The tools of PAME are instruments to be used to gather, synthesize, and analyse information in a way that is appropriate and participatory.
The tools should be approached with an open mind; they may have to be adapted and re-thought out to respond to each situation. Think of them as "ideas" to be developed to respond to the field reality. Play with them to figure out what will work, what will be more participatory.
Combine the tools in different ways. For example, use some of the Ranking, Rating, and Sorting "games" to make Surveys more interesting. Combine village monographs with Popular Drama or a Puppet Show.
Many of the tools work individually to gather and analyse information, while helping to develop communication skills. Drawing and Discussion is one example of such a tool. Other tools are more specific, such as Survival Surveys.
All of the tools, because they are developed with and for the community, serve also as extension and learning tools.
Be flexible. If one tool is not working well, re-think it or suggest another one.
Choosing the best tool for a situation is a unique and creative process. To assist in narrowing the choices of appropriate tools from the wide range of possibilities offered, the characteristics of the tools are listed in the following pages, along with some tips on how to determine the kinds of tools the community might find most useful. Let the community know what kinds of tools are available and choose those they think are most appropriate.
The tools are presented in the following chapter in a way which seeks to encourage creativity and flexibility, while offering clear guidelines to those who might need them. It may be that the guidelines (Using the tool) are useful as a beginning, with adaptations following as the tool becomes familiar. The following descriptions are brief and are adaptations of tools with which most extensionists may be familiar. There are methodological texts for many of these tools and the following is not a substitute for more detailed instruction on sample selection, sample size, or research design. This description is focused on how the tools may be or may have been adapted to strengthen local participation.
Enjoy the tools! PAME should be an exciting, dynamic learning experience for everybody.
1. Watch and listen. Become aware of how community members think and communicate information. This will give clues as to what tools might work best.
For example, ask a number of people directions to the next village, and observe the ways they relay this information.
People from some cultures may draw a map on the ground ... this could mean that the visual tools would work best for them.
People from other cultures may talk to you, giving instructions such as "go 17 kilometers down the road then turn left". These people may be comfortable with the more direct and sophisticated tools.
A third culture might respond like this: "Go to the Village Market, and when you see the coal merchant's store, go down the road beside it until you come to a leaning tree with a large branch hanging down. There are two roads there. Take the one which has two tracks ... etc.". People from this community might find the story-telling and drama tools the most appropriate.
2. Observe the habits of the community. Do they have books and magazines in their homes? Do they have pictures decorating their homes? Do they use symbols to decorate their implements?
These kinds of observations will give clues as to which communication type (written, oral or visual) is basic to the community.
3. Ask how information is relayed around the community. Is it exclusively by word-of-mouth? Are there newspapers? Posters?
4. Try to determine which extension efforts have worked well (or not so well) in the community in the past.
Knowing which methods of communication are most commonly used in a community will help the field worker to "short list" tools that are likely to work in a particular setting. From this "short list" the community can choose.
The following list will help to sort out the tools by their main characteristics (visual, oral or written), and main purposes:
Community Problem Analysis (CPA); Partecipatory Baselines (PB); Partecipatory Monitoring and ongoing evaluation (PMoe) and/or Evaluation Events (EE).
Number Name of Tool |
Visual |
Oral |
Written |
Main Purpose | |
1 |
Group Meetings |
x |
xxxx |
x |
all |
2 |
Drawing/Discussion |
xxxx. |
xx |
CPA/PB/EE | |
3 |
Murals/Posters |
xxxxx |
x |
PB/EE | |
4 |
Flannel Boards |
xxxx |
x |
x |
CPA//PB/EE |
5 |
Open-ended Stories |
xxxxx |
x |
CPA/PB/EE | |
6 |
Unserialized Posters |
xxxx |
xx |
CPA | |
7 |
Community Case Studies |
xxxx |
PB/EE | ||
8 |
Historical Mapping |
xxx |
xx |
x |
CPA/PB |
9 |
Semi-structured Interviews |
xxxx |
xx |
PB/EE | |
10 |
Ranking,Rating,Sorting |
xxxx |
xx |
CPA/PB/EE | |
11 |
Community Environmental Assessment |
xx |
xx |
xx |
PB/PMoe |
12 |
Survival Surveys |
xxx |
xxx |
PMoe | |
13 |
Participatory Forestry Action Research |
xx |
xx |
xx |
PMoe |
14 |
Maps and mapping |
xxxx |
x |
x |
all |
15 |
Farmer's Own Records |
xxx |
xxx |
PMoe/EE | |
16 |
Nursery Record Books |
xxx |
xxx |
PMoe/EE | |
17 |
Community Financial Accounts |
xxx |
xxx |
PMoe/EE | |
18 |
S.W.O.T. Analysis |
x |
xxxx |
x |
EE |
19 |
Popular Drama |
xxx |
xxx |
CPA/PB/EE | |
20 |
Puppet Theatre |
xxx |
xxx |
CPA/PB/EE | |
21 |
Community Directed Visual Images |
xxxx |
xx |
CPA /PB/EE | |
22 |
Community Directed Tape Recordings |
xxxxxx |
PB/EE | ||
23 |
Community Directed Video |
xxx |
xxx |
PB/EE |
Meetings with the beneficiaries, the community and/or focus groups (herders, women, schools) will be one of the most important tools for community information gathering, and communication of information. The purpose of the meeting will vary. They can help communities:
give and receive information;
discuss issues of relevance; gain a consensus on an issue; identify problems and solutions;
plan activities, negotiate conflicts;
validate interpretations of evaluation results and formulate recommendations.
1. A large number of people can be reached in a relatively short period of time.
2. Community group meetings are usually the first and most consistent exposure of the project staff to the community as a whole. Often these meetings encourage community cohesion and trust in the project.
3. Community meetings with open invitations can mean that all those who wish to participate may do so.
4. Focus group meetings can be used to bring together those who have a particular problem; those who form a particular segment of the community such as women or leaders; or those who are peripherally involved such as nomadic herders.
5. Regular small group meetings can foster a cooperative approach to problem identification and problem solving, provide a forum for decision making by consensus, provide a practical means of developing shared leadership, promote group activities, and make it possible to share group experiences.
A community group meeting generally involves a large number of people, but, if well designed, it can be participatory by encouraging two-way communication. Smaller focus group meetings can be even more participatory, as the information sharing may be more equitable when there are common problems and a common purpose, or when the group members are comfortable speaking to one another. The outputs from focus group meetings can be presented to larger group meetings, giving a "voice" to those in the community who are unable to speak up in a large group setting.
Time: this will vary according to the purpose of the meeting, and the interest the meeting holds for participants.
Expenses: minimal.
Training: facilitating a meeting in which two-way communication is being sought takes some skill, and sensitization.
A lot of careful planning goes into a successful meeting. Two-way communication must be fostered, interest must be maintained and "work" must get done.
1. Have a clear purpose. Know what the meeting needs to accomplish, from both outsider and insider perspectives. Obtain the approval and involvement of the local leaders, be aware of proper village protocol.
2. Use a calendar of dates. It can help check day-to-day preparations.
3. Choose a convenient time and place. Consider the size and composition of the group. Remember that people have different time constraints, women may not be available to attend at the same time as men. In some cases the location of a meeting may encourage or discourage attendance by specific segments of the population (women, religious, or socio-economic groups).
4. After establishing a time when most can attend, let people know about it well in advance.
5. If outsiders are involved, check whether they require accomodations and food.
6. Inform the community or the group of the meeting's purpose. Use posters, home visits, public announcements, radio, telephone and/or word of mouth.
7. If entertainment is planned, ensure that it does not distract from the purpose of the meeting, but lends itself to the topic.
8. Plan/prepare handouts/materials to be distributed. Plan a method of distribution.
9. Plan smaller, more limited group gatherings (if necessary) and develop feedback mechanisms.
10. Develop a strategy to encourage discussions (prepare some leading questions, stop the slide show in the middle and open discussions). Think always of TKO--WAY communication, and how to adapt extension aids to encourage participation. A community person such as a school teacher or local leader, with experience at meetings, can help facilitate the meeting.
11. when facilitating meetings it is important to:
Consider that there may be factions in the community that are unable or unwilling to speak up. Separate meetings with these people can be held, and their perspectives can be brought back to the larger meetings.
Expect that there will be high turnout at the beginning with decreases over time as only those especially interested or involved will attend. A "committee" meeting can usually handle operations, with meetings periodically to inform the rest of the group. If the turnout at meetings changes abruptly, look for the cause.
Beware of hidden agendas, groups who might use the meeting to bring up their own problems ... the facilitator can sometimes side-step this by saying, "That's not the purpose of this meeting, you might want to hold another meeting to discuss that issue".
The facilitator of the meeting must have enough authority to keep the meeting on track, but enough sensitivity to include as many people in the discussions as possible.
The community or group may tend to put the facilitator in the position of "expert" and expect the facilitator to carry the whole meeting. Think of creative ways to keep handing the questions back to the community or group.
Community group meetings are probably the most common communication tool in community development. But successful meetings with high interest and two-way communication are rare. Think of new, creative ways to foster two-way communication and to include as many people as possible. Here are just a few examples:
In Sudan, where it is culturally inappropriate for women to speak up at meetings, the field staff met with them separately with a female extensionist and brought their perspective back to the next large group meeting.
In Kenya, slide tape shows were stopped periodically so that the community members could create the "ending" to the story.
In Sri Lanka, a process of information gathering was set in motion by using community group meetings. Questions were formulated by the group. Teams visited the necessary places (markets) while project field staff gathered information that local people could not access from urban centres.
Drawing and discussion is a powerful tool, encouraging creative and critical participation in an inquiry process. The purposes of this tool are to:
identify an issue or a problem;
gauge community perception of a current situation, providing a record for comparison at a later date (for evaluation);
jointly develop an analysis within a group; strengthen the connection between thought and action;
promote discussion at points where bridging, refraining or focusing are needed;
provide a visual objective or goal statement.
1. Often people who live in communities where there are class/language barriers or who are not well developed speakers, can express opinions and feelings more easily through drawing.
2. Drawing sessions and meetings to discuss drawing presentations can help strengthen the connection between thought and action.
3. Using self-created visuals, individuals are able to see and jointly develop an analysis. This act deepens group identity.
4. The expenses are relatively minimal, and if good materials are used, the "outputs" can be used at a later date for comparisons.
5. Drawing and discussion is a dynamic, flexible tool for information gathering.
6. This tool can be used for planning on a macro (community) level or on a micro (farm) level. It can be used for community problem analysis to visualize and validate issues. It can also be used for comparative analysis; drawings can be made in participatory baselines, then done again, at a later date, to help in evaluation events.
Drawings are produced jointly by the community, or by individuals, and discussion focuses around them. When one drawing is produced by a number of people, discussions can center on the importance of what has been represented. When individual drawings are done these can be compared and/or discussed in a group. The drawing and discussion tool is most useful in a culture with a strong visual tradition; this tradition can be evidenced by the importance people place on pictures, paintings, or decorations of household effects. Another way to test the community's visual orientation is to ask a number of persons for directions to the next village, and see whether they "draw" the instructions in the sand, or on a piece of paper.
Time: this will vary a great deal, depending on how easily people take up the exercise. Training of facilitator is minimal.
Expenses: minimal, whatever drawing materials are available in the field. A flat surface, paper, material, wood, etc.).
1. Introduce the idea to the group, making the purpose or focus of the drawing exercise clear.
2. Explain that the main purpose is not to produce a work of art, but to open a discussion and communally represent the communty's views on a specific subject, for example, herders migration corridors and where reciprocal grazing rights are held.
3. Let the group dynamics evolve. Often it is simply a matter of giving everyone a drawing implement and the opportunity to use it.
4. Group discussion which focuses on the placement and relative importance of issues can help encourage creation of the most accurate "picture".
5. It can be useful to conduct this exercise with separate groups (men and women; land owners and landless; rich and poor), comparing the drawings in the larger group meetings.
6. Having each member of the group draw their own picture and then using these to contribute to the larger, group produced picture may help initiate the exercise.
7. When the drawing is completed (hopefully after much discussion), the group can analyse it. What does it tell them about the issue under discussion? Have they discovered things they did not know before? Have they seen things differently? The interpretations of the group should be recorded for future reference.
It may be difficult for outsiders to interpret drawings. Recording the group's interpretation will help overcome this.
People may at first be uncomfortable drawing, feeling that they cannot produce a "work of art". Ensure the group that the purpose of the exercise is to better understand an issue, rather than to produce a masterpiece.
In a Turkana community in Kenya, local people produced two drawings. one was a drawing (A) of their village which identified the problems the village was currently experiencing. The other drawing (B) showed what they thought their village would look like once the problems were addressed.
Drawing A is a Community Problem Analysis.
Drawing B is a visual "objective statement".
These can be re-analysed and compared during a Participatory Evaluation Event.
A. A. Problems 1. Dying animals 2. Lack of water 3. Dependency on aid |
|
B. B. Solutions 1. More trees and cropping 2. More water 3. Improved health facilities |
|
Source: Kenyan (1984)
Community directed murals and posters provide a useful way to:
focus, discuss, analyse and present visual objective statements;
develop community extension messages;
show problems, solutions, activities, and/or objectives;
present past, present and future images for inspiration.
1. The community becomes involved as they direct the artist.
2. Murals and/or posters are constant reminders, inspiring activity or changing attitudes.
3. Murals and/or posters can provide constant monitoring and evaluation tool if well located. A visual objective (ie: what we want our village to look like in five years) can be placed where the village can be seen as it is now.
4. Having an artist in the village can spur community interest and commitment, and help to focus the problem solving.
Murals and posters which are designed by the community and drawn by an artist have many of the characteristics of Drawing and Discussion (Tool 2), but they are more permanent and highly visible. It is most important that the community go through the collective discussion and analysis stages in order to direct presentation by the artist.
Cultures with a visual tradition will be more comfortable with this tool. The "style" of drawing should be appropriate to the culture. To ensure this, local artists should be used whenever possible. Many
religious groups use murals as "inspirational pieces". If people have religious pictures in their homes, then murals or posters may be an appropriate tool.
Time: depending on the size of the work and complexity of the issues, the artist can be in the village from 2 to 14 days.
Expense: materials for the artist. Cost of local artist. If a mural is to be done, a large, flat, protected space on which to paint must be provided.
Training: The artist needs training in the community directed process, and an awareness of the objectives of the exercise.
1. The community must agree on the content, presentation and location of the murals as they will be a visible part of the community. The community can choose the location for a mural.
2. In order to give good direction to the artist, the community must plan and discuss what they wish to have done. A first drawing can be done by the community (see Drawing and Discussion Tool) and given to the artist as a first step.
3. The artist, guided and directed by the community at all stages of production, paints the mural or poster.
This tool will not be appropriate for non-visual cultures.
The community must agree to the placement and content of the mural.
Materials (paints and the surface on which to paint) should be of high durability.
In Southern India, an NGO working in village reconstruction employed local artists, who lived in the villages, for up to two weeks to draw large pictures of the village the way the villagers wished it to be in the future. This was done on the side of community buildings or on upright rocks on the way to the well. These murals acted as visual goals statements.
The same NGO used the artists to do fabric "posters" for community extension. These posters were directed by the villagers and showed the purposes of different species of trees, and the benefits from planting trees.
In a village in Latin America, school children became involved with the production of a mural. They were given the purpose of the drawing, and a contest was held within the school. The children presented their pictures to the community to be judged. The "winners" worked with the artist to produce the mural.
Flannel boards can be used in a participatory way to:
raise, discuss, and rank issues according to priorities;
suggest solutions which might be appropriate, and let the group discuss the applicability of each solution;
monitor community needs.
1. This tool has been found to be especially useful in hierarchical and highly stratified societies where many issues are too sensitive to discuss or openly identify. The paste-ups take the pressure off the group by pre-identifying issues.
2. This tool is especially useful in cultures with a visual orientation.
3. The pre-designed "brainstorming" aspect of this tool can trigger further "brainstorming" by the group.
4. If this tool is used often it can monitor community needs, checking to see if the same problems are continually identified and ranked in the same way.
Flannel boards use picture "paste-ups" which can be sequenced or prioritized in any order. The paste-ups are pictures of common problems (fire, poverty, soil erosion, drought, increasing population, etc.) and some common solutions to these problems.
The subject of the paste-ups can be discussed. The position (if any) these paste-ups will have on the flannel board can also be reviewed.
Time: it will take some time and artistic skill to make the paste-ups and the flannel board. These may already be a part of the extension materials, but they can be used in a more participatory way than was intended.
Expense: a local artist may need to prepare paste-ups, but these are re-useable.
Training: the facilitator should be aware of two-way communication techniques.
1. Prepare for this exercise by having paste-ups that portray current issues, and potentially sensitive issues. A good range of possible solutions should be available in paste-ups.
1. A couple of "outlyers" (inappropriate solutions) can be useful to encourage the group to disagree with "set" solutions if they are not appropriate.
2. Extra materials should be available to allow for in-meeting preparation of paste-ups if issues or solutions are raised by the group.
3. Introduce the exercise and the objectives of the exercise to small groups (6 - 10 people).
4. Physically involve people. Have them put the paste-ups on the board, and move them when prioritizing. This can encourage participation.
5. Have discussion identify and rank the problems/issues, and then identify possible solutions.
6. Record the results of the final flannel board composition (for example by a photograph) for future reference and comparison.
Flannel boards can limit spontaneity and two-way communication unless they are done in a way which gives the group choices.
In Rwanda, the forest service, a number of donor agencies, and NGOS have developed flannel boards that tell a story. Field workers found that the packaged story did not elicit discussion, and a number of them tried to use it in a different way. One field worker had the group arrange the pictures in a story, but omitted one of the crucial paste-ups in order to have the group discover it themselves. This helped start discussion.
In West Africa a group has developed the GRAAP flannel board approach. There are several different techniques. One approach uses boards which illustrate a region's physical environment in both the past and the present. The illustrations are used to illicite discussion on changes that have taken place, causes of these changes, and ways to reverse negative changes.
Open ended stories can be used to:
facilitate discussion within a group;
identify problems and/or solutions.
1. This tool can be especially useful when not all community members are literate, but the community has a rich oral or "folkstory" background.
2. This tool can be combined with a drama or puppet show.
3. This is a dynamic tool. It elicits good group participation.
A story with either the beginning, middle or ending left out. The tool allows the group to discuss what might happen in the part that has been purposely deleted.
The beginning can tell a story about a problem, the middle can tell a story about a solution, and the end can tell a story of an outcome.
Time: the story will have to be "designed" beforehand. Depending upon the amount of group discussion, telling the story and filling in the missing part may take up to 2 hours.
Training: a good story-teller with two-way communication skills is necessary.
1. Design the whole story so that the part which is left out elicits response from the group.
2. The storyteller (puppeteer or drama group) must be able to tell the story, and listen and respond to the community analysis. Using two facilitators can allow one to tell the story and one to encourage the community in filling in the "gap".
3. The story and the response need to be recorded. Tape recordings can be helpful in this instance, even though it is commonly noted that people with an oral culture have excellent memories.
A good storyteller who understands the purpose of the exercise is necessary, and it may be difficult to find someone with both of these attributes in the community.
In East Africa, a story was told from behind a screen while a masked figure representing the grandmother (the traditional storyteller in the culture) acted out front. The story (true for the community) describes a group of women who collect medicines from the forest to treat their families. A farmer returns from abroad, and receives a large piece of forest land to start a mechanized farming operation. He begins to cut down the trees. The women of the village are very sad, but do not know what to do about it. The "middle of the story" is left out. The end of the story depicts the women of the village talking about having enough medicine to look after their own needs, and also sell some of their remedies to a nearby town. The community then "filled in" the middle of the story with the things they could do to make the end of the story a reality.
OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES OF THE TOOL
Unserialized posters can be used to:
promote discussion towards problem analysis;
assist in making a chronological record of village history.
1. The discussion that forms around the sequencing is the most beneficial aspect of this tool.
2. This tool can be tried with different groups within the community, and the difference in sequencing can then be compared.
3. This tool is especially useful in communities with a visually oriented culture.
This tool consists of a set of posters which depict local incidents in the community, usually over a long period of time. The pictures are then chronologically sequenced by the group to tell the story as it
has happened. The pictures can cover the community's history, problems, beliefs, practices, values, and issues.
Time: development of the posters may take some time, but they can be used frequently. Sequencing the posters may take up to two hours, depending on the amount of discussion.
Expense: development of the posters can entail some cost.
1. Explain the purpose of the exercise to the group.
2. Display all the pictures to the group, and open discussion regarding each picture to determine its relevance to the community.
3. If sequencing is done in a small group, posters can be moved into sequence by group members. If a large group is present, group consensus can determine the position of pictures. Pictures can then be displayed for all to see.
4. Temporary removal and reintroduction of one or more of the pictures, can help determine its importance. This provides the same benefits as the Open-ended Stories Tool.
Existing posters may leave out an important event. Blank posters should be in-hand so that a drawing can be created to portray the missing event.
A variant of this tool was used by the Bangladesh Cobblers' Programme to facilitate planning. Using information gathered through interviews and informal discussions the progress of the group was visually documented in a number of posters. The goals, the steps and the activities needed to achieve the goals were depicted. Members put the posters in the sequence that they felt would help them accomplish their goals, and through this process the group was able to analyse and review its progress and plan for the future.
OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES OF THE TOOL
Community case studies can:
help increase knowledge and understanding of the community by the community itself;
provide information for participatory baselines, community problem analyses, and evaluation events.
1. Case studies or monographs, written in the local language, can contribute to increased social identification of the inhabitants with their village. They can be used as a local reading book in school and adult education classes.
2. The sorting and decision-making process that the group undertakes in producing a community portrait encourages focused discussion. Community case studies are a powerful tool for developing self-sufficiency because, in the process of developing a case study, the analysis of the reasons for change, and the effects of change have to be dealt with.
3. Community case studies encourage a holistic, community view of an issue. They promote integrated thinking and an awareness of the complexities of real situations. They can provide information that is useful to both insiders and outsiders.
A community case study is a collective description and analysis of the community or beneficiary group. This form of information gathering and analysis gives special attention to forestry related issues in considering the entire social, cultural, economic and ecological existence of a group.
Presentation can be in the form of a drawing, a socio-drama, a song, a story telling, a photograph, a slide-tape presentation or a video presentation. The community should present the case study or monograph in the form that is most comfortable to them.
Time: depends on the depth of knowledge required. Some case studies by outsiders have taken up to six months. Community case studies will probably take a shorter period of time.
Expense: depends on the presentation.
Training: a reliable and enthusiastic facilitator to encourage the process.
1. There should be one or two main themes which focus the case studies or monographs. These themes must be developed and then placed in a context. The "themes" of the case study or monograph should be clearly understood and remain the central focus. It is easy to get sidetracked as other important issues come up.
2. Field staff should guide and encourage the process, but responsibility should be assigned to one or several community members who may be commissioned jointly by community leaders and the project.
3. When asked by the community, outside extensionists can provide required information such as marketing statistics or data on natural forest cover in the area over a period of time.
4. The method of presentation of the case study or monograph should be chosen early in the information gathering and analysis stage.
5. Key informants may be able to do the ground work obtaining concurrence from community members.
The community case study may take a long time and "bogged down" dealing with details, momentum and enthusiasm can be lost. If one person provides encouragement and support, this potential problem can be averted.
In Sri Lanka, field staff experienced some success with the case study approach in evaluating completed projects. However, they found that villagers responded with "stock" answers because they were not involved in the process. Field staff suggested that the case study ought to have been more participatory. In Pakistan, village monographs (case studies) were recommended for a project that needed a boost of "participation". And in a Native Indian Community in Canada, a community "told their story" of social and economic development. This "story" was then dramatized for video and shown to other native communities.