Annex 3

AKIS Study - Eritrea
Method Guide (1) Transect Walk

A transect walk is a good way of getting an overview of land uses, production systems, and socio-economic differentiation in the community. The concept is simple: the study team and members of the community walk through the area, identifying and discussing things which are relevant to the study. In the present study, key points to note during the walk would include the land management practices, enterprises (crops, livestock), farm sizes, land tenure arrangements, farming practices and technologies, problems faced by farmers.

Procedure:

• explain the purpose of the TW to community leaders and members: the team wants to get an informed overview of the agricultural and land use situation in the community



• invite a cross-section of the community to accompany the team on the walk: this should include both men and women, and people from different socio-economic categories



• choose a starting and an finishing point for the walk. The route should go through as much variation in farming conditions as possible



• agree responsibilities, within the team, for observations, listening, note-taking, asking questions; agree the topics on which team members should focus, but do not feel confined to these - be open to insights and comments from community members which can lead to new lines of questioning and discussion



• on the walk, talk with people who you meet on the way



• take photographs to document key information, and to contribute to presentation of the findings of the study



• after the walk, construct a chart to record and present the information gained (see below), with the horizontal axis (columns) representing the distance travelled during the walk and the vertical axis (rows) listing the topics about which information has been gathered



• if more than one team is available, carry out separate TWs and compare notes at the end. If there are any discrepancies between the information emerging from the different TWs, seek clarification from community members and leaders discuss with community members the implications of the information for farmers' need for information and knowledge

The chart for recording information might look like this:

Source:
Anyaegbunam, Chike, et al. (1998) Participatory Rural Communication Appraisal. Harare. SADC Centre of Communication for Development.

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