LAHS Prathishtan is an NGO registered under the Public Charitable Trust Act and Society Registration Act 1860 in the year 2013. One of the main goal of LAHS Prathishtan is rural empowerment and up- liftment of other social community through social well being. Encouraging villagers to explore the possibilities of modern amenities and facilities in the fields of education, health, agriculture, water management and energy conservation form our core objective and we will not rest until they are achieved. So far by now we have actively working in the ShahapurTaluka, District Thane. Over 50 Villages including various projects have been covered by our project implementation.

In reference to the same, below is our brief view and our way of working below:

Contents:

• Purpose of Participatory Planning
• Salient Features
• Methods of Planning
• Our PRA Guidelines – Bible for the Behavioural etiquettes of the group conducting PRA.
• Project Cycle
• Procedure to be followed
• Costing

We believe in social entrepreneurship and giving value for money services to the needy. At every point in time, we value involvement from the beneficiary in everything we plan and decide to go ahead with.

PRA – Participatory Rural appraisal

• Purpose of Participatory Planning
  • Identification of the felt needs of the people.
  • The empowerment of the local disadvantaged groups.
  • Integration of local knowledge systems into project design
  • Involvement from the local community with commitment and support for their own wellbeing.
  • Two way learning process between the project implementers and the local people

• Salient Features

  The planning process should produce two set of results

  • In the short term, the tools of participatory planning should generate a two way learning process, which will shape project of local needs.
  • In the long term, this learning process should lead to local empowerment and effective support at the institutional level.

• Methods of Planning
  • RRA – Rapid Rural Appraisal Method It involves external experts teaming up with local community in a process of knowledge sharing.
  • PRA – Participatory Rural Appraisal Method This tool is efficient in terms of both time and money. PRA work together enough- information to make the necessary recommendations and decisions.

• Our PRA Guidelines – Bible for the Behavioural etiquettes of the group conducting PRA.
  • Stay in Village along with the villagers./li>
  • Learn to unlearn by staying with the people, by more of listening and less of talking.
  • Establish a rapport with the people.
  • Organize do it yourself to start the field work. This will involve the team in trying their hands at everyday local activities.
  • Choose a place in consultation with the people where men, women and people from different sections of the community can gather and participate.
  • Create an open and enabling atmosphere to encourage participation.
  • Start and build up interaction and dialogue gradually.
  • Meet the people at their convenience. Ensure that the team from outside is multidisciplinary in nature
  • Decide the role of each member of the team from outside.
  • Cultivate the attitude of letting people to set agenda.
  • Ask open ended questions in an informal way. Resort to the six helpers of PRA: What? When? Where? Who? How? And Why?
  • Use locally available materials in all PRA exercises.
  • Be humble in your approach, respect the local people, their culture, their customs and their way of life.
  • Be Flexible in your approach
  • Be an active participation in all the PRA deliberation.
  • Be aware of the conflicts, if any; deal with them in a positive way.
  • Be conscious of the silent and invisible people in the village.
  • Be sensitive to the feelings of the people.
  • Be careful about your body language.
  • Think about the possible sequences of methods that can be used before leaving the field.
  • Share your knowledge with the people.
  • Never be judgemental and make false promises.
  • Don't decide rather facilitate the people to decide.
  • Hand over the stick.

Procedure to be followed:
Direct Observation

Is systematically observing objects, events, processes, relationships or people and recording these observations. Direct observation is a good way to cross check respondent's answers. The steps are 1. Think about the objectives and broad topics of PRA. 2. Identify indicators which you can access through direct observation. 3. List down the indicators.

Review of secondary data sources:

Secondary sources are sources of information that are relevant to the area or subject of the planned PRA and are available in published or the unpublished form.

Construction of Diagrams:

• A diagram is any simple model which presents information in an easily understandable visual form. Diagrams are constructed to:
  • Greatly simplify complex information
  • Show/picture an analytical procedure
  • Facilitate communication
  • Stimulate discussion
  • Increase consensus among members
  • Involve community members and to discover their views and categories by encouraging them to draw diagrams of their own.

Seasonal Calendar:

• A calendar showing the main activities, problems and opportunities throughout
• It helps identify events that have impact on people's lives. Information in the the annual cycle in diagrammatic form (multi-layer diagram in one sheet) calendar includes dates, events, cash flow, and sometimes even input prices.

• Is a guided interview where only some of the questions are predetermined and new questions come up during the interview. The interviewer prepares a list of topics rather than fixed questionnaire. The targets are individuals, key informants and focus groups.

• Are quantitative changes over time and can be used for many variables (those that have impact to the lives of the people on the area. Examples are input prices, rainfall, livestock population, etc.).

• Chronological list of events in the community. This reveals important information for understanding the present situation in the community.

• Collection of day to day activities of community members

• This diagram shows cause, effects and relationships between key variables.
• Drawing maps and taking photographs
• Drawn maps of the area are sources of spatial information in the area, and taking photos will show the features of the area.
• The maps drawn and photos taken may be done for topics such as:
  • Demography
  • Social and Residential Stratification
  • Use of Natural resources
  • Fields and land use
  • Spatial arrangements of houses and use of space
  • Mobility
  • Water and Soils

• This is useful for periodic review of development activities. Without collection of information, this sharpens the group's analytical skills and brings out important issues. The questions to be answered here are:
  • Activity
  • Goals/Objective
  • Output indicators
  • Impact indicators
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • What should we continue doing..?
  • What should we start doing..?
  • What should we stop doing..?

• As the final part of the PRA, the report should be prepared for later
• The report will contain the proceedings and results of the conducted activities.
• Also contained in the report are the recommendations and action plans. presentation.