based on their preference, they select one. Later, they are encouraged to look into the reasons for their preferences. This gives them an opportunity to look at their own decisionmaking processes and criteria. In fact, in many of these exercises, the participants learn many new points that they were not consciously aware of.

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.25

Multiple Matrix of Conflict Resolution

Village: Aukpa-Adoka, Nigeria

June 1999

Party

Wife/

Child/Son

Family

Kindred

| Community

Women

i

rien

Ee

So

Community

Legend:

257

O Occurence, N.E. Non Existent

J Degree of Seriousness N.C. Not Common

Steps in resolving the conflict os Not Grievous

G_

V.G.

i

Grievous

Very Grievous

C Common V.C. Very Common Level of conflict resolution 1. Individual 2. Family 4. Elders of kindred 5. Village head 7. Police/Constable 8. Ochi Adoka 10.Ochi Idoma

Taboo

3. Head of kindred

6. Elders in the village 9. Chief of council

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Methods for Community Participation

Limitations of Pair-wise Ranking Method Pair-wise ranking method has certain disadvantages as well. One is that it can be very simplistic at times. Decision-making and the selection of preferences are very complex processes. Preferences are not guided by a simplistic set of criteria: e.g., a farmer may find it difficult to arrive at a preference of one variety of paddy over another because he requires both for the two different plots of land that he has. Hence matrix scoring may prove to be more suitable for such multi-dimensional analyses. Pair-wise ranking also becomes messy and boring if the number of items to be compared is many. If there are four items, you will have to make six comparisons, i.e., you will have to ask the same question six times n (n — 1)/2 (where n is the number of items/options). But if there are as many as 12 items, the process will be repeated 66 times. It might become quite tiring both for the participants as well as the facilitators. With non-literate and less articulate participants, using pair-wise matrix, despite use of visuals, can at times mean that the participants become mere respondents. Some of the facilitators have found the pair-wise ranking difficult to facilitate. Some participants find it difficult to interpret the meaning of each of the cells. There have been attempts to simplify it as well. For example, Tim Russell modified the pair-wise ranking method to arrive quickly at people’s priorities using seeds or stones instead of numbers. Problems were compared in the same way as for the pair-wise ranking method. The difference was that for each comparison a seed was placed next to the more important problem. The number of seeds for each problem was counted. The greater the frequency, the higher the priority. This process was simple and quick. However, the disadvantage was that a record of the results of each comparison made was not available after the exercise. A popular PRA method, despite certain limitations, pair-wise ranking is useful for understanding people’s preferences and their decision-making processes, and has been a favourite for exploratory and

innovative usage. 4.9 MATRIX RANKING/SCORING

METHOD

Introduction

Matrix ranking or scoring is a popular PRA method. It has been commonly used to present, depict and analyse large amounts of data. It makes the comparison of various items, on the basis ofdifferent criteria, simple and fun. It helps in arriving at a comparative understanding of the items, based on certain characteristics or criteria and thereby making an informed choice.The participants may know their preferences, but this method helps both the participant and the facilitators understand the reasons for the preferences as well as the decision-making process. Applications

Matrix ranking/scoring method is useful whenever you want to arrive at comparative understanding of various items of certain characteristics. This method has been used in very varied contexts to present, depict and analyse large quantity of data. For example in agriculture it has been used to study preferences of crops, varieties of fruit trees, agriculture equipments etc., while in livestock section, it has been used to study preferences of different breeds of animals and fodder. In education, preferences for subjects, teachers, teaching methodologies and games are commonly studied using matrix method. It is most useful to store large data; arrive at preferences of people and understanding their decision-making process.

(en

eae

ee

ST

lS

a

ee

St

PRA Relation Methods

at aed

259

iad alad

Table 4.7 Preference Ranking for Fodder Varieties arate onceareelrtciemameptestilaectentetesteriege ceca ciseees-anvesredinniatrerepareemmmpeerreeseeioee nmin ins hse ces eee Variety of Fodder

Ulva

Puttu

Jonna Soppa

Wari Guddy

Pacchi Guddy

Para Guddy

Tauvadu

(Horse Gram)

(G’nut Husk)

(Jowar Straw)

(Paddy Straw)

(Green Grass)

(Forest Grass)

(Rice Bran)

2

1

4

7

8

5

6

3 6

3 4

2 3

l 7

3 1

3 2

6) 5

6

7

6

6

6

6

7

with other feed Available for a

7

2

1

3

5

6

5

long time Strength for

5

1

1

l

4

tl

6

ploughing Slow digestion Available with us Available abundantly No fertiliser needed Easily purchased Animals like it Cheap to purchase

1 3 4

2 4 3

3 l \

fl 7 2

4 6 6

5 5 7

6 i) 4

3

2

1

7

4

6

2 6 1 6

5 7 2 1

1 1 3 1

7 2 3 1

1 3 3 1

6 5 3) +

Criterion

Gives Strength Does not rot when wet Good for milk Does not cause sickness No need for mixing

:

5 5 4 2 5

A Typical Matrix: Fodder Preference of Farmers of Kistagiri Table 4.7 depicts the fodder preference of the farmers of Kistagiri village of district Mehboobnagar, Andhra Pradesh, facilitated by a team consisting of NGO personnel working in the area of natural resources management led by Dr Robert Chambers. Preference ranking with the farmers was one of the exercises carried out to gain a better understanding of the decision-making process behind their selection of fodder for their cattle. Farmers initially named the fodder varieties that they used and also described the reason for using that particular variety. Then the farmers were presented with the names of the fodder in pairs and were asked to choose the better fodder. Reasons were probed for the choices made. A list was made of the reasons for preferences. This list was, in fact, a list of criteria that farmers used to evaluate the different fodder varieties. The names of all the fodder varieties were written across the top of the sheet. The group was presented with a single criterion and asked to give their preference for the fodder that best met the particular criterion, e.g., which is the best fodder to provide strength? The next best? The third best? Which is the fodder that is weakest in providing strength? And of the last two which is preferable? As a result of this exercise the different varieties of fodder were ranked on each criterion from one to seven where one was the best and seven the worst. In examining certain criteria, preferences after the best and next best were not very strong. Therefore an equal rank was given to all the remaining fodder varieties in such cases.

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Methods for Community Participation

As seen from the matrix, the preference of the farmers seems to be towards pacchi guddy (green grass) which is available during the monsoon at a little or no cost. However, when the grass is no longer available, then jonna soppa (jowar straw) is preferred. Process

Steps

The suggested steps in the process of matrix scoring/ranking are as follows:

Identify the topic on which you want to develop an in-depth understanding of the pattern of decision-making (choice) on a number of different criteria.

Also identify the individuals or group with whom you would like to do the matrix. Invite the participants for the exercise. At the outset, clearly explain the purpose of the exercise.

Initiate a discussion on the topic. List down the various options. Note down the options/items coming out of the discussion. The next step is to arrive at the criteria. One of the simplest ways is to do a quick pair-wise comparison of the options to arrive at the reasons for their preference. The reasons are actually nothing but criteria. If a large number of criteria come up, discuss them with the participants and arrive at a few important ones. There can be other ways of arriving at the criteria, which have been described elsewhere in this chapter. Ensure that the criteria are all positive and precise. The use of positive and negative criteria in the same exercise can be confusing. Draw up a matrix with the items/options top to bottom and criteria left to right. You can do it the other way round also. However, keep in mind that the comparisons are made criterion-wise and not item-wise. It means that you take up a criterion and then do the ranking/scoring for all the items. Once one criterion is over, move to the next, do the ranking/scoring for all items and record them till all criteria are covered for each of the items. Depending on your preference for ranking or scoring, the steps will vary.

Ranking Take up a criterion and ask the participants to rank or score the objects on the basis of that criterion. Certain questions which can help in ranking could include:

Which Which Which Of the

is best? is next best? is worst? remaining which is better?

Record the rankings directly onto the matrix. You can also use a card sorting method instead of this approach, particularly when you have a large number of options. The card sorting way of ranking is described elsewhere in this chapter.

PRA Relation Methods

261

Scoring

e

You can go for matrix scoring instead of ranking. You can opt for fixed scoring on a 1-10 Take up a criterion and ask the participants to give scores to each of the items in such that the items scoring high for that particular criterion get high scores and others get low depending on the magnitude in the range 10 (highest) and 1 (lowest). Record the scores

e

After scores are given for all the objects on the criterion, move to the next and so on till all the criteria are covered. Listen carefully to the discussions which the participants engage in while deciding on the scores/ranks and arriving at the criteria. Take notes. Remember that these provide very valuable information. Ask the participants to explain the matrix in detail. Also ask them to list their findings. Allow them enough time to reflect. Depending on the objectives, give them some key questions as pointers to think. Interviewing the matrix can further help you arrive at more clarity. Ask questions on points about which you are not clear. Copy the matrix on a sheet of paper with details. Thank the participants for their active

scale. a way scores in the

relevant cells using flexible material like seeds, pebbles, etc.

e

e

e

e

Participation.

Whose Criteria?

There is a temptation among the facilitators to determine the criteria for the matrix method themselves. This may be due to various reasons. The research or project may demand information on certain pre-fixed criteria. At times, the local participants may not come up with many criteria. They may be interested in a few criteria only while you may have a number of them in mind. However for various reasons it is important and necessary to use the criteria of the people rather than your own.

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Methods for Community Participation

Table 4.8

Comparison of the Criteria of Scientists and Farmers

Criteria Scientists Normally used e e e e e e e e e

Seed size Grain quality Days to maturity Seed colour Plant height Pest resistance Grain yield Protein content Cooking time

Criteria used by the Farmers e e e e ¢ e e ¢ © e

Height of plant Ability to intercrop Flower production Pod production Pod filling Pest damage by the pod borer Grain yield Wood bio-mass Quality of wood for construction Taste of grain Storability Grain price in local market

Source: Pimbert (1991).

Facilitating the local people to arrive at their criteria to evaluate certain options is a fascinating and enlightening experience. Generally the local people come up with such criteria which the outsiders could not have even thought of. So if the local people are not given time and space to explore and come up with their own criteria, the chances of missing the people’s realities are high. Some of the criteria selected may look strange but if the local people think they are important, their rationale needs to be understood. Pimbert (1991) has reported an interesting instance which reinforces the need and importance of people-generated criteria. In 1989-90, the performance of red gram varieties were evaluated in on-farm trials in Medak district, Andhra Pradesh, India. A comparison of the criteria used by the scientists normally and those used by the women farmers (see Table 4.8) brought to light certain striking features including:

e

e

e

e

There was a significant difference in the number of criteria used. Scientists used nine criteria while the farmers used 12 criteria. The difference is not only in numbers but also in the perspective. The farmers’ criteria are guided largely by practical concerns, e.g., taste of the grain, price of grain in the local market, ability to intercrop etc. Some of the criteria were such that the scientists perhaps could not have even thought of, e.g., wood bio-mass and quality of wood for construction. But they are of importance for the farmers as they use the bio-mass for construction and as fuel wood. The farmers also tended to be more detailed in the way they described the criteria, in comparison

to a scientists e.g., the latter used ‘pest resistance’, while the former would say ‘pest damage by borer’. pod

Discussions with the women farmers revealed that their choice was to grow both the local variety and one of the new varieties. The local variety would be sold in the market and the improved variety

would be consumed. This was a strategy to minimize the risks posed by an uncertain environment.

PRA Relation Methods

263

If you had gone ahead with the criteria of the scientists alone, some of the criteria would not have figured in the study at all. Therefore, the reasons, e.g., taste of grain, storability, grain price in the local market, wood bio-mass, quality of wood for construction, etc., that form the very basis of the preferences of local people for the different varieties would have gone unexplored. Other than highlighting the need for people-generated criteria, it also explains why some of the highly acclaimed new varieties of crops are not acceptable to the farmers. The advantages of people’s criteria need not be over-emphasized. There is every reason for resisting the temptation of thrusting and even suggesting your own criteria to the people. Allow the participants the time and space to come up with their own criteria. But if you cannot help it and you have to get the people’s response on some pre-fixed criteria, which were not suggested by the people, then see that you deal with such criteria only at the end. Also mark out such criteria from those of the respondents clearly in the output and also mention them in the report. Arriving at the Criteria You can arrive at the criteria in different ways. One way is to go through a quick pair-wise ranking. As the participants tell you the preference for one over the other, ask them the reasons thereof. Go over to the next pair, ask for their preferences and then ask for the reasons for their preference. The reasons are nothing but the criteria. Identify as many criteria as possible. If a very large number of criteria are generated, facilitate prioritisation by the participants. Take up only the most relevant criteria for matrix ranking/scoring. Another way of arriving at criteria is to ask the participants themselves to list points on which they would like to compare and assess the items/options. A discussion on this can help generate criteria. If a large number of criteria are generated, ask the participants to prioritise and select the most relevant ones. Criteria—Precise and Positive

You need to be careful with the criteria and the way you present them. Ensure that you do not simultaneously use positive and negative criteria for the same exercise. It makes the task of comparison difficult. In case some criteria emerge which are not in line with the other positive criteria, you may have to convert them. For example, if you are evaluating various income generating activities, you

may use criteria such as high return, high initial investment, low risk, etc. High initial investment is a negative one in comparison to high return and low risk. Hence it is desirable to convert high initial investment into low initial investment. At times, however, such changes can be complicated as they

may disrupt the group process and the flow of thought of the participants. Card Sorting

With a greater number of objects or options, ranking by asking questions may take time. Towards the end, the participants may feel bored. Card sorting can be quite quick. The necessary prerequisite is that the options/items are written or depicted on cards. You take up one criterion and then ask the participants to put the cards in order. The topmost card marks the highest for that particular criterion and the last card in the order is lowest for the same criterion. But be careful to record the ranks in the

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Methods for Community Participation

matrix properly, as you move from one criterion to another quite quickly. You could also add one more ‘overall’ criterion and get the ranks for the options/items. Which is Better: Ranking or Scoring?

It is difficult to give a clear-cut answer. Both have their advantages and limitations. A lot will depend upon the situation and your own preferences. In case you have a large number of items and more criteria, scoring may become a bit tedious. It may lead to fatigue and boredom among the participants and they may start assigning scores without much thought. In such a situation, ranking, using cards, can be useful. But ranking has its own limitations. Ranking does not reflect the difference between two objects for a given criterion; all you will know is that one is ahead of the other. Scoring gives you some idea of the difference as well. You will have to decide, depending upon the situation and requirements, whether to go for scoring or ranking. Number of Participants Matrix method can be used with individuals as well as groups. Working with a group of participants in line with the PRA philosophy has many advantages including: e e ¢

It reflects a wider range of experience. In the group, the process can be quicker. When the participant marking the scores/ranks gets tired or bored, others can take over.

The usual limitation of the group, i.e., domination by a few, may work adversely. Similarly scoring/ranking in groups with members from very diverse backgrounds becomes difficult. With heterogeneous groups, differences are many and a consensus on scores/ranks is difficult to arrive at. The scores/ranks may actually reflect the perceptions and biases of a few dominating persons. The key is to have a homogenous group of individuals having similar interests with respect to the topic of analysis. If required, you can do similar exercises with different groups to arrive at comparative perspectives. It’s not just the Output! Like other PRA methods, matrix scoring/ranking method also suffers from the limitation of the out-

put becoming an end. A large amount of information can get lost if a proper record of the points discussed by the participants while arriving at options and criteria, and while assigning scores/ranks, is not kept. Based on their experiences with the matrix scoring method, Maxwell and Bart (1995) concluded that ‘the discussions that take place while the matrix is being drawn up can be as illuminating as the matrix itself’. In fact, the discussions can be even richer than the output, particularly if the exercise is well facilitated. The matrix method is susceptible to becoming output oriented with the focus on numbers and important information can get left out. There is a need to be aware of this and to try to ensure that such a tendency does not dominate the process.

PRA Relation Methods

265

Analysis and Reflection One of the major advantages of the matrix method is that it not only provides valuable data but also initiates a process of analysis amongst the participants. The step by step process of decisionmaking for scores or ranks really makes even those not used to systematic ways of analysis come up with major insights. The key point is to create space and time for those interested in coming up with their own analysis, learning and action points. A simple way is to ask the participants to make a detailed presentation of the output of the matrix method. You can further encourage them to come up with their findings and learning from the exercise. The discussion can be focussed on what needs to be done with respect to the findings, what they can do themselves and for what they require external support. Interviewing the Matrix

Even after the participants present and explain the matrix, there may still be areas about which you are not very clear. As part of the process called ‘interviewing the matrix’, you can perhaps clarify your doubts and gain more understanding by asking probing questions. Despite the suitability of the matrix method for analysis and reflection, the common tendency on the part of most facilitating teams is to go for the output only. Interviewing the output can actually be used as a guard against this tendency. The matrix method complements and supplements semi-structured interviews quite well. In fact, experienced facilitators have found that interviewing the outputs significantly enhances their understanding of the issues related to the topic. Sequence of Matrix Method

Matrix scoring/ranking is generally not done at the beginning of a PRA. A pair-wise ranking with the same objects helps in generating criteria. The matrix scoring/ranking method can follow. Matrix scoring/ranking is also combined with other methods like semi-structured interviewing etc., for further in-depth probing. Material Required

Locally available material like seeds, pebbles, twigs and cards of different colours are used in matrix method. Scoring using Flexible Material The scores in matrix method are best given with seeds, pebbles, stones, etc., particularly when you are

dealing with participants who are not literate. However, the use of flexible scoring systems is also equally effective with the literate participants. The main issue here is flexibility. The advantage of using seeds and stones is that it allows people to modify the scores without any major effort. My experience is that when some one writes a score, he or she has a tendency to justify it more strongly if the group discusses it and wants to change it. With flexible seeds and stones, however, this attach-

ment is not there.

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Methods for Community Participation

There is also a noticeable tendency among the participants, particularly towards the end of the exercise, to accept whatever is written. Even if they realise that certain scores/ranks need to be modi-

fied, they are hesitant to do so. The reasons may include boredom, fatigue and an anxiety to complete the exercise at the earliest. Seeds and pebbles are more convenient because they enable changes to be made without causing too much inconvenience. Time Required

The time required for matrix ranking and scoring will depend on a host of factors including the topic, the interest of the group in the topic, the discussions that follow, etc. In any case it is likely to take 1+ hours at the least; but it may take longer than that in most cases.

Case Study

A case study of matrix ranking is given below to provide you with a feel of the process of doing matrix ranking of crop preferences with a gender focus.! The objective of the exercise was to study the crop preferences of a middle income group farmers of Aukpa-Adoka village in Nigeria. The main steps included:

e

e

After the purpose of the exercise was explained in detail, the participants were asked to list the various crops they normally grew in their village. The names of crops were written as well as depicted with symbols using seeds, leaves, etc., on separate cards. The criteria were generated in a simple way, whereby one crop was compared with the others one by one. The participants were asked to specify their preferences and the reasons thereof. In a short time various criteria e.g., ‘staple diet’, ‘high resistance to pests’, ‘high contribution to cash income’, ‘grows well in low fertile soil’, etc., were arrived at, which were written and symboli-

¢

e

e

cally depicted on small cards. One criterion was selected. The card with that criterion written and depicted was placed in front of the participants. They were then given the cards containing the crop names and asked to put them in order with respect to the criterion in question. The top card meant the highest rank for that particular criterion and the bottom card the lowest rank on the criterion. The ranks were recorded in the matrix after ascertaining whether the participants were satisfied or wanted to make any changes. Similarly, the remaining criteria were taken up one by one and ranks of crops recorded in appropriate cells. In this way the ranking of each of the crops for all the criteria was done and an overall preference ranking for the crops was also obtained. The output is enclosed as Fig. 4.26. As the ranking came to an end, a woman by name Antonio made comments on men being prejudiced against pepper crop and giving it a low ranking. Though it had not been planned,

she, along with another woman, Esther, who was also present, were asked to do an overall pre-

ference ranking for the crops from the women’s perspective.

'This exercise was facilitated by Somesh Kumar with Andrew Ogwuche.

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.26

Matrix Ranking for Crop Preferences

Village: Aukpa-Adoka, Nigeria

Vi

June 1999

High Contriresistance | butes to to pests cash

|Grows well] in low fertile soil

Overall ranking

| Overall ranking

| Increase/| Increase /

income

a3

Guinea corn

Casava

g

Maize

Legend

267

tT= Increase,

-- = No Change

Participants: Adejo Edo, John Oyide, Ochme Ogbenha, Godwin Andu (men); Antonio Omabonu and Esther (women) Facilitators: Somesh Kumar and Andrew Ogwuchu

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Methods for Community Participation

e

Comparisons were made between the ranking done by men and women. The differences with respect to pepper were quite striking and a discussion was carried on it. The participants were asked to reflect on the exercise and findings. They were thanked for their active participation.

Crop Preferences:

A Gender Perspective

There were stark differences between the ranking given by the men and women, particularly for pepper. The points emerging out of the discussion included:

¢

¢

¢

Pepper crop traditionally in the village and nearby areas has been cultivated by women. They have full control over the income ensuing from sale of pepper, which is generally grown as a cash crop. They value it like their sibling (oine), since it helps them to tide over cash crunch periods and to meet some of their essential expenses. Men do not cultivate pepper. If any man did so, he would be looked down upon. The women alone do it. Women become poetic when they see a good harvest of pepper, while for the men it is the yam which brings them the same happiness. ‘There is no song about pepper, but when you see your pepper on the farm or in your basin it brings other songs into your mouth’—Antonio Omabonu, a woman farmer. ‘When you see your yam tendrils you will not know when you start to whistle’-—Adejo Edo, an elderly farmer.

e

¢

e

Yam remains a clear favourite, much ahead of other varieties of crop. Food security provided by yams, along with their familiarity, taste and ease of processing, places it very high on the ranking scale. Cassava, however, another source of food, particularly during lean periods, does not find people’s favour. Lack of marketing opportunities, high cost of production, belief that cassava may fill the stomach but may not take care of nutritional needs, places it quite low on the ranking scale. Due to a changed rainfall pattern, millets have not been cultivated at all for the last few years.

This exercise clearly highlights the importance of active listening, a flexible approach and an open mind in PRA. This exercise was planned with men only. But the comments made by Antonio towards the close of the exercise made it clear that there was a gender dimension to crop cultivatio n and preferences. Encouraging the two women to do the ranking of crops and the discussion that followed brought an interesting dimension to light (Kumar, 1999).

PRA Relation Methods

269

Ask them to name the most important ones, The list could consist of anything from tow to seven objects or more. So far four, five, or six have proved best. Elicit criteria. For each item in turn ask; what is good about it? And then what is bad about it? List all the criteria. Turn negative criteria (e.g., vulnerable to pests) into positive ones teennot vulnerable ty) pests) so that all are positive. Nil) a Draw up a matrix with the objects across the top and the criteria ay the an Ly Ask which object is best by each criterion. With six objects, | have found siathe followingsequenceworks i quite well: Which is best? Which is next best? Which is worst?

Of the remaining,which is better?

Record the rankings directly onto the matrix. Force a final choice with questions onan line a 46gone 1 could in only have one of these, which would you choose”, Which next”, het nent etd), |//

Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods Matrix method is a versatile method and is very open to improvisation and innovation. The major strength of the matrix remains its suitability for compiling and storing large-scale data. What is even more useful is that it allows for comparison of certain items (on various aspects). The use of

locally available and flexible material along with visuals and symbols makes it quite accessible to the non-literate as well. Using cards with symbols and seeds on the ground makes the process simple and fun.

A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool Matrix ranking and scoring is very useful as a monitoring and evaluation tool. The different items or indicators that they want to monitor and evaluate with respect to a programme or a project can be listed by the participants themselves. The participants themselves decide on the time frame for monitoring, i.e., the time intervals at which the data for the various aspects needs to be collected. Then the participants score the aspect with respect to the time period. Even if the details are not easily available for

a period, the participants themselves can be asked to recollect the relevant information on each aspect for that period. Advantages

Matrix has a number of advantages. Matrix has been universally regarded as a means to store and operate huge data. Matrix is quite conducive to analysis and reflection by participants. Matrix method involves the participants in arriving at their preference scores/ranks. The steps are simple and move in a very logical manner. Even the items and criteria are selected by the participants. They are also encouraged to discuss and to reflect upon them. Speed is an advantage of the matrix method. It has been found to be quick in generating data as well as discussions. The participants find it to be

270

Methods for Community Participation

interesting. It is a new learning experience for them. During the course of exercise, they learn new things about themselves. Another interesting feature is that it leads to role reversals. It requires facilitators to learn and record the knowledge, judgements and preferences according to the local people’s own criteria. Limitations

Matrix method has a few limitations. If not facilitated well, there is a strong tendency for matrix ranking/scoring to become totally facilitator driven. The participants may become mere respondents. Many facilitators find it difficult to explain the matrix and to read the details in the matrix to the participants.

Furthermore, too much focus on the output of the matrix means that very valuable information is not captured and is lost forever. On the whole, matrix has been used in different contexts for a wide range of topics and has emerged as one of the most versatile methods in PRA. 4.10 FORCE FIELD ANALYSIS Introduction

Force field analysis is visually, so as to bring organisational change work and applicability in PRA.

a technique used to identify and analyse forces affecting a problem situation about a positive change. It has been used in diverse contexts, ranging from to self-development. Its visual character, simplicity, suitability for group in planning for change makes it a tool with wide potential for application

Background Kurt Lewin is credited with the development of Force Field Analysis (FFA) (Lewin, 1951). According

to Lewin any situation or performance can be viewed as a state of temporary equilibrium. The following two sets of opposing forces as shown in Fig. 4.27 cause this equilibrium: ¢ e

Driving, facilitating or positive forces which bring about change. Restraining, resisting or negative forces which maintain a status-quo.

The length of the arrow in Fig. 4.27 denotes the strength of the force depicted. For every force there need not be an opposing force. In FFA, the forces affecting a problem situation are assigned weightages according to their perceived effect on the problem situation. FFA makes it easy, therefore, to

pinpoint the forces which need to be further strengthened and the ones which need to be weakened.

On the basis of force field analysis, Kurt Lewin came up with a three-step process of change. While there are some limitations to Lewin’s assumption that any problem situation can be viewed

as a state of equilibrium, the main one being that it is too simplistic to account for the complexities

eae solutions.

force field analysis has proven to be helpful in analysing a problem and identifyin g

PRA Relation Methods

Depiction Visual Analysis: Field A Force 4.27 Figure




271

272

Methods for Community Participation

Applications

Because it is based on visual depiction, force field analysis provides people with the opportunities to think about the forces that are contributing to the problem in question. Even the problems that look quite vague start becoming clear. The forces are quantified and their strength represented visually. This makes it easier for the participants to think about how to grapple with them in order to bring about change. It becomes obvious that the magnitude of the driving forces has to be increased and that of restraining forces has to be decreased. These decisions are taken jointly in the light of the resources available and the particular constraints. Often, insurmountable problems start becoming amenable to doable solutions. Thus FFA has been used for

e e e

Identifying the forces responsible for the present status of any aspect. Analysing how the situation can be changed. Arriving at plan of action for change.

As mentioned earlier it can be used in the diverse fields of organisation development,

development,

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self-

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participation.

An Instance of the Application of Force Field Analysis: The Status of Primary Education in Bihar

Bihar state is one of the least developed states in India. It contributes significantly to the number of out-of-school children in India. Various programmes, such as the Bihar Education Project and the District Primary Education Project, have been started to improve the enrollmen t and retention of children, and the quality of education at the primary level. With this in mind, a workshop was organised to design the training curriculum for education managers. The author facilitated the session and force field analysis was employed to help identify those forces responsible for the poor state of primary education in the state. Fig. 4.28 depicts an output of FFA carried out by a group of education managers on primary education in Bihar during the workshop.

The participants first prepared a list of both driving and restraining forces affecting primary education. They were asked to name the forces on small cards—only one force on each card. Separate colour cards were used for the two different types of forces. The cards representing the driving forces were kept above the ‘present status’ line. The cards depicting restrain ing forces were kept below the line. The cards were placed at different distances in such a way that the larger the distance, the greater was the effect of the force on the status of primary education. The group further looked at the forces from the point of view of training. They identified driving forces that could be further strengthened by training. Similarly, restricting forces that could be weakened by training were also listed. Force field analysis thus helped in designing a training programme for education managers aimed at improving the status of primary education in Bihar. When the group had previously discussed this issue without using force field analysis , they could only identify a few causes

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and suggest very few interventions. The use of force field analysis, however, stimulated discussion and brought new points to light.

Process

Steps

After initial rapport building, explaining the objectives of the exercise, etc., the steps for the force field analysis can have the following sequence: e

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Write or draw the problem that you want to discuss with the group of participants on a sheet of paper. Try to make the problem as quantifiable as possible. Keep the sheet of paper with the problem written or depicted on it in front of the participants and ask them to concentrate on the problem. Ask them to visualise the problem situation in a state of temporary equilibrium by two sets of opposing forces, one favouring changes (driving forces) and the other thwarting them (restraining forces). Use Fig. 4.27 to explain the concept

if required. Ask them to list one set of forces first followed by the other. Ask the participants to write down or depict the forces identified on small cards in bold letters. Clarify that if a force seems to be made of multiple elements, each component should be listed separately as a force. Different colour cards can be used for driving and restraining forces. Keep the sheet of paper with the problem written on it at the centre and draw a line across it. Spread the cards with restraining forces below the line and those with driving forces above the line.

Ask them to take a look at the cards and see if they would like to make any changes.

Next, ask the participants to assign weights to each of the forces by placing each force card at varying distances from the problem-line or present status line in such a way that the distance denotes the strength of the force. The longer the distance, the greater the perceived effect of the force on the problem. Check with the participants whether they are satisfied with the diagram and relative strength of the forces as depicted or whether would they like to make any modifications. Once they are satisfied with the diagram, ask them to discuss how they can bring about a change in the situation. Which of the driving forces can be reinforced and which restraining forces can be diminished? Use the brainstorming technique for detailed analysis and in-depth probing by the participant s. Smaller cards, preferably of different colours, can be used to write down possible interventions

for each of the driving or restricting forces so as to increase or reduce their magnitude respectively. Each of the possible interventions can be further weighted in light of various factors, e.g.,

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resources available, time, ideology of the organisation, etc. The idea is generally to capitalise on those that would bring about maximum change. Copy the diagram onto a piece of paper with details of the date, location, participa nts, facilitators, and legends containing details of scoring systems and symbols used. Thank the participants for their cooperation and time.

PRA Relation Methods

275

The steps enumerated are suggestive and not prescriptive. The circumstances, location, profile of the participants, time available, problems, etc., will determine the exact nature of the process, but anyway you are always the best judge. Balloons and Stones Method

As shown in Fig. 4.29, sometimes it is easier to explain FFA using the analogy of gas balloons and stones. Balloons represent driving forces which are acting to bring about desired change. Stones depict restricting forces thwarting change. The present situation is represented by a state of temporary equilibrium, with the balloons balancing the stones. The length of the strings attached to the balloons and stones reflect the effect on the problem situation. The longer the string, the stronger the effect. The size of the balloons and stones can also depict their relative strength. Planning for change amounts to identification and finalisation of the process of strengthening the forces represented by balloons and weakening the forces represented by stones. FFA: On Cards or Directly on Charts

Force field analysis can be drawn directly on chart paper. Then why use cards? The use of cards in force field analysis in particular and PRA in general has the following advantages: Flexibility: Cards can be used in a flexible way. As new forces come up during the course of discussion, more cards can be added easily without any major reshuffle. The location of the cards can also be changed if the participants want to modify the weights assigned to them. While using charts, if there are mistakes or a need for modification, there is a tendency to leave the previous configurations unchanged, thereby causing confusion.

Facilitates Greater Participation: With cards, writing or depiction can be done by many. Control is not in the hands of one person. The use of the ground or a table for laying the cards provides more physical space for others to participate.

Saves Time: Parallel processing—i.e., writing or depicting forces on cards by more than one participant at the same time—saves valuable time. Drawing a Force Field Analysis

While conducting it in villages with a large number of participants, force field analysis can be carried out on the ground with the help of cards and by using chalks to draw arrows, etc., as it allows a larger number of participants to get actively involved. Later on, the force field analysis diagram can be copied onto a sheet of paper. In smaller groups, instead of the ground, a table or chart paper with cards can be used. Number of Participants Individuals can also use force field analysis quite effectively. However it is more effective in small groups, as it provides opportunities to the participants jointly to identify, depict, analyse and plan to act over a problem they are facing.

276

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 4.29

Force Field Analysis: Balloons and Stones Method

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Driving forces

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PRA Relation Methods

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If the number of participants is large, one common way is to divide them into smaller groups and then ask them to work on the FFA separately. The findings are later shared amongst the different groups. The frequency method described elsewhere in this section is useful for a large number of participants when working under time constraints. Material Required

In addition to cards and large sized self-adhesive refixable slips, locally available material, e.g., seeds, pebbles, twigs, etc., are used for quantification and symbolic representation. This provides flexibility, ease of modification, satisfies the creative urge, and provides opportunities for a large number of literate as well as non-literate persons to participate more actively and meaningfully in the process of force field analysis. Time required

The time required for FFA will depend on a host of factors including the topic, interest of the group in the topic, discussions that follow, etc. In any case, it is likely to take 1; hours at the least, but it may take longer than that in most cases. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

FFA also provides ample scope for improvisation. Particular instances of improvisation have been described elsewhere in the section. FFA complements other PRA methods. In fact, issues emerging from the use of various other methods can be put to detailed depiction and analysis using the FFA method. For example, one of the issues emerging in resource map and transect can be declining soil fertility. You can use the FFA method to explore the causes and to arrive at a solusion. The forces can be further scored and ranked to reflect their magnitudes. Assigning Weight to the Forces: Different Ways

The size of the arrows is commonly used to depict the strength of the forces. Other ways of assigning and depicting weights, however, are also there. Some of the possible ways include: Scoring: The forces can be assigned scores to represent their strength. Fig. 4.30 is an output of an FFA exercise carried by a group of participants as part of the fieldwork of the 2nd International PRA Thematic Training Workshop with the women of Gompuru village in Ranchi district, Bihar. One of the concerns of the local host NGO in the village was how to make the women’s group more effective. Force field analysis was used to further this aim. The participating women in the force field analysis identified the inhibiting and inducing forces. The forces were written as well as depicted on small pieces of cards. A line was drawn on the ground with a piece of chalk and a sheet of paper with the present status of local group written on it was placed on the line. The cards on inducing forces were placed above this line while those on inhibiting forces were kept below the line. Once the cards

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were placed, the next step was to ask the villagers to assign a score to each of the forces by placing

seeds on the cards. The maximum score was 10. The number of seeds denoted the extent of the effect of the given force on women’s participation in the local women’s group. Once all the cards were scored, the villagers were asked whether they were satisfied with the forces and their scores. Later the seeds were counted and marked/noted on the cards. The depiction of the problems and the use of seeds made it possible for the women who could not read and write to participate meaningfully in the force field analysis. The use of seeds also provided ample flexibility to the participants for making modifications. Earlier attempts to get villagers to discuss how to strengthen the women’s group had proved difficult. The force field analysis process really helped the women to identify issues, as well as to suggest ways of improving the situation. The participation of women in the local group was identified and scored. A lively discussion followed and the participants could list possible measures to strengthen the local group. Ranking: Another possible approach is to rank the forces. Fig. 4.31 is an output from the force field analysis exercise on migration in a village in Orissa carried out as part of a DFID-sponsored participatory poverty profiling in Bolangir, a drought-prone district in Western Orissa, India by a team of facilitators from Praxis (Praxis, 1998). They used various participatory tools to conduct a study of the poverty profile of the district. Seasonal migration poses a serious problem with the rural poor and FFA was conducted with a group of villagers to study the factors leading to migration. Forces inducing and inhibiting migration have been ranked separately. The number written in the circle represents the rank of the force. Drought and lack of land emerged as the most important forces contributing to migration. Among the forces inhibiting migration emotional attachment to the village and excessive work during migration were the important ones. The information generated has been useful in designing a livelihood project, to be implemented by the Government of Orissa and supported by DFID, India.

Frequency Method: Frequency method can be another way of assigning weights to the forces. It can be particularly useful when the number of participants is more and there is a time constraint as well. The process is simple. Explain the topic and the purpose of the exercise. Hand over to the participants small cards of two colours—one for the driving forces and the other set for the inhibiting forces. Ask the participants to write as many forces as possible on the cards at the rate of one force per card. Once the writing of cards is over, lay the cards on the floor. Ask the participants to cluster cards with same or similar forces together. If required, give each cluster a name. Ask them to count the number of cards for each cluster. The frequency of the force/cluster is an indication of its strength. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

FEA can be effectively used as a monitoring and evaluation tool. It helps in identifying the present status and then working on it further to develop an understanding of the present situation and the reasons thereof. FEA can be done before the project is implemented, and the magnitude of the various forces, both negative and positive, can be marked. The proposed activities to enhance the magnitude of the positive forces and diminish the magnitude of negative forces can be depicted.

280

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Force Field Analysis: Building of Latrines

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J Factors encouraging (Guests/visitors cannot

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Participants : Elizabeth Samuel, Margeret Josua, Rachel Issac and Rhoda Emanuel

282

Methods for Community Participation

This becomes the baseline information to measure change. Time series data can be collected by using FFA for comparison and discussion on the effectiveness of the activities and interventions. Corrective measures can be taken up as required. Fig. 4.32 deals with an FFA exercise carried out in Odubwo village, Benue State, Nigeria, on the construction of latrines. The participants were women. They identified the two sets of forces encouraging and discouraging the construction of latrines. As they were non-literate, the forces were depicted by simple line drawings on cards of two colours. One colour was for the encouraging forces and the other was for discouraging forces. Cards with encouraging forces were placed above the line in such a way that the nearness depicted the importance of the forces. Another set of cards was placed below the line. Encouraging forces included not being required to go to the bushes full of snakes and bad odours, protection from rain, etc., while fear of the pit-slabs collapsing and the bad smell were the discouraging factors. It provided a good example of how FFA could help the NGO target its programme on sanitation for success. Advantages

FFA is a method with tremendous potential for application in PRA. The strength of the method lies in that it allows and in fact encourages the use of symbols and visual depiction. As mentioned elsewhere, the use of visuals and symbols makes the method conducive to the participation of the non-literate. Furthermore, the flexible use of material—cards, seeds, etc.—allows easy modifications and additions to be made without any effort and as and when new points come up during the course of discussion. This significantly improves the quality of discussion and output. It helps the participants think through the process and arrive at the reasons for the present state of affairs. If the participants are asked to list the solutions for a problem, they may come up with a few suggestions in a routine manner. In this method, however, the participants first assess the present

situation with respect to a particular issue. Then they look at the factors—both positive and negative—for the present situation. In most cases they also quantify the factors. Thus, they get a clear idea of the role played by each of the positive and negative factors. The exercise is generally a revelation for most of the participants as well the facilitators. They can also easily identify what to do to bring about a desirable change in the situation. It therefore proves to be a wonderful method for planning change. Limitations

FFA also has its own limitations. One of them is that if not facilitated well, FFA can become facilitator-driven and the participants may be converted into mere respondents. Therefore it is quite important that simple steps are followed and that the purpose of the exercise is clearly explained to the participants. The focus on output rather than discussion can mean the loss of a lot of valuable informatio n generated during the discussion of the process among the participants. Non-literate participants find the FFA method a bit complicated unless steps are taken to ensure the use of symbols and visuals.

PRA Relation Methods

283

With the increasing emphasis on decentralisation and participatory approaches to development, there is tremendous scope for the application of force field analysis in PRA. At present its potential is only being partially utilised.

4.11 PIE DIAGRAM Introduction

Pie diagram or pie chart has been adapted as a PRA method to visually depict proportions of the constituents in relation to the whole. Some also refer to it as chapati diagram. Chapati diagram, however, is more commonly used to refer to Venn diagram. Pie diagram is a simple method used to represent the relationship of various constituents to a whole. If you want to know what sources contribute how much to the income of a household, individual or community, pie diagram comes handy. Pie diagram in other disciplines is used as a tool to present information in a visual form based on factual data. In PRA, pie diagram is used more as a method to help the local people to arrive at the constituents of a whole and also their proportions rather than just as a presentation tool. In contrast to its usage in other disciplines, pie diagram in PRA deals with both factual and perceptual data. Applications

Pie diagram has been used to depict the proportion of the constituents of a whole in diverse areas including:

e

Study of resources—land types, soil types, land holdings, cropping patterns, forest types, tree

e

Composition of population—castes, religions, tribes, ethnicity, occupation, literacy levels, wellbeing/wealth categories, vulnerability categories, house types, etc. Household details—general income and expenditure, cost of inputs and returns, different types of land owned, relative contribution to income and expenses by different members, distribution of food, debts by sources and purpose, etc. Case studies and livelihood analysis.

species, etc.

e

e

Pie diagram is found very useful in case studies, particularly in looking at the income and expenditure patterns of individuals or households. A Typical Pie Diagram

Box 4.4 contains a case study of changes in the life of Bechu, a villager. As shown in Fig. 4.33, the two pie diagrams depict his income from various sources before and after the lift irrigation scheme (Arthik Anusandhan Kendra, 1999).

284

Methods for Community Participation

Box 4.4

Case Study: Impact of Lift Irrigation Scheme on the Livelihood of Bechu

Bechu belongs tothe weaker sectionof the society and is one of a beneficiaries of the lift irrigation scheme implemented by an NGO-— Arthik Anusandhan Kendra in village Movaikalan, Uttar Pradesh. Fig. 4.33

depicts the overall income sources and their relative constituents before and after the irrigation scheme was implemented. He has a land holdingofabout one acre. Before the lift irrigation, income from cultivation on in

his own land contributed only Rs 850.00. However, the major sources of his income were carpet weaving and _

cultivation on leased land (both outside the village) amounting to Rs 2,950.00 and Rs 3,220.00 respectively. To undertake both these activities he had to move out of his village. In addition, he could generate

~

_ Rs1,015.00 by way ofhiring out the services of his bull and Rs 425.00 through working in the road repair acti- y -vity. From this level, Bechu moved to a position where the major portion of his income now comes from his own

land, i.e., a sumof Rs 6,880.00. The rest of his income is through carpet weaving at his house (Rs 3,200.00),

income from cultivating one bigha of leased land (Rs 960.00), from livestock (Rs 3,040.00) and income from _ agriculturelabour in thevillage (Rs 1,920). Thus his total income has gone up from Rs 8,460.00 to Rs 16,000.00.

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saving at home instead of going out. This makes the carpet weaving activity subject him to the pressure of the employer and prevents the monotony that comes e. He now enjoys the status of a farmer, rather that of a labourer who can be hired

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Ss one of the active members of the local cooperative group—Krishak Sahakari _ GO, andparticipates in development, social and other cultural activities, where as for s h activities at all (Arthik Anusandhan Kendra, 1999).

Process of Making a Pie Diagram: Various Ways of Arriving at the Constituents and their Magnitudes

Various ways of making a pie diagram and arriving at the constituents as well as their proportions to the whole include:

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e

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Having details of the whole and its constituents and then represeniing them in the form of a pie diagram. This is one of the most common methods. Collecting details, finding the break-up of various types and then preparing a pie diagram. For example, you may do a social map, marking each household and then also include details like castes, well-being categories, etc., using symbols or colour codes. Later, the number of households for each of the well-being categories or castes can be counted and represente d in the form of a pie diagram. Carrying out discussions on the proportion beforehand and then marking them on the diagram: e.g., you may be interested in knowing the expenses on inputs for cultivating paddy in an acre. Asking the participants to list the constituents of a whole, e.g., different land types and then assigning each of the constituents a proportion. In India, for example, elderly people are

quite used to talking in terms of annas for proportion. Earlier, the local currency in vogue

was rupees, annas and paise. Sixteen annas constituted one rupee. So if half of the land is

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.33

A. Previous

285

Present and Previous Income Sources of Bechu

Income (Rs. 8,460) Agricultre on own land Rs 850 (10%)

Agriculture on

leased land

Agriculture labour

Rs 3220 (38%)

in the village

a

aC

425 (5%)

Ws

Carpet weaving outside Rs 2950 (35%)

Livestock

Rs 1015 (12%)

B. Present Income (Rs. 16,000)

Agriculture on leased land Rs 960 (6%)

Livestock Rs 3040 (19%)

Agriculture on own land Rs 6880 (43%)

f

Agriculture labour Carpet weaving

Rs 3200 (20%)

in the village

Rs 1920 (12%)

arable, they are used to saying 8 annas of land is arable (16 annas is 100 per cent, 8-annas is

50 per cent). Asking the participants to show in a circular plate, full of small grains or sand, the proportion

of the constituents, i.e., different heads of expenditure and their proportions. This has been

more useful with village women as they are used to such expressions. This may even provide flexibility of moving sub-pies, dividing or sub-dividing them a number of times till the participants are satisfied with the output.

286

e

Methods for Community Participation

Using moveable lines in the form of sticks, threads, pens, etc., during the course of discussion

itself to mark the approximate proportion of the various constituents. This also provides ample flexibility of reworking, specially when the proportions of the constituents are not based on concrete data but are being arrived at by the group based on their perception after due deliberation. The 100 Seeds Technique

The 100 seeds technique is an improvisation used for arriving at people’s preferences for the constituents of a whole. It has been used to identify local people’s preferences for objects, e.g., tree species. The magnitude of various components of an item, e.g., income, expenditure, etc., can also be determined using this technique. The steps in the process of using the 100 seeds method are simple. Say you are interested in finding out the proportion of expenditure on various aspects of a child’s education. The suggested steps would be:

e

Explain the purpose of the exercise to the participants. Ask the participants (may be the family in this case) to list out all possible heads of expenditure on their child’s education. ¢ Note or depict them on small pieces of paper. Lay them on the ground. Ask them if they are satisfied with the list or would like to add new ones. e Give them a hundred seeds and ask them to assume that 100 seeds is the total expenditure on their child’s education. Ask them to distribute the seeds and place them on the cards depicting expenditure heads. ¢ Once they distribute the seeds across the heads of expenditure, ask them to take a close look and modify the distribution if necessary. e Clarify your doubts by asking questions. Count and note down the response in terms of the number of seeds against each head of expenditure. In fact, the number of seeds gives you the percentage of expenditure directly, which can easily be put in the form of a pie diagram by the participants themselves. * Continue the discussion further and ask them to reflect on the output and to identify their findings. ¢ Copy the output on a piece of paper with details of the participants, facilitators, location, time and legend. e Thank the participants for their cooperation and time. The 100 seeds method can be used for different purposes. Its common usage is for finding out people’s preferences for tree species for the planning of nurseries to raise seedlings, etc. On the whole, the 100 seed method is a simple and quick way of arriving at people’s preferences directly in terms of percentages. Triangulation

The information generated and depicted in a pie diagram needs to be triangulated with other local people who know about the topic. In addition, data generated by other methods as well as those available from secondary sources can be used for triangulation.

PRA Relation Methods

287

Material Required The use of materials which promotes flexibility, e.g., chalks, sand, seeds, etc., is conducive for arriving

at a more accurate depiction of a whole and its constituents, along with their magnitudes. Such materials allow the participants to modify the diagram and add new constituents that come up during the course of discussion. Similarly, it is easy to change their magnitude as and when required. Obviously, in direct drawing, making modifications is difficult and requires a lot of effort. The general tendency, in such cases, is somehow to complete the exercise and not to make any major changes even if modifications are necessary in the diagram. The use of visuals and symbols to mark the constituents becomes a necessity when dealing with non-literate participants. Time Required

Time required may vary significantly, depending upon whether the data on the constituents and their magnitude is readily available or needs to be arrived at. Time required may range from 1

13-2 hours.

Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Pie diagram is quite useful for representing information generated from other methods, particularly social mapping, participatory census, resource mapping, etc., at the village level. It helps in presenting the raw data in a visual form that even the non-literate can analyse meaningfully. It also helps in taking the discussion further and in providing insights into the specific problems and the situation as a whole. Comparative Analysis

Pie diagrams are quite conducive to the comparative analysis of a whole and the proportion of the constituents. It has been used for all sorts of comparisons including: e

e

Comparison of income and expenditure, before and after the implementation of a particular intervention, programme, etc., by gender and age group. Aspects like input costs and returns from crops, cropping patterns, and forest and tree species are also compared over time at different intervals before and after the project.

Purther Details

Pie diagrams allow scope for in-depth probing. The proportions of a constituent can be further sub-divided. For example, expenses on education can be one of the constituents of the pie diagram on the expenditure of the household. For more details you may probe further into the education-related expenses of the members of the household. They may come up with sub-constituents like expenses on

textbooks, school fees, bus charges, uniform, pocket money, additional tuition, etc., along with the actual proportions. This again could be shown as another pie for education expenses.

288

Methods for Community Participation

Multiple Pie Diagram The changes over a few time periods or across gender can be shown as concentric pie diagrams using multiple rings and specific designs/symbols for the same constituents. The multiple pie diagram may lose its attraction and visual appeal if there are too many constituents and more than two to three time frames.

A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

Pie diagram can be used effectively to monitor and evaluate the impact of projects and interventions. A pie diagram of total income before and after the implementation of the project can provide significant ir formation, as well as help in discussion, to arrive at the impact of the project. Fig. 4.34 comprises details of income and its source-wise break-up before and after the implementation of a lift irrigation scheme in Movai kalan village, Mirzapur, India. While the overall income has increased by 20 per cent, the proportions have changed significantly. With assured irrigation, the income from own land has: gone up from 8 per cent to 45 per cent. Irrigation has also improved the availability of agricultural wage labour in the village and its contribution to total income has moved from 12 to 20 per cent. The increased income and availability of wage employment in the village has led to decreased migration. With assured irrigation and improved agriculture production, migration has come down and people pay more attention to livestock. Hence, the project has had a positive impact. The most significant impact, however, has been on the upward mobility of the people from the state of agricultural labour to that of farmers (Arthik Anusandhan Kendra, 1999). Advantages

Pie diagram is a popular PRA method. In other disciplines it is used only as a representa tional tool. But in PRA, other than representation, the focus is on arriving at the proportions of constituents based on people’s perceptions. The use of visuals and local material, and the flexible approach, allows even the non-literate to express the magnitudes and proportions easily. Limitations

Though most facilitators find it easy to use with even non-literate participa nts, in certain communities, the concept of proportion is often difficult to explain. But a flexible approach in line with the context and traditions of the locality can always come to the rescue of the facilitators. The perceptual categorisation and allotment of the proportions are subject to challenge by others

and hence need to be conducted with care. Triangulation with others in the village and the use of

other methods to arrive at same information becomes a necessity. A simple PRA method which relies on visual depiction, pie diagram is quite useful in arriving at the proportions of constituents and their magnitudes.

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.34

289

Income before and after Lift Irrigation

Agriculture on own

land \ 8%

Agriculture on

Agriculture labour in the village

leased land

25% ae

Livestock

11% Fas Labour outside 44%

Labour outside 11%

Livestock

15%YX

|

aaa

Agriculture on own land 45%

Agriculture on leased land _—y

9%

Agriculture labour in the village

20%

4.12 LIVELIHOOD ANALYSIS Introduction

Livelihood analysis is used to examine and depict the livelihoods of individuals or groups. The focus is on income, expenditure, food consumption, coping with crisis, occupation and employment related issues, livestock, agricultural production, etc.

There is, however, a common misconception about livelihood analysis. Many PRA facilitators and even some writers consider it as one of the PRA methods, like seasonality analysis, Venn diagram, etc. But livelihood analysis is not a method. It is an application of one or more PRA methods to arrive at a detailed understanding of the livelihood of an individual or a group.

290

Methods for Community Participation

Applications

This kind of analysis becomes very relevant for rural and other non-salaried people who do not get a fixed even to a small extent, have a significant impact on at times of crises of different types is an integral part

agricultural communities, self-employed artisans salary every month. Seasonal and other changes, their well-being. The study of coping strategies of livelihood analysis.

Livelihood in Mahilong

Pie diagrams have been the most commonly used methods of livelihood analysis. For some of the PRA facilitators, pie diagram has become synonymous with livelihood analysis. Fig. 4.35, one of the most frequently quoted examples of livelihood analysis, depicts an income sources analysis of Mahilong village in Bihar, India, over the period from 1970 to 1990, using a pie diagram by Jayakaran (1991). In 1970, 75 per cent of the households were dependent on agriculture and 25 per cent of the households depended on the service sector. In 1990, the situation changed significantly. About 80 per cent of the households constituted one group, of which 75 percent of them depended on service, 20 per cent on paddy cultivation and 5 per cent on vegetable cultivation. The remaining 20 per cent constitute the second group of which casual labour constitutes 40 per cent, agriculture about 45 per cent, vegetable about 10 per cent, business 3 per cent, while the remaining 2 per cent engaged in other occupations. The analysis also provides the expenditure pattern of the two groups. The first group constituting 80 per cent of the households spend 50 per cent of their earnings on drinking while expenditure on food totals 25 per cent, festivals take 10 per cent of the expenditure and the remaining goes as savings in terms of purchase of land, construction of houses, ornaments and cloths. In case of the second group, of the total income, drinking takes a toll of 55 per cent of the expenditure, while expenditure on food is 25 per cent and on festivals it comes to about 15 per cent while medicine and education account for about 5 per cent of the income. Thus no capital accumulation takes place. Process

PRA Methods used for Livelihood Analysis

As mentioned earlier, pie diagrams are the most commonly used PRA method in livelihood analysis for a variety of purposes including general income sources and expenditure details, time spent on vari-

Ous activities, crops, land use, assets, cost of inputs and returns, contribution to income by different

family members, etc. In addition to pie diagrams, a host of PRA and other methods can be used for livelihood analysis. In fact, depending on the objectives of the study, any method can be used for livelihood analysis; however, the PRA methods with wide scope for livelihood analysis are participatory genealogy method, seasonal diagram, time line, trend analysis, matrix, force field analysis, social map and well-being ranking. The listing of methods for livelihood analysis is just illustrative and not exhaustive. You need not feel awed by the long list of methods. The number of methods you use will be determined by various factors including objectives of the livelihood analysis, details and depth of analysis required and aimed at, interest shown by the local people, experience and interest of the facilitat ors, language of the facilitators and the local people, and constraints of time and resources. Use of various methods may make

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Medicine 2%

292

Methods for Community Participation

the analysis both participatory and interesting. A semi-structured interview can work as a substitute for most of the methods if there is a time constraint. Steps

The process and steps in livelihood analysis may vary considerably depending upon the objectives of the exercise and methods that you have planned to use The suggested steps in livelihood analysis process are as follows: e

Decide on the household(s), individual(s) or group(s) whose livelihood analysis you are inter-

ested in. Depending upon the objectives, you can use social map or well-being ranking to select the household(s), if they have been done. Otherwise you can take the help of the local people to identify the household(s), suiting your criteria and the objectives of the livelihood analysis. e Visit the household. Explain the purpose of the exercise and seek their consent and advice on the timing of the exercise. This preliminary visit helps you, in addition to fixing the time, to get an idea about the suitability of the selected household for your purpose. It is useful in framing the issues for the analysis. ¢ Develop a checklist of different aspects and issues that you would like to study as part of the livelihood analysis. Also work out a tentative list of methods and match them with the aspects and issues that you want to cover. They should be flexible enough to respond to the requirements of the situation in the field. e At the mutually agreed time, meet the members of the household, preferably at their residence or work location. This helps you to put things in context immediately. It also ensures that the participants are at ease. Conducting livelihood analysis at their residence or work place provides you with an opportunity to contextualise what is being told or depicted. It also helps you to do an on-line triangulation using direct observation. e Ask them to list the various sources of income and expenditure. These could be written or depicted on small pieces of paper. Depiction can be visual; symbols can also be used. The participants themselves can do it. Ask them to prepare a pie diagram detailing the magnitude or proportions. The same process can be followed for expenditures.

¢

¢

e ¢

¢

Depending on the objectives of livelihood analysis, the details aimed at and the time avail-

able, use other methods like seasonality analysis to capture seasonal influences on livelihood, trend analysis to capture changes in livelihood patterns across the years, force field analysis to arrive at the driving and restraining forces responsible for the present state of wellbeing, etc. Ask the participants to explain the various outputs. Encourage the participants to reflect on the

process and the outputs. Ask them to discuss their learning from the livelihood analysis. Interview the various outputs which can further your understanding and clarity on their livelihood. Keep track of the discussion. Many points which come up during discussio n may not look very relevant, for e.g., the accident and subsequent incapacitation of one of the family members. However, these may provide vital insights into the livelihood pattern of the family. Copy the various outputs as and when they are ready. Note down the legend and other details, e.g., names of participants and facilitators, date, and the location for each exercise.

PRA Relation Methods

293

Triangulation

Triangulation is crucial to livelihood analysis as it involves the expression of sensitive and personal details. One way out is to talk to other members knowing about the details of the household. Another common way is to use other methods to arrive at the same information. Direct observation at the residence and at the work place can also help you to verify the information generated by the various exercises. Sequencing

Keeping in view the sensitive nature of the topics it covers, livelihood analysis is rarely done at the beginning of any PRA exercise. It follows after some amount of rapport building has taken place. Material Required

The material required may vary according to the PRA methods that are used for livelihood analysis. Paper, cards, marker pens of different colours, locally available seeds, pebbles, etc., are the materials

which are most frequently required. Time Required

Time required may vary depending on the purpose, depth of information aimed at and the methods used. Accordingly, it may vary from one hour to even a day. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods Livelihood analysis is conducive to improvisation and it complements the other methods very well.

As mentioned earlier, almost all the PRA methods can be used effectively for livelihood analysis. How they can be used for livelihood analysis is discussed below.

Genealogy Method: Genealogy method is used to arrive at descent. It also provides information about assets, inheritance, social and economic mobility, etc. The genealogy or family tree with the names and relationships works as a ready reckoner for the facilitators during the exercise, and for the readers later on. It is useful for recording important details directly on the family tree or genealogy. Seasonal Diagram: Seasonal diagram or seasonality analysis is another commonly used PRA method for livelihood analysis, as it provides details of seasonal variations in income, workload, diseases, expenditure, food availability, credit requirement, availability of wage employment, etc. It also provides scope for discussion on coping strategies for periods of crises.

Time Line: A time line of the individual, household, or group can be done quickly. It provides valuable information from a historical perspective. Time line helps in flagging issues for in-depth probing to get an understanding of the coping strategy, changes in well-being over time, etc.

294

Methods for Community Participation

Trend Analysis: In order to examine the changes in the livelihood pattern of individuals or households, the trend analysis method can be used. It can provide information on changes in various aspects of livelihood, e.g., land, soil fertility, productivity, livestock, wage rates, etc.

Matrix: Matrix is a versatile method and can be very helpful in livelihood analysis. It makes probing, recording, and presenting details easy and systematic. Flow Diagram: Flow diagrams of different types, e.g., cause and effect diagram, impact diagram, systems diagram, etc., can prove helpful in analysing the livelihood options and changes in livelihood over time, and reasons for their present state of livelihood.

Force Field Analysis: Force field analysis can be carried out as a part of livelihood analysis to arrive at the driving forces and the restraining forces for the household and their present level of well-being and socio-economic mobility.

Social Map and Well-being Ranking: Social map and well-being ranking can be used as a precursor for livelihood analysis. These methods can help you to select a few households representing the community at large or more specific well-being groups. A detailed livelihood analysis of the representative households can be carried out to get an overall understanding of livelihood in the locality. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

As mentioned earlier, livelihood analysis is not a method in the true sense but uses various methods to do a detailed analysis of the livelihood pattern of an individual, household or community. In livelihood analysis various PRA methods can be also used to identify the changes in the livelihood patterns. It can be used to measure the effectiveness of various programmes on the well-being of those who have been targeted.

Advantages

On the whole, livelihood analysis offers a non-threatening way of exploring livelihood, income and related issues. It helps in arriving at a detailed understanding of the behaviour and adjustment strategies of households with different socio-economic characteristics. Livelihood analysis is also used to study and to understand household strategies in coping with a difficult situation. The major use of this method is to identify the different sources of income, and to understand the

economic profile and income and expenditure patterns of various households. It is quite eclectic in approach and uses various PRA methods to arrive at an overall understanding of the livelihood patterns of individuals or groups. Limitations

Livelihood analysis touches upon areas that are personal and conside red sensitive. In a few cases, the participants may not open up due to shyness. They may hide certain information which they feel will put them in an adverse light and deprive them of certain benefits. Hence it needs to be handled carefully. The success of livelihood analysis largely depends upon the ability of the facilitators to create a

PRA Relation Methods

295

non-threatening environment that is conducive for discussions. As the participants start opening up, valuable information flows. The participants put in a lot of their precious time and get nothing in return in most cases. This causes some of the facilitators to experience an ethical dilemma. A detailed livelihood analysis may require a significant amount of time, which may prove to be a limitation. In particular, the participation of women may be restricted. Livelihood analysis is useful for an in-depth understanding of the livelihood of an individual, household or group and provides scope for the use of various PRA methods. A Case Study

A detailed case study of livelihood analysis is given below, to give an idea of how different methods can be used to arrive at an in-depth understanding of the livelihood of a household in a drought-prone area. Livelihood Analysis: Migrant Worker to Vegetable Farmer

The case of Sana Rana, a migrant agricultural labourer of Tankarupara village in the drought-prone district of Bolangir is an interesting one. With increased responsibilities at home after the death of his father and brother, Rana had no option but to stay at the village and to try other alternative livelihoods. He inherited 2.60 acres of land from his father which was of mixed fertility. The break up of land type has been depicted in Fig. 4.36. Sana Rana somehow managed to eke his livelihood by working in irrigated areas as a migrant agricultural labourer. The first shock was the death of his father. He and his brother had to borrow money at high rates of interest to perform the last rites and ceremonies. Unfortunately, his brother also passed away, causing him to incur further debts. He now had to manage his brother’s share of 2.60 acres as well. He had the added responsibilities of a wife and the son of his deceased brother. It became difficult for him to migrate for two reasons. The first was that he could not stay away for so long leaving behind his wife, his nephew, his old mother and his brother’s wife. The second was that the income from migration was quite inadequate to meet the expenses of a larger family back at home. He considered various options and opted for vegetable cultivation in 0.60 acre, as a few families in the village were already into it. Soon he realised the need for irrigation and excavated two small wells which cost him Rs 600 each, in addition to his labour and poles which he procured from his own land. Every year, desilting costs Rs 60 per well. Excavated silt is added to the vegetable beds. Vegetable cultivation is highly labour-intensive and keeps Rana busy throughout the year. In fact, he requires 40-50 personal labour days for vegetable cultivation on 0.60 acres. Fig. 4.37 depicts the month-wise details of vegetables grown by Rana as well as the work load. With no helping hands available, Rana leaves about 1.5 acres of sandy and less fertile land fallow, on account of the high cost of cultivation

and high risks. As shown in Fig. 4.38, the total expenditure on cultivation of vegetables amounts to Rs 3,700 excluding Rana’s own labour. The income from vegetable cultivation is Rs 15,300. As per Fig. 4.39, in addition to Rs 11,600 per annum from vegetable cultivation, Rana also gets Rs 2,400 from paddy cultivation and Rs 600 from other crops taking his total income to Rs 14,600 per annum. However, the overall expenditures of Rana’s household add up to Rs 15,500. There is an annual deficit of Rs 900.

296 Methods for Community Participation a re eB Figure 4.36

ee

A

ee

Land Type of Sana Rana

0.56 acre

Upland

22%

0.15 acre

Pond

6%

1.39 acre

0.50 acre

Low land

53%

Tank 19%

In order to repay the debts incurred over the last rites of his father and brother, Rana had to take loans at high interest rates. He had to dispose of 1.39 acres of bahal land to clear the debt. There is

still an outstanding loan of Rs 9,560/-, of which he has paid Rs 2,100 in three installments. With vegetable cultivation, Rana has been able to feed and take care of his family, his widowed

mother, and his deceased brother’s wife and son. He does not have to resort to migration anymore, which was his regular practice before he took to vegetable cultivati on. The battle against the vagaries of rainfall continues, though the risk has been reduced. Good harvest of vegetables depends on rainfull, water in the well and quality of seeds, while income fluctuates with vegetable prices in the market. 4.13 SPIDER DIAGRAM Introduction

Spider diagram is also referred to as cobweb diagram, partici pation wheel or evaluation wheel. It is a visual method, often

used to show the relative performance of a group or individ ual on a range of dimensions which are components of an overall issue. This diagram comes in handy when you are interested in showing the performance of an individual, group or programme, etc., on a number of indicators. Each arm of the diagram represents one aspect. Lines of different colours or patterns are used to denote the performance of different individuals, groups, or programmes on different aspects.

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Figure 4.38

Expenditure and Income from 0.60 acre of Vegetable Cultivation

A. Expenditure (Total 3,700

200

Pesticide

1,500 Labour (excluding

1,000

his own)

Seed Caw

1,000 Fertiliser

B. Income (Total 15,300)

2,000

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2,400

3,500

Local vegetables

Onion

ss

\

:

2,400 Lady finger

[Bi

ro

i

5,000

Tomato

(All figures are in rupees)

Applications

Spider diagram or participation wheel has a wide range of applications. These include:

¢ ¢

° ¢

Evaluation of the performance of a group or individual on various indicators. Comparison of the performance of more than one group on various indicators. Performance of one group/groups or individual/individuals over a period of time on different indicators. Participatory evaluations of development projects. Evaluation of participatory development projects.

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.39

299

Income and Expenditure Details of Sana Rana

A. Income (Total 14,600) 600 Other crops

/ 1,600 Vegetable

B. Expenditure (Total 15,500)

500 Schooling

1,000 Ceremony rN

2,000

500

Medicine

DY

2

Clothes

4,000 Loan repayment

(All figures are in rupees)

When to use Spider Diagram?

Spider diagram becomes the obvious choice when you Are interested in using a participatory method Are interested in using a visual method Your target group for the exercise does not have a high level of literacy skills You want to evaluate the performance of individuals, groups, organisations, projects, etc., on

different indicators.

300

Methods for Community Participation

If you meet more than one of the above conditions, spider diagram is definitely the method you should try. In fact, spider diagrams are commonly used in participatory evaluations. A Typical Spider Diagram

Fig. 4.40 is a typical spider diagram done by a group of women of Okhlishirod village, Baageshwar, UP, India where the roles of men and women have been compared. The participants themselves identified eight aspects of their roles: household decisions, education, domestic work, economic activities,

community decisions, employment, community work and political participation. These aspects were shown as the arms. These arms were viewed on a scale of zero to 10, with zero at the hub and 10 at the extreme. The participants took up one aspect, say, household decisions, discussed the role of men and women in it, and arrived at the respective scores. These scores were depicted on the arm representing ‘decision-making’. The same process was repeated for other aspects as well. The scores for men on various arms were linked using a particular line design. Similarly the scores for women were linked with a different line design. The visual makes it clear that women have a lesser say in most matters other than household decisions and domestic work. The differences are quite striking in the areas of employment, community work and political participation. This spider diagram reflects the women’s perceptions of gender roles. It would also have been possible to ask the local men to do the same exercise on their perception of gender roles. The details could have been depicted on the same diagram using different line designs or colour codes. It is also possible to use a different sheet of paper to record the men’s perception on gender roles. Comparison of the two can provide valuable insights. Similarly, you could also ask the same group of women to mark the situation as it is in the present, but also as it was in the past. Discussions on reasons for the changes can add further value to the exercise. Process

Steps

The steps in the process of doing a spider diagram will depend to a large extent on the topic, type of participants, and details you are interested in recording and analysing. For example, if you are interested in evaluating the performance of the self-help groups (SHGs) in a village using a participatory approach, the steps will include:

¢

e

Call for a meeting of the representatives and active members of the SHGs. Explain to them the purpose of the exercise. Initiate a discussion with them on how the groups are performing. Ask them to identify the indicators on which these groups can be evaluated . You may get a number of indicators. Spider diagram, however, works best with 5—6 indicators. Encourage the participants to arrive at 5—6 most useful indicators by a process of discussion and prioritisation.

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.40

Spider Diagram: Gender Roles

Village: Okhlishirod

27 November 1999

Community work

Political

Employment

participation

Community

Household

decisions

decisions

Economic

Education

activities

Domestic

work

Legend

«Women’s

301

Role

e Men’s Role

Participants: Radhika, Themuli, Basanti, Aasha

Facilitators: Bhagwati Pandey and D. Rajeshwar

and Nandani

302

e

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Once you have arrived at a set of indicators, the next step would be to draw a centre point on a large paper or on the ground. Draw as many arms/spokes from the hub as indicators identified. Allocate an indicator to each of the arms by writing the name or depicting the indicators with visuals. If you are dealing with a group of participants with low literacy skills, depicting of each of the indicators by visuals or symbols becomes essential. Encourage the participants to select and depict the symbols themselves. Now ask them to give a score to each group on different indicators. You can follow any system but a score of 0-5 may be best, where zero indicates the lowest score and five is the highest score. The scores for each group can be plotted on the arms. Ask them to link the points on different arms for each group, using a particular colour or line pattern. Ask the participants to explain the diagram in detail and also to draw their findings. Ask probing questions to clarify your doubts or get a further understanding. Copy the diagram with details of the participants, facilitators, location, date and the legends on a piece of paper. Thank the participants for their time and active participation. Triangulate the diagram and the details generated during the exercise.

Scoring in Spider Diagram

The common practice in the spider diagram is to visualise the arms as scales with zero at the hub and the highest score at the extreme. The participants are asked to mark the points on the arms according to the scores. But you can avoid this step and the details altogether by asking the participants to plot the points on the arms directly in such a manner that they reflect the performanc e on the indicators, the basic assumption being that the centre point is lowest for that indicator and the extreme point is the highest. This comes in specially handy when the participants have low literacy skills. Material Required

A spider diagram can be done on a large sized paper or on the ground. The use of cards, colour chalks, colour pen, etc., is common. Using material that allows for flexibility and easy modification generally helps to improve the quality of the exercise. Time Required

Time required will vary depending upon a number of factors including the number of participants, topic of study, depth of probing aimed at, discussions, etc. However , about 13 to 2} hours should suffice in most cases.

Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Method s

Spider diagram is a tool that allows for innovation in content as well as in the form of representation.

PRA Relation Methods

Status of Self-help

303

Women Groups in Laxmipalle

It is a predominant practice to have the arms of the spider diagram represent indicators. However, it can be the other way round as well. A case in instance is Fig. 4.41 which is a spider diagram on the performance of the four women’s groups of Laxmipalle village of Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, India. After explaining the purpose of the exercise, a discussion was carried out on the performance of the groups. The participants identified five criteria for the evaluation of the women’s groups, namely, knowledge, discipline, savings, regularity of meetings and loan repayments. They agreed to score each of the groups on the five indicators on a five-point scale. These scores were then transferred onto the spider diagram. What was different was that women’s group members first marked the four quadrants which represented the four women groups. These four arms were depicted as scales. Each group’s performance was marked using different colours on the five indicators. The markings of the four groups on each indicator were linked up using different colour pens. The size of the trapezoid thus indicated the performance of various groups on that particular indicator. Thus, the bigger the size of a particular indicator, the better the performance of the groups on

the whole on that indicator. A detailed discussion and reflection was carried out using the spider diagram. A number of issues came to light. The quality of discussion also improved substantially due to the use of the method and the active involvement of the group members in evaluating their performance. It is clear that on the whole the groups have performed better on loan repayment, knowledge and regularity of meetings. However, they need to work particularly on mobilising savings. Srihari and Srikrishna groups seem to

be performing much better on the whole in comparison to the other two women’s groups. The matrix scoring method can be an alternative to the spider diagram particularly when the number of items to be evaluated is more. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

You can use the spider diagram as a valuable monitoring tool as well. Each arm of the diagram represents different dimensions or indicators. The performance could be marked on these indicators at a point of time and the ratings on the arms linked up. In the same way the performance could be marked at different time intervals and linked up using a particular colour or pattern. A time series data, therefore, becomes available for comparison as to how things have changed on each of the indicators as well as overall. The size of the pentagon or hexagon of a particular period reflects overall performance. If over a period of time the size increases, it means that the performance has been improving. The trend on the individual indicators also becomes quite clear. The most popular application of spider diagram has been as an evaluation tool. That explains why it is also called an evaluation wheel. A group of eight participants including two facilitators conducted a PRA fieldwork over a period of six days as part of a PRA training workshop in Nigeria. The team

wanted to evaluate the fieldwork and reflect on their experience and learning in a participatory manner. They decided to use the evaluation wheel. The output of the evaluation of the fieldwork is enclosed as Fig. 4.42. The process by which the evaluation was carried out was interesting. They brainstormed and came out with a long list of indicators. The next step was to examine the suggested indicators and arrive at the few most important ones. The indicators were short-listed by a process of scoring by each of the

304 Methods for Community Participation a Figure 4.41

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team members. Eight indicators were selected for further processing. The indicators were depicted as arms of the spider diagram. Each arm was further marked as a scale with the lowest score (i.e., zero)

at the centre or the hub and the maximum score at the extreme. The members marked the ratings on each of the eight arms with a particular colour marker pen and linked up their scores as shown in the figure. The figure gave a visual depiction of how each member evaluated the fieldwork on the whole and how they evaluated the fieldwork on individual indicators as well. A discussion was carried out on each indicator and a more detailed one on those that had a wide range of scores from the team members. They also discussed how the fieldwork component could have been made into an even more useful exercise. The exercise was quite successful in terms of evaluating and stimulating discussion on various aspects of the fieldwork. The output, however, became messy and difficult to interpret because eight participants evaluated the fieldwork on eight indicators. Advantages of Spider Diagram

The advantages of the spider diagram are many. It is visual and simple. Participants find it interesting and fun to do. It is equally effective with not-so-literate groups as well. The use of symbols, visuals and quantification through marking on the arms of the spider makes it easy for them. It is quite fast as well. Limitations

One of the major limitations of the spider diagram is its inability to handle large data. If the number of indicators is more than six or so, the visual depiction becomes complex and difficult to interpret. In such a case, the matrix scoring or ranking method proves effective. The spider diagram, like many other PRA

methods, suffers from the limitation of a common

tendency on the part of facilitators to stress the outputs at the cost of valuable information. If not facilitated well, the spider diagram has a tendency to become facilitator-driven. It is a simple but powerful PRA method for the visual representation of performance on various dimensions and is particularly useful for participatory evaluations. 4.14 BODY MAPPING Introduction

Body mapping is a visual method used to depict people’s perception of their bodies, the functions of various parts, their concept of conception, health, etc. It has gained popularity with gender trainers and women’s groups over the decade. It has been used to help women depict all or some parts of their bodies and describe their functions.

Body mapping is not a regular anatomical map. It depicts the body or a part of it as perceived by individuals or groups. It is interesting to note that people’s perception of the human body, its parts and their functions are quite different from the conventional scientific view. In fact, the origin of the body mapping method can be traced back to the problems that health workers, medical anthropologists, educationists and others faced while working with certain communities. Attempts to pass on extension messages on health, diseases, birth control and pregnancy were not very successful because there was a

PRA Relation Methods

307

wide gap between the local people and the external agents on the understanding of the human body, its parts, as well as its functions and the local terminologies. The verbal mode of communication hardly improved the situation. Body mapping, therefore, came as a significant improvisation.

Applications Body maps are diagrams drawn mostly by women—individually or collectively—depicting their bodies or parts of their bodies. Drawing the map is not an end in itself; the main purpose is to organise discussions around it. The discussions have been focussed on various aspects including reproductive health, contraception, sexual health and functions of the different parts of the body depending upon the objectives of the exercises. Other aspects which can be discussed following a body mapping exercise include: the extent to which women have control over their bodies, what women can do to increase their control over their own bodies, fertility, and coping strategies followed by women to deal with the ailments of the various parts of their body. Body mapping helps in understanding the reasons behind people not accepting various birthcontrol measures, their anxieties about them and the scores of rumours that keep on floating. Even the taboo of certain food items for pregnant women, rituals and practices related to labour, and the

non-acceptance of immunisation can be related to the people’s understanding and models of conception and health. A Typical Body Map

Fig. 4.43 is a body map drawn by a group of women from Pampanur village in Anantapur district, India. An adolescent girl was asked to lie down on the floor and the outline of the body was marked with a chalk. Various parts of the body were also depicted. They also named the various organs, described their functions, diseases affecting them and discussed the treatment. They used the body map constantly during the discussion. It helped them to be focussed and everyone could see what organ was being referred to in the discussion. The facilitators soon realised that many perceptions of the women about various parts of their bodies and functions thereof were very different from the scientific views. In fact, they could see for themselves its implications for any health awareness campaign. The process of making the body map was difficult to start as the women were hesitant and inhibited. Even the discussion was difficult to carry forward initially. With constant persuasion and encouragement, the participants eventually opened up. The discussion that followed the making of the body map brought to light many issues. Process

Steps

The steps in the process of mapping the body will vary considerably according to the cultural context, objectives of the exercise. and the type of participants. However, for the sake of clarity, the suggested steps are enumerated as follows.

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Explain the purpose of the exercise to the participants. Ask them to draw an outline of the body of a woman on the ground with chalk or a stick.

308

Methods for Community Participation

Figure 4.43

Body Map of a Woman

Village: Pampanur

16 December 2000

Participants: D. Laxmidevi, Akkamma, Laxmakka, A sward hamma, Subbamma, Nagamma, Peddakka and G.Laxmidevi Facititators: Anuradha, Ravi Kumar

and Murali Krishna

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Depending on the purpose of the exercise, ask them to depict the parts and processes you are interested in: e.g., where conception takes place, how the foctus grows over the months, etc. Avoid leading or interfering. Play the role of a facilitator, i.e., ‘hand over the stick io the participants’ and intervene only where absolutely essential. Ask them to discuss the above-mentioned and other relevant issues in detail. Keep track of the discussion and take detailed notes. Encourage the participants to explain the diagram in detail and also to reflect on the findings. Asking some key questions on who has control over their bodies and how their control can be increased would be useful. Ask them questions to clarify your doubts or to get a more detailed understanding. Ask nonobtrusive questions like ‘What about...” or ‘Would you like to consider this..: aspect”. Copy the diagram onto a piece of paper with all details, including the names of the participants, facilitators, the date and the location. Show the diagram and explain the findings emerging from the diagram and discussions to others who may be knowledgeable about the issue in the locality. Wherever necessary incorpo-

rate their feedback. Thank the participants for their active participation.

Participants’ Hesitation

Even where the facilitator enjoys a reasonably good rapport with the participants, they may feel quite hesitant to start off. According to Cornwall (1992), body mapping can be quite intimidating. Perhaps the fear is that the outsider, who is more knowledgeable, is there to evaluate their knowledge of their body organs and their functions. They fear that their concepts may be termed silly and that they may be ridiculed. One way to deal with this problem can be that the facilitators share their ignorance by doing the body mapping themselves as well as marking out the various processes. The cultural aspects, including the taboo on discussing and depicting private parts in general, and in the presence of others in particular, also contribute to the people’s hesitation in doing a body mapping exercise openly. On the Ground or on Paper?

Body mapping, like other PRA methods, can be done on the ground using a stick or chalk. It can also be done directly on a chart paper using colour pens. Both have their advantages and limitations. While dealing with rural women who are not literate and who may hesitate to use paper and pen, without using the ground may be a better option. They can make changes as and when they want paper. much effort. Later, the drawing can be copied onto a sheet of Sequence

es it Body mapping is a very sensitive exercise in most cultures. In fact, in many communiti the with rapport good a can be taboo as well. It should only be attempted when the facilitator enjoys participants.

310

Methods for Community Participation

Participants

Body mapping is done in small groups. The participants in most cases are women. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the exercise, it is done mostly in groups comprising of women. However, there are a few instances of using body mapping with men as well as with mixed groups. Material Required

Chart paper, colour pens, chalk, seeds of different types, etc., are some of the commonly used material for body mapping. Time Required

The time required varies considerably and depends on the issues being explored, details aimed at and . r aah. scope for discussions. However, 171 to 2+1 hours should be sufficient. Scope for Improvisation and Complementarity with Other Methods

Body mapping has potential for application in a wide range of areas. Currently its application s have been in three major areas. It has been used in research related to health, understanding the perception of local people and communities relating to the body, its organs and conception ; in the training of health workers; and as a tool for gender sensitisation. Understanding the local people’s perceptions is very important for ensuring the effectiveness of health-related interventions and extension messages on health, diseases, birth control and pregnancy. Any health programme which does not take into account the local people’s perceptions is bound to be a failure. The health care workers at all levels need to understand the importance of the local people’s perceptions. They also need to develop the skills of opening them up and dealing with them accordingly. Body mapping comes handy as it provides scope to the local people to explain their perceptual models of the body and its functions visually. Tolly and Bentley (1992) have described their experiences of using body mapping in Karnataka, India with a group of traditional birth attendants

(dais) during a training workshop. The exercise brought forward different beliefs about conception, e.g., when life Jeeva) comes to the foetus, its growth over the nine months, etc. Any intervention or project that overlooks these beliefs, which are so fundamental, would meet with limited success. Body mapping has also been widely used for gender sensitisation and awareness. The body maps become the reference points for discussion on various issues like access, control and ways of improvi

ng their situation. It can also be effectively used for sex educati on particularly among the adolescent girls. Body Mapping in Live Stock

Though body mapping has been popularly used with human beings, it can also be used with livestock. Fig. 4.44 is an example of body map of sheep drawn by the sheep rearers of Reddipalle village of

PRA Relation Methods

Figure 4.44

Body Map of a Sheep

Village: Reddipalle

February, 2001

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Anantapur district where the symptoms, effected organs, treatment and mortality of blue tongue, sheep pox and enteritis diseases have been depicted. Similarly Kate Kirsopp Read (1994) has used body mapping of a pig to study various diseases effecting pigs.

The Process: The steps for doing a body map of an animal are quite simple and include:

Explain the purpose of the exercise to the participants. Ask them to draw the outline of the animal. Make the map on the ground or on paper.

Ask them to mark various aspects you are interested in, e.g., where the food goes, where the

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offspring develops, etc. Remember not to lead and ask questions on structures, but rather to focus on the processes you are interested in. The body map of the animal is just an initial stage in the exercise. What is more important is the discussion that follows. Depending on the objective of the exercise give the participants some key pointers for discussion. These could include: common diseases, what organs are affected, how can they be treated, how can they be prevented, what the people can do themselves, for what they require additional support, etc.

312

Methods for Community Participation

Ask questions you have in mind to clarify your doubts or for getting an in-depth understanding. Record the points of discussion. Copy the map onto a piece of paper with details. Thank the participants for their time and insights. Triangulate the map and the details generated during the discussion with others in the locality. A Monitoring and Evaluation Tool

This method can also be used for monitoring and evaluation purposes. The body maps can be made in the initial stages of launching a project or programme and be used as a baseline. Later on, at regular intervals, the participants can be asked to make a body map again. The maps and discussions, when compared with baseline maps, provide an estimate of the changes in their understanding of various parts of the body, functions of these parts and other health related issues. Even if the baseline body maps are not available, the participants can make a baseline map at a later stage in the project by recollecting the situation and their understanding of the body before the project was initiated. Advantages of Body Mapping

Body mapping has been found to be particularly useful in introducing sensitive topics. It has also been useful in identifying common terms in the local language for body parts. It provides a unique opportunity to understand local concepts about parts of the body, their functions and beliefs about how conception takes place. The important point in this context is that body mapping should not be focussed on correcting these beliefs, but on arriving at a better understanding of the rationale behind these beliefs. The differences between local perception and scientific views of the human body and its different parts as well as their functions come out quite clearly through body mapping and the discussions that follow. In fact, body mapping helps in bridging the gaps and at arriving in a common level of understanding, which is essential for any communication to take place.

Limitations of Body Mapping

You need to be very careful about using this method. The cultural context, the type of the group, your rapport with the group and the objectives of the exercise are some of the key determinants of this method. Good rapport with the group is an essential prerequisite for introdu cing body mapping. However, you also have to look at the composition of the group and the facilitator vis-a-vis the cultural context. In many communities, talking about or depicting private organs is a taboo, particularly in the presence of men. Hence if you have men either in the group or amongst the facilitators, you have to be cautious about whether to do the exercise. If you want to go ahead then you have to decide carefully on how to carry out such exercises. You can make separate groups of men and women and do the body mapping, but there may still be problems. On the whole, body mapping is a useful method, particularly when working on health- and gender-related issues.

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Chapter 5

Summary

5.1 INTRODUCTION

Let us retrace the path this book traverses. It begins with an introduction on participation, which means different things to different people. Participation is conceptualised as contribution from people, organisation of people, process of empowerment, etc. Though there is unanimity about its need, the ways of achieving people’s participation has always remained a matter of debate. Some of the common elements of people’s participation include people’s involvement in decision-making processes, designing, implementation, sharing of benefits, monitoring and evaluation of projects, etc. Spectrum of Participation

The spectrum of participation varies from passive participation to self-mobilisation. There are other levels in between where the people are just consulted, made to contribute for material incentives, encouraged to participate to achieve the pre-fixed objectives of the development programmes, etc. Self-mobilisation forms the highest level of people’s participation where the people are in total control. While most programmes visualise people’s participation as a means to achieve their objectives, cases of participation as an end are relatively rare though more desirable. Advantages and Costs

The advantages of participation have been viewed in terms of efficiency, effectiveness, self-reliance and coverage. It is considered as a sine qua non for sustainable development. There are certain costs associated with participation. Delayed start, initial slow progress in terms of both financial and physical targets, increased requirement of human and material resources to support participation, the project not moving along the expected lines, increased expectations of the people, etc., are some of the problems associated with people’s participation.

316

Methods for Community Participation

Obstacles to Participation

People’s participation remains cipation. One of them is the towards people’s participation. tures are control-oriented and

more rhetoric than reality. There are a number of obstacles to partistructural obstacle. The centralised political systems are not oriented The other one is an administrative obstacle. The administrative struchardly provide significant space to local people to make their own deci-

sions and to control their resources.

Finally, the social obstacles, which

include a mentality of

dependence, domination by the local elite and gender inequality, are quite crucial to inhibiting people’s participation. 5.2 ENTER RRA AND PRA

The lack of unanimity on participation and ways of achieving it created a fertile ground for the evolution of RRA and PRA. There was also not much clarity on how the local people could be involved in the development programmes. RRA and later PRA showed a way out and were received with a lot of enthusiasm as even the non-literate and less articulate ones could participate meaningfully in depicting their situation by making maps and diagrams, analysing the same, and coming up with plans to change their situation. They provided a space for many more to articulate their problems and also to visualise and express what could be done. This led to a popular surge in favour of PRA. PRA is described as a growing family of approaches and methods to enable local people to share, enhance and analyse their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan, act, monitor and evaluate (Chambers, 1997). Sources of PRA

PRA draws its methods, principles, and approaches from various disciplines and approaches. Participatory Action Research (PAR), inspired by the conscientisation work of Paulo Freire, has contributed to the belief in poor people’s abilities to analyse their own realities. Agro-ecosystem analysis, developed by Gordon Conway and his colleagues, has contributed a number of methods including maps, transects, and seasonal calendars. PRA draws heavily from applied anthropology its emphasis

on fieldwork, stay in rural areas, rapport with the community and focus on emic, i.e., local people’s

perspective. Anthropology has also enriched the repository of PRA methods. Field research on farming systems has revealed that the small and marginal farmers have an experimental mindset and that they are capable of doing their own analyses. The use of analytical and flow diagrams in PRA can be traced back to field research on farming systems. Questionnaire Surveys

RRA has been the main source of PRA. A host of factors led to the emergence of RRA, including

disenchantment with questionnaire surveys and problems of rural development tourism. Questionnaire surveys have been the major source of information on the lives of poor people. They are, however, infested with a number of problems. Surveys are long drawn out, extractive, do not

allow people’s realities to come out, and generate a lot of information of such a quality that is questioned by many.

Summary

317

Rural Development Tourism

Another prevalent way of getting to know about poverty has been quick visits by the outsiders to the localities where poor people live. These visits never provide a real picture of the poor as they suffer from a number of biases called rural development tourism or anti-poverty biases. The visits are to easily accessible areas (spatial bias), especially during office hours (timing bias) and during a relatively comfortable period of the year (seasonal bias). The outsiders talk to those who are articulate (person bias); women, children, the elderly and other marginalised sections are left out. The visitors talk about their topic of interest and so do the local people (project bias). They avoid questions that the local host may not be comfortable with (diplomatic bias). On the whole, the outsiders may not get close to the realities of the local people.

5.3 PRINCIPLES OF PRA A set added based listed

of principles of PRA has emerged with practice. Interestingly, new principles are still being to the list. What distinguishes these principles is that these are induced rather than deduced, on the practice and experience of what works and what does not work. Chambers (1997) has the following principles, which are shared by both PRA and RRA:

e

Reversal of Learning: Learn from the local people at the site, face-to-face in the local context. It is quite different from the questionnaire approach where the analysis and learning start only after the compilation of data, which takes place at a different location that is away from the respondents. Rapid and Progressive Learning: Use the methods in a flexible and innovative way for rapid and progressive learning. An adaptable learning process replaces the traditional blue print approach. Offsetting Biases: Be relaxed and not rushed, listen and don’t lecture. Seek out the poor, marginalised, women, etc., and avoid development tourism and anti-poverty biases. Optimal Ignorance: Do not go into unnecessary details. Follow Keynes’ pragmatic dictum—it is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong. Triangulation: Assess and compare findings from several angles. Complexity and Diversity: Focus on variability, complexity and diversity rather than averages.

e

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In addition, Chambers applicable to RRA. e e e

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(1997) has listed another set of principles primarily of PRA but also

Handing over the Stick: Encourage the local people to take control of the process of depiction and analysis of their realities. Self-critical Awareness: Reflect continuously and critically on your own behaviour. Embrace errors—use errors as an opportunity to learn. Personal Responsibility: Take personal responsibility for what happens and ‘use your own best judgement at all times.’ Sharing: Share information and ideas with others at different levels—between local people, between outsiders and local people, amongst outsiders, their organisations, regions, countries, etc.

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Methods for Community Participation

5.4 REVERSALS One of the distinguishing features of PRA is that it marks a significant paradigmatic shift in development thinking. A number of reversals characterise PRA. Some of these reversals have aleady been described earlier. However, in order to reinforce the reversals and their importance in PRA, they are enumerated here as follows:

Closed to Open: It enables the observer to capture the realities of people as it follows an open and flexible approach. They get an opportunity to express themselves in their own ways and are not constrained by any fixed categories. Measurement to Comparison: PRA marks a major shift in emphasis from measurement to comparison,

which makes it easier, faster and less sensitive than measurement.

Individual to Group: In PRA the focus is on groups. Despite problems of domination by a few in groups, groups help in the collection of in-depth information in a shorter period of time and allow for the checking of the correctness of information. The group provides enough synergy so that the quality of analysis also improves significantly. One person starts, another adds to the discussion and this works as a stimulus for others. Thus the quality of information and analysis improves significantly. Verbal to Visual: PRA introduces a shift from verbal to visual which in fact helps in improving its effectiveness, by allowing the non-literate and the not-so-articulate to participate in the exercises.

Higher to Lower: PRA makes a deliberate attempt to side with the poor and marginalised sections of society.

Reserve to Rapport: While other modes of inquiry stress aloofness and maintaining distance, in PRA the emphasis is on building a rapport with the local people.

Frustration to Fun: PRA makes fieldwork a pleasant and fun activity in contrast to the frustration that most other modes of enquiry cause. 5.5 SALIENT FEATURES OF PRA

The salient features of PRA as emphasized throughout the book include: Capabilities of People

PRA basically believes that people are capable of analysing their complex realities and are not ignorant. PRA attaches significant credence to local people, their knowledge skills, analytical skills and creativity. The role of outsiders is that of facilitator and convenor. Local people draw, score, rank, analyse and plan. As facilitators observe local people do complex analyses, their respect for the local people, their knowledge and their skills, goes up. Who Decides?

In PRA, the participants who are the local people play an active and important role in deciding the

categories, criteria, indicators, etc., of the research. This is in contrast to questionnaire surveys and

Summary

319

some of the other research methods where the course and categories of exploration are predetermined. PRA is exhilarating for the participants if facilitated well. It is quite demanding in terms of the time required of the participants but the participants do not get bored, as they discover new things for themselves. The PRA facilitators also find the exercises fascinating, as each experience is unique. Who Owns

the Information?

The participants own the information generated during the exercises and PRA recognises that. There is a strong tradition of giving credit to the participants of the exercise and accordingly, the PRA outputs carry the names of the participants. Most facilitators also leave the outputs with local people themselves for their future use and carry copies for documentation.

PRA is about Power Relationship

PRA is aimed at empowering people. The attempt is to change the existing power relations. The emphasis in PRA is to reach out to the most vulnerable, the less articulate, and the non-literate—

including women, the elderly and children. But even with these inventions many PRA exercises, like other modes of enquiry, fail to reach out to the marginalised. There is always a need to be aware of this aspect and to make a conscious attempt to include those who are generally ignored and marginalised in the process. PRA Relies on Visuals

PRA methods use visuals, symbols, and flexible local material like seeds, pebbles, twigs, soils and powders of different colours. Therefore, PRA is conducive to application with even the less articulate, shy, and non-literate people, who form the bulk of the poor and marginal sections of society. It allows them to participate meaningfully in the planning and monitoring of activities. Ground vs Paper

PRA exercises, when done on the ground, allow for more people to participate. It has also proved to be pro-poor and anti-elite, as in most communities the elite are not interested in soiling their hands by making the diagrams on the ground using local materials. Obviously the use of paper and pen have an elitist bias. The non-literate are generally hesitant about the use of expensive and alien-looking

paper and pen. Similarly the verbal mode also favours the articulate, as those lacking self-confidence hardly express their views even when they get an opportunity, PRA enables them to express themselves easily. PRA is not just the Output

PRA, as its definition emphasizes, is aimed at enabling people to analyse and reflect on their realities so that they plan for action, and implement and monitor their progress. Though the process of doing PRA exercise itself is quite fascinating, it is followed by interviewing the diagrams or the outputs. Time and space is also created for the participants to reflect on the process and the outputs. This

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Methods for Community Participation

makes them think through the process. It is quite common that people discover inter-relationships about which they are themselves not aware. This actually enables and empowers the local people to analyse their present situation and plan for their improvement. This is quite in contrast to RRA and questionnaire surveys, which are extractive, and, in fact, disempower them, since they lose control over the information as well. PRA is Eclectic

PRA draws heavily from various disciplines, methods and approaches. Therefore it is still evolving. This is in fact one of the major strengths of PRA. It also brings in humility and pluralism among the practitioners. The basic theme is that there is not only one way of doing things but that there are various ways. It thereby reinforces the principles of pluralism and diversity.

Qualitative vs Quantitative

The major strength of PRA is in its ability to generate qualitative information. It also generates data which can be quantified. The use of participatory census and constant improvements in its methodology, opens up new areas for quantification in PRA. PRA encourages the articulation of diversity. The focus is on how to allow even minority views to come out. It respects and helps in the articulation of diversity. While this is a major strength, others more comfortable with the traditional approaches see it as a major weakness of PRA.

5.6 MYTHS ABOUT PRA Some of the myths and misconceptions regarding PRA are summarised below:

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It is quick.

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It is easy. Anyone can do it. It is just a set of fancy methods. It is based on particular disciplinary perspectives.

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It has no theoretical basis. It is just old wine in new bottles. That training is the answer. The people involved are neutral. It is not political.

5.7 ABC OF PRA: ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOUR CHANGE PRA is not just a set of Tools

Many consider PRA to be a set of tools. Unfortunately, this is one of the popular misconceptions about PRA. In fact, PRA is a set of methods, approaches, beliefs and attitudes . Just the application of PRA methods is not enough; the basic principles of PRA should also be incorporated. One of the

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Summary 321 es Meee

major concerns of PRA practitioners has been the neglect of the particular aspects that are central to PRA. Primacy of the Personal

The debate about the importance of PRA methods vis-a-vis attitudes has been there almost since PRA evolved. In the initial phase, methods were given more importance, while today, the realisation that the personal is primary has grown. This is much in line with the age-old saying that the tools are

no better than the man who handles them. Right Attitude for PRA

PRA practitioners have identified a set of attitudes and behaviour which are central to PRA (Kumar, 1996). These include: Self-critical awareness of one’s behaviour, biases and shortcomings.

Commitment to the poor, weak and vulnerable. Respecting others. Not interrupting, not lecturing, but being a good active listener. Not hiding, but embracing error. ‘Handing over the stick’, meaning passing on the initiative and responsibility to others. ‘They can do it’, meaning empowering others through confidence in their capabilities. Open-ended flexibility to make space for the priorities of the poor. Training: Attitude and Behaviour The concern of the practitioners has been that the training on PRA has been more focussed on the methods than on the attitudes. Obviously, it is easy enough for the trainers to pass on the skills related to methods, but difficult to bring about attitudinal change. Using PRA methods, staying in the field and witnessing the local people use the methods have generally helped practitioners in realising the capabilities of the people to depict and analyse their complex realities. This realisation grows as the practitioners facilitate more PRA exercises and reflect on their facilitation and behaviour. The change in attitude and behaviour takes time. It also requires serious efforts on the part of the practitioners and support from their colleagues and organisations, if any. The general realisation has been that it is easy to learn the methods, but difficult to imbibe the required attitudes which are an essential prerequisite of any participatory process. 5.8 PRA: CONCERNS AND CHALLENGES

PRA has spread at a fast pace. The spread has also brought forward many challenges and concerns (Kumar, 1997). The major concerns about the practice of PRA include:

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Rapid scaling up of PRA without quality. Demand for one-off training.

322

e

e e e e e

Methods for Community Participation

Poor quality training with little stress on attitude and behaviour. Neglect and underestimation of people’s knowledge and capabilities. Raising the expectations of people without any follow up. Rut and routinisation of PRA. Exclusion of women and the poorest and other marginalised sections of society. Domination and inappropriate behaviour of the facilitators.

5.9 PRA METHODS

A number of methods are in use. New methods and improvisations are being constantly added to the list of the PRA methods. PRA methods can be broadly classified into three categories namely space, time and relationship methods. Each of the categories in turn has a number of other methods which have their own strengths and limitations. Sequencing of Methods An important aspect of the methods is their sequencing. Some methods like social mapping, resource mapping, time line etc., are more suitable in the beginning, while methods like well-being ranking, body mapping etc., are best done after initial rapport-building. In fact many methods are best suited as a precursor for other methods since they prepare the background for subsequent detailed analysis: e.g., the time-line sets the tone and provides insights into the landmark years and issues to be explored in trend analysis exercise. Similarly, wealth ranking is best done after social mapping for various reasons—one, it produces the list of households essential for well-being ranking; two, it gives a good understanding of the issues to be explored during the exercise. Scope for People’s Participation in Methods

Methods also show variation in their ability to involve the participants. Methods like social mapping and participatory modelling engage larger number of participants more easily. Others like matrix, participatory genealogy, etc., put the skills of the facilitators to test. A step-by-step approach generally proves to be helpful in simplifying the process and in enabling the local people to participate meaningfully in the exercise. Ready Reckoner for PRA Methods

Even some of the experienced PRA practitioners do not always find the selection of PRA methods for the exercise to be that easy. Most of the participants of PRA training programmes have expressed the need for a reckoner of PRA methods that they can use for the selection of the methods and also as a

ready reference. The first step in the selection of PRA methods is to decide on the dimension you want study, viz., space, time or relations. This sounds simple, but at times it can prove complicated, particularl y in cases where you want to study more than one aspect at the same time, e.g., space and time. You will have to decide which is the more important one.

Summary

323

The second step is to look at the list of methods, particularly the ones that deal with that aspect, and then decide on which methods will best serve your purpose. Finally, you will have to identify one of the methods you would like to use for that particular purpose. The final selection of the method largely depends upon its suitability for your purpose. Various factors, like the types of participants, their educational background, the availability of time with the participants and the facilitators, details aimed at, etc., play a crucial role in selection of the method. Ready reckoners for each of the three categories of PRA methods have been given at the end of the respective chapters. They are handy and useful to the practitioners. The key questions and terms help in the selection of methods as per requirement. I would suggest that you develop your own matrix of methods using your own criteria. Sometimes the same issues can be explored using various methods, based on the situation and your preference. You have to make a choice. Triangulation

What people depict as their reality, in the form of diagrams and discussions, is not taken at face value. It is subjected to interviewing, triangulation and reflection. Interviewing an output is when the outsider facilitator asks the participants to explain certain aspects of the output. The probing questions asked help to clarify doubts and arrive at a detailed understanding of the subject. In fact, it also provides an opportunity for the participants to reflect on and realise certain aspects about which they were not consciously aware. Triangulation is carried out to arrive at the correctness of the information provided. It is done in various ways. One of them is to get the same or related information using other methods. The other is to use the same methods to arrive at the same information, but with a different set of participants.

Other sources of information are also used to check the validity of the information generated during the PRA exercises. Analysis and reflection by the participants on the process and output of the exercise really adds value to the PRA exercise. The questionnaire and other traditional modes of research disempower local people. In PRA the participants are not mere informants. They analyse the information, reflect on it, draw their own findings and plan for action. 5.10 APPLICATIONS OF PRA Applications of PRA have proliferated over the years and are still evolving. According to Chambers (1997) most applications of PRA are in three areas, namely, topical investigation and research, training, and PRA proper as an empowering process of appraisal, analysis, planning, action, monitoring

and evaluation. These applications are in various sectors. The five sectors which attracted more PRA, however, were natural resources management, agriculture, poverty and livelihood, health and

nutrition and urban. In addition, PRA has been also applied in various other fields like education, adult education, participatory monitoring and evaluation, emergencies and disaster management, sexual and reproductive health, etc. Though PRA has been more micro-oriented of late it has been applied at the macro-level to influence policy formulation. The World Bank initially promoted participatory poverty assessments (PPAs) particularly in the African countries to influence the policies for the poor. Over the years, PPAs with PRA as the main methodology have taken root in other parts of the world as well. New

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Methods for Community Participation

applications of PRA in diversified fields are daily coming to light, making it quite difficult to keep pace with the developments. 5.11 CONCLUSION

PRA is not a panacea and would not solve all the problems of the world, but it does open up some ways of trying to tackle these challenges (Chambers, 1997). PRA sounds exciting and promising. All those who have used it find it quite fascinating and even addictive. Each application proves to be a unique learning experience. It highlights the need for following an open and flexible approach. More than just a methodology to interact with people and a set of methods, most of the facilitators strive to make PRA and the basic attitudes associated with it—open-mindedness, flexibility, giving more opportunities to others to explore themselves, respect for others and their approach to their lives. PRA promises to open up a whole new frontier. What are you waiting for? Why don’t you take a plunge and discover it for yourself?

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113-18.

Intermediate Technology

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May, pp. 65-69, IIED, London. Guijt, I. (1992). ‘A User's Note: Wealth Ranking by Cards’, RRA Notes 15: Farmer Participatory Research in Punjab, for Appraisal Rural ry Participato Guijt, Irene and Jules N. Pretty ed. (1992). Pakistan. IED, London. Hart, R. (1992). Children’s Participation from Tokenism to Citizenship. UNICEF.

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Jayakaran, R. (1991). ‘PRA Camp at Mahitong, Bihar’, RRA Notes 13: August, pp. 118-22. IIED, London. Jonfa et al. (1991). ‘Participatory Modelling in North Omo, Ethiopia, Investigating the Perceptions of Different Groups through Models’, RRA Notes: 14: December, pp. 24-28. IIED, London. Kabutha, Charity and Richard Ford (1988). ‘Using RRA to Formulate a Village Resources Management Mbusanyi, Kenya’, RRA Notes 2: October, pp. 4-11. IIED, London.

Plan,

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pp. 5-11. ITED, London. Norton, Andy, Dan Owen and John Milimo (1994). Zambia Participatory Poverty Assessment, Volume 5: Participatory Poverty Assessment. Southern Africa Department, World Bank, Washington. Norton, Andy et al. (1996). ‘The Ghana Participatory Poverty Assessment: Some Notes on the Process and Lessons Learned’, Paper for the PRA and Policy Workshop: pp. 1-5. IDS, Sussex. Oakley, P. (1981). ‘Fisherwomen and Group Development in North East Brazil’, Year Book of Agriculture Cooperation. Plunkett Foundation, Oxford.

Oakley, P. et al. (1991). Projects with People—The Practice of Participation in Rural Development: pp. 2-10. International Labour Office, Geneva. Paul, S. (1987). Community Participation in Development Projects, Discussio n Paper No. 6. World Bank, Washington DC. Phnuyal, B., D. Archer and Sara Cattingham (1998). ‘Reflections on REFLECT’, PLA Notes 32: June, p. 29. HED, London. Pimbert, Michel (1991). ‘Farmer Participation on On-farm Varietal Trials: Multilocational Testing under Resource-poor Conditions’, RRA Notes 10: February, pp. 3-8. IIED, London. Praxis (1998). Participatory Poverty Profile of Bolangir District—A Report: pp. 87-93, 113-16. PRAXIS, Patna, India. Praxis (1999). Country Synthesis Report—Consultations with the Poor India Study to inform World Development Report 2000-01, in Somesh Kumar (ed.). World Bank.

Pretty, J. N. (1994). ‘Alternative systems of enquiry for sustainab le agriculture’, IDS Bulletin 25: Vol. 2, pp. 37-48. Brighton, IDS, University of Sussex. Pretty, Jules et al. (1995). A Trainer's Guide for Participatory Learning and Action, ITED Participatory Methodology Series. IIED, London. Rama Gounder et al. (1993). ‘Resource Flow Venn

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Diagrams: A Two in one Approach’,

RRA

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Index

100 Seeds Technique, 286 ActionAid India, 51 administrative obstacles, 29 adult education and community empowerment, Freirian concepts for, 50

adult education movement, 31 Agricultural Services Map, 97, 99 Agriculture, problems in: trend analysis of, 135 Agroecosystem Analysis, 30, 31, 33, 316 akhai shai, 52 analytical and flow diagrams, the use of, 316 animal, body map of: the steps for doing, 311-14 Anthropology, 316; Applied, 31, 33 Archer, 51 Arthik Anusandhan Kendra, 283, 284

Assert details, Social map with, 65 Assigning Weight to the Forces, different ways of, 277-79; Frequency method of, 279; ranking, 279 Bangladesh, Report on Human Development in, 50 Barnes, 169

biases, the problem of, 42 Big village, social mapping in, 60-63 Biggs, Stephen, ‘informal R&D" of, 34 Bihar, Primary Education in: Force Field Analysis of, 273, the status of, 272-74 Body Map, Typical, 307

Body Mapping, 40, 118, 306-14; advantages of, 314; applications of, 307; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 314; limitations of, 314; materials required for, 310; the process of, 307-10; time required for, 310 Building of latrines, Force Field Analysis of, 281

Bunch, Roland, ‘Two Ears of Corn’ of, 34

Card method, 111-12 Card shorting method, 162, 220, 221

Caste hierarchy, pair-wise ranking method of, 253; studying, 252; Venn Diagram of, 239, 241

Cause-effect diagram, 40, 188-201, 294; applications of, 189; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 200-01; Land alienation of, 194, 195; material required for, 192; process of, 189-92; time required for, 192; Typical, 189 Chambers, Robert, 31, 38, 39, 40, 42, 49, 107, 11:

259, 316, 317, 324; Seven steps to Matrix Ranking suggested by, 268-69 Chandra Mouli, 232 Chetlama Uapuram Village, social map of, 55 Child labourer, time line of, 126 Chinese village, social map of, 67 Cobweb diagram see spider diagram

Cohen and Uphoff, 23, 24 Complexity and diversity, 317 Conflict resolution, 171; Multiple Matrix of, 257 Conway, Gordon, 33; Agroecosystem analysis developed by, 316 Cornwall, 309 Crop preferences, a gender perspective, 268; Matrix Ranking for, 267

Daily Activity Schedule, 40, 118, 158-69; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 166-69; Card sorting method for, 162; material required for, 161;

the process of doing, 159-61 decision-making process, participation in, 24 dependence, mentality of, 29 Development, participatory approaches in: terms, 30

development interventions, 27~28 development process, people's participation in, 23; argument against, 28 DFID, India, 279 Dhantia, class-wise well-being analysis in, 231

Dhauradadar, well-being categorisation in, 230

diagramming, flexibility in, 191 Different institutions, Venn Diagram of, 235

rr chien rpemettsseeich torent

ea pepe pg

Index

Diplomatic biases, 37; see also biases Disease perception, 3-D Venn Diagram of, 242, 243

Ground vs Paper, 319

Diversity, PRA principles of, 41

Group membership and well-being category details, social map with, 66

Dream Map, 40, 118, 178-87; advantages of, 187; applications of, 128; as a monitoring and evaluation

329

np

Group formation, the process of, 171

Guijt, Irene and Pretty, Jules, 237

tool, 187; limitations of, 187; material required

for, 181; the process of doing, 180-81; time required for, 181; Typical, 178-80 drop-out children, Daily Activity Schedule of, 164 drought, impact diagram of, 202, 203 drought and natural disorders, time line of, 123, 124 Economic Commission for Latin America, 23 education, time line of, 124 Educational Services Map, 97, 98

handing over the stick, 317 Historical Matrix, 129 Historical Transect, 40, 100, 118, 129, 143-48;

as monitoring and evaluation tool, 148; material required for, 147; the process of doing, 145-47; versus Trend Analysis, 145-48 Household System Diagram, 208 Households, List of, 222, 223 Hunger, Problem Tree of, 197, 199

Effects of Bore-well, impact diagram of, 205 elede alarum, 311

IIED (London), 38

Entry point and Rapport building, 170

illiteracy, a Problem Tree of, 197, 198; cause-effect

Etic-emic distinction, 33 Evaluation wheel, 305 Extension activity, 171

Impact Diagram, 40, 188, 201-06, 294; advantages

FAO, 24 Farming System Research (FSR), 30, 31

Field Maps, changes in cropping pattern, 79, 80 Field Research on Farming Systems, 31, 34, 316 Field Work, Participatory Evaluation of, 305

fishbone or Ishikawa diagram see cause-effect diagram Fixing landmark years. 132-33 Flow Diagram, 294 Fodder varieties, Preference Ranking for, 259 Force Field Analysis, 40, 188, 270-83, 290, 294;

a visual depiction of, 271; advantages of, 282; applications of, 272-74; as a monitoring and

diagram of, 190 of, 206; applications of, 201; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 204-06; limitations of, 206; material required for, 204; the process of making, 202-04; time required for, 204;

Typical, 202 India, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in, 38 individuals, rime line of, 125 Indonesia, 52 Information, collection of, 171

Institutional relationship and changes, Venn Diagram of, 245 Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP), 29 Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), 237 International Monetary Fund (IMF), 23

evaluation tool, 279-82; Balloons and stone method,

275, 276; limitations of, 282-83; materials required for, 277; on cards or directly on charts, 275; the process of, 274-77; time required for, 277 Forest, trend analysis of, 135, 136

Freire, Paulo, Pedagogy of the oppressed, 31; the conscientisation work of, 316 Ganda (SC) households, well-being ranking of, 227 Gender and Age, participatory modelling by, 85 gender inequality, 29 Gender roles, Spider Diagram of, 301 Gender Sensitisation Tool, 155, 166 Genealogies and Development Work, 170 Generational trend analysis, 140 Ghana, 50

Gounder, Rama, et al,, 239 Grandin, Barbara, 220

Jonfa et al., 84 Kabutha and Ford, 38

Kenya, 52; National Environment Secretariat (NES) in, 38

Key informants, use of, 222 Keynesian pragmatic dictum, 41 Kolhua village, Dream map of, 179 Krishna, Participatory Genealogy of, 173 Kumar, Somesh, 51, 52, 321; and Kumari Shanti, 237; and Srivastava, 169

Laxmipalle, self-help women groups in: status of, 303 Lewin, Kurt, 270 Lift irrigation, impact of, 155, 157-58 Lift irrigation scheme, impact of: case study, 284

330

Methods for Community Participation

Livelihood Analysis, 40, 118, 289-95; a case study of, 295-96; advantages of, 294; and Flow diagram, 294; and Force Field Analysis, 290, 294; and Matrix, 294;

National Environment Secretariat (NES), Kenya Natural resources, trend analysis of, 131

Network Diagram, 40, 188, 211-14; advantages

and Participatory Genealogy method, 290, 293; and Seasonal Diagram, 290, 293; and Social Map, 290,

of, 214; applications of, 211; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 214;

294; and time line, 290, 294; and trend analysis,

limitations of, 214; materials required for, 213; process of, making, 211-13; time required for, 213;

290, 294; and well-being ranking, 290, 294; applications of, 290; as a monitoring and evaluation tools, 294; limitations of, 294—95; materials required for, 293; PRA methods used for, 290; the process of, 290-93; time required for, 293

Livelihood Analysis Process, the suggested steps in, 292-94 Livestock, Body mapping in, 310-11 local elite, domination of, 29

Typical, 211 Nigerian village, poverty in, 192-94 Non-School going children, Daily Activity Schedule of, 164 Norton, Krobol, et al., 50 Oakley, et al., 27, 29

Offsetting biases, 317; PRA principles of, 41 Optimal ignorance, 317; PRA principles of, 41

Mahilong, Livelihood analysis in, 290, 291

Map of Ambjharan, the Artist's perspective, 62; the local people's perspective, 61 mapping, selection of site for, 57 Mapping on Ground vs Paper, comparative analysis of, 58

markets, Venn Diagram of, 239, 240 Matchstick technique, 112, 113

matrix, 294; multiple pair-wise, 252-56 Matrix method, card sorting, 263-64; points to be

kept in mind, 261; the criteria for, 261-63; the sequence of, 265 Matrix ranking/scoring method, 40, 188, 258-70; a case study of, 266; advantages of, 269-70;

applications of, 258; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 269; limitations of, 270; material required for, 265; the process of, 260-65; time required for, 266

Migrant Man and Woman, Daily Activity Schedule of, 168

Migration, Force Field Analysis of, 280; Process Map of, 219 Mobility Map, 53, 87-93; advantages of, 91; and

Generation change, 171; and resource map, 76, 77; and services and opportunities map, 87, 88; and Venn Diagram, 93; applications of, 87; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 91; limitations of, 91; material required for, 90; the process of, 89-90; time required for, 90; Typical, 87 mobility mapping, 39 mobility pattern, trends in: different

groups of, 90; migrant worker's, 91, 92; seasonality of, 90 Models, and Maps, 81; different types of, 83; historical, 83-84 Montgomery, Richard, 272 Morgan, Lewis Henry, 169

Mosse and Mehta, 169, 170

Padiabahal, drought in: trend analysis of, 133-35 Pair-wise Ranking Method, 40, 188, 246-58; advantages of, 256; applications of, 246; as exploratory exercises, 252; as monitoring and evaluation tool, 256; limitations of, 258; materials required for, 251: problem prioritisation, 247, 248, 249; Questioning in, 250; the process of, 248-51; time required for, 251; Typical, 246-48 Pakistan, Aga Khan Rural Support programme in, 33 Pampanur, typical household systems diagramming in, 207 Participating monitoring and evaluation, the method of, 53

Participation, a few definitions of, 23, 24; a typology of, 24-25, 26; advantages and costs of, 315; as

Means vs Ends: comparative analysis of, 26; by consultation, 25; by self-mobilisation, 25,

26, 28; for material incentive, 25; Functional, 25; in information giving, 24; interactive, 25, 26, 28; manipulative, 26; obstacles to, 316; passive, 24, 26; spectrum of, 315; the advantages of, 23; the concept of, 19; the meaning of, 23-27 Participatory Action Research (PAR), 30,

31-33, 316 Participatory Census Method, 53, 106-17; a case study of, 107-09; advantages of, 114, 116;

applications of, 107; different methods of, 110-12; limitations of, 114, 116-17;

materials required for, 114; monitoring and evaluation for, 116; process of, 112, 114; time required for, 114 Participatory development, the popularity of, 50 Participatory development vs Participation-indevelopment, 26-27; comparative analysis of, 27

Index

Participatory Genealogy Method, 40, 118, 138, 169-78, 290, 293; and case study, 177; and social map, 176; and trend analysis, 176; and well-being ranking, 176; applications of, 170-71; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 177; the process of doing, 172-76 Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), 29, 30

Participatory Modelling Method, 39, 79-87; advantages of, 86; applications of, 81; as a

331

Permanent Watershed map on Public Wall, 75 Personal, primacy of, 321 Personal behaviour, primacy of, 52 Personal bias, different types of, 35-36

Personal responsibility, 317 Pie Diagram, 40, 118, 283-89; advantages of, 288; and comparative analysis, 287; and participatory census, 287; and resource mapping, 287; and social

mapping, 287; applications of, 283; as a monitoring

monitoring and evaluation tool, 86; limitations

and evaluation tool, 288; limitations of, 288; material

of, 86-87; materials required for, 83; the process

required for, 287; multiple, 288; process of making, 284-86; time required for, 287; Typical, 283-84

of, 81-83; time required for, 83 Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA), 49-50, 323

Pimbert, 262

Participatory Rapid Rural Appraisal (PPRA), 50 Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), 23, 26, 27, 29-31; ABC of, 47; and Literacy and Empowerment, 50-51; and participatory monitoring and evaluation, 50; and power relationship, 319; and visual, 319;

Pluralism and diversity, the principles of, 320 Poverty, cause and effect diagram of, 193

Poverty web, process of impoverishment, 196 Praxis, 181, 279

Problem prioritisation, trend analysis of, 138, 139

applications of, 49-51, 323-24; attitude and

Problem tree, a variation, 194-200

behavioural change, 320-21; attitude and behaviour for, 47-49; certain principles of, 50; concerns about,

Problem Tree Diagram, process of making of, 197 Process Map, 40, 188, 214-18; advantages of, 218; applications of, 214-15; as a monitoring

51-52; concerns and challenges of, 321-22;

distinguishing features of, 42-45; emergence of, 45; four pillars of, 47-49; myths about, 320; origin and sources of, 31-34; principles of, 40-42, 317; recommendations for, 48; right attitude of, 321; satient features of, 318-20; sources of, 316; ten

and evaluation tool, 218; Facilitation skills, 217; limitations of 218; material required

for, 217; process of making, 215-17; time

required for, 217; Typical, 215 Professional biases, 37-38

common myths of, 45-47; the concept of 19; the contribution of Field Research on Farming Systems

Project bias, 38

to, 34; the contribution to Participatory Action Research to, 31—33; the evolution of, 38; the major

Qualitative vs Quantitative, 320

contribution of Anthropology to, 33; the methods

Questionnaire surveys, 316; a possible alternative

of, 19; the practice of: major concerns about,

Questionnaire method ‘stealing’, 42 to, 106; the pitfalls of, 42, 43

321-22; the summary of, 19 PRA behavioural principles, another set of: From stealing to sharing, 42; Handling over the stick, 42;

Rag Pickers of Hyderabad, dreams of, 184, 185

self-critical awareness, 42; use your best judgement, 42 PRA is eclectic, 320

Rapid and Progressive Learning, 317; PRA principles of, 41

PRA is not just an output, 319-20 PRA methods, 39-40, 50, 322-23; Ready Reckoner

Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP), 30, 31, 33 Rapid Ethnographic Assessment (REA), 30, 33 Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), 23, 29-31, 34; a typology of, 38; cost-effective alternative, 30-31; international conference (1985) on, 31, 38

for, 322-23; the sequencing of, 322; space-related, 39-40, 53; the repository of, 33; time-related, 40, 52

PRA PRA PRA ‘Pass

output, necessary details on, 60 practice in the field, shortcomings in, 51 relation method, 52 on to the Pen’ approach, 232 Paul, 24 People, Capabilities of, 318 People’s participation, 23; advantages of, 27; argument against, 28; in methods: scope for, 322; obstacles to, 29 People’s realities, the spatial dimension of, 53;

the temporal dimensions of, 118

Rambarna, Participatory Genealogy of, 174

RRA and PRA, compared, 39; contribution of agroecosystem analysis to, 33; the evolution of, 316 RRA to PRA, transition from, 38-39

Relaxed Rural Appraisal, 29 Ready Reckoner, 53, 312-13 Reed, Kate Kirsopp, 244, 311

Reflect, a structured participatory learning process, 50-51 Relation Methods, Ready Reckoner of, 312-13 Relation PRA methods, 40

332

Methods for Community Participation

Resource map/mapping, 53, 71—79, 100; advantages of,

79; applications of, 71; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 77; limitations of, 79; materials required for, 74; the process of, 72-74; time required for, 74; Typical, 72, 73 Reversal of Learning, 317; PRA principles of, 41

Reversals, 42-45, 318; closed to open, 42, 43, 318; Democracy of the ground, 43-44; Frustration to Fun, 318; Higher to Lower, 43, 318; Individual to group, 43, 318; measurement

to comparison, 42, 43, 318;

Social Map/Mapping Method, 110-11, 220, 221 social obstacles, 29 Socio-economic status of various groups, Matrix

scoring of, 229 Space-related Methods, Ready Reckoner of, 115 spatial bias, 35 Spider Diagram, 40, 188, 296-306; advantages of, 306; applications of, 298-300; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 303-06; limitation of, 306; material required for, 302; scoring in, 302;

Reserve to Rapport, 43, 44-45, 318; verbal to visual,

the process of doing, 300-02; time

43, 44, 318

required for, 302; Typical, 300, 301

Richards, Paul, ‘Indigenous Agriculture

Srinivas, 272

Revolution’ of, 34 Rivers, W.H.R., 169

Status of self-help groups, Spider Diagram of, 304 structural obstacles, 29 Studying social control and resolution of conflict, multiple pair-wise matrix of, 256

Rural Development Tourism, 317; and Biases, 34-38; problems of, 316 Russell, Tim, 258

Saltarpalli, women of: mobility pattern of, 87 Sana Rana, Income and expenditure details of, 299

School-going children, Daily Activity Schedule

Systems Diagram, 40, 188, 207-11, 294; advantages of, 210; applications of, 207; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 210; limitations of, 210-11; material required for, 209; process of, 209; time required for, 210

of, 163, 164

Scientists and Farmers, the criteria of: comparison, 262 Scoons, 45; and Thompson, 46 seasonal bias, 36-37

Seasonal Diagram, 40, 118, 130, 148-58, 290, 293; as monitoring and evaluation tool, 155; circular method, 154-55 seasonality and trend analysis, 138

Second International PRA Thematic Training Workshop, the field work of, 277

self-critical awareness, 317

Services and Opportunities Map, 53, 94-100; advantages of, 97; applications ., 94, 96; as a

time, concept of, 121-22; People’s concept of, 151-52; the local concept of, 128 Time Line, 40, 118-28, 129-30, 290, 293; and trend analysis, 135; application of, 119; circular representation, 127; interviewing, 122; monitoring and evaluation of, 125-28; process of doing, 119-21 Time-related methods, Ready Reckoner of, 186

Time trend, 129 Timing bias, 37 Training: attitude and behaviour, 321 Transect, 53, 100-06, advantages of, 106; and

monitoring and evaluation tool, 97; limitations

resource map, 75; applications of, 100; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 105-06;

of, 100; material required for, 96; the process

different perspectives: socio-economic

of, 94, 96; time required for, 96; Typical, 94, 95

sharing, 317 silence, culture of, 29

Six kindred using multiple pair-wise ranking, a comparative study of, 254-56 Snake and ladder exercise, 181-84; advantages of, 184; limitations of, 184; process, 182

Social Map/Mapping, 53, 54-71, 290, 294; advantages of, 70; and resource map, 75; applications of, 54, 64; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 70; as a tool for analysis and reflection, 69; as a tool for attitudinal

change, 68; as a tool for Participatory Census and Data Collection, 68; breaking the ice with, 69-70;

identifying groups through, 70; limitations of, 70-71; materials required for, 64; the process of, 54-63; time required for, 64; Typical, 54

groups, 105; Gender dimensions in, 105; limitations of, 106; materials required for, 104; the process of: two sets, 101-04; time required for, 104; Typical, 101, 102 Transect path, deciding on, 103; types of, 103 Transect team, 104 Trend Analysis, 40, 118, 128-43, 290, 294; and Participatory Genealogy, 138; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 141-43; material required for, 133; reflecting on, 133; the process of, 130-33;

Then and Now method, 141, 142 Triangulation, 317, 323; for Livelihood Analysis, 293; for Pie diagram, 286; PRA principles of, 41 Tolly and Bentley, 310 ‘top-down’ development approach, 29, 42, 43

Index

Typical Genealogical Chart, 171-72 Typical Matrix: Fodder preference of farmers of Kistagiri, 259-60

333

Well-being Ranking Method, 188, 218-33, 290, 294; advantages of, 233; and Matrix Method, 228-29;

Uganda, 52

and Trend Analysis, 226-28; applications of, 220; as a monitoring and evaluation tool, 232-33; as a tool for social analysis and awareness, 230-31;

UNDP, 50

challenges of, 221-22; in combination with Social

Mapping and Participatory Census, 231-32; Vegetable cultivation and workload,

limitations of 233; materials required for, 222;

Seasonality analysis of, 297 Venn Diagram, 40, 188, 234-46, 3-dimensional, 239: the process of making, 243-44; advantages of, 244; applications of, 234; as a monitoring and

modified, 230; process of making, 220-22; the statiscal modal for, 223-25; time required

evaluation tool, 244; limitations of, 244-46;

for, 223; Typical, 220; with stones, 226 Who decides, 318 Who owns the information, 319

material required for, 237; the process of doing, 236-37; time required for, 239; Typical, 234-36 Venn Diagramming with Stones, 237, 238 Verbal and visual method compared, 45

Woman, Body Map of, 308; Mobility Map of, 88

Vietnam, 52

Women of Dorapalli, dreams of, 182-84 World Bank, 23, 323; ‘consultations with the poor’

Village resource management plan, 38 Visualisation process, 44

Watershed, a typical model of, 82; Participatory model of, 84 Watershed Map, 77; then and now, 78, 79 Web, cause effect diagram to, 194

Woman (Odubwo), Daily Activity Schedule of, 165 Woman across seasons, Daily Activity

Schedule of, 167

study of, 50, 181, 222, 226 World Development Report, 2000-01, 50, 181 Yam processing, Process Map of, 216 Zambia, 50

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and long lasting There is widespread agreement that development cannot be sustainable However, there unless people’s participation is made central to the development process. and also on the is considerable difference of opinion on the very concept of participation g body of confusin often and ing burgeon a in ways of achieving it. This has resulted l (PRA) or Appraisa Rural atory Particip termed literature on people’s participation, variously with all deals which book single no yet Participatory Learning and Action (PLA). There is as the issues involved. and This immensely practical and comprehensive manual covers the concepts, practice methodology of participatory development, focusing primarily on ‘how’ to achieve participation. It is rich with insights from the field, reellate from India, China and Nigeria.

- Inclusive methodologies for reaching people. Practical ways of making people's participation a reality. Designed to suit the needs of those working in diverse development sectors. - Provides space for innovation while encouraging creativity and flexibility. Tips on best practices as well as on attitudes and behaviour, limitations and precautions. @ Features a ready reckoner of 24 methods to suit different development activities and contexts. This easy to use manual constitutes a unique resource for PRA methods. As such, it will be of immense importance to development professionals, consultants and trainers as well as students and academics in the fields of development studies, social development, sociology ee and social research methods.

~Somesh Kumar joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1989 after a short period as. a psychologist. He is currently District Collector and Magistrate of Anantapur District in Andhra Pradesh.

ST9G PUBLISHING

~——S

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