Participatory Learning, Planning and Action

Concepts, Methodologies and Techniques

to
Empower communities
Manual

Participatory Learning, Planning and Action Manual

Go to the people.
Live with them.
Learn from them. Love them.
Start with what they know.
Build with what they have.
But with the best leaders,
when the work is done,
the task accomplished,
the people will say
'We have done this ourselves.
Lao-tzu, China 4000 Bc

Compiled by
Lucial Joy. R and N. Rajendraprasad
Peoples Action for Development (PAD),
No.2/29 Sebastian Street, Vembar-628906
Thoothukudi District, Tamilnadu, India
info@padgom.org; rajen@padgom.org
Adapted from the books and articles written by
Dr. Robert Chambers, Dr. Jules Pretty, Dr.Ben Cattermoul
and literature published by IDS, IIED, IMM.

Table of contents
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Why this manual
2.0 What is Participatory Learning Planning and Action?
3.0 RRA- RAPID RURAL APPRAISAL
3.1 What are the differences between RRA and PLPA?
3.2 Some Principles that are shared by PLPA and RRA
3.3 Role Descriptions of PLPA Team Members:
4.0 Methodological Principles

3
3
4
7
8
8
11
15

4.1 PLPA techniques

16

4.2 Organization of PLPA

19

4.3 Selection of interdisciplinary team

4.4 Information collection by applying tools and techniques:
4.5 Entry Points for the PLPA Process
4.6 Developing an overview of the PLPA Process
5.0 Discovery steps

19
20
23
24
28

6.0 PLPA Tools

29

6.1 Semi-Structured Interview (SSI)

6.2 Maps
6.3 Wealth Ranking
6.4 Venn Diagram
6.5 Seasonal Calendar
6.6 Matrix
6.7 Daily Activity Clocks/Daily Calendar
6.8 Focus group discussion
6.9 TRANSECT WALK
6.10 TIMELINE & TREND CHANGE (HISTORICAL MAPPING)
6.11 TO ASSESS THE PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING
6.12 Livelihoods Assessment 5 capitals
6.13 Guidelines for Participatory Community Action Plan
6.14 Daily Evaluation and Planning Meeting
6.15 Community Sharing
7.0 CONCLUSIONS
7.1 The eight stages in Problem solving with PLPA
7.2 Annex

29
31
35
38
39
41
42
43
44
47
48
50
54
62
63
64
65
66

1. 1. Why this manual?

The REGAL IR approach aims to do business differently and facilitate community
empowerment through the PLPA approaches. Therefore REGAL IR team underwent two
sets of training, one was Training of Trainers and the next one was Practitioner's
Training. The participants for this ToT were Technical Advisers and Project Officers of
REGAL-IR, and few NGO staff from NRT, Co2 and other local NGOs. These trainings
facilitated participants to work with communities to improve their well-being through the
use of Participatory, Learning and Action (PLPA) approaches. This manuel is designed
for both the experienced practitioners and the beginners who have an interest in
facilitating the communities empowerment using the PLPA methods. But it is not
intended to be used as a conventional training manuel or 'cook book'. There is no
standard formula of 'recipe' to follow to ensure that your facilitation will result in
empowerment. Always make your best judgment.
Dangers of the guidelines of handbooks:
The expansion in interest and application of participator methods has led to growing
demand for handbooks. But handbooks and manuals carry special dangers. Large texts
intimidate new practitioners, particularly if instructions require comprehensive reading
before practice. Strict instructions and frameworks on how to do something tend to block
innovations and so lead to standardization.
Participatory Learning Planning and Action:
The success of the use of PLPA depends on the individuals involved, on the quality of
facilitation, and the context in which they are applied. It is only the underlying philosophy
and aspects of process that can be transferred for context to context. All other elements
of the methods and methodology must be individually adapted by facilitators and
practitioners. Many practitioners have learnt from colleagues and form their own
improvisation in the field. Many innovations have occurred when practitioners have not
known or not followed the guidelines derived from earlier practice while still following the
main principles. Participatory Learning Planning and Action refers to and draws on
experience from a growing group of participatory approaches to research and
development. There is now a huge diversity of names and terms, most of which have
common underlying principles and values. These guidelines are not intended to reflect
exclusive support for one set of methods or approaches over another. Rather, it is hoped
that they will support the process of invention and adaptation.
PLPA process will empower the communities to analyze the status of their various
capitals, plan and actualize their vision for their future. The tools described in this
manual are exactly that, they are merely tools to help us facilitate our partners through a
process to empower them to analyze, plan and actualize their vision. Communities that
have self-worth and are self-driven can initiate development processes which are
spectacular and sustainable. The PLPA process empowers the communities to explore
their own capacities and discover their own knowledge to design their future. The bottom
up approach is most appropriate for communities address the issues of sustainability

than those that may be thrust on them from the outsiders.

Training for PLPA learning involves more than just dealing with methods. A major
concern is how to ensure the PLPA participants are aware that participation does not
simply imply the mechanical application of a technique or method, or tool, but is instead
part of a process of dialogue, action, analysis and change. Although PLPA is not simply
the mechanical use of methods, this does occur. PLPA method can be applied without
an appreciation of the reasons for their use. The outcome will therefore depend on the
attitude of the people employing the methods. For example: if the user of PLPA methods
is not conscious of gender differences within a community, then it is highly probable that
the analysis will not deal with such issues. Likewise, if they are not aware of local power
differences, then these are likely to be overlooked in the findings or learnings. The
downside of flexibility is that PLPA approach needs to be adapted to fit each situation.
Those who are looking for a fixed, blue-print approach will not find it in PLPA. Also, the
type of information that generally results from the use of PLPA approach is usually
qualitative, reflecting the diversity and complexity of the situation it is describing.

2. What is Participatory
Learning Planning and Action?
Many make a distinction between RRA and PLPA. For them, RRA is about finding out. It
is data collecting, with the analysis done mainly by us. Good PLPA, which evolved out of
RRA, is in contrast empowering, a process of appraisal, analysis and action by
local people themselves. There are methods which are typically RRA methods
(observation, semi-structured interviews, transects etc.) and others, which are typically
PLPA methods (participatory mapping, diagramming, using the ground in various ways,
making comparisons etc. often in small groups). PLPA methods can be used in an RRA
(data collecting or extractive) mode, and RRA methods can be used in a PLPA
(empowering) mode.
Some of the best facilitators and practitioners have moved beyond any limited sense of
PLPA to embrace methodological pluralism. They talk of and use participatory
methodologies. There are many of these such as popular theatre, REFLECT
(Regenerated Freirian Literacy through Empowering Community Techniques),
Planning for Real, Appreciative Inquiry, and Training for Transformation. They can
be combined in innumerable ways. Between them all there can be sharing without
boundaries.

PLPA is a growing family of approaches, methods, attitudes and behaviours to

enable and empower people to share, analyze and enhance their knowledge of
PLPA is intended to enable local communities to conduct their own analysis and to plan and take action. PLPA
involves project staff learning together with villagers about the village.
The aim of PLPA is to help strengthen the capacity of villagers to plan, make decisions, and to take action towards
improving their own situation.
PLPA is considered one of the popular and effective approaches to gather information in rural areas. This approach
was developed in early 1990s with considerable shift in paradigm from top-down to bottom-up approach, and from
blueprint to the learning process. In fact, it is a shift from extractive survey questionnaires to experience sharing by
local people. PLPA is based on village experiences where communities effectively manage their natural resources.

life and conditions, and to plan, act, monitor, evaluate and reflect.
PLPA is a methodology of learning rural life and their environment from the rural people.
It requires researchers / field workers to act as facilitators to help local people conduct
their own analysis, plan and take action accordingly.
It is based on the principle that local people are creative and capable and can do
their own investigations, analysis, and planning. The basic concept of PLA is to
learn from rural people. Chambers (1992) has defined PLA as an approach and
methods for learning about rural life and conditions from, with and by rural
people. He further stated that PLA extends into analysis, planning and action. PLA
closely involve villagers and local officials in the process.

Definition: Participatory learning planning and action (PLPA) can be defined as a growing family of approaches, tools,
attitudes and behaviors to enable and empower people to present, share, analyze and enhance their knowledge of life and
condition and to plan, act, monitor, evaluate, reflect and scale up community action. PLPA approaches have been applied
across a range of sectors, including, but not limited to, programs for natural resource management and agriculture, equity,
empowerment, health, human rights, and security. Several fundamental tenets form the foundation of PLPA methodology,
including the idea that the facilitator should hand over the stick to allow participants to describe their own experience and
reality as they understand it. The facilitator also aligns his or her behavior to several key precepts inherent to this
methodology, including the promotion of open sharing among participants, the use of visual aids and tangible objects, and
collaboration through group work.

Similarly, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) reflects the new thinking about development,
needs, and people oriented responsibilities. It is a process that is highly systematic and
structured, relying on interdisciplinary teamwork and special strategies for data collection
and analysis such as triangulation, probing, and iteration. Some critics consider RRA to
be a quick and dirty technique.
Different Systems of Inquiry
The interactive involvement of many people in differing institutional contexts has promoted
innovation, and there are many variations in the way that systems of inquiry have been put together.
These systems of inquiry include, for example:
Agro-ecosystems Analysis (AEA); Beneficiary Assessment (BA); Community Action Planning (CAP);
Development Education Leadership Teams (DELTA); Diagnosis and Design (D&D); Diagnostico Rural Rapido
(DRR); Farmer Participatory Research; Farming Systems Research; Groupe de Recherche et dAppui pour
lAuto-Promotion Paysanne (GRAPP); Methode Acceleree de Recherche Participative (MARP); MicroPlanning Workshops; Participatory Analysis and Learning Methods (PALM); Participatory Action Research
(PAR); Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation (PME); Participatory Operational Research Projects
(PORP); Participatory Poverty Assessment (PPA); Participatory Poverty Monitoring (PPM); Participatory
Policy Research (PPR); Participatory Research Methodology (PRM); Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA);
Participatory Rural Appraisal and Planning (PRAP); Participatory Social Assessment (PSA); Participatory
Technology Development (PTD); Participatory Urban Appraisal (PUA); Planning for Real (PfR); Process
Documentation; Rapid Appraisal; Rapid Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge Systems (RAAKS); Rapid
Assessment Procedures (RAP); Rapid Assessment Techniques (RAT); Rapid Catchment Analysis (RCA);
Rapid Ethnographic Assessment (REA); Rapid Food Security Analysis (RFSA); Rapid Multi-perspective
Appraisal (RMA); Rapid Organizational Assessment (ROA); Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA); Samuhik Brahman
(Joint Trek); Self-esteem, Associative Strength, Resourcefulness, Action Planning, and Responsibility
(SARAR); Soft Systems Methodology (SSM); Theatre for Development; Training for Transformation (TFT);
Village Appraisal (VA); Visualization in Participatory Programmes (VIPP); and Zielorientierte Projekt
Planung (ZOPP).

There are a wide range of participatory tools and techniques available. People can use
these tools and techniques according to their situation or needs. Generally, the
application of different tools may vary from one situation to another. However, the
process for conducting PLPA remains the same. There are five key principles that form
the basis of any PLPA activity no matter what the objectives or setting:
PARTICIPATION:
PLPA relies heavily on participation by the communities, as the method is designed to
enable local people to be involved, not only as sources of information, but as partners
with the PLPA team in gathering and analyzing the information.

FLEXIBILITY:
The combination of techniques that is appropriate in a particular development context
will be determined by such variables as the size and skill mix of the PLPA team, the time
and resources available, and the topic and location of the work.
TEAMWORK:
Generally, a PLPA is best conducted by a local team (speaking the local languages) with
a few outsiders present, a significant representation of women, and a mix of sector
specialists and social scientists, according to the topic.
OPTIMAL IGNORANCE:
To be efficient in terms of both time and money, PLPA work intends to gather just enough
information to make the necessary recommendations and decisions.
SYSTEMATIC:
As PLPA-generated data is seldom conducive to statistical analysis (given its largely
qualitative nature and relatively small sample size), alternative ways have been
developed to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings. These include sampling
based on approximate stratification of the community by geographic location or relative
wealth, and cross-checking, that is using a number of techniques to investigate views on
a single topic (including through a final community meeting to discuss the findings and
correct inconsistencies).
Common Principles for Participatory methodologies:
This diversity and complexity is strength. Despite the different ways in which these approaches are used, there
are important common principles uniting most of them. These are as follows:
A defined methodology and systematic learning process: the focus is on cumulative learning by all the
participants and, given the nature of these approaches as systems of inquiry, their use has to be participative.
Multiple perspectives: a central objective is to seek diversity, rather than characterize complexity in terms of
average values. The assumption is that different individuals and groups make different evaluations of
situations, which lead to different actions. All views of activity or purpose are heavy with interpretation, bias
and prejudice, and this implies that there are multiple possible descriptions of any real-world activity.
Group inquiry process: all involve the recognition that the complexity of the world will only be revealed
through group inquiry. This implies three possible mixes of investigators, namely those from different
disciplines, from different sectors and from outsiders (professionals) and insiders (local people).
Context specific: the approaches are flexible enough to be adapted to suit each new set of conditions and
actors, and so there are multiple variants.
Facilitating experts and stakeholders: the methodology is concerned with the transformation of existing
activities to try to bring about changes which people in the situation regard as improvements. The role of the
expert is best thought of as helping people in their situation to carry out their own study and so achieve
something. These facilitating experts may well come from the community, and thus be stakeholders
themselves.
Leading to sustained action: the inquiry process leads to debate about change, and debate changes
perceptions of the actors and their readiness to contemplate action. Action is agreed, and implementable
changes will therefore represent an accommodation between the different conflicting views. The debate and or
analysis both defines changes which would bring about improvement and seeks to motivate people to take
action to implement the defined changes. This action includes local institution building or strengthening, so
increasing the capacity of people to initiate action on their own.

3. RRA- Rapid Rural Appraisal

RRA is a social science approach that emerged in the late 1970s. The basic idea of RRA
is to rather quickly collect, analyze and evaluate information on rural conditions and local
knowledge. This information is generated in close co-operation with the local population
in rural areas. Therefore, the research methods had to be adjusted to local conditions,
i.e. they had to meet the communication needs of illiterate people or people who are not
used to communicating in scientific terms.
ORIGIN OF PRA
Informal mapping
Diagramming
Seasonal calendars
Casual diagrams
Bar and Venn charts
Transects systematic walks,
Observations innovation assessment
Scoring and ranking
Different actions

AGRO ECO SYSTEM

ANALYSIS

Learned the following tools

Learned the values

FARMING
SYSTEM
RESEARCH
Learned to
appreciate

APPLIED
ANTHROPOLOGY

Tools
like
mapping,
diagramming and ranking
were developed or improved
in order to gather information
for
decision-makers
in
development agencies. One
of the key principles of RRA is
the visualization of questions
and results by using locally
comprehensible symbols. A
main reason for developing
RRA was to find shortcuts in
Learning flexible
the search for relevant
Participation observation
information
on
rural
Importance of attitudes and behavior and
rapports
development issues in order
Validity of indigenous knowledge
to avoid costly and timeconsuming
research
procedures. In most of the
cases RRA is carried out by a
Diversity and risk-proneness of many forming
small team of researchers or
systems
The knowledge, professionalism and rationality of trained professional in one to
three days in a kind of
small and poor farmers
Their experiments and innovations
workshop. The role of the
Their ability to conduct their analysis.
local population in RRA is to
provide
relevant
local
knowledge
for
research
purposes and development planning. The RRA team manages the process and
maintains the power to decide on how to utilize this information.

Origin of PRA/PLPA
1. Biases
Spatial visits near cities, on road sides
Seasonal going in the dry and cool rather than hot & wet
Wealth & Influence meeting rich & powerful than meeting the poor
Gender Bias meeting male rather than women
2. Defects in questionnaire survey: Long, tedious, a headache to administer, nightmare to process & write up, unreliable
3. Positive aspects of Agro Ecosystem Analysis,
Applied Anthropology, Farming System Research.

3.1. What are the differences between RRA and PLPA?

Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA)

Participatory Learning Planning and Action (PLPA)

Learning rapidly and directly from villagers, Project

staffs learn and obtain information, take it away, and
analyze it. It is extractive
(information is gathered and used according to the
needs of the project staff).

Learning with villagers Facilitate local capacity to

analyze, plan, make decisions, take action, resolve
conflicts, monitor, and evaluate according to the needs
of the villagers.

RRA is an extractive research methodology consisting of systematic, semi-structured

activities conducted on-site by a multidisciplinary team with the aim of quickly and
efficiently acquiring new information about rural life and rural resources.
3.2. Some Principles that are shared by PLPA and RRA:
i.

Offsetting biases through different: perspectives,

methods and tools, sources of information, people from
different background and places, background of team
members (spatial, person, gender, age groups, interest
groups, key informants, wealth groups, seasonal,
professionals, disciplines)

ii. Rapid and Progressive Learning - Learning with

villagers: where they live, face to face. Learning
physical, social, and technical knowledge. Learning
rapidly and progressively:explore, be flexible, look for
opportunities, and improvise.
iii. Be Gender sensitive at all times.

PRINCIPALS OF PLA
A reversal of learning learning from
people
Learning rapidly and progressively
Optimizing trade offs
Optimal ignorance
Appropriate imprecision
Triangulation
Seeking diversity
Offset biases

PLA in addition stresses on

Learning with and by people
Facilitating: they do it
Self-critical awareness

Sharing

iv. Reversal of roles (Learning from, with and by local

people, eliciting and using their symbols, criteria, categories and indicators; and
finding, understanding and appreciating local people's knowledge)
v. Focused Learning: (not finding out more that is needed and not measuring
when comparing is enough. We are often trained to make absolute
measurements and to give exact numbers, but often relative proportions, trends,
scores or ranking are all that is needed for decision making and planning of

activities).
vi. Seeking for diversity and differences: People often have different perceptions
of the same situation!
vii. Be aware of biases: be relaxed. Do not rush. Ask questions and listen. Be
humble and respectful. Look for opportunities for representations from the
poorest, women, and powerless.
viii. Crosscheck by using different methods (triangulation).
ix.

Attitude: In order to make the PLPA or RRA workshops an success it

is most important build a positive relationship with local women and
men. Outsiders must have an attitude of respect, humility and
patience, and a willingness to learn from the local people.

PLPA is a growing combination of approaches and methods that enable rural people to
share, enhance and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and act and
to monitor and evaluate. The role of the outsider is that of a catalyst, a facilitator of
processes within a community, which is prepared to alter their situation.
Important considerations about PLPA:
1. When facilitated by outsiders, PLPA approaches can raise expectations of local
people for continued involvement.
2. The outcome depends on the attitude and vision of the person facilitating the
process.
3. If carried out too quickly, they can lead to incorrect insights.
4. The choice and sequence of methods needs to be adapted to fit each situation.
5. In most cases, they will not lead to quantifiable results.
6. They will never provide final answers.
When people are exposed to PLPA for the first time, the most common response is
disbelief and resistance. The participants often say that these may work elsewhere, but
not in their context, village, organizations etc., The vital ingredients for success,
however, are not the methods themselves, but the attitudes and behaviour of those
who use them. Accepting and valuing other knowledge will be difficult at first. Where
extension workers are used to believing that they have the 'correct' message to teach,
now they must learn what it is that people need before making suggestions. Where
scientists are used to believing that they have higher status because they possess
'better' knowledge, now they must be open to learning from local people as well as
colleagues from other disciplines.
These changes imply very significant shifts in the way participants are used to thinking
and behaving. This is a critical component to address in any training course. At first, the
participants may be skeptical of the approach, but through practice they will learn what is
needed to make it work effectively. They will still, however, need to be encouraged to

reflect upon their own attitudes towards other people's knowledge and skills. This is
essential if participants are to consciously seek to involve those who are often ignored,
such as the poor, women and the very young and very old.
It is essential to ensure that participants think carefully about their own attitudes and
behaviour before they begin field activities. Any activity that emphasizes how much local
people know, and how important it is to listen openly, is valuable. One good way is 'Do-ItYourself' sessions in the villages, during which outsiders learn skills from local people.
Local people may teach outsiders how to plough, fetch water, sew, cook, weed and so
on. The outsiders commonly react with surprise at how difficult it is to perform apparently
straight forward tasks. This again emphasizes that local people know a great deal, and
that it is important to create the space for them to participate.
The underlying principle behind the PLPA methodology is to engage the full participation
of people in the processes of learning about their visions, strengths, skills, knowledge
and in the action required to address them. By empowering participants to creatively
investigate their achievements, how they have achieved it and how it can be streamlined
to realize their visions, the approach challenges preexisting biases and conceptions
about participants knowledge. As such, it can also offer opportunities for local people to
mobilize for joint action. While the particular methods used can vary, all the tools are
defined by interactive learning, shared knowledge, and an adaptable, yet structured
analysis. The PLPA framework of joint analysis and interaction between stakeholders
and participants promotes a focus on communal learning. Below are the main PLPA
principles and guiding tenets for facilitation. The principles address best practices of the
approach. The tenets help facilitators to implement these principles when conducting
PLPA tools in the field.
Principles:
1. Bias Explicit: Every individual maintains a unique worldview that is shaped by a
confluence of factors including, but not limited to, culture, upbringing, religion,
and perceived injustices. As such, every person maintains a distinct set of
biases, which play a role in how an individual acts, thinks, and perceives the
world around himself/herself. The best PLPA facilitators make their biases explicit
rather than trying to suppress them, ensuring that their biases have less
influence on the outcomes of the PLPA activity.
2. Triangulation: It is best to use as many tools as possible while diversifying team
members and data sources to cross check information and neutralize biases. By
triangulating information, facilitators are also able to capture a greater quantity of
information.
3. Optimal Ignorance: Extensive rich, varied, and interesting data can be captured
from PLPA tools. However, collecting only the most necessary information saves
time and resources.
4. Appropriate Imprecision: PLPA methodology emphasizes the big picture or trends
across data. Facilitators should focus on identifying these trends rather than on
precision in the design and application of the PLPA tools.

5. Multiple Perspectives: Inherent to the PLPA methodology is the practice of valuing

all participant perspectives and exploring different worldviews. It is important to
seek out diversity and analyze anomalies rather than to oversimplify complexity.
6. Group Learning Process: A PLPA approach to a project should involve a group
learning process that mirrors the interactions and reflects the complexity seen in
the community. As a result, group learning and instruction will be iterative,
changing as peoples perceptions evolve. It is important to remember that
communities will not necessarily have homogeneous opinions.
7. Context Specific: All PLPA approaches and tools should be flexible enough to
adapt to a variety of contexts. Designing and adapting methods to the local
situation cultivates buy-in among community members.
8. Facilitating Empowerment: The ultimate aim of the PLPA methodology is to
facilitate local empowerment. The facilitators role, then, is to foster this
transformation among participants, rather than to dominate the activity.
9. Leading to Change: The PLPA process should elicit learning and debate about the
change that needs to happen among a given population. These discussions
should change individual and group perceptions as well as the populations
readiness for action.
10. A reversal of learning, where professionals learn from local peoples physical,
technical, and social knowledge, directly, on site, and face to face;
11. Learning rapidly and progressively, with conscious exploration, flexible use of
methods, improvisation, cross-checking, and being adaptable in the learning
process rather than following a set blueprint;
Good features of PLPA:
PLPA has the following unique features:
I.

Iterative: Goals and objectives are modified as the team realizes what is
or is not relevant. The newly generated information helps to set the
agenda for the later stages of the analysis. This involves the learning-asyou-go principle.

II.

Innovative: Techniques are developed for particular situations depending

on the skills and knowledge available.

III.

Interactive: The team and disciplines combine together in a way that

fosters innovation and interdisciplinary. A system perspective helps make
communication easy.

IV.

Informal: Focuses on partly structured and informal inter- views and

discussions.

V.

In the community: Learning takes place largely in the field, or immediately

after, or in the intensive workshops. Community's perspectives are used
to help define difference in field conditions.

3.3. Role Descriptions of PLPA Team Members:

A group of people as an interdisciplinary team is required to perform an exercise before
and during fieldwork while using PLPA tools and techniques. The team members must
identify topics, sub-topics, or checklists on which to build questions before going to the
fields. It is recommended that the team members stay together until the end of the
process to make working objectives achievable. There are guidelines on how to proceed
in conducting PLPA and in using specific tools and techniques before and during the field
works.
Selection of interdisciplinary team
PLPA methods are considered good when a team consisting of carries them out,
especially trained interdisciplinary persons. The team approach is necessary in this
method because a great deal of diverse information is generated rapidly where a single
person may not be able to sort it out and understand it effectively. A single person may
not be perfect in all areas. Therefore, an interdisciplinary team approach is
recommended for this method. Experience shows that a small interdisciplinary team
consisting of three persons is the best for conducting PLPA methods. Furthermore, the
team is considered to be the best if it consists of a sociologist/anthropologist, and an
agriculturist for conducting the study on natural resource management since, usage of
forest and agriculture resources are fundamental to rural life. Similarly, a basic
understanding of the society in relation to resource uses/practices is necessary.
Therefore, it is highly advantageous to include broadly based researchers/practitioners
with the knowledge or experience in different disciplines. Some examples of different
types of membership in a team for conducting the following study:
An PLPA team studying wood fuel flows consisted of a general forester, a forest
hydrologist and a statistician, supported by two anthropologists as advisors.
A team studying cooperative labour in rural areas was composed of an
agronomist, social scientist and development planner/economist.
A team studying charcoal making was consisted of an ecological anthropologist,
agricultural economist, and an animal scientist.
As we believe, there is a professional bias in the field and each professional will seek
information from his/her point of view. A small team facilitates close cooperation and
organizes team members for role sharing. The role, who does what should be discussed
among the members and also should be agreed by all while assigning the roles. The role
of the facilitator and the gatekeeper may be rotated depending on their agreement and
understanding. The other roles including taking ones turn at questioning, taking notes,
listening etc. may be shared among the members.
Some tips for PLPA Facilitation:
It is easier to give advice than to take. So one has to be cautious. Here is a personal list
of some practical tips:

Do not lecture. Look, listen and learn.

Facilitate; do not dominate; do not interrupt or interfere; once a task is
initiated, let people get on with it; give them time to think or discuss among
themselves.
Embrace error. We all make mistakes, and do things badly sometimes. Never
mind. Do not hide it. Share it.
Try to obtain opinions from all groups.
Relax, do not rush.
Meet people when it suits them.
Use six helpers - what, why, who, how where, and when.

Self- critical review:

After the group exercise is over, it is important to assess critically which questions were
effective and which were not, how some questions could have been phrased differently,
how the context influenced the flow of information, everyone's body language. It is vital
to encourage participants to share honestly their feelings about how others in their team
performed.
Important points for sensitive facilitation:
Prepare as a team and agree a team contract.
Use a check-list or guiding questions
Be sensitive and respectful to everyone involved.
Use visualization methods to enhance participation and dialogue.
Listen and learn.
Ask open ended questions using six helpers (who, what, why where, when,
how).
Probe response carefully
Judge responses (facts, opinions, rumours).
Verify through triangulation (cross checking)
Record responses and observations fully.
Key Tenets of Facilitation:
1. Introduce yourself to the participants, if possible in the local language, in order to
make them feel comfortable.
2. Have confidence in the abilities and contributions of participants.
3. Critically reflect on your own perspective and biases before, during, and after the
activity.
4. Ask participants for their own opinions, priorities, and desires throughout the
activity.
5. Be patient during the activity, allowing sufficient time for each participant to fully
contribute.
6. Allow participants to lead the discussion.
7. Facilitate the activity in an informal manner without lecturing or dictating

8. Learn from what goes wrong or does not work in the activity
9. Hand over the stick and empower participants by allowing them to take charge of
the writing, drawing, or other elements of the activity.
10.Take responsibility for what you do as a facilitator, before, during, and after the
activity.
11. Welcome moments of silence as these may be necessary for participants to
collect their thoughts.
Role Descriptions of PLPA Team Members:
Role description of PLPA-Facilitator
The PLPA facilitator is the man or women who facilitates a focus group, the drawing of a
map or any other tool.
Activities:
Introduces the PLPA tool to the group.
Facilitates the event.
Moderates the process.
Acts as a catalyst between the individuals of the group.
Finds ways of integrating dominant and quiet people and makes sure that all
group members are able to express their opinions.
Makes sure that the group keeps to the topic but is also flexible in handling
additional important information.
Repeats in own words what people say in order to confirm that there is a
good understanding of the discussion.
Takes care of time management.
Supports the note-taker in gathering all relevant information and assists him
in filling the documentation sheet after the group work has finished.
Is responsible to the team leader.

Attitudes:
Has flexibility, patience and a sense of humor
Avoids to use complicated terms and words
He/she talks the local language
Encourages people and motivates them
Hands over the stick to the community group as much as possible
Keeps a low profile during the event
Listens carefully to any group member and does not teach,
Involves quiet and marginalized people
Role description of Note-taker:
When drawing a map, developing a seasonal calendar or applying any other PLPA tool,

one person from the PLPA team is the note-taker who writes down all information and
relevant observations.
Activities:
Brings along material for copying what is drawn on the ground during an event: white A4 paper to attach a copy to the documentation sheet
Brings along the necessary material
Observes the event from the background
Writes down all information
It would be helpful to have a checklist showing relevant topics!
Notes who is talking
Is there an equal participation of all or do some people dominate the process? Do
women talk?
Assists the facilitator in an indirect way by giving signs, e.g. shoulder tapping
Supports the facilitator directly by asking questions, if the situation requires it.
Takes care that participants copies any visualised subject (map, diagram etc.) on a
sheet of paper immediately after the event.
Observes and facilitates the copying, ensures that the copy resembles the original,
has a legend, a date, place and names of drawers
Sits together with the facilitator and discusses the notes while filling the
documentation sheet after the end of the event.
Attitudes:
Good observer
The role of the note-taker during the event is more of a passive one. Nevertheless
he/she has the main responsibility for transforming the notes into useful results
and for visualising them to the whole team
familiar with the language used is able to visualise and present results to the
PLPA team briefly and precisely.
Role description of: PLPA Team-leader
Every PLPA team has one person who serves as the team leader during the PLPA field
work.
Activities:
Is responsible for the PLPA team.
Is responsible for all organisational and logistical matters concerning the PLPA
work in the field.
Moderates the PLPA workshop and evaluation meetings during the evening
Introduces the PLPA-team to the community (or organises it)
Takes care that the events can start in time
Assists the sub-teams if they have any problems
Co-ordinates the village workshop events and facilitates the group presentation

Facilitates the summarizing and documentation process of the smaller teams, that
have used a PLPA tool
Stays in close contact with link persons and the opinion leaders during the whole
workshop (e.g. in order to know who participates in the different events)
Attitudes:
well organised
kind and patient at all the time, keeps a cool head if things go wrong
Sense of humor
keeps low profile
listens, observes, consults

PRINCIPALS OF PLA
A reversal of learning learning from people
Learning rapidly and progressively Optimizing
tradeoffs Optimal ignorance Appropriate
imprecision Triangulation Seeking diversity
Offset biases

4.0. Methodological Principles

Visualization - Verbalization - Documentation
Diagrams, maps are created by the people by using symbols they develop or define.
This helps them to understand the product and to modify them if necessary in a creative
way. One main principle of PLPA is to find a way how the
Sequencing
Different PLPA tools are combined in a specific order to achieve the goals of the PLPA
process: building relationship with the people, empowering the people, increase their
analyzing and problem solving capacities and validation of the information. Semistructured interviews, village mapping can be supplemented by farm maps and flow
charts.
Optimal Ignorance
This means not trying to find out more than needed and not trying to measure what does
not need to be measured (appropriate imprecision), or not measuring more accurately
than is necessary for practical purposes. Therefore in PLPA instead of exact
measurement ranking and scoring are preferred. The main reason is that it is easier and
more cost effective to get such information, which are enough for decisions. Sometimes
people are also not willing to give exact information about sensitive areas like wealth,
income, land size, or give wrong information. The results of PLPA sessions cannot be
compared with the results of time intensive ethnographical research or socioeconomic
surveys.

Four Classes of Participatory Inquiry Methods

Group and Team Dynamic
Methods

Sampling
Methods

Team contacts
Team reviews and discussions
Interview guides and checklists
Rapid report writing
Energizers
Work sharing (taking part in
local activities)
Villager and shared
Presentations
Process notes and personal
diaries

Transect
walks
Wealth
ranking and
well-being
ranking
Social maps
Interview
maps

Interviewing and
Dialogue Methods
Semi-structured interviews
Direct observation
Focus groups
Key informants
Ethno histories and
biographies
Oral histories
Local stories, portraits and
studies

Visualization and Diagramming

Methods
Mapping and modeling
Social maps and wealth rankings
Transects Mobility maps
Seasonal calendars Daily routines and
activity profiles Historical profiles
Trend analyses and timelines
Matrix scoring Preference or pair wise
ranking Venn diagrams Network diagrams
Systems diagrams Flow diagrams
Pie diagrams

Triangulation
The time spent in PLPA is short, the people and the facilitators may rush through the
topics and the answers given may represent partial picture of some informants. One of
the major problem of PLPA results are their validation.
Triangulation is a principle employed in choosing different methods, locations,
interviewees, team members (often a minimum of three, thus the term triangulation) in
order to improve the accuracy of the picture generated by the learning process.
To do the triangulation in a systematic way variables influencing the topic or subtopic
have to be hypothesized. The team members are mixed to increase the synergy effects
through mixing team members and their different perspectives. Depending the topic the
disciplines, gender, field experience of the team members has to be considered.
Often PLPA tools are mixed instead of repeating the same tool with more respondents to
reduce bias generated through the tools and secondary data sources can be used to
crosscheck the information gained through PLPA sessions. For e.g. village mapping is
precise enough to get an overall picture of the biophysical and socio-economic situation
of the village, but to know this more in detail transect or farm mapping may be
necessary.
Sites are selected to elaborate at various levels in the examined system. Transects of
three regions with different soil types may be interesting for agronomical purposes. For
fishing projects suitable sites for direct observation / informal interviews may be the
places of fish marketing, fish processing and fishing. For erosion project may be three
different villages with different visions/ options with erosion may be selected. Again the
selection has to be according to the hypothesized variables regarding.
4.1. PLPA techniques:
Direct observation -- Observations are related to questions: What? When?
Where? Who? Why? How?
Do it yourself -- Villagers are encouraged to teach the researcher how to do
various activities. The researcher will learn how much skill and strength are
required to do day-to-day rural activities, gaining an insider's perspective on a
situation. Roles are reversed: villagers are the "experts" and attitudes are
challenged.
Participatory mapping and modeling -- Using local materials, villagers draw or
model current or historical conditions. The researcher then interviews the villager
by "interviewing the map." This technique can be used to show watersheds,
forests, farms, home gardens, residential areas, soils, water sources, wealth
rankings, household assets, land-use patterns, changes in farming practices,
constraints, trends, health and welfare conditions, and the distribution of various
resources.
Transect walks and guided field walks -- The researcher and key informants

conduct a walking tour through areas of interest to observe, to listen, to identify

different zones or conditions, and to ask questions to identify problems and
possible solutions. With this method, the outsider can quickly learn about
topography, soils, land use, forests, watersheds, and community assets.
Seasonal calendars -- Variables such as rainfall, labor, income, expenditures,
debt, animal fodder or pests, and harvesting periods can be drawn (or created
with stones, seeds, and sticks) to show month-to-month variations and seasonal
constraints and to highlight opportunities for action. An 18-month calendar can
better illustrate variations than a 12-month calendar.
Daily-activity profiles -- Researchers can explore and compare the daily-activity
patterns of men, women, youth, and elders by charting the amount of time taken
to complete tasks.
Semi structured interviewing -- A semi structured interviewing and listening
technique uses some predetermined questions and topics but allows new topics
to be pursued as the interview develops. The interviews are informal and
conversational but carefully controlled.
Types, sequencing, and chain interviews -- Individual, pair, and group
interviews are combined in a sequence to take advantage of key informants and
specialist groups.
Permanent-group interviews -- Established groups, farmers' groups, or people
using the same water source can be interviewed together. This technique can
help identify collective problems or solutions.
Time lines -- Major historical community events and changes are dated and
listed. Understanding the cycles of change can help communities focus on future
actions and information requirements.
Local histories -- Local histories are similar to time lines but give a more
detailed account of how things have changed or are changing. For example,
histories can be developed for crops, population changes, community health
trends and epidemics, education changes, road developments, and trees and
forests.
Local researchers and village analysts -- With some training, local people can
conduct the research process (for example, collect, analyze, use, and present
data; conduct transects; interview other villagers; draw maps; make
observations).
Venn diagrams -- To show the relationship between things, overlapping circles
are used to represent people, villages, or institutions; lines are added to reflect
inputs and outputs.
Participatory diagramming -- People are encouraged to display their
knowledge on pie and bar charts and flow diagrams.

 Wealth and well-being rankings -- People are asked to sort cards (or slips of
paper) representing individuals or households from rich to poor or from sick to
healthy. This technique can be used for crosschecking information and for
initiating discussions on a specific topic (for example, poverty). The technique
can also be used to produce a benchmark against which future development
interventions can be measured or evaluated.
Direct-matrix pair-wise ranking and scoring -- Direct-matrix pair-wise ranking
and scoring is a tool used to discover local attitudes on various topics. People
rank and compare individual items, using their own categories and criteria, by
raising hands or placing representative objects on a board. For example, six
different shrubs can be ranked from best to worst for their fuel, fodder, and
erosion-control attributes. Other resources can be ranked in terms of taste or
marketability. Wealth ranking can be used to identify wealth criteria and establish
the relative position of households.
Matrices -- Matrices can be used to gather information and to facilitate or focus
analyses and discussions. For example, a problem opportunity matrix could have
columns with the following labels: soil type, land use, cropping patterns, and
available resources; and rows with the following labels: problems, constraints,
local solutions, and initiatives already tried.
Traditional management systems and local-resource collections -- Local
people collect samples (for example, of soils, plants). This can be an efficient
way to learn about the local biodiversity, management systems, and taxonomies.
Portraits, profiles, case studies, and stories -- Household histories or stories
of how a certain conflict was resolved are recorded. This can provide short but
insightful descriptions of characteristic problems and how they are dealt with.
Key probes -- A question addressing a key issue is asked of different informants,
and the answers are compared. The question might be something like "If my goat
enters your field and eats your crops, what do you and I do?"
Folklore, songs, poetry, and dance -- Local folklore, songs, dance, and poetry
are analyzed to provide insight into values, history, practices, and beliefs.
Futures possible -- People are asked how they would like things to be in 1 year
and to predict what will happen if nothing is done or if something is done.
People's desires, wishes, and expectations are revealed.
Diagrams exhibition -- Diagrams, maps, charts, and photos of the research
activity are displayed in a public place to share information, facilitate discussions,
and provide an additional crosschecking device. The exhibition can inspire other
villagers to take part in research activities.
Shared presentations and analysis -- Participants are encouraged to present
their findings to other villagers and to outsiders, providing another opportunity for

crosschecking, feedback, comment, and criticism.

Night halts -- The researchers live in the village during the research process.
This facilitates all interactions between the outsiders and the villagers, invites
change in the outsiders' attitudes, and allows for early-morning and evening
discussions, when villagers tend to have more leisure time.
Short questionnaires -- Short and issue-specific questionnaires can be useful if
conducted late in the research process.
Field report writing -- Key findings are recorded before "leaving" the village.
(This assumes that the community has consented to having the research data
leave the village.) Brief summaries are made of each diagram, model, and map,
as well as of the process involved in creating them.
Survey of villagers' attitudes toward PLPA -- To improve the PLPA process
and techniques and maintain realistic expectations, the researcher asks the
villagers what they expected and what they learned from the PLPA process.
Intriguing practices and beliefs -- Indigenous practices and beliefs are noted, even if they
are based on myth or superstition. Even practices that are unusual or don't fit in with
conventional scientific thinking are worth exploring because they are meaningful to local
people.
4.2. Organization of PLPA:
Topic:
1. Selection of PLPA team members
2. Objectives
3. Formation of sub-topics
4. Selection of methods, designs and respondents
5. Interview
6. Sub-team meeting
7. Whole team meeting
8. Report writing
A group of people as an interdisciplinary team is required to perform an exercise before
and during field work while using PLPA tools and techniques. The team members must
identify topics, sub-topics or checklists on which to build questions before going to the
fields. It is recommended that the team members stay together until the end of the
process to make working objectives achievable. There are guidelines on how to proceed
in conducting PLPA and in using specific tools and techniques before and during the field
works.
There are some rules of PLPA, which should be followed by the team in order to get
precise and reliable information. It is important to understand the rules while conducting
PLPA. The main rules are:

 Do not interrupt - do not interrupt when someone is talking in his/her turn at

interviewing or probing for information. And also do not interrupt the respondent.
Do not assume - do not assume either that you know the answer or that an
information is wrong about something.
Do not lead or give clues - do not lead or give clues to the respondent with your
preconceived ideas. Stay neutral while asking questions so that you do not lead
the respondent. If the rules are not followed by each of the team members, it may
mislead the information. Therefore, the team must be careful with the abovementioned rules while applying different tools and techniques of PLPA.
Before fieldwork:
There are some step switch needs to be followed by the team members in order
to collect reliable and precise information. The steps for before fieldwork are:
Use of secondary information:
Secondary data are important for background information and basic assumptions
of fact that the rural people provide. Therefore, a careful review and assessment
of the secondary data are necessary from secondary sources before fieldwork. It
may be helpful in developing topics, sub-topics or checklists to be used in
acquiring information. The team must know why they are in a village.
4.3. Selection of interdisciplinary team:
Developing sub-topics:
Generally, a brainstorming session is organized for developing topics or sub-topics. A
number of experienced people, not necessarily team members are invited in the session
to generate specific issues on a particular area. The raised issues in the session are
listed in flip chart or board, depending on the availability. The issues are repeatedly
discussed in the session relating to the practical situation and are finalized as guidelines
for collecting required information. For example, if we are seeking information on wood
fuel production the following could be the sub topics. These sub-topics were developed
during a brainstorming session in the training on PLPA The team members should also
discuss how to carry out field works, especially tools to be applied for collecting the
required information. Generally, the choice of tools depends on topics and expected
output. The team should consider the situation and select the tools which fit better for
collecting reliable and precise information. Therefore, it is the team that decides which
tools and techniques fit better for a particular area.
It is preferable to go for a short field visit to identify key informants, to observe the initial
site and to try out the tools. This preparation may be assigned to a single team member,
probably someone who is familiar with the locality. Based on the short field visit, the predesigned tools may have to be changed or modified.
During fieldwork:
The fieldwork is people-oriented. It seeks information on indigenous knowledge, local
customs and practices. Therefore, the team should begin analyzing and evaluating data
at the very start of the work and continue on throughout the fieldwork.

Rapport building:
Rapport building is an important task for the team for collecting reliable information. It is
usually done to develop communications and to establish working relationships with the
local people. Generally, rapport building is initiated immediately as the team enters a
village. This may help the team to bring closer to the village people. The team should
follow the following steps for conducing PLPA in rural areas:
Start talking to the rural people saying local Hello whenever you meet them, for
example, on the trail, agricultural fields, teashops, homes etc. Treat and respect rural
people as per their local custom. Ask the knowledgeable people about a subject or area
in a village,
Try to meet with local leaders and officials before starting work in a village
Clearly explain reasons for coming to the area
Show genuine interest in the local issues
Choose time and venue that are convenient for the local people
Maintaining protocols:
Maintaining protocols in the team is the basic rule in PLPA methods. Protocols are
defined as a set of rules governing how people act in a given situation, a code of
conduct. They further elaborated that PLPA protocols are rules of interpersonal
behaviour by which an PLPA team agrees to operate. The followings are the protocols
suggested for conducting PLPA in the rural communities:
A facilitator (from the team) controls the interview process by singling start, filling gaps
Etc.;
Each team member pursues a sub-topic, following ones own line of
questioning and reasoning;
The order of interviewing sequence (who starts, who follows, who finishes)
predetermined, members take notes during each others turn;
Unanticipated questions that arise out of turn are held for later;
Unwanted persons (e.g. drunks, trouble makers etc.) are politely diverted by a
team member (a pre-chosen gate keeper); and after each days sessions, the
members debrief as a group, discuss findings to verify and also incomplete
information are noted down for recollection.
4.4. Information collection by applying tools and techniques:
Start collecting information by applying appropriate tools and techniques once the
rapport is developed in a village. Also, apply probing and iterating techniques for
collecting more in depth and reliable information. Some techniques for collecting
information are:
Semi-Structured Interviewing (SSI):
Semi-structured interviewing is the principal method used in RRA. It is conducted using
the sub-topics to guide the specific questions thought up by the researchers during the

interview. SSI is conducted with key informants, who have good knowledge about the
history of the village and its resources, and others using pre-selected sub-topics as
guidelines. In this method, actual questions are created during the interview. Questions
should be precise and easy to understand. Leading questions should not be used while
conducting interviews.
Iteration:
Iteration is one of the techniques for collecting information in PLPA methods. In this
technique, the same question is repeatedly asked in different situation for conforming the
given information. A very high pay-off from flexibility of the methodology through iteration
occurs in the ability to reform questions and formulate new questions, especially within
the interview itself.
Probing:
The main function of a probe is to encourage the respondent to answer more fully and
accurately. Furthermore, it also helps to structure the respondents answer and make
sure that all topics of interest are covered. Always start questions with who, what, why,
when , who and how (the six helpers) for helping to establish the basic situation.
Observation:
This is also used as a technique especially in the social sciences since a long time. In
this technique, related indicators are used in the field to verify the collected information
or to generate questions. For example, if the dung is used for cooking purposes, it
means that there is a scarcity of firewood in the area.
Similarly, there are a wide range of participatory tools available which can be used
according to the situation or needs. The most common PLPA tools and techniques are:
Debriefing session:
Debriefing sessions and discussions are important during the fieldwork. The team
members review their field notes after their fieldwork since, delay causes significant loss
of memory and may seriously affect the results.
After fieldwork:
A discussion should be carried out by the team about the collected information and going
back for more should be arranged if it is necessary. Each team member is assigned
tasks and results are meld by group members consensus. The findings are also
presented in workshops or seminars for the comments. The comments/suggestions are
taken care of and are incorporated in the final reports.
The Importance of Interactive Participation:
Changes in both development and extension programs involve a move away from
extractive survey questionnaires and toward new methods for participatory appraisal and
analysis in which more activities are carried out by local people themselves, and the
learning process is shared actively and directly between insiders and outsiders.
The term participation, has now become part of the normal language of many
development agencies, including NGOs, government departments and banks, but the

level of participation varies greatly and this has created many paradoxes (Reij, 1988;
Bunch, 1991; Kerr, 1994). The term participation has different meanings for different
people. The term has been used to build local capacity and self-reliance, on the one
hand, but also to justify the extension of state control, on the other. It has also been used
for interactive data collection and analysis, as well as to shift power and decision-making
away from external agencies. Pretty et al., (1995) have described seven categories of
participation, from least to most participatory. The best results occur when people are
involved in decision- making during all stages of the project (Chambers, 1994a; Pretty &
Chambers, 1993). It is therefore important to ensure that those using the term define
ways of shifting participation from passive toward interactive participation. The critical
way of doing this is to utilize interactive and participatory methods, such as PRA (Pretty
& Vodouhe, 1997).
Typology of Participation:
1. Passive participation where locals are told what is going to happen and are
involved primarily through being informed of the process. It is a unilateral
announcement by a project management without listening to peoples responses.
The information being shared belongs only to external professionals.
2. Participation in Information Giving where locals answer questions to preformulated questionnaires or research questions, surveys, or other instruments,
and does not influence the formulation or interpretation of the questions. People
do not have the opportunity to influence proceedings, as the findings of the
research are neither shared nor checked for accuracy.
3. Consultation where locals are consulted by external agents who define both
problems and solutions in light of the responses, but are under no obligation to
take on peoples views or share in decision making. People participate by being
consulted, and external people listen to their views.
4. Material Incentive where locals provide resources, such as labor or land, in return
for other material incentives. They do not have a stake in continuing activities
once the incentives end. Much on farm research falls in this category, as farmers
provide the fields but are not involved in the experimentation or the process of
learning. It is very common to see this called participation.
5. Functional participation where locals form groups usually initiated by and
dependent on external facilitators to participate in project implementation. People
may participate by forming groups to meet predetermined objectives related to
projects, which can involve the development or promotion of externally initiated
social organization. These groups may become self-dependent and are usually
formed after major decisions have been made, rather than during the early
stages of a project. Such involvement does not tend to be at early stages of
project cycles and planning, but rather after major decisions have been made,
though. These groups/institutions tend to be dependent on external initiators and
facilitators, but may become self- dependent.
6. Interactive participation where locals participate in joint analysis that leads to
action plans and the formation of new local institutions or the strengthening of

existing ones. It tends to involve interdisciplinary methodologies that seek

multiple perspectives and make use of a systematic and structural learning
process. The groups take control over local decisions and people have a stake in
maintaining structures or practices.
7. Self-Mobilization where locals participate by taking initiative independent of
external institutions and may develop contacts with external institutions for
resources and technical advice, but retain control over how resources are used.
Such self-initiated mobilization and collective action may or may not challenge
existing inequitable distributions of wealth and power. Source: (Pretty et al.,
1995, p. 61; Pretty & Vodouhe, 1997; Pretty, 1994).

The Principles of initiating community Action:

1. Key principles that should guide all action that aims to support the development
of sustainable livelihoods include:
People-centered action should focus on the impacts it will have on the
livelihoods of people (not on institutions, resources, technology).
Building on strengths all action should seek to build on peoples own
capacities, skills, knowledge and aspirations.
Giving voice and choice action should always seek to increase peoples
capacity and opportunity to give voice to their concerns and it should aim to
increase their choices and their capacity to make informed choices.
Focused on sustainability action should always take account of economic,
social, institutional and environmental sustainability.
4.5. Entry Points for the PLPA Process:
The participants also begun to consider the question of what is the entry point for this
work in other words; 1) understanding our own reasons for undertaking the PLPA
process 2) deciding where we should start for ourselves and 3) how we should start with
the community.
The outsiders should be transparent about their objectives of introducing the PLPA
in a particular community.
The outsiders need to change their attitudes and behaviour to how to work with
the community.
They should be clear about their entry point in the community.
PLPA is recognised more than just tool for outsiders or facilitators, it must also be for
community as well. Recognizing that outsiders can't do everything, outsiders can provide
a platform to allow many different processes to come together and so work better.
Values - PLPA:
i.
Change from Us & Them to WE
ii.
Take your time and learn with people
iii.
Build on Peoples Strengths
iv.
Build relationship with the community

v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.
xi.
xii.
xiii.

xiv.

Livelihoods listen to histories

Change culture of dependency
Building capacity for people to adapt to change
Recognise the limitations of making assumptions and be willing to challenge them
Be transparent about the objectives and capabilities
Monitoring is for us & people it should be used to build confidence and appreciation
of achievements, and enable joint learning
Sustainability comes from community participation and ownership of the development
process.
Recognise your entry point but dont get stuck - use it as a way to explore the whole of
peoples livelihoods with them
Recognise we cant do everything
In considering new opportunities understand the demand.

A key part of the PLPA approach is the partnership between the development agency
and the people. This partnership must start the moment we enter the village and the
participants noted that we must consider the process of learning as being both for us
and for the people. Some of the key considerations for learning with people:

Be open about who were are allow them to understand who we are
Try to create a level playing field we have to be sensitive to them and
they have to be sensitive to us

Build a working relationship with people

Be open about limitations understand we cant know everything
Recognise that you will never be a complete insider, one day you need to
phase out.
Work with local people where appropriate
4.6. Developing an overview of the PLPA Process:
The PLPA process may look like the following table, each phases will be described and
them considered in more detail the types of activities and tools that may occur in each
stage:
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
Appreciative Discovery
Appreciative Direction
Appreciative Doing
1. Appreciative Discovery Learning with people and agencies about where they
are now and how they got there. Identifying the best aspects of what is and
therefore what can be.
2. Appreciative Direction - Helping people and service providers to analyse
themselves and the opportunities in the world around them, in order to make
informed choices about the desirability, the feasibility and the profitability of
livelihood change or diversification.
3. Appreciative Doing Working with people to develop their capacity to change
and to develop the relationships, provide the information and support to help
them make change.

Appreciative Discovery

Direction

Doing

Regular sharing information within the team, with the community and concerned agencies ...
Communicating information: not just generating data....
Facilitating learning by people...
Making use of and validating existing information....
Identifying communication/information channels...
How to achieve those goals......
Reflection and reassessment of whether we are having an impact on
livelihoods....
What kinds of information could be generated?
BASELINE
Livelihood activities

Comparison and cross

fertilisation

Lessons learned

Resource use

Establishing goals/vision

How to incorporate and act on

lessons

Trends and changes that are

going on

Identify common goals and

vision

Documenting / disseminating
success

Identify strengths and

opportunities

Relationships with institution

Community monitoring

Under PLPA process, the following step will be followed during the appreciative
discovery stage:
During the Discovery stage: It is important to build the relationships and partnerships for
sustainable development - understanding livelihoods and livelihood change;

5.0. Discovery Steps

Step No.1
1. Understanding the available information and understanding the community &
stakeholders:

What information exists about the community and about the services to the
community.

What information exist to help people to make decisions and changes (e.g.
market info,
info about opportunities, services etc.).

How do people use the information.

Activities to be undertaken to achieve this include:

Collect and review existing sources of information.

Document key information about communities, area, agencies involved and

livelihood
activities.

Document how people use information to make decisions, what types of

information and where this comes from.
PLPA Tools: Reviewing secondary information and experience, Key informants
discussions, Community profiling, social mapping, etc.,

Step No.2:
Building Relationships with communities for development and understand the
politics:

Helping partners understand purpose of activities.

Ensure that partners participating are equipped to participate

Building relationships and exploring the purpose.

Identifying Households (from various wealth groups and ethnic groups) &
Groups
Activities to be undertaken to achieve this include:

Arrange initial meetings with customary leaders, community representatives

to introduce
them to the PLPA process.

Identify households (from various wealth groups and ethnic groups) &
groups for
exploration of livelihoods.


Prepare materials to inform people about the PLPA process and to help them
engage in it.
PLPA Tool: Historical Timeline and Trend Change, Social mapping, Venn diagram,
Seasonal diagram, Mobility mapping, Daily calendar, etc.,

Step No. 3:
Understanding livelihoods and livelihood diversity within natural resource
dependent communities:

Working with groups in the community

Understand peoples strengths and aspirations.

Look at how the natural resources or other capitals benefit the community
and different
groups within that community.

Find out about the different livelihood activities that people do and what skills
these
involve.

Explore the different relationships that different groups in the community

have with the
natural resource capitals.

Find out about changes in the natural resources and how they have affected
different
groups?

Identify the factors that have helped or inhibited people to make changes.
Activities to be undertaken to achieve this include:
Meetings with households & groups to explore local livelihoods
Meetings with service providers to find out their relationships with people and other
service
providers
PLPA Tools: Livelihood matrix, Livelihood Service matrix, 5 capitals assessment
matrix, Access and control matrix, Resource map etc.,

Step No. 4:
Documenting information and validating with community:
Analyse and record information from group exercises.
Work with larger community people to validate and confirm findings

Activities to be undertaken to achieve this include:

Analysis and documentation of information generated by the appreciate
exploration meetings with groups.
Organise and undertake validation meetings at the community levels as
appropriate.

Step No. 5:
Reporting:
Prepare documents into a document that shows the learning (about process,
outputs and impacts).
Preparation of a report on the exploration of livelihoods using the format provided
for each PLPA tool.
Leave a copy of the report with the community.
Appreciative Discovery Phase outcomes:

Community vision to initiate the Direction phase:

Visioning with Groups How to work with group and community meetings to help
people to develop visions that reflect the complexity of their livelihoods. The
facilitators provided the participants with an example of an approach to visioning
and discussed the importance of the emphasis on peoples best experiences
and their strengths.
Scoping (mapping) Potential Opportunities: Here the participants recognised the
need to build the peoples capacity to analyse new opportunities and appreciated
that the scope of opportunities went beyond just new economic activities. This
was a reflection of their findings about the diversity of factors that help or inhibit
people from changing.
Developing Strategies with People: The participants recognised the need for a clear
and transparent structure for planning to achieve visions with people. The
strategies are the first step that people can take in considering what they can do
themselves to achieve the visions. As part of the strategies the people will also
identify which types of service providers may be useful.
Direction

Objectives
Develop
people's
vision (where
they want to
go)

Sub components

Description

1. Work with groups to Helping people to think about the situation in

develop visions
which they would like to be in the future should be
the starting point of any process for livelihood
2. Bring groups and the
development. It provides the reference point
larger
communities
together to create a around which they can assess options and make

community vision.

the choices that will most effectively contribute to

their livelihood development. The process of
visioning helps people to think, not about these
actions and possessions they will have in the
future, but about the conditions that these actions
will create for them.
People's vision for their livelihoods in the future
will reflect not just their own personal aspirations
for income enhancement or diversification, but
also their wider livelihood priorities. Therefore, the
strategies for income enhancement and
diversification will also cover wider aspects of
people's livelihoods.

Plan how to
get there.

1. Work with groups to

develop strategies for
group visions.

Where individuals, groups and communities have

developed their visions the process of turning
visions into reality is complex. As a first step the
project teams will need to work with a simple and
2. Work with community
to develop strategies for accessible planing process with the groups and,
where it is appropriate, with the community.
community visions.
The 'strategies' will build on the visions that
people have developed and, taking into account
the learning about livelihood and change from the
discovery phase, define pathways that they can
take to reach their visions.
The strategies will be used as the first step in the
development of the response to the visions and to
outline those areas that people can start to work
on to achieve positive change.

Identify with
people what
they can
contribute to
achieving their

1. Review people's
strength and how they
are related to their
visions.

A key element of the strategies will be to

identifying those areas of PLPA that the
community can drive themselves. Many, perhaps
most, of the strategies that people develop will
involve action by specific groups, or even

visions.

2. Review positive
experience from the
past.

individuals this will be particularly so far the

development of new economic or income
generating activities.
In many cases people may be reluctant to take the
lead and will need to be supported over time as
they develop the confidence and capacity to take
forward the planned activities.

Identify with
people
appropriate
mechanisms
for action.

1. Review objectives for

short, medium and long
term action.
2. Identify the role to be
played by people in the
community.
3. Consider the level at
which action is required
(individual, group,
community).
4. Identify appropriate
forms of organization to
achieve those
objectives.

The process of developing visions will have taken

place a range of different levels from the
individual, to groups of different sizes and
compositions, to the community. Likewise, the
actions identified to achieve those visions will
require action at different levels by the
individual, groups, and community. Identifying how
people should organise themselves to undertake
action requires a careful consideration of the
precise objectives that they have set themselves.
Particular care is required to distinguish between
those objectives that are best achieved by
individual action and those that require group
organization of one form or another.

Role of the Visioning Process:

To develop challenging visions for peoples livelihoods which are based on their
own strengths and past successes;
To build consensus for change, within common interest groups and within the
community;
To identify those visions that are shared by the community and require
community action to achieve.
Developing Community Master Plan and Community Development Action Plan:
Refer Tool No. VII.

6.0 PLPA Tools

PLPA offers a "basket of techniques" from which those most appropriate for the project
context can be selected. The central part of any PLPA is semi-structured interviewing.
While sensitive topics are often better addressed in interviews with individuals, other
topics of more general concern are amenable to focus group discussions and community
meetings. During these interviews and discussions, several diagrammatic techniques
are frequently used to stimulate debate and record the results. Many of these visuals are
not drawn on paper but on the ground with sticks, stones, seeds, and other local
materials, and then transferred to paper for a permanent record.

6.1. Tool No. (1). Semi-Structured Interview (SSI)

Why a semi- structured interview?
We are all familiar with questioners, either as someone who has administrated them, or
someone who has answered question(or both !) Questioners can be useful, but they also
have their limitations: they tend to be rigid, top-down(information is extracted ,not
shared),and limited.
Semi-structure interviews are designed to avoid(or at least minimize) Some of these
drawbacks: a few key questions are identified at the outset, but the rest of the interview
is left open to allow for probing(finding out more),using other participatory tools, sharing
information.
Description: Semi-structured interviews are guided conversations where broad
questions are asked, which do not constrain the conversation, and new questions are
allowed to arise as a result of the discussion. This is different from questionnaires and
surveys where there are very structured questions that are not deviated from. A semistructured interview is therefore a relatively informal, relaxed discussion based around a
predetermined topic. A semi-structured interview is a PLPA method that engages
villagers in a conversation through a series of guide questions (not structured
questionnaire) relevant to the villagers. Talking with villagers about topics that interest
them generates important information. SSI can be used with individuals, key informants,
interest groups or other small groups of villagers (i.e. womens groups).
It is usually best to conduct such interviews in pairs with the person doing the interview
and one taking detailed notes. The process of a semi-structured interview involves the
interviewer presenting the context of the study and its objectives to the interviewee or
interview group (such as a family or household). The set of questions are prepared but
open, allowing the interviewees to express opinions through discussion. Questions are
generally simple, with a logical sequence to help the discussion flow. Interview questions
should be tested prior to interviews. Training people to conduct a semi-structured

interview is important and practice is required to become an effective interviewer.

Training needs to address team preparation, interview context, sensitive listening,
sensitive questioning, judging responses, recording the interview and self-critical review.
SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS involve the preparation of an interview guide that lists

a pre-determined set of questions or issues that are to be explored during an interview.

This guide serves as a checklist during the interview and ensures that basically the
same information is obtained from a number of people. Yet, there is a great deal of
flexibility. The order and the actual working of the questions are not determined in
advance. Moreover, within the list of topic or subject areas, the interviewer is free to
pursue certain questions in greater depth. The advantage of the interview guide
approach is that it makes interviewing of a number of different persons more systematic
and comprehensive by delimiting the issues to be taken up in the interview. Logical gaps
in the data collected can be anticipated and closed, while the interviews remain fairly
conversational and situational. The weakness of this approach is that it does not permit
the interviewer to pursue topics or issues of interest that were not anticipated when the
interview guide was elaborated. Also, interviewer flexibility in wording and sequencing
questions may result in substantially different responses from different persons, thus
reducing comparability.
What are the procedures in using a semi-structure interview (SSI)?
Prepare a checklist of topics and guide questions for discussion and record these
in a notebook.
Select individuals, key informants, interest groups, or other small groups of
villagers to interview. Get a good representation of the villagers- spatial, gender,
wealth class, etc.
Observe proper interviewing techniques.
Use the checklist of topics and guide questions (see sample) but allow flexibility
in the conversation so that issues can be explored as they arise.
Probe (use relevant follow up questions as needed).
Ask questions that are relevant to the villagers being interviewed (individual or
group).
Use open-ended questions (not answerable by yes or no).
Record the important points in each interview in a notebook.
Modify the checklist of topics and guide questions as new issues arise during the
conversation.
Use to insiders
A good semi-structured interview will help partners come up useful insight into
the topic at the hand, especially if the process handled flexibly and openly.
Semi structure interviews, interspersed with other participatory tools, will help
partners to enjoy information sharing and analysis sessions
By making information widely shared, different perspective can be explored and
a consensus built up.
Uses to outsiders

 Semis - structured interview allows us to explore topics we need information on

in a flexible way: this will allow information we may not have to be captured as
well
Such interviewing allows for variety and sharing ,thus building good rapport and
not placing partners in an inferior position as mere information providers.
By building rapport, difficult or sensitive topics can also be tackled more easily
than would otherwise be the case and analyses more easily validated.
Steps to follow
Good preparation for an interview is a key to success. we need to quite clear
about the topic at hand, at hand who we are going to meet particular resource
person, a group of youth, a sample of house hold heads?) Who will be part of
interviewing team the main questions, the other tools(e.g. a map, a matrix) we
might need to use.
We need to be very clear on the roles of the team members, if we are several.
There should be a main interviewer and, if possible , a note taker and an
observer .the note taker may need a small notebook to write down key
points(detailed note can be made later)
When preparations are over ,we can make appointment to meet partners,
remembering what might be the most appropriate times for the different people
we wish to meet.
We are now ready for the actual interview: we should start by introducing
ourselves carefully ,explaining the purpose of the exercise in detail (e.g. finding
out about change in school enrollment so that measure can be identified to
ensure that all children are at school ).we should also clarify who will own the
information and to what use it will be put into.
A good way to start the discussion is with general questions, to put peoples to put
ease .we continue by covering each main area of the interview. Questions
starting with Who? Why? What? Where? When? How? will help. Open ended
questions (those that will not lead to a simple Yes or No )are generally
preferable.
As we proceed, we also need to observe: some answers will be non- verbal:
facial expressions and other body language might even tell us more sometimes
than verbal answers (See Body language , - No 8). We also need to ensure that
all participate, so that a few individuals do not dominate the conversation.
As the interview progresses, we may need to probe: if an interesting point
comes, up, we need to find out more. The six small words above will help.
When the interview is over, we need to make sure participants have also had on
opportunity to ask questions , to discuss the next steps: we can then thank them.
Full notes can then be made.
Some Dos
Do watch body language throughout, both our own and our partners. This will
help create a good atmosphere, and alert us if people start getting tired!

 Do use various tools, diagrams, symbols and other drawings these will help to
draw people into the discussion, help in probing , and introduce variety in the
discussion.
Do mix general discussion with specific prepared questions: again this will help in
keeping up interest and will help in bringing to the surface information that
questions would not have uncovered, Be open to new questions.
Do use simple language: scientific items will put people off, and we will be
perceived as wanting to appear more educated than our partners.
Do explore different perspective on a topic ( for instance by holding separate
interviews with men and women).
And some Donts
Making too many notes (especially in large, official- looking books!) will
undermine a good rapport and break the flow of the conversation. Full notes can
be left for later: a small notebook is best to quickly note down the main points
during the interview.
Let us avoid leading questions and other types of questions illustrated below.
We also need to avoid an us and them situation: advising people, for instance,
will put them off!
Dont make the interview too long: once participants become tired, the reliability
of information declines. It is best to have two short interviews instead.

6.2. Tools No. (2). MAPS:

Participatory mapping is one of the most versatile tools and is powerful in generating
pictures on any aspect of the physical reality. These maps cannot be compared with the
geographical maps, exactly reduced representations of geophysical structures.
Maps can be produced for big regions (movement of animal herds of pastoralists),
villages and farms or even of a single plot, depending on questions people are interested
in. The products of participatory mappings are documentation of mental maps and can
be different for different groups of people of the same village (e.g. men, women,
children). Usually mapping is used to depict infrastructures, natural resources, land
ownership, settlement pattern, soil types, cropping pattern etc.
If possible it is preferable to draw the map from a high vantage point so that the PLPA
team can relate the map with direct observations. Usually the maps are drawn on the
ground using on the spot available materials. The location of the mapping session
should be freely accessible to all groups of the community (e.g. different casts, men and
women, rich and poor, etc.).
Maps can be also used according to a timeline like the village 30 years back and now. A
future model can be drawn to discuss peoples vision of the future how it will be or how
they want it should be. Such historical maps help to discuss the roots of present situation
and possible future developments.

Process Guidelines
Before
Discuss the units to be mapped (House hold cluster, compounds,
individual homes, kitchens). How are these defined? How are they
identifies and named? What is the most relevant unit for the purposes of
the inquiry?
Discuss the range of social indicators to be explored during the mapping
exercise. What indicators of difference are you interested in? How are
these described locally?
Starting
Encourage people to choose a starting point for their map, False starts are
common, Be patient
.
During
Use local materials and symbols to represent parts of the map
Encourage participants to make changes as the map develops
Discuss information added to the map as it arises. Probe on details.
Encourage details. Encourage participants to be critical themselves.
Ensure that all dwellings (or whatever unit you are considering) are
include on the map. Crosscheck with participants by walking around the
village. Invite others to contribute.
Use local symbols to mark on the indicators (Wealth, well-being, age,
educational level, health status, number of children of different ages etc)
Encourage participants to analyse and discuss the map as it develops.
Record the discussions and debates occurring during the mapping
exercise.
After
Discuss the results of the map with participants. What does it tell them?
What does it tell you?
What has been missed out? What has been emphasized? Why?
Record the information gathered

(i). SOCIAL MAPPING

What is social mapping?
Social mapping is a PLPA
method that involves the
sketching/drawing of houses
and other social facilities
and
infrastructure
(i.e.
temple, stores, school, street
lights,
community
halls,
roads,
water
pumps,
irrigation and recreation
facilities) in a village. These
features have usually not
been well specified in the
village vision setting and
village land-use maps. It
helps to visualize and situate
the location of households
and
other
social
facilities/infrastructure in a
village. It serves as a
baseline
for
planning,
implementation, monitoring,
and evaluation of village
development
activities
(including selection of village
organizing strategy).

Objectives:
To learn about the social structures in the village and the differences among the
households by caste, religion and wealth.
To learn intra and inter household differences on a community map
Social indicators mapping includes educational and literacy status, school going
children, health, wealth, size of land holding, House holding assets, access to
resources etc.
To learn about who is living where. To learn about the social institutions and the
different views local people might have regarding those institutions.

Key Questions:
What are the approximate boundaries of the village with regard to social
interaction and social services?
How many households are found in the village and where are they located?
Is the number of households growing or shrinking?
What are the social structures and institutions found in the village?
What caste / religious groups are found in the village?

 What ethnic groups are found in the village?

Which are the female Headed Households and where are they are located?
How to facilitate:
Ask the participants to draw a map of the village, showing all households.
Discuss whether the total number of households (family composition one can
generate all the needed demographic information) has increased or shrunk
during recent
years. If there were any changes ask why the number has changed and whether
this has caused any problem for certain families or for the community at large.
Ask the group to also show institutions, buildings and places that offer some kind
of social service or which are popular spots to meet and discuss. Example:
schools, temples, health service, traditional healers, community administration,
community leaders, local shop, balwadis, kindergarten, places where people
frequently meet, water point etc.)
Encourage the group to discuss and show on the map which different caste /
ethnic groups are living in their village. Using a common symbol, mark those
households in which the minority caste / ethnic groups live.
Encourage the group to discuss and show on the map which different religious
groups are living in their village. Using a common symbol, mark those
households in which the minority religious groups live.
Ask the group to indicate with a symbol on the map all households that are
female headed. Make sure that everybody has the same understanding of what
the characteristics of a female headed household are!
Uses to insiders
A Social map allows partners to participate in on common exercise which will
highlight the number and location of households in their community.
They will also gather information from other community members on particular
characteristics of households in the community( depending on the purpose of the
exercise: this may be number of children at school in each house holds, number
of widows in the community , etc).
A social map can be used to start a discussion on how to address various issues
in the community ( low immunization coverage for children, tax exemptions for
the disadvantaged, etc.)
The location and number of households can be important for a number of
planning and monitoring issues, such as location and type of infrastructure,
effects of an immunization programme , etc.
Uses to outsiders
A social map is useful to quickly gather information on household location,

composition, and select characteristics( e.g. who goes to school, who has been
vaccinated, people with a disability, single- mother households, better- off
households , etc.) amongst a partner community
Such a map can also be useful to create rapport; as partners get involved in
locating their own households, closer rapport is created with outsiders.
A social map can be used for a variety of planning purpose( where to locate a
small bridge , for instance , so that the distance is cut for most households.)
A social map can also generate quantified information which can be used for
monitoring and evaluation purpose( e.g. the number of households with access
to safe water before and after a spring protection exercise.)
Some Dos..
If there are many households in the community, do have the map made by
several groups. It might also be advisable to draw directly onto paper
Whenever possible, however, use the ground as an initial step : this will be easier
than paper ( which often turns out to be too small!) and will foster participation
Social maps are very useful throughout a community planning and
implementation process : do encourage partners to utilize the social map on
many occasions to monitor progress
Depending on the topic at hand , having separate groups of men and women will
enhance their participation and give an opportunity to compare different gender
perspectives for certain topics
Do help less confident community members to get involved in the development of
the map by indicating where they live themselves
Do ask your partners questions as the map is being developed and do make sure
that there is a good recording system : the information collected might be very
detailed
And some Donts..
A social map is usually a sensitive tool for partners; it should be therefore be
developed only after building good rapport with the community
For the same reason, do not therefore be imprecise about the use of the
information to be collected through the map; otherwise, partners will suspect
other motives (land grabbing or tax collection, for instance ).
Do not interview the partners directly, instead interview the map ;ask your
questions referring to the map

Process Guideline- Resource map

Before
Choose a suitable place for the mapping, preferably large and open for
more people to become involved ask local people which is the most
appropriate location.
Starting
Begin by discussion with local people their community and available
resources
Help people to get started by pointing to something visible, and mark it on
the map-model, then stand back and let them carry on. Be patient. It will
be their map.
During
Use locally available materials if possible
Let local people choose symbols to represent tress, houses, wells, roads
etc
Encourage participants to make progressive changes sometimes it will
be necessary to begin again
Interview the map-model during and after its construction
For an historical perspective, ask participants to produce a similar mapmodel for conditions 50 years ago and compare the two; ask what
processes have caused the changes in the intervening years
For discussion about the future, ask participants to dwell on the future
what will the community look like under a business as usual scenario,
what does your ideal community look? Producing two more map-models
can focus discussion on how to get from to the ideal the story without
the middle.
After
Use the map-model to plan future activities: during the inquiry such as
routes for the transect walks, or after, such as sites for reforestation of
farmer experiments.
If original is on the ground, copy it on the paper; keep a record of the
names of the participants to give them credit in publications use the
term analyst or drawn by, rather than the passive informant or

What other tools can help?

Resource
maps
can
provide a basis for building a
social map. Both can be merger.
The route of Transect
walk can be drawn using a social
map, to reflect the spatial
distribution
of
certain
households, for instance
A
Wealth
ranking
exercise may also be use the list
of households appearing on a
social map.
Community
indicators
might include features appearing
on a social map for monitoring
purposes.

(ii).

RESOURCE MAP

Description: The (Village) Resource Map is a tool that helps us to learn about a
community and its resource base. The primary concern is not to develop an accurate
map but to get useful information about local perceptions of resources. The participants
should develop the content of the map according to what is important to them.
Objectives:
To learn the villagers' perception of what natural resources are found in the
community and how they are used.
To establish a dialogue with groups of local people
To construct a picture of local perceptions of the local environment
To explore spatial patterns of resources
To document access and control arrangements over resources
To create a baseline reference for use in later discussions or work
To empower groups to analyse and better understand their own conditions
To begin the process of dialogue, as maps are usually non-sensitive and
relatively easy facilitate.
Key Questions:
1. What resources are abundant?
2. What resources are scarce?

3. Does everyone have equal access to land?

4. Do women have access to land?
5. Do the poor have access to land?
6. Who makes decision on land allocation?
7. Where do people go to collect water?
8. Who collects water?
9. Where do people go to collect firewood?
10. Who collects firewood?
11. Where do people go graze livestock?
12. What kind of development activities do you carry out as a whole community?
Where?
13. Which resource do you have the most problem with?
How to facilitate:
The Village Resource Map is a good tool to begin with. It is easy and fun for the villagers
to do. It helps initiate discussion among the community and with the PLPA team. All team
members should observe the mapping exercise because it provides an overall
orientation to the features of the community and its resources.
In our PLPA, we would like to do this map with separate groups of men and women in
the village. This is because women and men may use different resources. The women
will map the resources they think are important (like water sources, firewood sources,
etc). The men will map the resources they think are important (like grazing land,
infrastructure, etc). Maps may include: infrastructure (roads, houses, buildings, bridges,
etc); water sites and sources; agricultural lands (crop varieties and locations); soils,
slopes, elevations; forest lands; grazing areas; shops, markets; health clinics, schools,
churches; special places (sacred sites, cemeteries, bus stops, shrines, etc).

6.3. Tool No. 3. Wealth Ranking

Objectives:
To investigate perceptions of wealth differences and inequalities in a community
To identify and understand local indicators and criteria of wealth and well-being
To map the relative position of households in a community
Methods:
Ranking
Mapping
Selecting Key Informants:
Carry out the exercise with a few key informants who know the community well.
Facilitator:
Two PLPA-team members

Key Questions:
What are local perceptions of wealth, well-being and inequality?
What socio-economic groupings are there in the community and who belongs in
what group?
Steps:
A numbered list is made of all the households in the community (see social map)
and the name each household head and the household number is written on a
separate card.
A number of key informants who know the village and its inhabitants very well are
asked to sort the cards in as many piles as there are wealth categories in the
community, using their own criteria.
After sorting, ask the informants for the wealth criteria for each pile and differences
between the piles. Assure the informants of confidentiality and do not discuss the
ranks of individual families, so as not to cause bad feelings within the community.

List local criteria and indicators derived from the ranking discussion.
Uses to insiders
A resource map helps local partners discuss the range of locally available
resources and opportunities to exploit these resources for the future
It can provide an opportunity for the less educated and less articulate to
participate in an exercise to discuss present and future conditions in their
community: making a map doesnt require having been to school or even being
literate!
Such a map can provide a record, a basis for future discussions, a way to chart
changes in the community: a resource map could be used to plan or to monitor
change.
Uses to outsiders
A resource map provides a good ice brake when first working in a particular
community: making a resource map can be much fun for all, yet very productive.
Such a map gives outsiders an opportunity to better understand the local
environment, local resources and potential.
It can also give a better understanding of the local perception of the physical
boundaries of what our partners consider their community.
A resource map can facilitate the involvement of the less articulate in the
discussion process and, more generally, fosters local community participation.
Finally, such a map help us better understand the local perception of the local
environment (a resource map certainly does not need to be an accurate
reflection of the geographers reality)

Some Dos.
Do help people who feel shy to participate by begin vigilant throughout and
drawing them in
Do consider facilitating separate maps for men and women (and/or other relevant
groups): this will highlight their different perceptions.
Let us interview our partners as they go along, but not directly: through the map!
Let us make sure that a copy of the map remains with our partners: it is their
information, not ours
And some Donts..
let us not dominate the exercise as an expert map-maker. the map should
record local perceptions, not our ideas about the local environment.
Let us not forget that, however enjoyable, the map is not an end in itself, it should
be used as an instrument to explore local realities, potential, prospects.
What other tools can help?
Other types of maps can complement a resource map, a social map for
instance, will help locate households and some of their characteristics.
A resource map can be used as a starting point for planning discussions:
planning tools can be linked to such a map (community action plans, for
instance)
A resource map can be used for monitoring purpose, incorporating for instance
community indicators.

6.4. Tool No. 4. Venn Diagram:

Description:
The Venn Diagram shows institutions, organisations, groups and important individuals
found in the village, as well as the villagers view of their importance in the community.
Additionally the Diagram explains who participates in these groups in terms of gender
and wealth. The Institutional Relationship Diagram also indicates how close the contact
and cooperation between those organisations and groups is.
Objectives:
To identify external and internal organisations/groups/important persons active in
the community
To identify who participates in local organisations/institutions by gender and wealth
To find out how the different organisations and groups relate to each other in terms
of contact, co-operation, flow of information and provision of services

Key Questions:
Which organisations/institutions/groups are working in or with the community?
Which institutions/groups do the villagers regard as most important, and why?
Which groups are addressing household food security and livelihoods issues?
Which organisations work together?
Are there groups which are meant for women or men only?
Are some particular groups or kind of people excluded from being members of or
receiving services from certain institutions?
How to facilitate the process?
If time allows it will be good to form separate focus groups for women and men.
Make sure that also the poorest and most disadvantaged join the group.
Make sure that you have all material that is needed. You can a) either draw and
write with a stick on a soft ground or b) you might use a BIG sheet of paper,
pencil and markers. If you decide to use paper, people should first use a pencil to
be able to still change the size of the circles that the participants will draw.
Explain to the participants the three objectives (see above) of the Venn Diagram
on institutions.
Ask the participants which organisations/institutions/groups are found in the village
and which other ones from elsewhere are working with them. Make sure that they
also think of the small not formal groups like e.g. neighborhood committees.
These questions will be useful to ask: What kind of ways of assisting each other do
exist among people? Which local groups are organised along environmental
issues (water, grazing, arable land), economic issues (saving, credit, agriculture,
livestock), social issues (health, literacy, religion, tradition, education, sport). Are
their political groups? Who makes important decisions in the village?
Ask one of the villagers to write down all the institutions that are mentioned and to
give each organisation a symbol which everybody can understand.
Ask the participants to draw a big circle in the centre of the paper or on the ground
that represents themselves.
Ask them to discuss for each organisation how important it is for them. The most
important ones are then drawn as a big circle and the less important ones as
smaller circles. Ask the participants to compare the sizes of the circles and to
adjust them so that the sizes of the circles represent the importance of the
institution, organisation or group.
Every organisation/group should be marked with the name or symbol.
Ask them to discuss in which way they benefit from the different organisations.
The facilitator and note taker have to listen very carefully and the note taker writes
down, why the different organisations are considered important or less important!
Ask them to show the degree of contact/co-operation between themselves and

those institutions by distance between the circles. Institutions which they do not
have much contact with should be far away from their own big circle. Institutions
that are in close contact with the participants and which whom they co-operate
most, should be inside their own circle. The contact between all other institutions
should also be shown by the distance between the circles on the map:
largely distanced circles
circles close to each other
touching circles
overlapping circles

= no or little contact or co-operation

= only loose contacts exist
= some co-operation
= close co-operation

Ask them which institutions are only accepting women or men as members. Are
there any institutions or groups that do provide services either only for men or
only for women? Show the answers by marking the circles with a common
symbol for men or women.
Ask them to discuss in which organisations poor people do not participate and why.
Ask if there are any services of certain organisations from which the poorer
people are usually excluded. Mark these institutions on the map by using a
symbol for poor. You might also ask if there are other groups of people that
usually are excluded from some of these institutions or services.
Ask the participants which institutions/groups are addressing household food
security and nutrition issues. Ask them to discuss in which way they address
these issues? Mark the mentioned institutions with a common symbol.
Only if time and the motivation of the participants allows, ask the group to discuss
and document the strength and weaknesses of those institutions which were
reported as most important.
Material needed: The note taker will need the Documentation Sheet for the Venn
Diagram, this tool sheet, white paper for copying the map. If drawing on the ground: soft
ground, sticks and local material for symbols, or 2) if drawing on a paper: BIG sheet of
paper, pencils, markers.
Hints: If people find it difficult to understand this tool, it will be helpful to draw a simple
example for them.

6.5. Tool No. 5. Seasonal Calendar:

Type of group: mixed group for women and men
Description:
A seasonal calendar is a participatory tool to explore seasonal changes (e.g. genderspecific workload, diseases, income, expenditure etc.)

Objectives:
To learn about changes in livelihoods over the year and to show the seasonality of
agricultural and nonagricultural workload, food availability, human diseases, genderspecific income and expenditure, water, forage, credit and holidays.
Key Questions:
What are the busiest months of the year?
At what time of the year is food scarce?
How does income vary over the year for men and women?
How does expenditure vary over the year for men and women?
How does rainfall vary over the year?
How does water availability for human consumption vary over the year?
How does livestock forage availability vary over the year?
How does credit availability vary over the year?
When are holidays and how many days in which month?
When are most agricultural work carried out by women?
When are most agricultural work carried out by men?
When is most non-agricultural work carried out by women?
When is most non-agricultural work carried out by men?
Which could be the most appropriate season for additional activities for men and
women? What time constraints do exist and for what reason?
How to facilitate:
Find a large open space for the group. The calendar can be drawn on the ground
or an very big sheets of paper.
Ask the participants to draw a matrix, indicating each month along one axis by a
symbol.
It usually easiest to start the calendar by asking about rainfall patterns. Choose a
symbol for rain and put/draw it next to the column which participants will now use
to illustrate the rainfall. Ask the group to put stones under each month of the
calendar to represent relative amounts of rainfall (more stones meaning more
rainfall).
Move to the next topic and ask people during which month the food is usually
scare. Discuss the reasons why it is scarce and make sure that the different kind
of food donations that people receive are discussed and that this information is
shown in the map.
Go on like this, meaning topic by topic. After finishing all the columns a matrix

should have covered the following 15 topics:(1) Rainfall (2) Food scarcity (many
stones means less food available, indicate during which time people receive food
donations (e.g. food for work))(3) Income (cask and kind) for women (4) Income
(cash and kind) for men (5) Expenditure for men (6) Expenditure for women? (7)
water availability for human consumption (8) livestock forage availability (9) credit
availability (10) number of holiday days (11) agricultural work load for women (12)
agricultural work load for men (13) non-agricultural work load for women (14)
non-agricultural work load for women (15) Seasonal diseases human and
livestock.
After the calendar is finished ask the group which linkages they see among the
different topics of the calendar. Encourage the group to discuss what they see on
the calendar.
Make sure that your copy of the seasonal calendar - has a key explaining the
different items and symbols used on the map.
Material needed:
Documentation Sheet, this tool sheet, white paper for copying the seasonal calendar. 1)
If drawing on the ground: soft ground, stones, sticks and other available material to
produce symbols, or 2) if drawing on a paper: BIG sheet of paper, pencils, markers
Hints:
Additional issues for the Seasonal Calendar may be added according to the needs and
interests of the participants.

6.6. Tool No. 6. Income and Expenditure Matrix,

Livelihood Matrix, Livelihood Service Matrix,
5capitals analytical matrix:
Description:
The Income and Expenditure Matrix is a tool that helps us to identify and quantify the
relative importance of different sources of income and expenditures. The tool also helps
us to understand how secure or how vulnerable certain groups of people incomes are. In
the Expenditures matrix, we can see if all, most or only some of people's total income is
spent to meet basic needs - food, water, clothing, shelter, health care, education. We
can also ask whether people have any money left over to save or to invest in tools,
fertilizer, or other important items that could help them in their work.
Objectives:
To learn about sources of income (cash and kind) and how income is
proportionality spent by gender and wealth.
Two mixed focus groups (men and women), one looking at gender differences, the
other at wealth differences.

Key questions: Income matrix:

What are the most important sources of income in the community, both cash and in
kind?
Who has only a few sources of income?
Who has many sources of income?
How do poor peoples sources of income compare to rich people?
How do women's sources of income compare to men's?
Expenditure matrix:
How are expenditures spread out over the year?
Which expenditures are common to almost every one?
For each social group, what proportion of income is spent on basic needs like food,
clothing, housing, health care and education?
Who can save?
Who can buy equipment, tools, agricultural inputs, or other things that help
improve their work?
How do women's expenditures compare to men's?
How to facilitate:
For the group looking at wealth differences:
Explain to the group that you want to learn about where their income comes from
and how they spend it. Reassure them that you don't want to know how much
they make but are only interested in learning about where their money comes
from.
Ask the group to list their sources of income. Be sure to prompt them to include
both cash sources and payments in kind or by barter.
Start drawing the matrix on the ground or a large piece of paper.
Put the sources of income in the horizontal axis. The group may want to use
symbols to represent the various sources.
Collect 50 small stones (ask the children for help). Explain that these stones
represent the total income for the whole community for the year.
Ask the participants to divide the 50 stones between 3 groups - poor, middle and
rich.
Ask the group to select a representative for each of the 3 wealth groups, and give
these representatives the portion of the stones the group decided they should
have.
Ask the representative to stand along the vertical axis with his/her stones.
Ask the representative to take turns placing their stones in the matrix to indicate
their sources of income. Carry this out until all the stones are divided.
Record the matrix, counting all the stones for each source of income for each

socio-economic group.
Repeat the same process for expenditures. Create a new matrix, using local
symbols if desired, asking the group to list all of their expenditures, including
savings.
Ask the representatives to collect back their stones and to redistribute them
according to how they spend their money.
For the gender group
The process is almost the same. Put two columns on the horizontal matrix - men,
women. Again let the group list their sources of income.
Again collect 50 stones. Divide them equally among the men and the women (25
each). Select a representative and start the distribution.
Hints:
Discussing incomes and expenditures can be highly sensitive. People are reluctant to
talk about these issues in public. Be sure to reassure the participants that you do not
want to know about amounts, but will only be talking about relative proportions for each
group. There will be a sensitive moment when you ask the group to agree on how to
divide the stones among the rich, middle and poor groups. Be sure that you limit the total
number of stones for the community as a whole. We suggest 50 stones.
Materials: Local material to create symbols and stones.

6.7. Tool No.7. Daily Activity Clocks/Daily Calendar:

Description:
Daily Activity Clocks illustrate all of the different kinds of activities carried out in one day.
They are particularly useful for looking at relative work-loads between different groups in
the community. Comparisons between clocks show who works the longest hours, who
concentrates on a few activities and who does a number of tasks in a day, and who has
the most leisure time and sleep.
Objectives:
To learn what different people do during one day and how heavy their workloads are;
Female and male focus groups; you can also do this with focus groups of boys and girls,
if there is time.
Key Questions:
For each person, how is his or her time divided?
What is the difference between the women's and the men's clocks?
Who has the heaviest workload?
Who has time for rest and leisure?
How much time per day do women or girls spend collecting water and fuel wood?

How to facilitate:
Organize separate focus groups of men and women. Make sure that each group
includes people from different socio-economic groups.
Explain that you would like to learn about what they do on a typical day.
Ask the groups of men and women to prepare their clocks. You can start by asking
them what they did yesterday and how they generally pass their day this time of
the year. It's easy to start the clocks by asking them what time they usually get
up.
Build up a picture of all the activities they carried out the day before, and how long
they took. Plot each activity on a circle which represents a clock. Activities that
are carried out at the same time (such as child care and cooking) can be noted in
the same spaces.
When the clocks are done, ask questions about the activities shown.
Note the present season (for example raining season, dry season).
If there is time, ask the participants to produce new clocks to represent a typical
day in the other season.
Compare the clocks.
Use the key questions above to guide a discussion about people's activities and
workloads. Be sure to draw a picture of the clocks on paper. Be sure that the
name of the group/person is noted on the clocks and also the season of the year.

Materials: Flip chart paper, coloured markers and a ruler.

Hints: You can start by drawing a picture of how you spent your day yesterday. Draw a
big circle on paper and indicate when you wake up, what time you go to bed and all the
activities in-between. No need to go into great detail, but be sure to show that all kinds of
activities are included such as work, housework, child

6.8. Tool No.8. Focus group discussion: Matrix

Scoring and Ranking:
Constraints and Opportunities to achieving Nutrition and Household Food
Security
Objectives:
Understand local perceptions of nutrition and household food security.
Identify and understand constraints in the household and community to achieving
nutrition and household food security.
Identify and understand mechanisms in the household and the community to cope
with nutrition and household food insecurity.

 Identify what community, household and individual resources are required to obtain
nutrition and household food security.
Methods:
1. Semi-structured group interview 2. Scoring 3. Matrix
Selecting Focus Groups:
Plan separate meetings for men and women so as to be able to capture gender-based
differences in perceptions.
Facilitator:
Two PLPA-team members
Key Questions: Livelihood
What are the major livelihoods activities that members of the community
undertake? Score these livelihoods in order of importance by giving ten marks to
the most important livelihoods, one mark to the least important livelihoods and a
mark between one and ten to the remaining livelihood;
In your view, what are the status of accessibility for women reasons for these
accessibility challenges and what is commonly done to resolve the problems?
What resources are needed by the community, households and individuals to
become more successful to diversify the income sources?
Household food security
What are the foods commonly eaten in the community during this (dry) season?
(When listing the foods do not restrict the list)
Can you rank these foods according to their frequency of consumption? (Give 10
marks to the most frequently consumed food and 1 mark to the last frequently
consumed food. Mark the remaining foods on a scale between 1 and 10)
How does the diet change during the other (rainy) season and why? (Add or
subtract foods from the list. Rank the foods again)
What do you consider to be a good quality diet? (Rank the foods listed before
according to importance)
How are decisions being made within the household with regard to achieving food
security or responding to problems of attaining food security? Who makes
specific decisions? How are resources allocated to achieving food security? How
are resources reallocated in case of food insecurity?
What measures are taken by the community and households to prevent food
security problems from recurring?
What measures are needed by the community, households and individuals to
become more successful at preventing food security problems from recurring?

6.9. Tool No. 9. TRANSECT WALK

To understand life, livelihoods, risks and vulnerabilities of the people as well as the
resources of different kinds that support their lives demand a direct observation. It is not
possible to draw a better, deeper and more comprehensive analysis of their
vulnerabilities, risks and capacities by just sitting and interacting with a group of people
in a village. There is need to do a leisure, relaxed but focused walk in and around the
village, walk through their fields, spend great deal of time in directly observing the
resources of the village, interact with people on the basis of observation and learn
gradually from the people. Transect or joint walk, a participatory learning method
provides opportunity for such an analysis. Through transects one gets insights and
information into the nature and complexity of the existing scenario in a way that the
traditional approach does not provide.
Transect is different from other spatial tools like social and resource mapping. Transects
depicts a cross sectional view of environment and agro-ecological geographical systems
with various parameters including topography, land type, land usage, ownership, access,
soil type, vegetation, crops, problems, opportunities and solutions.
Transect helps intervening agencies to observe directly and to have a firsthand
knowledge about any location/ item/ situation/ condition.
1. It leads to in-depth probing of an area and intricacies of the issues involved.
2. It takes account of micro-environment (chambers) in a locality which tend to get
overlooked in maps.
3. It helps to directly observe, describe and cross-check points for discussion with
local community members.
4. It helps in concretizing discussions and demonstrates ability of local people with
local knowledge to show physical locations/ items while describing them verbally
or through maps
5. It also helps in improving communication links with local communities
6. Generate a trend in land use, changes in environment, natural resources use,
locations of risk from different hazards, etc
7. Identify changes that have occurred over time and space, identify the reasons for
changes taken place, and examine the implications and causes of these
changes.
8. It enables to reach outer limits of the territory, thus reduce the spatial bias that
often results because of bulk of activities are likely to be carried out in the
inhabited part of the community.
9. A transect consists of two sets of processes. A systematic walk by the facilitators
and the local community (key informants) to observe the nature-scope and
clarify doubts with them in order to arrive at a detailed understanding of the areaits topography, areas of vulnerability, risk and safer areas during hazards and
disasters, drainage flow, natural resources, entitlements, problems, opportunities
etc, as perceived by the community.
The second process is the production of the transect diagram depicting the cross-section
view of the walk route in terms of various parameters used for the walk with a matrix of
comparative analysis of zones across the selected parameters.

The Process
Pre-Transect walk preparation
1. Locate a group of local people having some knowledge of the area and who are
willing to walk with you for the exercise.
2. Explain the purpose of the transect to the people and involve them in the process
of decision making regarding the transect path to maximize the observing of
details of the locality. It is very important to take decision on the transect route,
number of transects and type of transect and the transect group. The social and
resource map drawn on the ground could help in deciding the transect route and
the type. The participants of the mapping exercise could be consulted to decide
on these factors.
3. Have discussions and arrive at the parameters according to which data is
collected during the walk.
4. Ensure that the timing is convenient for all the key informants including women to
participate in the walk.
5. Prepare a check list of data and information to be gathered during the transect
6. An area for transect/joint walk with local people is required to be within the
manageable limits of walking so that in-depth observations and discussions can
take place without such walk becoming tiresome. For large area involved,
multiple walk are required to be undertaken or the team can be divided into subgroups with its own guides/ community members. By walking different set routes,
the team can ensure that more area is covered and thus further reduce spatial
biases.
During the transect walk
Go along with the people at the prefixed time on the already decided transect
path. If the situation on the field demands so, do not hesitate to make
modifications. Also carry the checklist developed for setting the parameters and
preferably the resource map for the walk. The resource map will come handy to
make references during observations and discussions en route.
Ask questions to clarify things you are not clear about to the local people
accompanying the team. Listen carefully to what they say and amongst them.
Encourage them to explain during the walk. If necessary, stop at certain locations
for detailed discussions on the points emerging. It also gives the team a breather
and time to note down details.
During transect, there are a variety of chance encounters happen such as
shepherds, woodcutters, landless labour and so on. Do not avoid them. Speak to
them; interact with them on issues related to the problems or issues under the
study.
Similarly, observe the crops or any other biomass. Ask the people about the
relationship between productivity and the characteristic of their land and other
resources. One may ask the farmers to make a sketch map of their own field on
the ground, showing the problems and constraints in the map.
Collect and bring items which are interesting but are not familiar with and this
helps to refer to them in discussions later and also in documentation. If the team

has camera, capture key photographs for both for discussions and for
documentation.
After returning, draw a transect on a large sheet of paper. Let the local people
take lead in drawing the transect diagram. Use the notes of the team while
making the diagram.
Show the transect to others in the locality and ask them their views. Clarify
doubts.
This helps in triangulating the details.
Thank the participants for their active participation and time.

6.10. Tool No. 10. TIMELINE & TREND CHANGE

(HISTORICAL MAPPING)
The facilitators meet small groups of villagers and discuss with them the most important
events in the communitys past and prepare with the information a historical timeline
which serves as the base for further work. It is important to involve different groups of
the communities to get their usually different perspectives.
The time line with basic events can be used for focused discussions on problems, social
and technological innovations or on communities history of cooperation and activities
which helped them to solve in past problems successfully.
To understand the current circumstances faced by our partners, it is often very
important to analyse past events. A past conflict, the arrival of migrants into a
community, cutting down of trees, or examples of past events which may still
affect present circumstances.
A time line is a very easy way to chart such past events- and it can also be used
to discuss whatever partners future may look like .
Uses to insiders
Constructing a time line will give our partners an opportunity to identified past
events and to analyse how these events have shaped the current situation on
their community.
A time line can also lead to a useful discussion about likely a problems and
opportunities in the future: this might be relevant to any community action plan.
A time line drawn on the ground will foster participation from many people in the
community .
A time line can however give an opportunity for older people to hold center
stage during the exercise. Their contribution to the local community will be
enhanced and their knowledge better recognized.
Uses to outsiders
A time line will help outsider discover past events that partners consider
important in shaping the life of their community.

 Such a discussion can help outsiders facilitate planning seasons that take into
account lessons to be drawn from past events. This could include likely future
trends and whether these need to be addressed in any action planning.
A time line is a quick and straight forward tool to foster participation form a large
number of people, and to encourage older people to take part in community
discussions.
A time line can also be used specifically to create rapport with order people in the
community. The later, if allowed to take a prominent part in this exercise, will
have their knowledge valued.

Steps to follow
We first explain the purpose and the use of the tool, in particular why an
understanding of the past is important to analyse the present, using simple
examples.
We also need to identify people who are knowledgeable about the past, most
likely older people(making sure older women are also included).
We may wish to discuss a particular event or series of events ( political events ,
health epidemics, education- related events, etc), rather than the general
history of the community: the focus of the discussion has to be clear,
We can then draw a long line and ground with one end representing the distant
past and the other the future, with one arbitrary point on the line representing
now .
We then ask partners to place on the line ( preferably using a symbol) events that
everybody knows and can place chronologically (e.g. independence the arrival of
Amin in power, etc..). These will be used as markers.
The discussion can then be guided towards the topic at hand. Partners can be
asked to place on the line, in the right chronological order, various events that are
relevant (e.g. the dates, of the construction of the first primary school and the
storm that destroyed its roof if the topic is education).
You can ask partners to record the discussion, if possible, and help them
investigate what are the implications of this discussion for the present. This could
led to the identification of action points.
The time line could be copied on to paper for future reference.
Some Dos
By drawing along line on the ground, many people will be encouraged to take
part.
Do show the way, if need be, by selecting the first symbol (e.g. a pencil to
represent a creation of the first primary school.) partners will then use other
symbols to represent other events.

 Do encourage local partners to use symbols to represent events: this is

particularly important to draw older people in the discussion since they may not
be literate.
Do encourage participation of all age groups. The elderly are very resourceful to
talk about past events, while the middle aged and youth have more current
information.
Do encourage partners to discuss the future as well, not only past events.
To probe for further information after the time line or historical profile has been
drawn.
Do encourage participants to discuss lessons learnt as their history is being
recounted and to identify implications for the present and any future plans, by
focusing on the now and future sections of the line
And some Donts
Do not insist on all the dates along the line, which respondents might not know:
the chronology of events might often be sufficient to reconstruct a communitys
history. It is then better to questions such as: Did this event happen soon after
these floods you were telling us about?
Dont exclude older people to might mix up the chronology or be a little slow,
but possibly have unique experiences to recount.
Dont forget to record (or have recorded) the information for later use.
Trend Change:
To a great extent, the current circumstances faced by our partners are the
product of past events. Population may, for example, have increased, or water
sources dried up.
Trends change help us discuss past changes ( any made even likely future
trends) in areas that affect our partners lives (population, weather patterns,
disease incidence, etc.)
Trends change may also help us discuss the relationships between these
different factors, if any. Thus, population growth may, over the post generations,
have led to reduced tree over.
Uses to insiders
Using trends change allows our partners to identify important changes in their
community, to discuss when these changes have taken place, and the causes of
such changes.
Trends change may also highlight how changes in different factors are related to
each other: fewer tress, for instance, might have led overtime to springs drying
up.
Our partners can use the experience of changes in the past to plan for the future.
An analysis of the past will be often helps to focus on what needs to be done to
improve the future, by avoiding past mistakes, for instance!

Uses to outsiders
Trends change will help outsiders understand key changes that have affected
partners living conditions
This understanding will help in guiding discussions on planning activities for the
future.
Trends changes are also useful in establishing rapport, as an entry point
(especially with older people) .
Steps to follow
We first select 1, 2 or more indicators; e.g. settlement and forest cover. This
selection may be on the basis of prior information from within or outside the
community.
A diagram can then be drawn with our partners on the ground showing the years
and the trends.
We ask questions as we go along, charting the trends: when was the most,
when was the last, why?
We discuss with our partners weather this can change, why and how.
We can then discuss likely future trends and how the discussion can affect future
plans.
Once the discussion is complete, we can copy the diagram onto paper for future
reference.
Some Dos
Do clarify at the outset what trends or indicators you want to explore with
partners.
Do allow partners to introduce new indicators/trends as they go along: they may
be important to explain changes in the community.
Try to help partners to project past trends into the future.
Do use this tool to give an opportunity to older people to contribute to debates
and analysis.
Do encourage partners to discuss linkages between the different trends: this will
be a good step forward in analysis.
And some Donts
Dont worry too much about absolute accuracy: what matters are general trends
and how trends compare with each other.
Dont inhabit partners from discussing changes that you may not have thought
about at the outset.
Do not appear bored or judgmental. If people think you are genuinely interested
in their history, they will relax and talk.

6.11. Tool No. 11. To ASSESS THE PARTICIPATION

IN DECISION MAKING (of Men, Women and the
marginalized community)
1. Name of the exercise or activity: Decision Making Pattern in the family and community
2. Expected results:
Decision making pattern within the family and community will be known
Who takes decisions that have something to do with money and resources and
thus have implications on power relations will be known
Comparative relationship between male and female and the marginalized groups
in terms of decision-making and therefore the sharing of power will be surfaced.
3. Method: Exercise to be done with a group of Women / men / marginalized community
4. Process:
Together with the participants, list out the major decisions to be taken in running
the family or community. (the list given in the framework is only for reference and
it can be kept away by the facilitator and referred to later to ensure no major
decisions are left out). Make it as an interesting activity
Ask the participants who makes the decisions on the different aspects in a
decision-making scale, per-prepared.
While some decisions are the exclusive domains of men or women, for several
other decisions, a common answer (could be either taken) together or jointly.
This is only the beginning of the responses and not an end. Further probing must
be done to find out who has the final say and what is the role of the other
counterpart? In case there are different views in the group, it should be seen if
the group is equally divided in giving the different responses. If it is so, then both
responses should be recorded. If it is one or very few respondents presenting a
different picture to that of the group, it should be accordingly recorded as the
answer of a minority number of people.
Discuss further as necessary and as the situation permits as to why they think it
is the way that it is and note the responses separately.
The exercise could also be done in groups with the same sex and with mix group
(Women and men groups to compare the opinion and list the commonalities and
differences). It is better to do the exercise in different groups if any trends of
domination are visible.

Bring in the dimension of the marginalized group and conduct the same activity with
categorization being the marginalized group and the other groups.

6.12.Tool No. 12: Livelihoods Assessment 5 capitals:

PLPA Tool for Livelihoods Assessment at community level
Focused on 5 capitals in livelihood assets:
Basic understanding: Assets refer to the resource base of people. Assets are often
represented as a pentagon in the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF), consisting
of the following five categories: natural resources (also called natural capital), physical
reproducible goods (physical capital), monetary resources (financial capital),
manpower with different skills (human capital), social networks of various kinds (social
capital). These various categories cover the following types of issues and details:
Human capital: labour power, health and
nutritional status, skills and knowledge
Natural capital: access to land, water,
wildlife, flora, forest;
Social capital: refers to those stocks of
social trust, norms and networks that people
can draw upon to solve common problems. It
is mediated through kin networks and group
membership;
Physical capital: houses, vehicles, equipment, infrastructure livestock;
Financial capital: savings, gold/jewelry, access to regular income, net access to
credit, insurance.
Instructions to facilitate the tool during PLPA process at community level:
a) Linkages with other livelihoods analysis tools:
This tool should be integrated as part of other livelihood analysis tools facilitated during
PLPA process. The tool should be used to facilitate discussions in the focused group that
deals with livelihood issues of communities. The PLPA focused group discussing
livelihood issues starts with dialogues on livelihood strategies of communities, other
livelihood analysis tools like livelihood proportion piling, wealth ranking, livelihood
trends analysis and livelihoods services matrix.
The PLPA tool on Five Livelihood Capital Assets Analysis should be facilitated as a
concluding session of FGD in the livelihood group of PLPA. The tool helps to summarize
all learning points in livelihood FGD in a structured analytical way and provides
opportunities to put livelihood issues of community in a perspective.

Important: Try to refer Livelihood Capitals as Livelihood Resources, it is easy for

community members to get familiar with and relate with word resources. The word
capital can be understood differently- mainly wealth in monetary terms.
b) Introducing the tool among community:
Introduce the concept of 5 livelihood capitals to FGD members and explain the
significance of 5 capitals in the development of livelihood strategies. Let the FGD
members to internalize the concept, give few basic examples on how each capital asset
support livelihood development, explain scenarios that any positive or negative change
in the status of 5 livelihood capitals influences livelihood of people. (Example- huge
reduction in natural resources has a negative impact on livelihoods)
Once the concept is introduced to the community, ask what they think about the
relationship of these 5 livelihood capitals. Motivate community to give some examples on
how they see this relationship with their livelihoods over a period of time. (try to link the
discussion to the livelihood trend analysis done by the group there is a close
association of all 5 livelihood capitals with livelihood trends identified by the community)
Lastly, develop a consensus among community members that there is a strong
relationship with 5 livelihood capitals and the experience in the community shows that
the status of these 5 capitals has changed over a period. (With this understanding
developed, you are ready to move to the next level in facilitating the process.)
c) Analyzing status of 5 livelihood capitals in community:
The focus of the PLPA process through this tool is to facilitate discussions among
community to enable them to learn about the changing trends of livelihood and try to
establish an analytical understanding on 5 livelihood capitals. To put this concept in a
perspective, it will be good to do a qualitative analysis on the status of 5 livelihoods
capitals with a comparison of Past Situation and Present Status. Further, it is important
to introduce visioning of how the community would like to see the status of these 5
livelihood capitals in Future.
The qualitative analysis undertaken by the community should be viewed in quantitative
terms, there are different ways to quantify the information, However, it is important that
the process of quantifying the status of 5 livelihood capitals is done through community
participation and present community understanding and rational as per their perspective.
PLPA experience in Matarba community in Marsabit County:

Community members considered analyzing status of 5 livelihood capitals in the

past (Year-2000), present status (2013), and the way they want to see the change after 5
years (2018).

The status of the livelihood capitals was quantified on a rating scale of 10 (1 =

Least and 10 = Highest degrees of status).

First, facilitation of the qualitative data presentation was done following the table

1 given below. The community identified different characteristics to determine the status
of each livelihood capitals on a time scale (2003, 2013 and 2018). After analyzing
qualitative information, community give scores for each livelihood capitals by using the
below given table 2 index:

Community members considered analyzing status of

5 livelihood capitals in the past (Year-2000), present
status (2013), and the way they want to see the
change after 5 years (2018).

Table 1: Qualitative data on 5 livelihood capitals in Matarba community

Livelihood
capitals
Physical
capital
(infrastruct
ure)

Status in 2000

Present status 2013

Vision 2018

No electricity
No telephones
The
roads
were narrow

Financial
capital

Electricity to reach every household

Communal tractors
Oxen for crop farming
Modern plough
Soil block making tools
Hay baling boxes
Livestock drug store in the area
Local turnery for leather making
Tools for breaking stones
We envision a situation where poverty and dependency
are eradicated

Awareness creation in accessing financial support

Group revolving funds

Enough grace period for the poor before interests are

charged on loans

Reduced interests on loans

Increased financial support for the needy e.g. old and

disabled

Natural
capital

No
financial
institution except KCB

of the
better

Human
capital

The situation
forest was

Rains
were
more frequent

There
were
more
lands
for
livestock/crop
production

No
village
polytechnics

Less access
to education

Currently there are a number of

There is electricity
The road is under construction
There are mobile phones

financial institutions but there is lack of

awareness on financial services

Interest rates are high

There is fear of losing household

assets which are normally used to secure the
funds

Repayment of the funds is usually

designed for mama mboga type of
business where sales and returns are made
quickly. Most of the businesses in this
location are not compatible with this design

Excessive destruction of forest by

humans

Drying up of the forest

Use of wrong jikos (stove) leading to

excessive use of firewood

Finally the forest was closed

Lack of enough water

Free and compulsory education

Education in health and nutrition has
improved

No improvement in skill development

A forestation
Tree nurseries for small scale farmers
Tree planting made compulsory for every household
Stop partitioning of land (this reduces productivity)
Piped water for everyone (plan for a borehole is
underway initiated by development bank)

Tanks for every household (minimum 15 liters)

Fencing of national park to keep wildlife in

Formation of forest action group

Youngsters trained in carpentry, masonry, leather making

and other skills

Opening of village polytechnics

Training in health and sanitation

Social
capital

Traditional
institutions were more
powerful (elders, clan
cohesion)

Busa-gonofa:
clans members used
to assist each other
when faced by natural
calamities and loss of
livelihoods

High rates of
school drop-outs

There
were
few secondary schools
in the county

Weakened traditional institutions

Several committees are present now
but not as powerful as traditional institutions
used to be

Visions:

More self-help groups

Village elders to be given power; formation of village

courts

The village elders some modern laws and empower the

chiefs

Capital for self-help groups

Well trained village health committees

Training of more community health workers

Fight against jiggers and poor nutrition given attention
Improved health facilities
Land for a bigger health centre
Education made mandatory
Girl child education improved
Discouragement of early marriage
Building of drug rehabilitation centre
Ban locally produced alcohol and underage chewing of

Miraa

Table 2: Community scoring on 5 capital livelihood assets

Livelihood capitals
Status in
Present status
2000
2013
(Score)
(Score)
Physical capital
3
5
(infrastructure)
Financial capital
3
4
Natural capital
4
2
Human capital
3
5
Social capital
8
4

Vision
2018
(Score)
7
6
5
9
9

Presentation of 5 livelihood capitals pentagons: Matarba community (this was developed

for PLPA report)

6.13. Tool No.13. Guidelines for Participatory

Community Action Plan (Community Master Plan
and Community Action Plan):
Community Vision Mapping:
Vision map is used to depict the future in line with the aspirations of the local people.
Helping people to think about the situation in which they would like to be in the future
should be the starting point of any process for livelihood development. It provides the
reference point around which they can assess options and make the choices that will
most effectively contribute to their livelihood development. The process of visioning
helps people to think, not about specific actions and possessions they will have in the
future, but about the conditions that these actions will create for them.
Communitys visions for the future will reflect not just their own personal aspirations for
improvements, but also their wider priorities. The process of visioning requires facilitation
to encourage people to develop visions that are challenging, and based on peoples
strengths and past success rather than their problems and weaknesses, both for people
and for the community as a whole.
Purpose of vision mapping
To develop challenging visions for the communities living in hazard prone areas
which are based on their own strengths and past successes;
To build consensus for change, within common interest groups and within the
community;
To identify those visions that is shared by the community and requires community
action to achieve.
Everybody has different visions for the future. Building visions first of all with groups of
people with common interests and common characteristics creates an environment
where people have the confidence to participate and can reflect on both their individual,
and the groups, strengths and potential.

Working in small peer groups can also build recognition that people have common
elements in their visions and a feeling that they are not a lone voice. This can help to
create confidence and build capacity to articulate ideas and aspirations and this in turn
can play an important role in enabling people to participate effectively in larger meetings,
such as community meetings.
The community visioning process, where representatives of these groups participate,
should be focused on addressing those elements of the visions of different groups that
are common and that either affect, or require action by, the community as a whole.
These may include actions such as health care, access to education, sanitation facilities
or local infrastructure.
Group Vision Tree Process:
The PLPA facilitators should encourage the participants to recount a time in their
life where they experienced success (e.g., a personal achievements like new job
or income) or anytime where they felt happy about something like, child birth,
marriage, building a house etc.,). At this stage it is important to give participants
time to think because this is not a usual questions the outsiders, especially
NGOs ask.
As participants recount their stories, the facilitators should elicit using their
facilitating skills.
The individual strengths that have been shown;
Friends' and neighbours' strengths;
The conditions/factors that helped bring about their success.
As the strength and supporting conditions are uncovered, the facilitators should
clearly record them for all to see.
The next step is:
PLPA Facilitators introduce the vision tree and describe how this represents what the
participants have and how they would like to grow and need to mention that:
The roots are not only strengths of the groups as well as the individuals within
the groups, but also of the community around them. You can give an example
also.
The trunk shows the conditions that can enable success;
The fruit of the trees represent the vision that the groups have had some of
them are specific to their groups, and some require action by the whole
community you can give example.
The leaves on the tree are the contributions.
Place the strengths that the group has demonstrated in the first stage on the
roots of the vision tree.
Place the enabling conditions on the trunk of the tree and help the participants to
reflect on their stories from the first stage.
Ask participants to think individually about their own or their group's best situation
in the future (a good question to help people with this may be: when you imagine
yourself in the future, what is the best thing you see yourself doing?).

 Give participants to time to think;

Encourage the participants to think holistically about their livelihoods.

Ask participants to present their vision to the group either collectively or individually. The
facilitator can help participants to think by:
Probing;
Giving examples of yourself;
All participants recount their visions put them on the tree.
Once completed, the facilitators should help the participants to review the trees that they
have created.
Identifying contributions towards visions:
PLPA Facilitators ask participants to identify how the individuals and the group
could contribute to the visions. It may help to:
Show people how their strengths and experience could contribute with examples;
Give people time to discuss;
Review their strengths and the conditions that lead to that success.
Record the participants suggested contributions in a way that is accessible to
them. Attach the participant's contributions to the group vision tree as they
suggest them. This can help them to visualize the leaves growing on the tree.
To conclude the session, the facilitators should ask the participants if they see
any activities that they could do together to contribute to the visions with
immediate effect. When groups identify actions (e.g., cleaning the school,
repairing the feeding center etc.,) the facilitators should help where possible. This
type of response can be a very effective way of building the confidence and
enthusiasm required for the coming implementation stages.

Community Vision Tree process:

When the PLPA facilitation team has undertaken visioning exercise with all the commoninterest groups, a larger community meeting should be arranged for the groups and
community to come together to identify community visions. At the community vision
meeting, the common interest groups will be able to participate with confidence and
present to the wider community who they are, what they have (strengths and capacity),
where they want to go and how they can contribute to this effort. This provides a much
more positive and constructive position for identifying and building consensus around
those elements of the visions that are common, and which either affect, or require action
by, the community as a whole. These may include actions such as health care, access
to education, sanitation facilities or local infrastructure, which is fundamental to creating
the conditions for effective livelihood enhancement and diversification. Developing and
sharing a vision of where a community wants to go as a whole will also stimulate
community cohesion and momentum for positive change.
The PLPA facilitators team should help the common interest groups to nominate
representatives to present their visions at the larger community meeting. It may be
necessary for the filed teams to work with the group representatives to help them to

prepare for the community level meeting. The structure and process for the meeting is
outlined below.
Presenting the group visions:
After a brief introduction and a recap of the process so far, the PLPA facilitators
should invite the group representatives in turn to explain their vision tree to the
meeting. The group representatives should:
1. Introduce themselves;
2. Explain the background of their group, including why they are a group and what
they have in common;
3. Perhaps tell one story from their starting stage.
Group representatives should then explain their vision tree by:
1. Talking about the strength that the group has identified;
2. Show how they are linked to different visions;
3. Explain the visions, and make clear which ones are specific to the group
and which they think are community visions;
4. Explain the contributions that the groups feel it can make to achieving
those visions.
Once the group representatives have finished explaining their vision trees, ask all the
participants to take time to walk around and look at each other's vision trees and discuss
them.
Building a community Vision Tree:
Explain that there is no question of community visions being 'more important'
than group- specific ones, but simply that they involve the community and cannot
be achieved by groups alone. Reassure participants that their group-specific
visions are as important as the community visions.
Transfer the community visions identified by groups onto the community vision
tree and consolidate those visions that are similar or the same. Celebrate.
To start the process of planning the people at the meeting should be asked to
reflect on the common visions and their strengths and identify ways that they can
contribute to the achievement of those visions.
Identifying planning groups:
Facilitate agreement from representatives in these planning groups during the
next stage of the activity. Those who participate in the planning groups may or
may not have participated in the common interest groups' visioning process.
However, all should be aware of the visioning process and in agreement with the
particular visions for which they are being asked to plan.
PLPA Facilitators identify the process for engaging with groups to undertake the
planning phase.
Identifying immediate action:
PLPA Facilitators should ask the people in the meeting if there is anything that they can
do immediately. Where activities are suggested, the facilitators should get agreement as
well as assist where required.

Strategies need to be developed:

To explore the possible ways of achieving the visions with people;
To outline achievable actions that the groups/community can take to pursue the
vision;
To give a sense of ownership and responsibility to the community about
achieving their visions.
Characteristics of a Good Strategy Development Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

High level of community/stakeholder contribution: we are just facilitating;

Building on their strengths and understanding their own capabilities;
Realistic, practical and consistent with culture and norms;
Results in the development of clear options for people to assess;
Identifies steps and individuals who can take responsibility for actualizing them.

Community Master plan:

Visions

Elements of vision

Pathways/ Steps/Activities to
reach the elements of visions

Community Development Action Plan:

The next step for the community and the PLPA facilitators team will be to think in greater
details about how to achieve the community visions, by using the people's own
resources and by mobilizing resources from outside where required. The important thing
is that the people will be now be in a better position to seek out the most appropriate
support and not just accept whatever is on offer from donors, projects etc.,
Where the communities have developed their visions, the process of identifying options
for action to achieve those visions can be complex. The role of the PLPA facilitators at
this stage to help the participants to undertake a systematic process of assessing and
selecting opportunities or options for action to achieve livelihoods enhancement. The
options that are selected will form the basis for more detailed planning, that is called
community action plan. It is important that the facilitators encourage the participants to
think about the different options in a detailed manner to turn the visions into reality. The
facilitators help the participants to break down the visions into pathways and identified
options to move along these pathways.
The process of developing detailed plans with the participants and relevant outsiders,
may the service providers should continue the process of building mutual respect and
understanding, thus contributing to more effective relationships. This will help to ensure

that the participants have ownership over the implementation of the activities.
Process Guidance

Pre-meeting preparation:
Identify groups to undertake strategy development process; it will be more
appropriate who were involved in developing the master plan;
Prepare the facilitation team;
Consider the specific vision that will be addressed;
Understand livelihood diversity/resources/access to resources,
Outline people or group strengths,
Outline past successes & other revise scoped opportunities,
Outline livelihood linkages,
Outline support mechanisms and services for that livelihood,
Outline the factors that have helped and inhibited livelihood change.
In the meeting
Objectives
To find each component of the vision/simplify/breakdown.
To recall/develop with the group the vision tree.
To explore the pathways for achieving for each vision in a focus group meeting.
Process
Focus on a specific vision that has been developed for the community;
Help them to describe the vision in more detail elements, components,
characteristics;
Explain that each of these components represents the end of a pathway;
Walk participants down each of these pathways, describing what they meet
along the way:
1. What have you got that can help you travel along the pathway? peoples
contributions, capacities, strengths;
2. Different ways of travelling down the road the choices / the elements
in each strategy consider the scoping of potential exercise for ideas
about different options for livelihood development;
3. What can help you on your journey? enabling factors;
4. Who can you travel with? - identify key stakeholders to be involved;
5. What obstacles & threats are you likely to meet?
6. Who or what can help you deal with those obstacles and threats?
service providers, supporting agencies;
7. Why havent you already made this trip? highlight the factors inhibiting
changes now;

8. What are you leaving behind? What are the risks associated with
undertaking this journey?
Use peoples past successes/highlight their current strengths in order to build
confidence of the group in their abilities;
Use past failure / problems to illustrate obstacles and threats;
Once the groups have analysed the different choices that they have to make to
achieve their vision encourage them to share these with their friends and
families;
The responsibility for moving forward should rest with the people themselves
Structure of the Tree
Vision
statement

Vision
statement

The tree is made up of three elements:

Roots: The strengths of the people.
Trunk: The conditions that have enabled success
in the past and so may be required for success in
the future.
Leaves: The contribution they can make or
mobilize.
Fruits: The visions of people that are based on
strengths and past success.

Vision
statement

Vision
statement
Vision
statement

Vision
statement

Vision
statement
Vision
statement

Vision
statement

Vision
statement
Enabling
conditions
Enabling
conditions
Enabling
conditions

Enabling
conditions

strengths
strengths

strengths
strengths

Enabling
conditions

Enabling
conditions

Enabling
conditions

strengths
strengths

strengths

strengths

strengths

strengths

The vision tree should be constructed from the roots to the enabling factors to the
visions, helping people to appreciate the process they are moving through.

2.Format for Community Development Action Plan

Responsibilities

Visions

Pathway
s/
Steps/Ac
tivities to
reach the
elements
Elements of visions Estimate
of visions

What
people
want to
contribut
e

What the
communi
ty/ CBOs
want to
contribut
e

Types of
services
the
partners
might
contribut
e

Who will
link them

Start
of time

Measures
How do I
know it
works or I
have
accomplish
ed my goal

Once the implementation process begins, the role of the PLPA facilitators team will
change. During the appreciative discovery and planning phases, the PLPA facilitators
would have taken a leading role in catalyzing people, encouraging them and guiding
them. While you would have operated in a fully participatory way, many of the activities
undertaken so far will have required considerable intervention by the facilitators to
ensure that different stakeholders have participated, that the momentum has been
maintained and that the desired outcomes have been achieved. If you have facilitated
these initial processes (appreciative discovery, visioning, and planning) during the
implementation phase you should be able to take less of leading role and become
advisors or brokers
.
This change of role is very important. Handing over the stick, the responsibilities, help
them to implement on their own. It is not desirable to that the facilitators implement on
their behalf. If the people involved cannot manage those activities themselves it is
indicative that these activities may not be sustainable in the long term.
Of course, people need support- technical information and training, financial support
etc., - and, as part of the planning carried out in the planning phase, people should have
identified the agencies, institutions and service providers that they need to support them
in order to achieve their visions. The PLPA facilitation team may help people to make
first contacts with these supporting agencies, but it must be left up to the individuals and
groups involved in implementing their activities.
The PLPA facilitators will have very important roles to play during the implementation
phase, and you will need to concentrate on those roles and not be trapped into helping
with the micro-management of individual activities. The key roles for the PLPA facilitators
during the implementation phase is that:

Supporting the poor

Facilitating capacity building
Building an enabling environment
Improving linkages to various service providers, may be market also.

The importance of the PLPA facilitators taking a more back-seat role during the
implementation stage as described above. However, while this may be regarded as the
general rule for the implementation phase, there will be exceptions. PLPA facilitation
teams will find that some groups in the communities or area where they are working will
have acquired sufficient momentum, confidence and enthusiasm from the proceeding
phase to be able to proceed with limited support and intervention from the team. But for
some, and particularly poor, marginal and vulnerable groups, the process of taking
action will be more of a challenge.
Much of the process in the appreciative discovery and planning phases is aimed at
ensuring that these groups and able to participate as effectively as everyone else in the
community. However, the outsiders (NGOs) as providers treated people as beneficiaries
and receivers, poverty and its long term effects on people's confidence, belief in
themselves and capacity to take positive action cannot be overcome quickly. The
poorest groups, such as older people, those suffering from disabilities of one type or
another, widows or marginal tribal or migrant groups, are liable to need particular
attention and support when putting their plans into action; PLPA facilitators need to be
aware that there are no shortcuts when dealing with the poor. They will often require

patience and continual support in order to make the changes they have identified, and
facilitators will need to spend a disproportionate amount of time with these groups during
the implementation phase to encourage them and help them to keep on track. This will
often mean going back over territory already covered during the appreciative discovery
and planning phases, and using this process to reaffirm their capacities and strengths
and help them to gain the confidence they need. Once implementation of activities
begins, it is very easy for facilitators, and the agencies that they have helped to bring
into the community to provide services and support, to focus on the 'winners' the
groups and individuals who will obviously be able to achieve quick results. The role of
the facilitators should be to ensure that the groups that are moving more slowly, and are
having greater difficulty, receive the support they need to keep moving, even if they
move at a much slower pace than other groups in the communities.

6.14. Tool No. 14. Daily Evaluation and Planning

Meeting
Description:
Every afternoon the PLPA team comes together to reflect the process of day, to present
the results gathered, to evaluate the results and to plan for the next day.
Objectives:
To present the results of the day.
To summarise and structure the results according to the key questions and
according to related Strength and Weaknesses inside the community and
according to Opportunities and Threats identified outside the community.
To compare the results of the different groups and to identify differences and
correspondences.
To enable the PLPA team to elaborate new relevant key questions and a
programme for the next day.
How to facilitate the Process:
Before starting the Evaluation and Planning Meeting:
1. The PLPA team-leader prepares the matrix on a big sheet of paper. Fill in the
fields: Type of group, Tool, Team and key questions. The PLPA team-leader is
also responsible to moderate the team meeting.
2. Every team (PLPA Facilitator and Note-taker) that facilitated one group fills in a
short and summarised version of the results gathered during the event. This
information is written in the field: Main Findings and should contain answers to
the key questions.
3. Other information that relates to the key questions is structured according to
Strength and Weaknesses inside the community and according to Opportunities
and Threats identified outside the community.
Strength inside the Community could be: positive characteristics and advantages of a
situation or issue, locally available potentials, capacities, resources, experience,
knowledge, related successes
Weaknesses inside the Community could be: negative characteristics and
disadvantages of a situation or issue, constraints, difficulties, problems, shortcomings

Opportunities outside the Community could be: Factors, situations that can benefit,
enhance or improve the situation or issue.
Threats outside the Community could be: Factors, situations that can hinder the issue
or situation.
All important additionally gathered information is written in the last row: Additional
information Are all key questions answered sufficiently? Which information is still
missing?
During the Meeting:
Every team that facilitated one event presents their findings using the respective
row of the Evaluation matrix that they had filled in.
After all teams have presented their work of the day, the whole PLPA team
discusses the results and identifies the Open Questions of the day which still
need to be answered.
Questions to guide the discussion could be:
Are all key questions answered sufficiently? Which information is still missing?
Are there new questions which have to be answered during the following days?
Are some results of the different groups contradicting? What has still to be
clarified?
Are some based on the discussion any newly developed questions planned for the
next day.
Good to talk about how people experienced the whole day. It will always be good
to take enough time so that everybody can express what he or she liked or did
not like about the day and the process.
Material needed:
BIG Sheets of paper to draw the evaluation matrix before the event, markers, the filled in
documentation sheets of all activities (PLPA tools) of the Day.

6.15. Tool No. 15. Community Sharing:

Objectives:
To present the main learnings and conclusions of the appraisal to the community at
large.
To provide an opportunity to the community for discussion of the main findings of
the appraisal.
To reach a consensus on the way forward and the roles and responsibilities of the
community, the community support staff and the project.
Methods:
Presentation
Group Discussion

Target groups:
Organize a meeting with the community at large, ensuring that men and women are
equally represented, as well as people from different socio-economic groups and ages.
Facilitators:
All PLPA-team members
Key Questions:
What are views of the community on the main findings of the appraisal.
In anticipation of project approval and implementation, what actions can the
community and the community support staff already initiate, using locally
available resources, to start address some of the actions for the visions raised
during the appraisal.
Procedure:
The PLPA-field team Leader presents an overview of the activities of the PLPA
days.
Each PLPA-team community member presents the main learnings of the PLPA
exercises.
Following the presentation of all learnings, the plenary should discuss among
themselves the outcomes of the PLPA and identify what actions could be
undertaken by themselves (young, old, men, women, leaders, support staff) to
address some of the identified visions within limits of the local resource base
(human, financial, natural, social, institutional, etc.). PLPA team members may
facilitate this exercise, allowing maximum participation from the group members,
and using the various elements of the visions as entry points.

The PLPA team, one of the group members leads the facilitation and the
community development action plan.

The PLPA team along with the group members facilitate the commitment of the
CDAP to follow up on the process initiated through the PLPA. Namely, the first
step to following the approval of the CDAP would be the initiation of a
Community into Action process, building on the confidence and resulting in the
implementation of their action plan.

Vote of thanks and ask them how we can go about during the next visit.

Materials:
Flip charts with the Main Questions, Findings and Conclusions of the various exercises
prepared prior to the meeting.
Flip charts for documenting the group discussions.

7.0 Conclusions
PLPA is linked with a distinctive attitudes, behaviour and approach. "We are not
teachers or transferors of technology, but instead conveners, catalysts, and
facilitators. We have to unlearn, and put our knowledge, ideas and categories in
second place. We enable local people to do their own investigations, analysis,
presentations, planning and action, to own the outcome, and to teach us, sharing their
knowledge. We "hand over the stick" and facilitate "their" appraisal, presentation,
analysis, planning and action, monitoring and evaluation. They do many of the
things we thought only we could do - mapping, diagramming, counting, listing, sorting,
ranking, scoring, sequencing, linking, analyzing, planning, monitoring and evaluating. "A
PLPA" is a term, which many PLPA practitioners and trainers consider should be
reserved for a process, which empowers local people.
Three common elements found in a PLPA approach are:
Individual responsibility and judgment exercised by facilitators
A commitment to equity (especially the excluded, deprived, women..)
Recognition and celebration of diversity Enough. You can add to this list, using
your own best judgment.
The Core of PLPA? (but make up your own):
PLPA, as has evolved, is all this and more. Some of the "more" is:
Facilitating - they do it: empowering and enabling local people to do more or all
of the investigation, mapping, modeling, diagramming, listing, counting,
estimating, ranking, scoring, analysis, presentation, planning...themselves, and to
share and own the outcome. Analysis by them, shared with us.
Our behaviour and attitudes: for this, the primacy of our behaviour and
attitudes, and of rapport, more important than methods, - asking local people to
teach us, respect for them, confidence that they can do it, handing over the
stick...
A culture of sharing - of information, of methods, of food, of field experiences
(between NGOs, Government and local people)
Critical self-awareness about our attitudes and behaviour; doubt; embracing
and learning from error; continuously trying to do better; building learning and
improvement into every experience (Source: IDS)
7.1. The eight stages in Problem solving with PLPA:
Rapport formation:
The objective of this phase is to form a relationship in which the villagers feel
comfortable with you and your role as facilitator. No progress is possible if you fail to

establish a good and clear relationship at the beginning. A sign for this is when the client
starts to tell you about the problem with a level of honesty and depth that goes beyond
that which you would usually expect from your normal relationship.
Understanding:
The objective of this phase is to understand the problem from the perspective of your
partner, and for the partner to know that you do. You can find out when you have
achieved this objective by asking the partner. Without such an understanding any
attempt to move forward will be resisted by the client.
Re-framing:
Your objective in reframing is to be critical partner in reflecting the situation and the
problem. You encourage the client to see the problem from a perspective that makes its
management possible. When the partner is in a more manageable perspective they will
be ready to move to the next stage.
Solution searching:
The objective of this stage is to identify a type of solution. You will arrive at this point
having explored various solution types. Progress to the next stage depends on the
partner being committed to a particular type of solution.
Solution planning and commitment development:
After identifying a type of solution your objective in this stage is to plan a specific solution
and to see it through to a successful conclusion. The actors have to express their
commitment to the solution.
Implementation:
The obvious objective is to carry out the plan generated in the previous stage.
Specifically your role here is to help the people with their motivation, focus and
persistence.
Evaluation and adjustment:
Whether you are pushed into this stage through the situation or your partner, the time
will come when the implementation as planned has been completed or has reach an
impasse. This is the time when, together, you begin to evaluate and adjust the plan, if
necessary. The objectives in this stage can vary from abandoning a plan the partner has
lost faith in, or is creating new problems to fine-tuning a minor aspect of the plan.
Ending and consolidation:
Now a particular problem has been overcome, it is wise to help the partner consolidate
the problem solving skills they have learned or the solutions they have adopted. A
sensible option is to put the client in a position where they can solve the same or similar
problems if they emerge or re-emerge. Seldom will you realize that in one stage
something emerges because in an early stage things have not been handled properly.
You will face often strong need to jump back and forth amongst the stages. Sometimes
some stages have to be combined, because the feedback between them is so strong
that they are clearly functioning as one single stage.

7.2 Annex
Participatory Learning, Planning and Action
1. Checklist of exercises
Participatory Learning Planning and Action check-list used in PAD

I. Physical profile: Establish the physical community setting;

Tools

Housing:
How many houses are in the village?
What types of housing: thatch, iron roof, other?
How are houses clustered?
What are the patterns of housing?
What is the quality of the houses?
Are they permanent or temporary?

Social and
resource mapping

Physical features:
How many rivers in the area?
Where are the hills/mountains?
How many other bodies of water?
What kind of vegetation exists?

Social and
Resource
mapping

Estates:
How many estates are in the area?
Where are they operating?
What commodities are produced?

Social and
Resource
mapping

Village access:
What public transport exists: bus services, horse, other?
How many smaller local markets? Where?
Where are social services located, such as health centres, mission
hospitals, Government hospitals, schools, traditional healers, birth
attendants?

FGD and Social

and Resource
mapping

Infrastructure:
How many roads are in the area?
What is the condition of these roads?
How many boreholes in the area? Where are boreholes located?
How many shallow wells are in the area? How many are protected,
unprotected? What are the other sources of water?
What are the other sources of transport?
How is the infrastructure affected by seasonal variation?

Resource &
social mapping
Seasonal
calendar

II. Population profile: Establish population characteristics

5. Population:
What is the total population of the village?
How many men are there? How many women?
How many under-5 children? Youth?
How many are permanent residents?
How many are transient? How do people define transient?
Why does the community have transit residents?
How or why this is a benefit or a constraint for the community?

Social mapping,
Participatory HH
card, FGD.

6. Households:
How many male-headed households?
Female headed households? Why are they female-headed?
Is the man away working? Is the woman in a polygamous relationship?
Is the woman the main income earner in the household?
How does the community support the female headed households?
What are the strategies?

Social mapping
FGD

7. Age:
What are the ages of people in village by sex/gender?

Social mapping
and participatory
HH cards

8. Education:
What are the levels of literacy by age and sex?
What is the enrollment in schools of boys and girls?
Where do people learn?
What are the strategies for paying for secondary school?

Social mapping,
HH Cards, FGD,
Matrix scoring
and ranking

9. Orphans:
Why does the community have orphans?
What are strategies for dealing with orphan population?

Social mapping,
FGD

10. General health:

What are the rates for stunting and wasting of under-5 children (check
growth monitoring cards)?
What is the approximate under-5 mortality rate?
How often do mothers attend u-5 clinics; why/why not?
What are their perceptions of the services?
What is the incidence & prevalence of disease for the whole community?
What are the main diseases? How does this vary by season?
What do people do in the case of, which disease? Who decides? Do
people rely on traditional medicine or western medicine? What
combination? What are the main causes of death (malnutrition, witchcraft,
diseases)?
What is the community knowledge of health?
What are the strategies adopted for dealing with health problems as they
arise?

Sickness action
matrix, SSI,
Preference
ranking, Disease
trend analysis

11. Environmental health:

Where does water supply originate?
How does water supply vary by season?
What are the implications on time for collecting water?
What are peoples perceptions of quantity/quality of water supply?
What is the condition of peoples homes/shelters?
How is rubbish disposed? How is waste water disposed?

Resource mapping,
Transect walk, Key
informants
seasonal diagram,
preference ranking.

12. Care:
Who is perceived as needing specific attention in the community?
What kind of care? How is it organised?
Are there chronically ill/handicapped patients in the community?
What is the impact on the household? How do they cope?
Who takes care of the children when the parents or mother are working?
What care is provided?

Key informants
SSI and FGD

III. Socio-political profile: Establish socio-cultural, political makeup, how the

community is organised and how roles are shared among members.
4. Ethnic groups:
What is the ethnic makeup of the community?
How many of each?
How does the variation of ethnic groups affect the cohesion and relationships in
the community, if at all?

Social mapping,
FGD

5. Traditional leadership:
Who is the traditional authority?
Who is the group village headman?
Who is the headman of the community?
What kind of traditional leadership does each offer? Is it a strong, positive
leadership? If not, why? What kind?
What is the relationship between the traditional leadership, the formal
leadership? What is the political and social role of each?

Venn diagrams,
FGD

6. Family structures:
Family size HH
How are households/families organised?
card, Social
What kind of extended families exist? What kind of support do extended families mapping, FGD
offer?
How do extended families link to individual households?
Who are the decision-makers in the household
How does decision-making vary by gender, wealth & the number of wife in line
(if husband has many wives)?
What is degree of intra-household consultation & decision-making?

7. Tradition & cultural beliefs:

FGD Key
What are the different religions in the community? How many different churches informants,
and masque exist in the area?
Preference ranking
Where are they located? How many people from the village go to each one?
Are there missions supporting the churches or masque? which ones?
What are some of the church or masque activities? What are the traditional
belief systems outside of the church or masque?
How prevalent is witchcraft?
How are belief systems used as a means of social control?
Does this have a positive or negative impact?
8. Social organisations:
Who are the custodians?
Who organises initiations?
What kind of ceremonies take place?
What other religious organisations exist? How many? What other organisations
exist, such as market clubs, committees, IGAs? How many? Are there other
development clubs? Does the village have a traditional court? How are cases
arbitrated? How are conflicts resolved? How are community organisations
started? How they are organised? How they are directed? How are people
mobilized to take part?

Venn diagrams,
Key informants
FGD, Pairwise
ranking

9. Development committees:
Does the village have a village development committee (VDC)?
How many members? Who are the members?
What is the function of the committee?
What activities has it undertaken?
Is the VDC successful in undertaking activities? Why/why not?
Is the village part of an area development committee (ADC)?
Does one exist in the area? How many members? Who in this community is a
member? What has been the contact with the ADC?
How does the ADC function?
What activities has it undertaken? Were they successful?

Venn diagrams,
FGD, Preference
ranking, Pairwise
ranking

10. Development:
What are the projects in community organised by: Government, church, NGOs,
donors?
How do people respond to/view development/development projects?
What does development mean to people?
How is development valued in the community?

Venn diagram,
FGD

11. Government:
Which ministries have extension services available in community?
Are they male or female? How does this impact their work?
How do people view the different extension services? What activities? Are
extension services effective? Respected? Accountable to the people? How
much do people understand about the accountability of the extension services?

Venn diagrams,
Key informants,
FGD (views of men
& women should
be sought
separately on
politics)

12. Political parties:

What parties exist in the community?
Who is the member of parliament for the community?
What is his/her party affiliations?
What issues does he/she promote?
How do people view the political parties?
How often does the MP visit the community?
What is the history of politics in the community?
What have the politicians done to help the community?
What have politicians done to hinder the community?
What is the impact of the current political process on decision-making?
Do women play a significant or special role in affiliating with political parties? If
so, what kind of role?

Venn diagram,
FGD, Preference
ranking,

13. Task and time allocation of household members:

What activities are undertaken during the day?
Who does what? (including children)
How does the schedule vary according to seasonal variations of productive
activities?

Daily calendar,
FGD, SSI
(including children).

14. How do people adapt to the changing political, ecological, cultural and
FGD, Key
economic changes in the community institutions and authority structure? informants
IV. Livelihoods profile: Establish economic activities carried out by people in the
community disaggregated by gender.
6. Employment:
What are the professional/skilled opportunities in the village?
How many and who is employed in a technical job? What kind?
How many people are employed are civil servants, such as nurses, teachers?
How many people are employed in private industry, in trade, commerce,
manufacturing, processing?
How many people are other local service providers, such as traditional birth
attendants?
What type of estate sector employment is offered?
How many people are employed by the estate sector?
What times of the year do they work? How are they paid?
How many people are employed by menial labour?
When do people do menial? Why? What activities? Who does menial in the
family? How many men/women? Who cares for the family while members are
doing menial?
What are peoples knowledge of employment opportunities in the community or
surrounding area?
How have employment opportunities changed in the last five to thirty years?
What are peoples aspirations for employment?

Seasonal calendar,
Key informants
Income &
expenditure charts,
FGD

ix.
Private enterprise:
What type or opportunities offered for private enterprise? Who offers?
What do people know about opportunities for private enterprise?
How have opportunities changed for private enterprise in the context of
changing political situations?
What kind of businesses are people wanting to begin?
What are their aspirations?

Key informants,
FGDs

x.
Farming:
How many people are subsistence farmers?
How many people are commercial farmers?
What are the types of cash crops grown? How much is sold?
What kinds of crops are people growing for cash now that they would not have
done in the past?
What crops did people use to grow that they never did before?
How has farming been changed or adapted to the changing ecological climate?
Do more people want to farm than have access to land?
What are the alternatives to farming in the village?
What are peoples aspirations for farming/what vision do they have for
agricultural production?

Farming practice
FGD, Income &
expenditure charts,
Key informants,
Pairwise ranking

xi.
Food production:
How many kitchen gardens are in the community?
How are they managed? How much land is available in the area for cultivation?
Staple crops grown: how/where are staples grown, how much sold, how much
grown how much stored?
Vegetables grown: how/where are vegetable grown, how much sold, how much
grown, how much stored?
Fruits grown: how/where are fruits grown, is growing deliberate, how much sold,
how much grown, how much stored?
What drought-resistant crops are deliberately grown?
How has the production of food changed over the last 30 years?
What are the seasonal harvest patterns? What kinds of information do people
have about food production?
How is this affected by local knowledge or experiments?
How have people adopted production to the changing ecological & economic
environment?
Do people produce more or less food now than they did before? Why/why not?
What kinds of foods would people like to grow that they do not?
What are farmers research, knowledge and practice in production of food crops?
What are the social mechanisms that lead to the different responses of the
community?
Who makes decisions about what to grow?
What type of inter-household consultation exists in decision-making?

Resource mapping,
Crop pattern and
planning matrix,
Seasonal calendar,
FGD, Preference
ranking, pairwise
ranking.

xii.

Livestock assets:

What types of livestock do people keep?

How many and, which households keep livestock?
When are livestock kept? Sold? Why sold or kept?
How does this vary by season?
How has caring for livestock changed over the last thirty years?

xiii.
Trade in non-agricultural commodities:
What types of trade exist?

Participatory HH
card, Seasonal
calendar, Wealth
ranking, FGD,
Pairwise ranking.
Income &
expenditure chart

Where things are traded: across border, in other districts?

Where do supplies originate?

Social mapping,
Key informants,
FGDs

xiv.
Expenditure of the households:
How is the food budget shared?
What are the competing needs on money?
How does this vary by season?
How indebted are households? Why?

Income &
expenditure chart
Key informants,
SSI FGD, Pairwise
ranking

xv.
Sources of income:
What are the different earnings of different members?
What is earned? (food, cash, etc.)
How does this vary by socio-economic class?
What IGAs does the community/members do?
Were projects offered to communities? Where did the idea originate? Who offers
the projects? How are they funded?
What is the uptake? Where? How many people are affected?

Income&
expenditure chart
FGD, SSI, IGA ,
case studies.

xvi.
Land availability:
Who owns land?
Who uses land?
How is land accessed by women? By men? (Patrilineal; matrilineal; inherited;
widowed; divorced?)
What is land used for? (for instance: crops, livestock) How does the land tenure
system operate?
What are people's awareness of local and national land policy?

Social and
resource mapping,
HH cards, FGD

xvii. Community criteria of poverty:

What do people perceive Rich, Middle and Poor?
Who are the wealthy members of the community? Why?
Who are the poorer members of the community? Why?
How do households support each other?
How does the community assist the poorer households?
How does food security affect the criteria for wealth & poverty?

Wealth ranking,
FGD

xviii. Technology:
What kind of technological training Is available in village?
Where is it offered? By whom?
What types of technology exists?

FGD, Key
informants

xix.
Livelihoods adaptability:
How do people adapt to economic changes that affect the well-being of the community?
How do people adapt or adjust to economic flux?
How people adapt to socio-cultural changes that affect the economic well-being of the
community?
How do people adapt to ecological changes that affect the economic well-being of the
community (for example, environmental degradation)?
What are the strategies adopted to adapt to these changes?
What COULD be the strategies adopted?

FGD, Key
informants, Trend
analysis

5. Household food security & nutrition

profile: Assess the stability,
adequacy and accessibility of food supplies and nutrition of the households.
1. Food:
What is food for people in the village?
What are the foods consumed: vegetables, fruits, staples (maize, cassava,

Food habits
discussions,
Seasonal calendar,

millet, sorghum) and meats?

How many meals, approximately, do people eat a day?
What is the intra-household distribution of food?
Child feeding: What kind of breastfeeding, weaning practices?
How does the diet vary by season?
What are the historical trends of food consumption?
What are the socio-economic variations? What food is desired?
What are the foods eaten at feasts?
Are there any food taboos related to particular interaction groups? If so, what?
How does food consumption vary from different wealth groups?

Participant
observation,
SSI, FGD (in
combination with
wealth ranking
information)

2. Sources:
What are the existing food sources? Cultivated & wild?
Livestock? Are they all eaten? When are they eaten?
Why eaten at this time?

Key informants
(elders), Pairwise
ranking

3. Decisions:
Who makes the decisions regarding: food production? food sales? food storage
preparation? the use of food (for such things as beer brewing, for instance?)

FGD (men, women,

youths)

4. Food storage (including preservation):

What foods are stored?
What type of storage do people use?
How are foods preserved?
How long do people normally store foods?
How long does the stored food last?
How much is normally lost & why?
What are problems people face with storage?
How does storage vary from income group?

Participant
observation,
Transect walks,
FGD

5.Food processing and preparation:

Participant
How is food prepared?
observation, FGD,
Who prepares the food?
Trend analysis
How much time is spent preparing food?
What kind of technology is used? (fuel wood, type of stove, etc.)
What kind of technology would people like to use?
How has preparation varied over time? Trends? How is food disposed of? (such
as green maize, dried maize?)
6.Purchasing:
What food items do people buy?
Why these items?
How does this vary from income/wealth group? Where?
How much does it cost?
How much does price vary during different seasons?
How often is food purchased? How long does it last?

Seasonal calendar,
FGD, Participant
observation (visit to
market)

7. Food security:
How do people define food security?
How stable food supplies are defined; what is meant by stability of supply?
Which are the food insecure households?
How does this vary by economic/social class?
Where else is food allocated, apart from the household? (other families,
individuals, for payments/mortgages of supplies?)
What are the hungry months? How long does this last?

Wealth grouping,
Seasonal diagram,
FGD, Preference
ranking

In normal conditions, what month does the staple run out?

What months/when do people begin eating whole maize?
What months do people reduce the number of meals?
What months do people eat thin porridge, not staple food?
When do people resort to eating maize bran?
When do people begin to sell livestock?
What kind of livestock - chickens, goats, cattle? Why livestock?
When do people start to look for menial?
In normal conditions, what month do other foods run out?
How many families are normally without food?
How do food shortages affect the education of boys and girls?
8.Coping strategies:
How do people cope with food shortages? (seasonal hunger, bad years: coping
mechanisms).
How does this vary by economic/social class? (split coping mechanisms into
vulnerable groups).
Who decides when to adopt coping strategies?
How do people experiment with new foods, growth or storage in order to adapt
to the changing ecological, socio-cultural or economic environment?
If one of the coping strategies is menial labour, what is the impact of menial on
household food security?
Who cares for the gardens?
Who feeds the children if the mother is busy with menial labour?

Coping strategies
matrix, FGD,
Wealth ranking

9.Malnutrition:
Do people know the symptoms? Causes? Consequences?
What kind of treatment do community members advise?
How, if at all, does malnutrition vary by season?
Who is the household is malnourished? Why?

SSI, FGD, Key

informants

10. Food aid:

What are the historical patterns of food aid?
How does food distribution vary by season?
Who are the main providers? (church, state, NGOs, donors)
What are the reasons for the need? Or dependence upon?
What are other social safety nets (such as parents helping younger people)?
What are the food transfers from household to household?
What are the impacts of food aid on the community?

Historical timeline
and trend change.

11.What are peoples expectations for the future? What are peoples "dreams"
for future, for children?

SSI, FGD (men,

women, youths)

6. Natural resource profile: Establish the environmental and natural resource

characteristics of the village.
1.Forests:
How many forests exist in the area? What kind? What trees?
What is the local knowledge about these forests?
What are the traditional uses of these forests?
What do people know about tree planting (afforestation)?
What do people know about agro- forestry practices?
What is the degree/level of deforestation in the area?
What are the factors causing this?

Resource map,
Transect walk,
Historical Timelines
& Trends change,
FGD

What are the results of deforestation?

What are the cost implications of deforestation or afforestation?
Where do people collect firewood? Has the availability of firewood changed?
What are peoples experiments relating to protecting forests?
2. Soil:
What are the different soil types in the area?
What is peoples knowledge of soil types?
What is the level of fertility of soil?
What is the level of erosion?
How much fallow time is allowed between planting?
Is the soil less productive now? Why? What are the agricultural and nonagricultural uses of soil in the area?
Does use vary by soil type?
Are there soils, which people will not use? Why or why not?
Where are these areas located?

Resource mapping,
Transect walk
Trends FGD

3.Water:
What are the water systems in the village (rivers, lakes, ponds, boreholes, wells,
and springs)?
How is polluted water defined?
What makes water good or bad?
Does this vary by season?
Where are safe sources of water located? Polluted water sources?
What is the condition of the water points?
How does water availability vary by season?
During, which seasons does rain fall?
What activities need or use water?
Are there any dams in the area?
Are these utilised? How?
Who manages water points and water use?

Resource mapping,
Transect walk,
Timeline & Trends
change, FGD
Seasonal calendar
Historical profile

4.National parks or reserves:

How many national parks or reserves are in the area? What type? How popular
is this park/reserve for tourists?
Are the community members involved in managing the area?
What is the communities understanding of parks or reserves?
What are peoples experiments and experience with the parks or reserves?
What does the community understand about a park or reserve?
What are their impressions?
Do the parks & reserves present potential sources of income?
What are the resource use and benefits of the parks and reserves?

Resource mapping,
Transect walk,
Timeline & Trends
change, FGD
Seasonal calendar
Historical profile

5.Wildlife resources:
Approx. number & what types existing inside and outside of parks and reserves
(according to the community and triangulated with figures in the park or
reserve)?
What are the community relations with seasonal the animals?
What are the local beliefs related to these animals?
During what times of year are the wildlife most commonly seen?

Resource mapping,
Transect walk,
Timeline & Trends
change, FGD
Seasonal calendar
Historical profile

Where are animals mostly seen?

6.Local knowledge of the environment:
What are peoples perceptions of degradation to the environment?
What are local practices related to environmental protection & degradation?
What is peoples knowledge about solutions to environmental degradation?
What are the strategies or experiments in natural resource management?
Where did this knowledge come from? (school, extension workers, etc)

FGD, Historical
Timeline and Trend
change

7.Available information, education and communication:

Originating from, which sources?
Extension services available: Forestry, agriculture, health, etc.

FGD

8.How has the community adapted to or adjusted to changes in the

FGD
environment, such as with forests, soil fertility, and rainfall?
What are the social mechanisms that have led to different responses of the
community to the changing environment, such as activities of community groups
or discussions with traditional authorities?
7. Case studies: Case studies of peoples experiments, successes or
opportunities related to any above profiles.
Explain linkages between adaptive strategies and opportunities for
strengthening livelihoods, which will underscore the community action plans.
Examples of case studies of individual households include:
The impact on production of relations between men and women; The impact of witchcraft on social cohesion and accountability.
Case studies should be developed over the course of the exercise, through
consultations with the team members, during the compilation of daily reports and
team reflection sessions.

Individual
biographies
Compilation of daily
reports & team
reflections

3.Access and control Matrix

Access
Resources
Land

Men

Women

Controls
Both

Men

Women

Both

4. Gender analysis
Activities
Reproductive Roles

Women

Men

Girls

Boys

Remarks

Productive Roles

Community Roles

Score: 3 = Always
2 = Often
1 = Sometimes
5. Livelihood Service matrix: Example;
Service

Accessibility
Poor of
the poor

Poor

Livestock DEVD
Vet. Care
Market Linkage
Credit Linkage
Range Land
Accessibility
Fodder Development
support
Water Facility to
Livestock
Productive Skills
Support
6. Livelihood Analysis:
A. LIVELIHOOD RESOURCES
ACCESS TO HUMAN RESOURCES

Middle Rich

Quality Adequate Total

How does access to human resources (skills, education, traditional knowledge, labour,
health, attitudes etc.) influence a households ability to change their livelihood activities?
Factors related
to Human
Resource

e.g. Lack of
technical skills

How does it influence

the households ability
to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint)?

What type of
household is
affected?

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences

e.g.
CONSTRAINT/PUSH
- lack of technical skills
constrains
opportunities to find
new work, and forces
people to take up lowskilled labouring jobs

e.g. very poor,

poor households

e.g. Consider options

for target vocational
training for the very
poor

Consider:
Attitudes; Skills;
Knowledge;
Formal
education;
Labour; Health;
Language

ACCESS TO SOCIAL RESOURCES

How does access to social resources (family ties, neighbours, trading groups,
associations, isolation/inclusion etc.) influence a households ability to change their
livelihood activities?
Factors related
to Social
Resources

e.g. good
relations with
local land owner
(patron)
Consider:
Social cohesion
/ group support;
Family ties;
Trust;
Patronage;
Spiritual.

How does it influence

the households
ability to change
their activities
(push/pull/constraint)
?
e.g. PULL - provides
opportunities of farm
labouring in low
pastoring areas.

What type of
household is
affected?

e.g. very poor and

poor households,
households with
excess labour
available

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences
e.g. Give positive
encouragement to
the local land owner
and recognition for
his work

ACCESS TO NATURAL RESOURCES

How does access to natural resources (farming land, forests, fish, water etc.) influence
a households ability to change their livelihood activities?
Factors related
to Natural
Resources

e.g. easy
access to
suitable
environment for
kitchen garden
or backyard
poultry

How does it
influence the
households ability
to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint
)?
e.g. PULL easy for
households can start
up kitchen garden or
backyard poultry
nearby homes

What type of
household is
affected?

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences

e.g. all
households,
including very
poor, poor and
female headed
households

e.g. help groups to

explore potential of
kitchen garden and
backyard poultry

Consider:
Availability &
access to natural
resources; Quality
of natural
resources;
Aquaculture;
Farming; Form of
dependency on
natural resources

ACCESS TO FINANCIAL RESOURCES

How does access to financial resources (cash, savings, credit, collateral etc) influence a
households ability to change their livelihood activities?
Factors related to
Financial
Resources

e.g. High collateral

needed to access
credit from bank?

Consider: Diversity
of income sources;
Wages;
Formal/informal
credit sources;
Capital; Availability
of cash & surpluses;
Indebtedness

How does it influence

the households ability
to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint)?
e.g. CONSTRAINT
unable to access
loans/credit due to lack
of collateral and high risk
if cannot repay

What type of
household is
affected?

e.g. very poor and

poor households,
migrant households
without family
support to share
risk

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences

ACCESS TO PHYSICAL RESOURCES

How does access to physical resources (roads, communications, electricity, material
suppliers, markets etc.) influence a households ability to change their livelihood
activities?
Factors related to
Physical Resources

e.g. access to new road

How does it influence

the households ability
to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint)?
e.g. PULL - access to
the road has provided
better access to markets
and market information
& improved ability to sell
fish products

What type of
household is
affected?

e.g. most
households
affected,
including many
female headed
households

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences
e.g. work with different
groups to help them to
capitalise on the
opportunities brought
by the road

Consider:
Transport/roads;
Supplies (water,
electricity, fuel etc.);
Mechanization /
technology ; Fisheries
infrastructure; Support
services; Local markets;
Proximity to urban
centres.

B INFLUENCING FACTORS
INFLUENCING FACTORS RELATING TO WIDER SOCIETY
How do factors in wider society (culture, values, rule of law, accountability, transparency,
participation, attitudes to organisation/collaboration etc.) influence a households ability
to change their livelihood activities?
Factors in wider
society

e.g. cultural values

of womens role in
household

Consider:
Cultural/traditional
values/beliefs; Rule
of law; Lack of
transparency;
Social organisation;
Age; Gender

How does it influence

the households ability
to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint)?
e.g.
CONSTRAINT/PUSH
women are unable to
take up certain new job
opportunities and have to
stick to culturally
acceptable occupations

What type of
household is
affected?

e.g. female headed

households

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences
e.g. explore ways of
empowering women to
within community.

DIRECT INFLUENCING FACTORS RELATING TO GOVERNMENT

How do factors relating to government (policies, government support programme,
level of security/conflict, access to protection from insecurity, levels of
corruption/bureaucracy in service provision etc) influence a households ability to change
their livelihood activities?
Factors in government

e.g. lack of human

resources in government
agencies

How does it influence

the households ability
to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint)?
e.g. CONSTRAINT
limits availability
of/access to extension
services, which would
help improve livelihood
activities

What type of
household is
affected?

e.g. all
households

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences
e.g. consider
possibilities of
developing capacity of
government officers
through training and
resource progremmes

Consider: Colonial
influence; Conflicts and
security; Social and
economic policies;
Inefficiency, corruption
and bureaucracy; Globalregional linkages; Rural
industrialisation support

INFLUENCING FACTORS RELATING TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR

How do factors relating to the private sector (market demands and supplies for products,
influence of private traders / middlemen / patrons, levels of competition to
access markets / employment etc) influence a households ability to change their
livelihood activities?
Factors in private
sector

e.g. access to
middlemen / local
traders for selling
products

Consider: market
services; Variations
in demand;
Cooperation and
competition;
market information;
competition.

How does it influence

the households ability
to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint)?
e.g. PULL provides
access to markets for
products. CONSTRAINT
single trader
monopolising commune
does not provide good
terms of trade

What type of
household is
affected?

e.g. poor and

medium
households,
households involved
in trading

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences
e.g. help people to
identify alternative
service provider to give
competition to
middlemen. Work with
middlemen to develop
their services.

INFLUENCING FACTORS RELATING TO THE CIVIL SOCIETY

How do factors relating to civil society (involvement of NGOs, CBOs, commune councils,
religious organisations (temple, mosque) local trading or occupation associations etc)
influence a households ability to change their livelihood activities?
Factors in civil
society

e.g. presence of
Community
Traditional
Committee

How does it influence

the households ability
to change their activities
(push/pull/constraint)?
e.g. PULL provides
opportunity to resolve
disputes with other
pastoral community and
so enhance pastoral
livelihood

What type of
household is
affected?

e.g. medium
households,
pastoralist
households
connected to
members of the
Traditional
Committee

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences
e.g. explore ways of
opening up the
services of the
traditional comities to
all households

Consider:
presence of NGOs;
CBOs; role of
commune council;
religious
organisations.

INFLUENCING FACTORS WHICH WE CANNOT AFFECT

How do factors relating to wider background influences which households are generally
unable to affect (long term trends, seasonal changes, sudden changes/shocks) shape,
or influence a households ability to change their livelihood activities?
Factors that we
cannot
influence

e.g. increasing
population

Consider:
Trends;
Seasonality;
Shocks

How does it influence

the households
ability to change their
activities
(push/pull/constraint)
?
e.g. PUSH high
competition in pastoring
resources forced
household to look for
alternative job

What type of
household is
affected?

Ideas for actions to

support positive
influences and
address negative
influences

e.g. medium
households,
households with
excess labour
available (large
household size)

e.g. consider ways of

either improving
pastoralist and
access to enough
resources or helping
pastoralist to change
livelihoods

C. LIVELIHOOD OUTCOMES
PERCEPTIONS OF LIVELIHOOD OUTCOMES
What has been the effect of different changes in household livelihood activities?
Have changes been positive, or negative?
Have households become better off, or have they become poorer? Why?
What types of people or households have experienced positive changes
(e.g. are they very poor, poor, medium, female or male headed households,
elderly or young households etc)?
What types of people or households have experienced negative changes
(e.g. are they very poor, poor, medium, female or male headed households,
elderly or young households etc)?
What types of change in livelihood activity are associated with positive and
negative outcomes?
Outcome positive/negative

e.g. POSITIVE - Increasing food

security households have
moved out of very poor
e.g. NEGATIVE Declining
incomes households become
more vulnerable

Type of household
experiencing
change?
e.g. Very poor
households
e.g. elderly
households, female
headed
households,
households facing
illness

Type of change in livelihood

activity
e.g. household takes up
additional farm labouring
opportunities
e.g. household stops pastoralist
and starts household vegetable
production

BENCHMARKING POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES WITHIN A

COMMUNITY
How do the key characteristics, which define who a person or household is, influence
change in livelihood activities?
Key
Similarities/ Similarity/
Similarities/
How does the key
household
differences
differences
differences in
characteristic
characteristic in changes
in factors
constraints to
influence their
in livelihood which cause future change
ability to change
activity
changes in
their livelihood
livelihood
activity?
activity
(Push & Pull)
Male headed
households
Female headed
households
Very Poor
Households