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Participatory Rural Appraisal: All For One, One For All

Participatory Rural Appraisal: All For One, One For All Posted on April 26, 2016 by Megha NGOs – Participatory rural NGOs have been gaining steam over the last few years, especially after the CSR mandate was announced in the Companies Act, 2013. But for an NGO to work well and make a lasting change in the society, it needs to understand the requirements and issues of the people at a grassroot level. One of the many ways NGOs do this is by conducting studies and surveys within villages, also called Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRA). But before we get to how PRAs assist NGOs, here’s how the study works. What is a Participatory Rural Appraisal? A Participatory Rural Appraisal is a tool employed by NGOs and agencies involved in local, national, and international development. It’s used to determine and incorporate the opinions and knowledge of the locals in the planning, management, and running of developmental programmes and projects. PRA manages to enable the local people to provide their opinions, conduct studies, and come up with plans to tackle issues that their community is facing. The project staff of the NGO joins the locals and together they learn all they can about the village. The Evolution of PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal is now considered one of the most popular methods of gathering information about projects in rural areas. But this wasn’t always the case. It was in the 1980s that developmental experts began to feel dissatisfied with the meager number of formal surveys being conducted in rural areas and the biased results that were coming in. It was only in 1983 that Robert Chambers designed the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) where a group of practiced individuals was sent out into the field to gather information and create new, unbiased theories about rural life. The term ‘Participatory Rural Appraisal’ and ‘Participatory Learning and Action’ (PLA) were only coined in the mid 1990s. When To Use PRA PRA involves the community as a whole, and the locals themselves become analysts and investigators in the process. This works in their favour as they are able to determine and prioritize their needs, document and analyse relevant data, and select and train members to work actively for the society’s betterment. This method of analysis works so well because the actions that rise from it tend to focus and serve the local community in a much more streamlined manner. Though volunteers from a particular NGO run the programme, they don’t take an active part in the analysis. The organisers use group discussions and exercises to ensure that the locals share, analyse, and come up with an action plan. They assist the villagers and gradually help them understand the issues plaguing their community without influencing their decisions. PRA works as a tool for transfer of knowledge and also helps improve communication among the villagers and the NGO. Commonly Used Techniques There are a vast number of techniques used in PRA. We’ve picked three of the most common methods and illustrated how they’re conducted. Commonly Used Technique – CSR Participatory Mapping and Modelling This method involves the use of local materials to create a ground or wall map with the participation of the locals. The villagers draw, or in other ways, represent the historical and current situation of the area. The researcher then interviews each villager about what the map represents and document forests, types of soil, residential areas, farms, water sources, health and welfare conditions, and more. NGOs also create social maps to document who is related to whom, classes, and where they live. Matrices A researcher can use matrices as a means to gather information and to facilitate analysis among the villagers. They use grid-like formats to illustrate the link between different activities and factors. For example, a problem-solving matrix is used with columns containing labels like land use, soil types, available resources, and cropping patterns. Then there are rows with labels like constraints, solutions, and initiatives already attempted. Seasonal Calendars Variables such as labour, income, rainfall, debt, expenditure, animal fodder, pests, and harvesting periods are documented to show a month to month variation and seasonal issues. Using this data, the NGO goes ahead with a plan of action. The calendars can be used to identify produce grown, plants, harvest seasons, labour issues, and marketing opportunities. Often an 18-month calendar is used, as it illustrates issues and variations much better than a 12-month calendar. PRA has evolved over the years and is helping the rural population be more empowered and proactive about the different constraints they face in the village. This method clearly illustrates that when NGOs start at the grassroot levels, the society as a whole benefits. References: First Image Source: Wikimedia.org Second Image Source: shutterstock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_rural_appraisal http://www.agraria.unipd.it/agraria/master/02-03/participatory%20rural%20appraisal.pdf http://www.kstoolkit.org/Participatory+Rural+Appraisal+(PRA) http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALDEV/0,,contentMDK:21233809~menuPK:3291499~pagePK:64168445~piPK:64168309~theSitePK:3177395~isCURL:Y~isCURL:Y,00.html http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPCENG/1143331-1116505657479/20509228/Toolkit.pdf http://www.fao.org/docrep/w3241e/w3241e09.htm
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Giving Back What Was Taken: Businesses And Their Obligation To The Environment

Organisations in this day and age are naturally inclined towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – giving back to society. Although giving back to society includes several focus areas, let’s talk about being responsible to the environment. This is, after all, the resource that every business draws from, on one level or another. There are various activities that inevitably have a negative impact on the planet. Businesses who have this effect on the environment more often than not, take steps to reduce the effects of their action on Earth. 1.Every Drop Counts More than 70% of the water on earth is non-potable. Worse, with untreated effluents released into our water sources, a lot it is rendered unfit for most purposes. According to a report published in Indian Environmental Portal, as of February 2016, over half of all Indian rivers are polluted, and the government faces a loss of USD 600 million (over INR 4000 crore) a year due to poor water standards. The government is taking measures to curb this issue and a number of like-minded organisations and NGOs have joined in the effort. Big industrial players like Tata Power, JSW, and ACC play their part by re-utilising water in their industrial processes. They also help by setting up Wastewater Treatment Plants (WTP) and Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) in their plants. Government-funded projects like the replenishing of disappearing ponds in Gurgaon and the MukhyaMantri Jal SwavlambanAbhiyan (MJSA), initiated by the Rajasthan government, have seen considerable support from these organisations as part of organisations’ CSR programs. 2.Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Reduce Carbon Footprint Many organisations have sizeable carbon footprints because of the nature of their business and the sheer scale of their operations. Achieving a zero carbon footprint is a protracted process, and both the government and a number of industry leaders are inclined towards this cause. Cisco, a global giant, has set up 3 photovoltaic facilities in Bangalore and Texas. These facilities will yield 2 million kilowatt hours of electricity every year, and save upto 1150 metric tonnes of carbon emissions annually. 3.Switch To Renewable Resources A number of industries are now looking into using greener, more sustainable alternatives for their power needs. Organisations like Cairn India mainly use renewable resources for their energy needs. Cairn India is also in the process of installing a solar-powered lighting system in their main plant in Rajasthan. Tata Power has switched to imported coal varieties that have a lower sulphur and ash content, resulting in reduced carbon emissions. 4. Saplings For The Future Mass deforestation is taking away a normal, worry-free future away from our children and grandchildren. Remember the adage, ‘We have not received Earth from our ancestors, we have borrowed it from future generations.’? As a solution to the widespread and indiscriminate felling of trees, a number of businesses have begun planting trees to try and mitigate the ill-effects of indiscriminate logging. Coal India Limited, Tata Group, ONGC, Bharat Petroleum, Reliance Industries, and Aditya Birla Group are some of the big names that plant trees in their areas of operation. This planting of saplings is an ongoing process and is carried out on a large scale by these companies every year. Most of these initiatives are mandated by a number of environmental laws. However, many businesses have taken measures towards creating a greener and cleaner planet of their own volition in the true spirit of CSR. References: Image Sources: