by Dr Thomas Kroeck.
Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) methods can be very helpful as a way of collecting information for planning and setting up development projects. They have a number of advantages over formal surveys.
Some of these advantages are…
- Local people are encouraged to participate from the beginning when projects are planned.
- The costs of using PLA methods are usually much lower than for formal surveys.
- The information is immediately available to everyone, both in the community and those planning the project.
Because of this, PLA methods are very suitable for development organisations with a bottom-up approach and limited financial and personnel resources, such as churches and other NGOs.
In the Diocese of Mount Kilimanjaro this development approach is still new. Some PLA methods have been used in seminars but we are still learning how to use PLA for the planning and implementation of sustainable development projects.
In October 1992 we used PLA methods in Kiru Dick village in Babati District for the following reasons:
- to help village people understand their situation and to take action for their own development
- to help part-time church workers (evangelists) from the Babati area to play an active role in the development of their villages
- to get a deeper understanding of the situation in the rural areas in order to plan relevant development projects and training programmes.
Background to the area
Kiru Dick village is in Babati District in northern Tanzania. It is 12km north-west of Babati town, on the southern slopes of Kiru Valley which is part of the Rift Valley. Kiru Dick consists of four hamlets with a total population of about 1,700. For the PLA the hamlet Mbuni was chosen. It has an area of about 20km2 and a population of about 640. At least one third of the area is cultivated by leasehold farms.
The PLA team
We used a team of 20 persons – some from the village and some from outside. The core team were responsible for the organisation. They included the diocesan development officer, two agriculturalists from a diocesan training centre, a Mothers’ Union worker and local people appointed by the village government and the church, and church workers from the Babati area, who had received three months’ training at the training centre. Thirteen team members were from the village and seven were outsiders. There were five women and fifteen men. The majority of team members had primary education and all were literate.
A first visit was made one month before the seminar and the proposed PLA exercises discussed with village leaders and church elders. However, no definite programme was agreed at that time. When they arrived the team found that the village government had already announced their programme. As a result the programme prepared by the team was adjusted to some extent. Other changes were made during the course of the seminar. The following programme is the result of this process.
Programme
Day One On arrival, the team members met first with the village chairman and secretary and later with the village elders and discussed the history of the village, agriculture, livestock and health problems.
Day Two The team met to introduce the new members, explain the principles of PLA and learn about the use of mapping and seasonal charts. In the afternoon they began the exercises with the villagers. They began by mapping the Mbuni hamlet with them, moving on to developing a seasonal chart. (See pages 8–9.)
Day Three The team discussed gathering of information through informal interviews and group discussions. In the afternoon they divided and met with three groups – women, youth and community leaders (with whom they did ranking exercises). In the evening they were given an introduction to transect walks.
Day Four The following day they again divided into three groups – two taking different transect walks and the third group visiting the dispensary to gather information about the health situation. During the week the team met regularly to discuss and evaluate their activities – usually early in the morning and each evening.
The Transect Walk
|
|
Lease-hold farms |
Lower slope |
Middle slope |
Stream |
Upper slope |
Mountain |
|
Soil
Fertility |
**** |
*** |
** |
|
* |
|
|
Erosion |
None |
Gully erosion on cattle paths |
Mainly sheet erosion |
Gullies |
Sheet and rill
Gullies |
|
|
Crops |
Sugar cane
Maize
Beans |
Sorghum
Maize
Pigeon peas
Cassava
Sweet potatoes |
Sorghum
Maize
Pigeon peas |
Bananas
Trees |
Sorghum
Pigeon peas
Maize |
Trees |
|
Land use |
Farming |
Farming
Grazing |
Farming
|