CHAPTER 7: PRCA TOOLBOX

Exercises and Games

These exercises and games are samples of techniques you can use during the PRCA. You should identify more of them and try them out for your PRCA. In all the games and exercises please ensure that after describing the activity, you ask participants whether it is acceptable according to their cultural background. For instance, in some societies 'winking' is not socially acceptable as it is seen as an indecent gesture, while in others people may be off ended by being told to run if they consider themselves 'old people'.

MOST OF THE EXERCISES AND GAMES DESCRIBED BELOW CAN ALSO BE USED AS ENERGISERS.

Warm-up 1: Back to back

Warm-up 2: Let's sway and move

Warm-up 3: All people wearing something blue

Introductions 1: Tell and demonstrate

Introductions 2: Paired Introductions

Team building 1: Animal game

Team building 2: The human knot

Team building 3: Signals

Creative blockbusting 1: Faces

Creative blockbusting 2: Wink

Creative blockbusting 3: Mighty machine

PRCA Tools and techniques

Tool No. 1: The problem tree

Description

• This is a visual problem analysis tool that can easily be used by both field development staff and the community to specify and investigate the causes and effects of a problem and identify the possible relationships between them. As the name implies, this tool resembles a tree. The trunk of the tree is the main problem under analysis. Roots of the tree are used as visual representations of causes of the main problem while the branches stand for the effects.

Uses

• Analysis of the cause-effect relationships of the main problems as defined by an on-going project.

• Identification of the community perceptions of the causes and effects of the main problems.

• Definition of who is affected by the causes of the problems and determination of who should participate in activities aimed at solving them. Each cause of the problem can be seen as a problem in its own right.

• Identification of the focal problems or the causes of the main problem that communication can help to solve.

Materials

• Large sheets of flip chart paper, markers or large point felt-tipped pens (various colours).

Participants

• Various groups in the community facilitated by PRCA team members.

Procedure

• Identify major problems and needs as perceived by the community or as detailed in information provided by the project or the agency that commissioned the PRCA.

  For on-going projects, the major problem(s) is derived from information supplied by the project management or data provided in project documents. Most ongoing projects express the major problem(s) in an explicit manner somewhere in a document.

  For generating the major problem(s) with the community assist groups in the community to brainstorm their situation in order to identify their needs, opportunities, problems and likely solutions.

• Rank problems to identify the main ones.

  Normally, a lot of problems will be generated through this process. These problems are not of equal importance and therefore should be ranked to identify the priority problem(s).

  Ranking is usually done through an analysis of the importance of each problem and by considering which problems cause other problems.

  Once the main problem(s) is/are identified, the process of building the problem tree for ongoing projects and with the community is the same.

• Formulate the problem properly.

  To be of greatest assistance in drawing the correct problem tree, the main problem must be stated or formulated correctly. A problem should be stated NOT as the absence of a solution (e.g. food is not available), but as an existing negative state (e.g. a part of the community is malnourished). An incorrectly formulated main problem often leads to the identification of very limited causes and subsequently to the selection of inadequate solutions. To reduce the risk of stating problems as the absence of solutions you can recommend that terms such as lack of..., insufficient... absence of and no..., etc are totally avoided in the formulation of main problems.

• For the main problem develop a problem tree;

• Use a large paper and draw a major square representing the main problem at its centre;

• Above the central square draw the branches of the tree - the effects experienced as a consequence of the main problem;

• Below the central square representing the main problem draw the roots of the tree, i.e. the factors causing the main problems, which are usually seen as problems in their own right. Ask the people what caused the problem.

  Repeat the question until you feel it is no longer necessary to continue.

See Figures 2 and 3 in Chapter 2: Problem trees

• Identify the focal problem.

  At this point you have a complete problem tree full of branches, showing the effects of the main problem, and many roots, representing its causes. You now have a visual representation of the main problem, its causes and effects as well as the relationships between them.

  Now you must identify the focal problems (causes of the main problem), sometimes also called entry points. These are crucial problems whose solution with communication can directly assist in eliminating the main problem.

Remarks: Often it is necessary to divide the community into groups according to various criteria such as age or gender for the drawing of the problem tree of the selected main problem. This tells you how each group perceives the main problem and therefore gives you a comprehensive view of the community perception.

Tool No. 2: Brainstorming

Description

• Brainstorming is a two-tier process of generating and critically analysing a host of ideas around a common theme.

Uses

• Quickly generates creative ideas about issues and problems of concern to the community for further analysis or investigation.

Materials

• Large sheets of flip chart paper or cards, markers or large point felt-tipped pens (various colours).

Participants

• Groups in the community facilitated by the PRCA team members.

Procedure

• Explain the concept of brainstorming.

• Introduce a small exercise to make it clear that you are foregoing logical or restrictive thought patterns. For example, you can show a hoe and ask participants to enumerate its potential uses.

• Set the ground rules for the exercise:

  All ideas are valuable ideas

  One idea at a time

  No criticism, no praise, but you can ask for clarification

  No interruptions when someone is talking

  Be brief and clear

  Do not be afraid to be wild and original

  If you cannot think about anything just pass

• Establish the real topic to do a brainstorming session on.

• Get the ball rolling by asking each participant to mention an idea.

• Write the ideas as they are generated on a large flip chart paper or on cards.

• After ideas have stopped flowing from the participants the ideas are clustered and evaluated for utility or feasibility. This can be done through voting. Ideas that receive the largest number of votes are retained for further investigation and the rest discarded.

Remarks: You must differentiate the wild and the analytical phases of this exercise, otherwise the participants might not get down to talking about the useful ideas. The exercise should not last too long, as brainstorming is only a liberating moment in an important planning process. Make it clear to participants that any idea can be expressed and that there should be no critique or arguing over ideas. This has to be done later in the rational discussion phase.

Tool No. 3: Sketch maps

Description

• Sketch maps are geographical and environmental models of the community done by the people themselves to show various aspects of their village such as residential areas, infrastructure, shops, soils, water sources, institutions, communication resources etc. Sketch maps show the village surroundings, lands, cattle posts, wildlife and other important features (hills, rivers, etc). Sketch maps can be used to show how the village looked in the past, its current features or how the people will want it to look in the future.

The community can model different kind of maps:

(i) Village/Resource map depicting infrastructure, wildlife, grazing land, water sources, trees, arable land, shops, residential areas, meeting places and important sites, etc.).

(ii) Social maps depict households and who heads each one by gender, the households' status or levels of literacy, malnutrition, etc. The ownership pattern of such resources as farm implements, radio sets etc.

Decide in advance what you want to know but allow villagers to decide what they want to learn in terms of information on households.

Ideal for discovering such information as who benefited from food aid, number of destitute households, literacy levels, child mortality, etc.

Social maps are only possible in small communities, unless done per ward.

(iii) Thematic maps are drawn for specific topics. They include credit sources map, soil map, health map, land-use map, communication resource map etc.

Uses

• Purpose depends on the objective of the PRCA and the type of map drawn;

• In general, these maps identify community boundaries, local resources and environmental features such as the location of water points, roads, land use patterns and related problems. They also show available infrastructure as well as physical, economic, communication and historical resources.

• It puts the village in a perspective that people probably have never visualized before and ensures that you and the community arrive at a common understanding of the local reality.

• Maps are a very good communication aid. All people, even those who have never been to school can make and use maps. Drawing maps has proven to be such an enjoyable exercise that it can be used as a warm-up tool that stimulates participation, and is usually performed with a lot of enthusiasm. Maps set the right trend in terms of active participation of the community in a PRCA.

Materials

• Any materials the villagers select to represent features in the community such as stones, seeds, ash, red earth, cow dung etc. Flip chart paper, pencils and erasers, markers (for transferring the maps to paper).

Participants

• The exercise can be done in different groups according to gender and/or age etc.

Procedure

• Explain to villagers that in order to get a common understanding of their realities, i.e. their village, features and local surroundings and problems and opportunities related to them, you would like them to model and draw their local world on the ground using local materials such as sticks, stones, goat droppings, beer cans, old shoes, wire etc. as their symbols.

• Find a place in the shade with a lot of space that will facilitate people's participation.

• Give the people a chance to model and draw what is important to them without interference.

• Interview the map when finished. Use probes to find out more about the various features depicted on a map. For instance, you can find out the yields per hectare of the cultivated land, whether the people feel the land is yielding enough, what can be done to improve yields etc.

• The map can still be worked on if the designers want to do so but do not force them to incorporate things you perceive as important.

• Try to understand all the drawings and explanations. Usually the different maps produced by the various groups are not combined because every map is a good map. Every map highlights a different perspective and reality, they supplement each other instead of competing against each other.

• Copy the maps from the ground onto Manila paper. Two copies of each map should be made because while one copy is taken away by the PRCA team, the other is left in the community for their own record. It is often possible to find literate and enthusiastic young people in the community to transfer the map onto paper.

Remarks: Try as much as possible not to interrupt the process, ask questions after the map is complete.

Tool No 4: Transect

Description

• Transect is a walk or series of walks which take the PRCA team and some members of the community through the village and allows them to see the range of features, resources and conditions across the area. Transects, generally, come after the drawing of maps and they are used to verify information gathered from maps. The walk rarely follows a straight line, but often zigzags through different areas.

Uses

• It is motivating and rewarding for villagers to show people around their village and their homes. Outsiders get a chance to familiarize themselves with the diversity of eco-systems, land use patterns, socio-economic indicators, cropping patterns, slopes, drainage patterns, etc in the village and the problems and opportunities associated with them.

• If properly conducted with as many villagers as possible, a Transect can offer a wide range of information.

Materials

• Cameras to document the walk

Participants

• The PRCA team and members of the community. Ensure that community members doing the transect come from both genders and represent the various socio-economic segments and age groups in the village.

Procedure

• Explain to the community that a better understanding of their local reality has emerged and that you would like to share more of their knowledge and ideas. Ask the people to take you on a walk through their village in order for you to see some of the features depicted on their maps such as land-use patterns, the distribution of resources, etc. Allow as many questions as possible and re-assure the people that the exercise has no hidden agenda.

• Define a route from your sketch map, from north to south, east to west or high lands to low lands, showing the line of greatest diversity;

• Choose a logical starting point (boundary, highest,...) in consultation with the community;

• Assign responsibilities for observations, listening and note-taking to team members;

• Ask people to accompany you on the transect. Try to choose guides who have lived in the area for a long time, their knowledge will be invaluable. Make sure to include women. Without them, you will miss many features and explanations.

• Choice of topics to be covered will depend on the characteristics of the community and the objectives of the PRCA, and should be agreed upon by the team beforehand.

• Be on the look out for such socio-economic indicators as pit-latrines, type of houses, productivity levels, etc and any problems and opportunities related to them, etc.

• Talk to people whom you meet on the way that are living/working in different parts of the village to collect their own perceptions of the village. The additional information concerns such issues as the use and management of soil, access and availability of water and firewood, veld-products, grazing, etc.

• A large and highly variable community may require more than one transect. The community and the PRCA team can be divided into different companies to cover different parts of the community;

• Construct a chart, to present the information gathered.

Remarks: Make sure there is a high level of participation from all community and team members and that no one is dominating the process.

Figure 15.

Tool No. 5: Farm sketches for farming systems analysis

Description

• Farm sketches provide the starting point for farming systems analysis. It is normally the sketch of a small sample of arable and small stock farms belonging to those who will be interviewed for information about their farming systems. A farm sketch could include the farm layout, cropping patterns, crop diversity, resource conservation practices, trees, buildings/houses, fallow land, storage, small stock etc. Farm sketches provide the basis for the further analysis of such topics as farm inputs and outputs, relationships between the farm and external (off -farm) people (e.g. labourers, extension officers, traders, etc) or outlets and resources (e.g. markets, shops, water sources...).

Uses

• Helps to identify how individual farm families manage land resources.

• Helps to understand the farms' linkages to the total society and other systems such as marketing, education, government, research and extension etc.

• Depicts variations in farm size, cropping patterns, yields, access to and control of labour according to gender, etc.

Figure 16: Natural Resources Transect Tshwaane Village ans Surroundings..

Materials

• Any materials the villagers select to represent features in the community such as stones, seeds, ash, red earth, cow dung etc. Flip chart paper, pencils and erasers, markers (for transferring the maps to paper).

Participants

• A sample of farmers selected for the systems analysis, possibly grouped according to size and type of land holding, as well as gender. It can also be done with an individual farmer.

Procedure

• Delineate the farm boundaries (total ha.), dividing the farms into blocks by land use. In each block indicate who does what according to gender, the yields over past years, who controls the output, any diseases, pests? Use of manure, fertilizer etc.

• Ask questions on the basis of the drawings (problems, reasons for planting certain crops, crop management - timing of planting, crop rotation, weeding practices, and changes in cropping patterns).

• Include symbols for men and women, stating what they do/have, for example C (control), R (Responsibility), L (Labour).

Remarks: Bear in mind that the reality of the systems can be so complex that it might prove difficult to visualise comprehensively.

Tool No. 6: Time lines

Description

• A time line is a list of key events in the history of the community that helps identify past trends, events, problems and achievements in the people's life. The time line should go back as many generations as villagers can recall and record details of significant events.

Uses

• Understanding the past of a particular community is often necessary to analyse present conditions, and to try to forecast how present conditions may evolve in the future. The time line helps the community to understand what local, national and international events they consider to be important in their history, and how such events have affected their lives.

• Knowing past events might show how and why individual and community activities have been shaped.

Materials

• Materials the people can use as symbols and feel comfortable with, Manila paper and markers (especially where the people are literate).

Participants

• Various segments of the community: leaders, elders, youth, committees, men and women.

Procedure

• Ask the community to assemble at their usual meeting place or another place with historical value. Ensure that various segments of the community are represented: the young, the old, the poor, the wealthy, men and women. Through group discussions, assist the community to list all the significant events in their life with dates.

• If the assembly is very large, divide them into different groups according to gender or age, and compare the different responses later.

• Where the people are literate, information collected is written on manila sheets in the local language. However, in situations where most of the people are illiterate, a long line can be drawn on the ground with one end representing the distant past and the other 'today'. Symbols could be used to represent the events

• Opening questions: What were the main events in the village? When did this community settle here? Who were the founders of the village/settlement? What was the first important event that they can remember in their community? Have there been migrations, epidemics, famines, floods, droughts, or other natural disasters? What are some of the best things the community has done? What were some of the happiest times? Preferably the villagers identify what is important to them in their history, what they want to discuss and put on their time line. Probe for more information and explanations, but allow the community to decide on what new details to add to their line.

• Once the topics are exhausted, find certain trends of events and discuss how the community deals with those (e.g. drought) or builds on those (e.g. tradition of self-help). Ask them about efforts by the government, church and the community to address some of the problems. Find out how the community mobilised itself, what communication methods were used to create awareness and action to deal with the problems.

Historical Time line (Agriculture).

Tool No. 7: Trend lines

Description

• Trend lines visualise significant changes of key issues in the community over time. Topics for trend lines often reflect themes that the people consider important, for example, teenage pregnancy, infant mortality or soil erosion etc.

Uses

• Helps you to learn from the community how it views changes in issues considered important by the people.

• It assists in problem-identification and analysis.

• It focuses community attention on positive and negative changes over time.

• It might show the different perceptions of the various socio-economic segments in the community, if the trend line is done in groups formed according to age, gender etc.

• It provides information for the formulation of possible basic messages, discussion themes and appeals to the PRCA team.

Materials

• Materials the people can use as symbols and feel comfortable with, Manila paper and markers (especially where the people are literate).

Participants

• Although the trend lines focus on discussions among elders and long term residents, young people can also be included.

• Make sure that people from both genders drawn from all ecological zones, socio-economic levels and various age groups in the community are included.

Procedure

• Explain the purpose of the exercise.

• The PRCA team and the community decide on a list of topics of interest for the trends.

• Groups of villagers are organised according to gender, socio-economic status, age etc., depending on the topics selected and the community composition.

• Explain the concept of trends using a simple graph. Explain how time (in years), moves from left to right along the bottom axis, and how the topic increases/decreases on the upright axis. The child-growth card from the clinic usually rings a bell.

• Ask the groups to draw their lines on the sand, or on the floor.

• Quantification is not always easy. Ask questions if necessary e.g. 'when was the most, the least?' Another way of doing so, is with stones (e.g. 1 stone is 1 cow, or 1 extension officer, or 1 malnourished child etc.) on an individual.

• Use the discussion of trends to probe for explanations of the changes. This will help identify underlying problems and traditional activities to correct the situation. For instance, if soil erosion is getting worse, ask why and find out what measures have been tried in the past and how well they have worked. Ask what they think might ease the situation.

• Copy the trends and the explanations onto paper.

Tool No. 8: Seasonal calendar

Description

• The seasonal calendar is a useful tool for charting major events and village activities on an annual timetable. Issues to be recorded will vary and should be discussed. Typical examples are rainfall, water availability, crop-production patterns, animal diseases, housing improvements, community celebrations and labour availability etc.

Uses

• Determines labour availability, timing of project-activities, potential absorptive capacity for new activities, times of disease and food shortage, etc.

• It is a useful tool to understand and discuss with the community how seasons affect village life and how daily routines are organized.

• It helps to identify when problems or needs are most acute

Materials

• Materials the people can use as symbols and feel comfortable with, Manila paper and markers (especially where the people are literate)

Participants

• Groups according to types of farmers/agro-ecological zones, gender.

• Both genders, all ages, different farming systems, etc.

Mujumanzzovu Seasonal Calender (Men-Non beekeepers).

Procedure

• Determine with the community what you want to discuss and analyse.

• Explain the purpose of the seasonal calendar and how you want to proceed.

• Ask community to write or draw on black board, or manila, or newsprint, or sand.

• Time scale on horizontal axis (start with January or with beginning of the people's year e.g. onset of rain season), activities on vertical axis. The PRCA team should have the activities it wants to discuss ready (e.g. crop activity, collection of veld-products...).

• Let the people fill in the calendars using local materials like leaves, stones etc.

• Discuss the different activities and note the problems and possible solutions.

• In the seasonal calendar symbols for men, women and even children can be included to show who does what.

Tool No. 9: Wealth ranking

Description

• This is a card sorting exercise to elicit information about the socio-economic status of households in a community and the differences among them. The exercise works best with fewer than 150 households.

Uses

• To understand how the community defines wealth and well-being.

• To understand the socio economic situation of different households.

• To get indicators for assessing the influence of the project on wealth and well-being of the various groups in the community.

Materials

• Cards, pens baskets or cardboard boxes.

Participants

• Selected sorters from different segments of the community. These should be key informants who know the area and the people very well. The exercise may be done in separate groups as the results from such groups show a cross sectional view of the community. Five sorters from each group should be enough.

Procedure

• Make a list of all the households to be used in the exercise and assign a number to each household.

• Write all the names of households on cards, number them and indicate if they are Female-headed households [FHH] or Male-headed households [MHH].

• Select sorters from the various groups in the community taking the following factors into consideration: gender, length of the person's residency in community; the longer the better, and role/status of person in the community; key players in the village are preferred. The resource poor must be represented among informants.

• Explain to the sorters that the purpose of the exercise is to define the different classes of wealth in the village.

• Agree on the criteria for categorising the different socio-economic status in the community.

• Create three baskets to represent each of the categories. For instance, a wealthy household can be one that has enough to eat, send their children to school and can be relied upon to help other household from time to time.

• Tell informants that the information has to be treated confidentially, as some people in the village might be sensitive to being called rich, poor or average.

• In private, ask each sorter to place the card for each family in one of the three baskets, piles according to whether the household name on the card is in the rich-medium-poor category. (Read out the name on the card if the sorter is illiterate).

• Read out all the names in each pile to allow the informant to make changes if she so wishes.

• Shuffle the cards between sorters so that each starts with a random pile of cards. Discuss with the informant the characteristics associated with each pile the informant has made and the reasons for assigning a household to a particular basket.

• Count and record the each sorter's distribution of the cards.

• After all informants have sorted their cards, work out the average position of each household. Average position or score is calculated by the number of cards placed in each basket divided by the total number of sorters. Express the results as percentages. See the example below.

• Discuss with the people how one can travel from one pile to the other (how people become poorer or less poor).

Remarks: Wealth ranking is a sensitive subject, and sometimes a taboo in certain societies. You must therefore treat any exercise to collect such information with tact and absolute confidentiality.

Wealth ranking.

Tool No. 10: Ranking

Description

• This is a tool for ranking problems, needs and opportunities to put them in a particular order.

• When done with criteria, it reveals information about why people make certain choices.

Uses

• There are usually more problems, needs or opportunities than resources can solve, provide for or exploit. Under such circumstances there is need for instruments which assist the community as a heterogeneous group to get as close to their priorities as possible. These priorities are the ones that receive preference.

• Ranking provides information on both the choices people make and reasons for the choices.

• It can be used to compare preferences and priorities between groups in a community.

Materials

• Stones, flip chart paper and markers.

• Participants

• Groups in the community.

Procedure

- Ranking can be done in the various ways listed below:

- Preference ranking (with or without criteria)

- Relative preference ranking

- Pair-wise ranking

- Shopping

For any of the ranking techniques listed above, a closed or open scoring can be used to 'buy' or 'vote' for the issue of preference. When scoring is done in private (secret balloting) it is said to be closed scoring. When it is done in the open it is said to be open.

Explain to the participants that there is always a danger of people being influenced by others if the scoring is open.

· Review the list of problems, needs etc (if a problem tree has been drawn review the causes of the main problem)

· Draw a chart with boxes containing the reviewed issues (see example below)

· Select the type of ranking technique to be used.

• Request the community to decide the number of stones they need to use to rank the issues.

• Discuss with them whether they want to rank with or without criteria.

• Ask them whether they want the scoring to be closed or open.

• Give individuals in the group attending the exercise a number of stones/sticks/seeds etc.

• Ask them to buy one or more problems or needs, which according to them requires to be solved first.

• Count the number of stones allocated to each problem, need or opportunity and rank.

Preference ranking without criteria

Description

• To find out people's preferences without asking them why they made certain choices.

Participants

• A limited number of people [for example 5] or two groups [for example groups A and B].

Procedure

• Ask each person to collect 6 stones.

• Have each person rank problems or opportunities from least (1 stone) to most important (6 stones).

• No reasons should be given for selection.

• Do not add the rankings.

Preference ranking with criteria

Description

• To find out people's preferences or priorities and why they made the choices.

Participants

• One or more villagers.

Procedure

• Ask the villagers to select criteria, for example: which problem or need should be tackled first? Which problem is the most controllable? Which problem is the most important? And for opportunities, criteria could be - feasibility, time, acceptance, sustainability and so on.

  Determine the key:

• Score each option against the criteria.

Relative preference ranking:

This is choosing between different quantities, as in a kind of modified pair wise ranking. Would the participants prefer 20 goats or 2 cows?

For example:

Pair-wise ranking

Description

• To obtain a comparative ranking of various issues.

Participants

• The villagers assisted by the facilitator.

Procedure

• Write down all problems, needs or opportunities in a matrix.

• Limit the number of items being ranked to not more than eight.

• Ask the villagers whether they want to rank with reasons or without.

• Compare each problem against the other diagonally.

• Count how many times each problem was mentioned.

• Write the total on the score board below.

Relative preference ranking

Description

• To obtain a comparative ranking of various issues.

Participants

• Community assisted by facilitator.

Procedure

• Write the item options in one column.

• Write the selection in another column.

• Ask the community whether, for example, they prefer one sack of maize or one sack of potatoes.

• Write their choice in the selection column

Methods of excreta disposal using rapid scoring by the men of Sichuundu village.

Shopping

Description

Participants

• Everyone in the community participating in the exercise should be there.

Procedure

• Ask villagers to select 10 people, 5 men and 5 women who will rank.

• Ask villagers to choose different items to be ranked, for example, different grains.

• Give two stones [tokens] to each of the ten people.

• Instruct the villagers to buy two items each.

• The item most bought is ranked first.

Give 10 participants 3 tokens each, enabling them to buy up to 3 piles of wood each for the good year, and 1 token for the bad year. The different sizes of piles reflect the relative prices. This tool is useful when there is a constraint on availability.

Remarks: Be conscious that priorities for men and women sometimes differ. Where the priorities differ according to gender, each group should make their own analysis of opportunities and ranking, and select activities to address the problems they have prioritised.

Normally, the PRCA team will consist of technical staff or resource persons who are subject matter specialists - when these people give advice, they should never overrule the community.

Tool No. 11: Chapati or Venn diagramming

Description

A process of listing, ranking and connecting institutions, groups or individuals and communication systems and information sources that influence the community's decision-making in development.

Uses

• To find out which institutions exist.

• To establish how the institutions are perceived.

• To understand which institutions could play what roles in development activities.

• To analyze the social and power relations of the different institutions.

• To ensure that all relevant institutions are included in a plan for particular activities.

Materials

• Cards and pens

Participants

• Men and women

Procedure

• Cut out different sized cards (circles) to represent each institution or individual.

• Explain objective of exercise to all partners.

• Divide groups according to gender - men and women usually have different perceptions about the importance of institutions.

• Ask each group to list the different institutions in the village.

• Ask about the different roles of the institutions.

• Ask whether some institutions are more important than others, with regards to their role in development and decision making, etc.

• Find out the most important institution.

• Write the name of the institution on the biggest sized circle.

• Ask community to rank other institutions according to whether they are big, medium or small.

• When ranking, put the biggest circle in the centre.

• Ask which institutions are linked to it and consequently which ones are linked to those ones.

• Explain that linking means institutions are working together.

• Linking is symbolized by touching and degree of overlapping.

• Touching means institutions are sharing information.

• A small overlap means there is some cooperation.

• An isolated circle shows an institution that does not have any contact with others.

• Allow for debate to take place and note reasons for different trends.

• Ask them what the diagram means to them. How would the picture look like in an ideal situation?

• What can be done to achieve the ideal relationships.

Tool No. 12: Livelihood mapping

Description

• This depicts the community's sources of livelihood in diagrams and shows how important each source is. Such information includes the people's sources of income, patterns of expenditure and access to land and livestock.

Uses

• This type of mapping shows deficiencies in self - reliant lifestyles and the changes that take place from time to time.

• It shows differences between and among groups.

Figure 17: VENN - Diagram of Institutions in Anokere Development Centre - June 6 1998.

KEY

1 PEASANT ASS.
2 DEV. CENTRE
3 LOCAL MILTA
4 EDIR
5 COURT OF P.A.
6 DEBO
7 CHURCH
8 MANAGER
9 GRINDING MILL
10 DAIRY PROJECT

Materials

• Different paper sizes and pens

Participants

• All community members

Procedure

• Have different sizes of paper squares available.

• Identify sources of livelihood.

• Establish whether the sources are of high, medium or low importance.

Linkage diagram

Figure 18: Livelihood mapping.

Tool No. 13: Gender analysis

Description

• Different exercises exist to analyse the gender relations in a community. Apart from doing most PRCA exercises from a gender perspective or with women and men separately, some specific exercises can be done such as Gender daily calendar, Activity profiles, and Access and control profiles to discover distribution of workload etc.

  (i) A gender daily calendar analyses the different day to day activities performed by men and women. The division of labour can also be quantified according to major sectors such as arable agriculture, livestock rearing, household duties or going to church [social activities].

  (ii) An activity profile reveals activities men and women do in the sphere of reproductive work, productive work and community work.

  (iii) Access and control profiles analyse whether men and women have access to the resources necessary to undertake the activities listed, derive benefits from them and whether they have control over them.

Sources of agricultural information.

Uses

• Women are important to the survival of the environment and the family. But gender is often overlooked in development projects. Programmes can never be sustainable if they leave women out or fail to take their activities or their levels of access and control of resources seriously.

Materials

• Flip chart paper and markers

Participants

• Women and men, young and old.

• You might have to separate unmarried women from married women, unmarried men from married men

Procedure

(i) Gender Daily Calendar

· Divide the people into two groups by gender.

· Take an average day and ask each group what roles men and women play.

· Write the chores, with the time and ask who does what?

· Discuss the calendar and emphasize that the intention is not to blame any one.

· Avoid conflict but allow a lot of time for all issues to be discussed

Diagram

(ii) Activity Profile

· Divide the people into two groups by gender.

· For each group, make a matrix showing the activities on the y-axis and the men and women on the x-axis.

· Ask the group to divide ten stones among the activities performed by men and those carried out by women.

· Ask them why certain activities are performed by men and others by women.

· Bring the groups together and compare the matrixes.

· Consolidate men's and women's matrixes into one and discuss the consequences of the results for development of the community.

(iii) Access and Control Profile

· Divide the people into two groups according to gender.

· Identify the resources available in the community on the y-axis.

· Identify the access and control for men and women on the x-axis.

· Determine who has control and access over what.

· Discuss changes in patterns over time.

· What are the implications for development, house hold relations, well-being and community relations?

Activity profile of Anokere Development Centre (Men ans Women), June 7 1998.

Tool No. 14: In-depth interviews

Description

• Question and answer sessions between the interviewer and interviewee. These sessions provide in-depth information and offer the opportunity for the discussion of sensitive issues that are difficult to bring up in a group setting because individuals are less constrained by what other people might think about their perceptions, attitudes and practices.

Uses

• To further probe and triangulate specific issues raised during group activities.

• To discuss sensitive issues that are not proper for group activities

• To hold discussions with key players who might not have the time to attend the full PRCA exercise.

Materials

• Notebooks and pens.

Participants

• Selected community members (interviewees) and PRCA team members (interviewers).

Procedure

• Prepare a checklist of issues for the discussion.

• Select members of the community to be interviewed based on gender, age, relationship ti issue etc..

• Conduct interview sessions in a location where the interviewee is most comfortable.

• Make the interviewee know that the exercise is not just another chitchat but a serious exercise.

• Be patient, respectful, and accommodating.

• Be brief and to the point.

• Analyse the information so that you are able to use it in the ensuing discussions as the PRCA continues.

Tool No. 15: Key informant interview

Description

• An in-depth interview with an individual or a group of people who have special knowledge on a particular topic.

Uses

• Used for discovering special knowledge.

• To obtain information about the knowledge and behaviour of others in the community.

Materials

• Notebooks and pens

Participants

• People in the community with special knowledge on particular topics and interviewers.

Procedure

• Prepare a topic guide for the interviews.

• Select key informants from the community such as teachers, traditional birth attendants, merchants, etc.

• Select suitable locations for the interviews or visit the key informants in their homes or places of work for the discussions.

Tool No. 16: Focus group discussions

Description

• Focus group discussion -FGD- is a cost-effective qualitative research technique generally used to discuss a specific topic in detail and probe into people's feelings, opinions and perceptions of the topic.

Uses

• It is used to verify and obtain more in-depth details about information collected during the PRCA with other tools.

• Group dynamics generated during FGD produce rich responses and allow new and valuable thoughts to emerge.

• It provides an opportunity for you to observe a group's non-verbal reactions and discover their feelings and attitudes towards the issue under discussion.

Materials

• Notebooks and pens.

Participants

• Groups selected from the community, moderators and note takers.

Procedure

• Be clear about the purpose of the study.

• Appoint moderators and note takers for the discussions.

  - Moderators must be good listeners who can link and follow-up issues as they emerge during the discussions.

• Prepare a topic guide to be used during discussions.

  - Make sure the questions are notes concerning important issues.

  - Ensure you have probe questions for digging for more detailed information

  - Avoid leading questions and biases

• Form homogenous groups of six to ten people who share the problems concerned with the topic to be discussed. Use the following factors to determine the composition o each group:

  - Gender
  - Age
  - Educational background
  - Socio-economic status
  - Religion
  - Life cycle, etc.

• Select interview locations that provide privacy for the participants. Select a location where the discussion can be carried out without having external observers or potential intruders.

  - Avoid locations with a noisy surrounding.

  - Select non-threatening locations where participants can air their views without reservations or intimidation.

  - Select locations easily accessible to all respondents.

Ten tips for moderator

1. Quick learner - Absorb and understand quickly

2. 'Friendly Leader'- develop a rapport but must be an 'authority figure'

3. Knowledgeable but not all-knowing - if members think of him as an expert the point of the group discussion is lost, they merely turn to him for advice but they must respond to direction

4. Excellent memory - remember the early inputs at the end in order to redirect

5. Good listener - be quick to pickup and to retain even the quietest

6. A Facilitator not a performer - object of the exercise is to secure information from the participants. Be light but avoid the use of too much humour as it can divert attention from the main purpose.

7. Flexible - go with ebb and flow of discussion. Deviate from plan where necessary if discussion is going in a constructive direction

8. Empathetic - be aware of others' inhibitions, nervousness etc.

9. A 'Big Picture' thinker - must be able to separate the important from the less significant

10. Good Writer - ability to make clear and concise notes and summaries.