The process of Rural Development in most developing countries, almost, as a rule has tended to be designed outside of the rural community. No doubt the planners and implementers alike would claim meaningfully though, that the blue print for action is based on grassroots level data. Yet, the all-only at the implementation level apparently in order to make the implementation process administratively more convenient rather than with the view to according any credence to the people for whom the programmers are meant.
Planning for rural development in independent India paints a picture that has no canvass to boost of a different scenario. What is worse, independent India seems to have produced over the past five decades of rural development programmers a near perfect panorama of culture of dependence as also culture of non thinking with respect to the vast rural masses. The concomitant erosion of self-confidence and self respect among the rural people does not seen to auger well at time serious efforts.
Contents-
1. Approaches to Develpment Intervention
2. Whose Assessment is Correct? -An Exercise in Validating the PRA Methodology
3. Groping for a Solution under the Shadows of Mango Groves
4. Coping Behaviour of Farmers to Growing Ground Water Scarcity
5. Pollution due to Tannery Effluents: A PRA based Assessment
6. Whither Children’s Hour?
7. Participatory Rural Appraisal for a Vibrant Cooperative Sector
8. Towards Revival of a Milk Producers Cooperative Society: A Consultation with Dairy Farmers
9. Credit Delivery in Practice -A PRA Based Study
10. Poverty, Hunger and Coping Strategies
11. Participatory Planning in the New Panchayati Raj System
12. Community Protection for the Health of Mothers and Children
13. Priming PRA for Project Formulation
14. Community Participation in Small and Big Villages
15. Process Observation in PRA: Guidellines and Reflections
16. Participatory Evaluation: A Framework for Evaluating Comprehensive Watershed Development Programme
