pra participatory appraisal tool en

Helvetas Vietnam – Swiss Association for International Cooperation ETSP – Extension and Training Support Project for Forestry and Agriculture in the Uplands 218 Doi Can Street, GPO Box 81, Hanoi, Vietnam; phone: +84 4 832 98 33, fax: +84 4 832 98 34 e-mail: [email protected] web site ETSP: http://www.etsp.org.vn, web site Helvetas Vietnam: http://www.helvetas.org.vn

PRA tools for identifying activities for the

mid-term and yearly socio-economic Village Development Plan (VDP)

June 2003

1

Overview of PRA tools

Thematic area PRA tool General and basic information Tool 1: Transect walk

Tool 2: Resource map Tool 3: Brief village history Tool 4: Seasonal calendar

A. Land use planning and land allocation Tool 2: Resource map B. Paddy and upland cultivation Tool 5: Wet rice cultivation

Tool 6: Upland cultivation C. Home garden and cash crops Tool 7: Fruit trees, home garden and cash

crops D. Livestock Tool 8: Livestock E. Forestry Tool 9: Assessment of forestry

Tool 10: Forest products and Non-timber forest products (NTFP)

F. Economy, marketing and input supply Tool 11: Wealth ranking Tool 12: Assessment of market, trading and

input supply system G. Organizational development Tool 13: VENN diagram H. Education and health Tool 14: Assessment of education

Tool 15: Assessment of health care I. Infrastructure Tool 16: Assessment of transportation system

Tool 17: Assessment of irrigation system J. Other issues (culture, …) Tool 18: Drinking water and water supply

Tool 19: Women issues Tool 20: Village meeting to discuss PRA

findings, to review mid-term VDP proposal and priority ranking for yearly VDP

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References:

Social Forestry Development Project (SFDP), Bé c«ng cô PRA ( §¸nh gi¸ n«ng th«n cã ng-êi d©n tham gia - Participatory Rural Appraisal) cho th«n b¶n dïng trong lËp kÕ ho¹ch ph¸t triÓn kinh tÕ - x· héi cÊp th«n b¶n

Sontheimer, S. et al., 1999, PRA toolbox, Joint Back to Office Report, Technical Backstopping to the Preparatory Phase of GCP/ETH/056/BEL, Ethiopia

Guijt, I., 1998, Participatory monitoring and impact assessment of sustainable agriculture initiatives, SARL discussion paper 1, IIED, London

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What is PRA?

PRA is a methodology that enable rural people to share, enhance and analyse their knowledge of life and conditions, and 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. (adapted from Chambers)

In the VDP/CDP process, PRA tools are used to analyse the current situation, potential and problems and their causes, figure out possible solutions and identify relevant activites for different thematic areas. These tools are used during the village appraisal which is made by the VDP working group, with support of the CDP facilitation team.

How to use PRA?

The VDP working group has to be split up into small groups with around 5 villagers each. However, it is possible to expand the number of participants if more people like to join.

The work is facilitated and documented by the CDP facilitation team which have to ensure three main roles during the village appraisal in the field and at the village meetings: • PRA facilitator • Note-taker • Team leader

During the PRA exercise women should be particularly encouraged to participate to the discussion.

At the end of each PRA session, the VDP working group members figure out relevant activities to be considered for the Village Development Plan.

PRA team members

PRA facilitator

Role: Facilitation of the PRA tools and identification of VDP activities Activities:

introduce the PRA tool to the VDP working group facilitate the process act as a catalyst between the individuals of the group find ways of integrating dominant and quiet people and make sure that all group

members are able to express their opinions make sure that the group keeps to the topic but is also flexible in handling

additional important information repeat in own words what people say in order to confirm that there is a good

understanding of the discussion take care of time management

Attitudes:

have flexibility, patience and a sense of humour avoid to use complicated terms and words talk the local language encourage and motivate people “hand over the stick” to the community group as much as possible keep a low profile during the event listen carefully to any group member and don’t teach, involve quiet and

marginalised people

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NOTE - TAKER

Role: Documentation of all important information and relevant observation while implementing PRA tools

Activities:

bring along A4 paper for copying what is drawn on the ground or on large size Ao paper

bring along the all necessary materials observe the event from the background write down all important information assist the facilitator in an indirect way by giving signs support the facilitator directly by asking questions, if the situation requires it take care that participants copie any visualised subject (map, diagram etc.) on a

sheet of paper immediately after the event observe and facilitate the copying, ensure that the copy resembles the original, has

a legend, a date, and place sit together with the facilitator and discuss the notes after the end of the event

Attitudes:

good observer even though 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 able to visualise and present results to the PRA team briefly and precisely

PRA TEAM LEADER Role: Team leading during the PRA implementation Activities:

- Be responsible for the CDP facilitation team during PRA event - Be responsible for all organisational and logistical matters concerning the PRA

field work and village meetings - moderate the PRA workshop and evaluation meetings during the evening - Introduces the PRA-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 summarising and documentation process of the smaller teams, that

have used a PRA 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 organized - kind and patient at all the time, keeps a cool head if things go wrong - Sense of humour - keeps low profile - listens, observes, consults

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Tool 1: TRANSECT WALK

Number of participants: male: female:

Description: The transect walk is a tool to discuss information related to land use of the

village. Transects are done with structured walks through typical village landscape. Such walks can cover part of the village or the entire village, taking an hour or up to some hours. Transects consist of two elements: the walk and and a diagram that records the information of the walks.

Objectives: Identify typical land use types and their characteristics in terms of soil quality, vegetation, land tenure, socio-economy, gender, etc.

With whom: Mixed group of farmers (female and male) Step 1: Assess current situation

Undertake transect walk & draw diagram

Land use type: Paddy Irr. Housing Home garden Natural forest Soil & soil quality Crops, vegetation Land tenure Income generation … Potentials, best practices

Problems Solutions Step 2: Figure out potentials, best practices, important problems and their causes Land unit Best practices,

potentials Main problems Causes

Paddy Housing Home garden …

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Step 3: Find out solutions for the problems

Solutions Step 4: Identify relevant activities to tackle the problems or to reinforce promising practices

(Attention: it is important to rank the priority of the activities)

Time frame Activity Unit Quantity Location Start Finis

h

Village contribution

External contribution

Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 2: 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 VDP working group members should further develop and detail 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.

With whom: Female and male focus groups

How to facilitate: The Village Resource Map is a good tool to begin with. It helps initiate discussion among the community and with the CDP facilitation team. All team members should observe the mapping exercise because it provides an overall orientation to the features of the community and its resources. The resource map should be designed on a formerly prepared large size Ao paper.

It’s recommended to use this tool in separate groups of men and women in the village. This is because women and men may use different resources. Women may draw the resources which are important for them (like water sources, firewood sources, etc).

Step 1: Assess current situation

Key questions: What resources are abundant (potential)? What resources are scarce? Does everyone have equal access to land? Do women have access to land? Do the poor have access to land? Who makes decision on land allocation? Where do people go to collect water? Who collects water? Where do people go to collect firewood? Who collects firewood? Where do people go graze livestock? What kind of development activities do you carry out as a whole community? Where? …

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Step 2: Figure out the three most important problems and their causes

Problems Causes Which resource do you have the most

problem with? What are the causes of the problem?

Step 3: Find out possible solutions for the three problems

Solutions Step 4: Identify relevant activities to tackle the problems or to reinforce promising

practices (Attention: it is important to rank the priority of the activities)


h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 3: BRIEF VILLAGE HISTORY


Description:

This tool helps the villagers to remind all important events which happened in the village in the past. It also helps villagers of the community to be aware of their effort passing each period of their recent history.

Objectives:

Find out general information and important events in the recent village history.

Time Major events

Meaning of village name

Village foundation

1930->1954

1954 ->1975

1975 ->1990

1990 - >today

Future trends and general ideas for long-term development plan

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Tool 4: SEASONAL CALENDAR


Description: A seasonal calendar is a participatory tool to explore seasonal changes (e.g. gender-

specific workload, diseases, income, expenditure etc.).

Objective: Learn about changes in livelihoods over the year and to show the seasonality of agricultural and non agricultural workload, food availability, human diseases, gender-specific income and expenditure, water, forage, credit.

Methods : The VDP working group discuss and fill in the form with the values (quantity, intensity, …) for each topic (see sample)

With whom: Mixed group for women and men

How to facilitate: 1. Find a large open space for the group work. The calendar can be drawn on the ground, on the floor

or on a large size Ao paper. 2. Ask the participants to draw a matrix, indicating each month along one axis. 3. It usually easiest to start the calendar by asking about rainfall patterns. Choose a symbol for rain

and put/draw it next to the first 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).

4. Move to the next topic and ask people during which period the intensity for agriculture activities is high.

5. Go on like this, meaning topic by topic. 6. 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 and when is the most appropriate season for additional activities for men and women?

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Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Intensity agriculture activities

Intensity of forestry activities

Agriculture work load for women

Agriculture work load for men

Non-agriculture work load for women

Non-agriculture work load for men

Food scarcity

Income for women

Income for men

Expenditure for women

Expenditure for women

Livestock forage availability

Credit availability


Problems Causes time constraints? limited financial resources?

What are the causes of the problem?

Rainfall

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h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 5: WET RICE CULTIVATION


Objectives:

Assess wet rice production in the village: level of intensity, variety use, productivity and efficiency

Identify promising practices and main problems Figure out appropriate solutions and activities

Step 1: Assess current situation Rice variety use and cultivation techniques Main varieties and their productivity used in the village

New varieties and their productivity used in the village

Number of households having been used new varieties

Summer crop: Varieties used in upcoming seasons Winter crop:

Fertilisers used for wet rice

Disease and insects destroying wet rice

Existence of promising practices


Problems Causes What constraints for intensive wet rice

cultivation system What are the causes of the

problem/constraints?

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h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 6: UPLAND CULTIVATION


Objectives:

Assess upland cultivation crops and cultivation techniques in the village: level of intensity, variety use, productivity and efficiency


Step 1: Assess current situation Crop and crop variety use and cultivation techniques

Corn Hilly rice

Main crops, crop varieties and their productivity used in the village

Corn Hilly rice

New varieties and their productivity used in the village

Corn Hilly rice

Number of households are using new varieties

Fertilisers used

Disease and insects destroying the crops

Methods to reduce soil erosion and/or to increase soil fertility

Existing promising crops and varieties Existing promising cultivation techniques

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Problems Causes

Step 3: Find out solutions for the three problems

Solutions Step 4: Define relevant activities to overcome the problems



h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 7: FRUIT TREES, HOME GARDEN AND CASH CROPS


Objectives:

Identify the most important fruit trees, home garden and cash crops in terms of food provision & related income generation in the village


Step 1: Assess current situation Make a matrix to compare different plants/trees: agree on plants to be included, and on comparision criteria to be used

Score:

Food provision Income generation Disease resistance Drought resistance Fast growing …. TOTAL RANK Step 2: Figure out potentials, promising practices, important problems and their causes Type of tree / plant Promising practices,

potentials Problems Causes


Solutions

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Step 4: Identify relevant activities to tackle the problems or to reinforce promising practices (Attention: it is important to rank the priority of the activities)


h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 8: LIVESTOCK


Objectives:

Identify the most important animals in the village Identify promising practices and main problems Figure out appropriate solutions and activities

Step 1: Assess current situation a. Make a matrix to compare different animals: agree on animals to be included, and on comparision criteria to be used

Score:

Current quantity in the village Food provision for human Income generation Disease resistance Availability of animal fodder Raising techniques …. TOTAL RANK b. Get additional information on animal raising in the village: Land availability for animals raising

Village regulations on disease management

Veterinary service of district (quality)

Veterinary staff in the village/commune

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Step 2: Figure out potentials, promising practices, important problems and their causes Type animal Promising practices/

potentials Problems Causes





h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 9: ASSESSMENT OF FORESTRY


Objectives: • Analyse the situation of forest management, utilisation and protection. • Analyze implementation of government programs and development projects • Identify promising practices and main problems • Figure out appropriate solutions and activities

With whom: Mixed male and femal focus group Step 1: Assess current situation

Review existing forest types: production forest, protection forest, special use forest Discuss current situation of forest land allocation Assess how forests are currently managed, used and protected in the village (commune) Assess regulations related to forest management, forest use and/or protection Analyze how activities of governmental programs and of development projects are implemented

(what activities, how implemented, achieved results) …

Step 2: Figure out promising practices, potentials, important problems and their causes Promising practices/ potentials:

Problems Causes

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h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 10: FOREST PRODUCTS AND NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS (NTFP) Number of participants: male: female: Objectives:

Identify the most important forest and non-timber forest products & related income generation in the village



Make a matrix to compare different forest products and NTFPs: agree on plants to be included, and on comparision criteria to be used

Bamboo Rattan Hat making plant Honey

Score:

Food provision Income generation Fast growing / productivity Collecting time …. TOTAL RANK Step 2: Figure out potentials, promising practices, important problems and their causes Type of product/ plant

Promising practices/ potentials

Problems Causes


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h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 11: Wealth ranking


Objectives: • Identify and understand local criteria of wealth • Address livelihood concerns for different wealth groups in the community,

especially for the poor • Figure out appropriate solutions and activities

Method: Ranking

With whom: Some key informants who know the community well. The exercise is facilitated by 2 members of the facilitation team

How to facilitate: 1. A numbered list is made of all the households of the

village and the name of each household head and corresponding household number is written on a separate card

2. Some 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

L−êng th Lß v¨n Thanh

Hµ thÞ Khiªt

Lß V¨n Ban

3. 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

4. List local criteria derived from the ranking discussion. Note down for each household the categorie number (on household list)


Identification of criteria for each wealth categorie Wealth criteria:

Housing Property,

transportation means

Food sufficiency

Number of animal

...

Category 1

Category 2

Category 3

Category 4

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Step 2: Figure out important problems and their causes

Discuss the main problems of the poor household groups Problems Causes





h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 12: ASSESSMENT OF MARKET, TRADING AND INPUT SUPPLY SYSTEM


Objectives: • Identify the most important products which are traded with the village

• Identify potentials and main problems related to market, trading and input supply system

• Figure out appropriate solutions and activities

Method: Focus group discussion Step 1: Assess current situation

What are the most important products (agriculture, forestry products) which are traded with the village? What products are sold? What products are bougtht?

How the products are traded? Within the village/commune, on the district market, by local traders, by traders coming from outside the district?

How inputs for agricultural production is provided to farmers? On local market, district market, by traders from outside the district?

...

Tip: a list with products can be established. Importance of sold and bought products can be ranked from 1 to 10.

Step 2: Figure out potentials, important problems and their causes Potentials:

Problems Causes

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h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 13: 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: Identify external and internal organisations/groups/important persons active in the community Identify who participates in local organisations/institutions by gender and wealth Figure out how the different organisations and groups relate to each other in terms of contact, co-

operation, flow of information and provision of services. Step 1: Assess current situation

How to facilitate the process? 1. 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 Ao 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.

2. Explain to the participants the three objectives (see above) of the Venn Diagram on institutions. 3. 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. neighbourhood committees. Following question is useful to ask: 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). Who makes important decisions in the village?

write down all the institutions that have been mentioned. 4. Draw a big circle in the centre of the paper or on the ground that represents the village. 5. Discuss for each organisation how important they are for the villagers. The most important ones

are then drawn as a big circle and the less important ones as smaller circles. 6. Discuss in which way the villagers benefit from the different organisations.

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7. Show the degree of contact/co-operation between the community and those institutions by distance between the circles as follows:

largely distanced circles: no or little contact or co-operation

circles close to each other: only loose contacts exist

touching circles: some co-operation

overlapping circles: close co-operation

8. Identify which institutions are only accepting women or men as members. Are their 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.

9. Discuss in which organisations poor people do not participate and why. Mark such institutions on the diagram by using a symbol for poor.

Step 2: Figure out potentials, important problems and their causes Potentials:

Problems Causes


Solutions

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Step 4: Identify relevant activities to tackle the problems or to reinforce promising practices (Attention: it is important to rank the priority of the activities)


h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 14: ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATION

Number of participant: male: female:

Objectives: Describe the situation of education for the village Identify main problems related to school attendance of children Figure out appropriate solutions and related activities

With whom:

Mixed male and femal focus group Step 1: Assess current situation

What is the current situation of eduction in the village? Where the children go to school for the different levels

Is there any activities related to environmental education

... Step 2: Figure out the three most important problems and their causes Problems Causes Main problems related to school attendance of the children





h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 15: ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH CARE


Objectives: Describe the situation of health care of the village Identify main problems related to health care Figure out appropriate solutions and related activities

With whom:

Mixed male and femal focus group


What are most important diseases and accidents in the village?

What is the current situation of health care in the village?

...

Step 2: Figure out the three most important problems and their causes Problems Causes What are the most important problems related to health care in the village?





h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 16: ASSESSMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM


Objective:

Analyse the existing conditions of the existing road infrastructure system in order to identify the measurements to improve it


Draw the type of roads and bridges with different colors or symbols on the prepared village map (size: Ao paper) using following legend:

Type of roads and bridges: Inter-village road Road linking village, commune and district Bridge, temporary culvert (bamboo, low quality wood) Bridge, solid culvert (ferro-concrete) Hanging bridge

Identify the most important roads and bridges in terms of economical development of the village

Review the quality of roads and bridges

... Step 2: Figure out the three most important problems and their causes Problems Causes Step 3: Find out possible solutions for the three problems

Solutions

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Step 4: Identify relevant activities to tackle the problems



h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 17: ASSESSMENT OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM


Objectives: Assess the situation of the existing irrigation system, irrigation and drainage capacity, the

management responsibility and construction & maintenance implementation Identify the demands of villagers to expand existing irrigation perimeters and to construct other

irrigation system Figure out appropriate solutions and related activities


a. Draw all irrigation perimeters, important sources, and streams with different colors or symbols on the prepared village map (size: Ao paper)

b. Characterize the different irrigation systems by using the table as follows:

Irrigation system 1 Irrigation system …

Name of the construction (water source, stream’s name)

Type of soil in irrigated area (valley, field, terrace)

Irrigated area in summer Irrigated area in spring Size (length, depth) of the dam or other water supply system.

Number and total length of the channels

Number and total length of concrete channels

Decision maker of water distribution, define the time to close and open the channels?

Level of maintenance and how many days per year have maintenance ?

Maintenance responsibility and implementation

Yearly budget for irrigation/drainage (irrigation fee)

c. Review the situation of the different irrigation perimeters and identify the needs for improvement, reparation, upgrading and new construction. Draw the review results on the map

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Step 2: Figure out the three most important problems and their causes Problems Causes


Solutions Step 4: Identify relevant activities to tackle the problems



h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 18: DRINKING WATER AND WATER SUPPLY


Objectives: Describe the situation of drinking water and water supply for home use in the village Identify main problems related to drinking water and water supply Figure out appropriate solutions and related activities

With whom:

Mixed male and femal focus group


How the households get drinking water and water for daily use? From wells, sources, streams, rain water, ...?

How is the quality of the drinking water?

... Step 2: Figure out the three most important problems and their causes Problems Causes What are the most important problems related to drinking water and water supply for home use?


Solutions Step 4: Identify relevant activities to tackle the problems



h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 19: Women issues


Objectives: • Help women to identify and discuss on the solutions to improve the their living and working condition in the village

• Identify promising practices and main problems

• Figure out appropriate solutions and activities

Method: Focus group discussion

With whom: Female focus group with female facilitator Step 1: Assess current situation

What are typical women activities?

What are main income sources for women?

What are women organizations in the village?

...

Step 2: Figure out promising practices, potential, important problems and their causes Promising practices/ potentials:

Problems Causes

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h



Priority (1 to 3)

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Tool 20: VILLAGE MEETING TO DISCUSS PRA FINDINGS, TO REVIEW MID-TERM VDP PROPOSAL AND PRIORITY RANKING FOR YEARLY VDP


Objectives: • Inform on VDP process, orientation plans and discuss PRA findings • Discuss and finalize and get agreement among

the village on the Village Development Plan: a/ mid-term plan (3-5 years) and b/ upcoming yearly plan

• Prioritize yearly VDP activities for each thematic area

Method: Village meeting of about 3 hours. The discussion should be held in the local language in case Kinh language isn’t commonly spoken.

With whom: All households of the village; especially women are encouraged to participate. The meeting should be mainly facilitated by VDP working group, with the support of the CDP facilitation team members.

Step 1: Preparation of the village meeting

The CDP facilitation team has the responsibility to facilitate the elaboration process of the village development plan which base on the results of the PRA findings and activity proposal of the VDP working group.

These results (PRA and activity proposal) have to be discussed during a village meeting whose preparation needs sufficient time. PRA findings and the first activity proposal have to be summarized on large size Ao paper. They will be used in the village meeting to attract the farmers’ attention and to facilitate the discussion. Step 2: Explain VDP/CDP and the thematic areas of the plan

Considering that at this stage not all villagers haven’t been well infomered on VDP, it is recommended to give first information on the VDP/CDP process, and related activities done so far in the village. The expected outputs of the meeting have to be well explained.

Step 3: PRA findings for each thematic area

The VDP working group present and discuss for each thematic area the main PRA findings and related activity proposal.

Step 4: Information on orientation plans

Existing orientation plans are shortly debriefed to the participants of the village meeting. The purpose is to inform the village on existing governmental programs and possible project support. Accordingly to the grassroot democracy decree, the orientation plans (including budgets) should be made available.

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Step 5: Discuss and agree on VDP: mid-term and upcoming yearly plan

The VDP consists of two parts: the mid-term and the upcoming yearly plan.

It is important that the members of the VDP working group inform their colleagues that their VDP proposal isn’t a finalized result and that everybody is invited to give comments and express opinions. The facilitators should encourage people from weaker groups such as poor households or women to participate to the discussion. Step 6: Prioritize upcoming yearly VDP activities

It’s possible that the yearly VDP may consists of too many activities and/or of unrealistic expected results (quantites) which don’t correspond to local available resources. For this reason it’s necessary to select and prioritize activities and to reach agreement on the plans. All household representatives are invited to rank the activities (e.g. with distributing points to preferred activities). Finally three activities may be selected for each thematic area.

Step 7: Consolidation of VDP at village level

Immediately after the village meeting, the agreed results have to be compiled in a draft VDP, which has to be submitted to the commune for its consolidation into the Commune Development Plan (CDP).

PS: All results have to be written up on A4 paper. These A4 papers are used for consolidating the results at the village and commune levels, meanwhile the results on large size paper (Ao) are kept by the village, contributing to a transparent planning process.

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