SD: People : Participation in practice / 9. Participatory training

Posted November 1997

Participation in practice / 9
Participatory training

TO BE SUCCESSFUL, participatory projects need to adopt a participatory approach to training. Conventional training methods are didactic and often paternalistic: the trainer views the trainee as a near-empty vessel to be filled with knowledge. Participatory training is based, instead, on an active dialogue between trainer and trainee that constitutes a learning experience for both.

In participatory projects, the main objectives of training are:

to improve the economic and social conditions of the poor
to help participants to become active and productive group members and leaders
to encourage GPs and supporting staff to adapt conventional training methods to meet the real needs of the poor
to stimulate all those involved in the project to develop more appropriate training methods and materials.

The "target groups" of training are group members, project staff (including group promoters), supporting government and NGO staff, and local leaders and other influential people. Training should be pragmatic and based on solving immediate and recognized problems. Therefore, it must be on-going training, a continuous process implemented within the context of any project action to improve the production, income and social conditions of the participants.

Trainers must have practical experience. They should include group promoters and other project staff, technical officers of delivery agencies, experienced small scale producers as well as successful groups that train and motivate others.

Training of participants

Training benefits

PPP groups in Zambia have a busy training schedule. Each project district organizes one residential course a year for group leaders and as many mobile workshops as the extension system can provide. Training has had a positive impact on farming practices. "The most important thing we have learned is about agriculture," reported one group secretary, recalling the days when farmers waited until maize plants had grown before adding fertilizer to the soil. The secretary took a course at the district farmer training centre on crop production, savings and group management. On her return she shared what she had learnt with other members. Now the group has requested training in the extraction of groundnut oil, which they plan to sell.

Training topics for project participants should include:

General participatory techniques that enhance member participation in decision making through efficient group formation and action. Subjects include group dynamics, leadership, planning of group activities, savings and credit, accounting, enterprise management, monitoring and evaluation, and negotiating and bargaining. Training might also centre on eliminating social problems such as alcohol abuse and gambling.
Specialized training tailored to the type of project as well as to specific needs identified by the groups. This includes training in crop production, small livestock development, soil and water conservation, small-scale aquaculture, forestry and group marketing, and non-farm activities such as crop processing, weaving, tailoring, pottery, and production of house-building materials or handicrafts.
Training in home and community development, especially for women. Subjects include health, sanitation, first aid, nutrition and child care, as well as management leadership and village development.

Other recommended training topics include legal matters (such as tenancy rights), mortgaging, wages, and banking and administrative procedures. Useful information on these topics is frequently not communicated to the poor. Group literacy classes for adult women and men help them to analyse their problems and plan actions, and reduce their dependency upon literate villagers or group members.

Training for project staff

Training of the project coordinator, GPs and other project staff aims at introducing them to participatory approaches and procedures and fostering motivation and team spirit. It should teach basic technical skills needed for group development, and experiment with innovative ways of poverty eradication.

The implementing agency should train the project coordinator in these topics as early as possible. GPs need, in particular, management training in production planning and implementation, transfer of appropriate technology, marketing, communication techniques, leadership, team-building, recordkeeping and writing of reports.

An inception training workshop of at least three weeks should be given in or near the project area for GPs, other project staff and key officials of the delivery system. It is advisable to invite twice as many candidate GPs as needed initially in the project in order to secure a reserve pool of these field workers. The curriculum should be pragmatic and include work experience presentations by participants.

After this inception training, GPs need initial field training of 2-3 months, a period that coincides with the start of their field activities in the project area. They should learn as a team to prepare and carry out village and household surveys, to solve problems met in the field and to cooperate with delivery agencies.

Follow-up training of GPs should be carried out through monthly meetings to evaluate team performance, to identify and solve work problems and to prepare field workshops and refresher courses in such subjects as innovative income-raising activities and credit schemes. The GPs might also collaborate in issuing a project newsletter and take part in exchange visits to other participatory projects.

Training of government and NGO staff

Government and NGO support staff also need training to familiarize themselves with participatory approaches and procedures, the difficulties encountered by the rural poor in gaining access to delivery agencies, and the role these agencies should play in helping solve the problems of the poor. In many instances, these officials may need to be "de-trained" and then re-trained through an on-going exchange of experiences and views.

Training opportunities for government and NGO staff consist mainly of participation in GP training courses, field workshops, briefing sessions, project coordination committees, beneficiary training, inter-country seminars, and inter-group or inter-project exchange visits.