Documentation for change
More than just describing a case, the aim of a documentation process is to build new knowledge. There is still a lot to learn about the techniques, methods, interactions and science involved in ecological agriculture.
LEISA, as a concept, is constantly evolving and changing, as a response to changes in the natural, social and political environments. Documenting new developments is therefore very important for the further development of LEISA.
The articles in this issue show that the purpose of documentation is not only descriptive: the process needs to examine closely what results and impacts are achieved in a given case, and why.
LEISA Magazine • 22.1 • March 2006
Table of contents:
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4 - 5written by ILEIA editorial teamMore than just describing a case, the aim of a documentation process is to build new knowledge. There is still a lot to learn about the techniques, methods, interactions and science involved in ecological agriculture. LEISA, as a concept, is constantly evolving and changing in response to changes in the natural, social, and politican environments. Documenting new developments is therefore very important for the further development of LEISA.
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6 - 9Approaches such as Farmer Field Schools and Participatory Technology Development aim to promote sustainable development through learning processes based on self-discovery activities and meetings in the field. Farmer Field Schools, in particular, were part of the strategy used by the "Sustainable Coffee Project Peru". But here, documented data has played an important role in supporting the learning process. This is illustrated in three examples.
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10 - 12written by KVS Prasad , T.M. RadhaTogether with many other NGOs, the AME Foundation in India has been working on ways to improve the sustainability and productivity of the agricultural and natural resources of rural communities in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh since the late 1980s.
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13 - 15written by Ilse Köhler-Rollefson , Hanwant Singh RathoreLivestock plays a vital role in supporting the livelihoods of millions of people. Full documentation of existing livestock breeds is needed to enable the sustainable use and conservation of domestic animal diversity. The Indian NGO Lohkit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (LPPS) and a small number of NGOs composing the LIFE network, cooperated on developing a more participatory approach to documenting animal genetic resources. First tried in India, this has been termen the \"LIFE approach\".
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16 - 19written by Marta Madariaga , Marcos H. EasdaleTogether with representatives of eight other organisations from as many Latin American countries, the authors were part of a systematization pilot project coordinated by the LEISA Revista de Agroecología team. This article focuses on the methodology tried and on the approach followed during more than one year. It looks at systematization as a process which seeks to organise information in order to analyse it and draw lessons from it, and demonstrates that, contrary to popular belief, field experiences can be easily described and analysed, and that much can be learnt by doing so.
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19 - 19written by Teresa Santiago Vera , Máximo GarcíaIn 2004 we received an invitation from the Latin American LEISA magazine to takepart in a sistematization process. This process proved particularly interesting, especially because of the relationships established between all those involved and because of the effectiveness of the method.
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20 - 21written by Francisco Roberto CaporalIn 2003, the Ministry of Agrarian Development in Brazil launched a new national policy on technical assistance and rural extension. In 2004, it was realised that additional strategies were necessary to speed up the implementation of the new policy. As a result, the Department of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension developed an agroecological programme, which included a nationwide competition for documenting alternative experiences in agriculture.
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22 - 23written by Shree PadreAdike Patrike is a monthly magazine about farming, published and distributed in the state of Karnataka, India. Now in its 18th year, this magazine is unique, as it is written, edited and published by practising farmers. This article describes some of the experiences and learnings as journalists.
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24 - 25written by Paul Van MeleReport writing, and reading, is often a necessary part of life. But it could be said that official reports are boring, full of donor language, and they never say what actually happened or what really mattered. How can these shortcomings be avoided? Writing helps to internalise our experiences and, as such, a narrative can act as a self-learning tool. However, many people are not used to documenting their activities in this way. This article looks at one experience where writing narratives was used as a way of learning about how new extension methods had been developed, building learning capacities and making the methods more widely known and accepted.
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26 - 27written by Evelyn Mathias & Paul Mundy , Isaac BekaloSomeone interested in producing written materials will easily find that there is lot of information about the topic, but most of it is scattered or in the wrong format, or simply in people\'s heads and not written down on paper. The solution can be a \"writeshop\". This is an intensive, participatory workshop that aims to produce some kind of written output, pioneered by the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction in the Philippines. Experience has shown that writeshops are suitable for documenting practical illustrated information, in simple language, where a large number of people know a little, but no-one knows all about the subject.
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28 - 29Documenting local knowledge implies a respect for the tradition of transferring knowledge across generations, trusting the creative and innovative capacities of men and women. This article presents a participatory communication process which used information technologies (ITs) in the knowledge management activities of rural Bolivia.
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30 - 30written by Paul Van Mele"A picture is worth a thousand words". Although there is plenty of truth in this popular saying, photos can do more than comunicate or be published. This article describes how photos have been used for many different purposes with farmers, project partners and colleagues.
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31 - 32written by Chris LunchParticipatory Video provides an opportunity for rural people to document their own experiences and knowledge and to express their wants and hopes from their own viewpoints. This article shows how this visual method allows everyone to record and tell their own story, and to get their voice heard.
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33 - 33written by Leo Oyen , Jan SiemonsmaPlant Resources of Tropical Africa, PROTA, is an international programme which aims to compile and document the existing knowledge on around 7000 useful plants of tropical Africa. About a dozen standard books have been used to list these plants, and to divide them into 16 commodity groups. PROTA started in 2000, and to date, its database has about 500 records of species, belonging to the 3 completed and published commodity groups: Cereals and pulses, Vegetables, and Dyes and tannins.
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34 - 36written by Tamara MohrBoth ENDS and a number of other NGOs and local organisations worldwide agreed to start this project in support of the many sustainable practices of natural resource management which do exist, but which need to be revealed. The overall objectives of the Encyclopedia include offering adequate support for local initiatives based upon a common understanding of priorities, or to eschange such experiences and lessons with other NGOs and grassroots organizations. The Encyclopedia focuses on six main themes: food sovereignty, ecological restoration, integrated river basin management, land rights, non timber forest products, and urban sustainability.
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37 - 39written by Siobhan WarringtonPanos London works with the media and other actors to stimulate informed and inclusive debate around key issues in order to foster sustainable development. Its aim is to ensure that the perspectives of the people whose lives are most affected by development are included within decision-making abd that decisions are subject to scrutiny and debate. Since 1993, it uses and promotes the use of stories in individuals in the development context. An "oral testimony", a result of open-ended, in-depth interviews, focuses on development themes rather than on an individual's life history...
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40 - 41written by Manoel Roberval da Silva , Paulo Petersen , Luciano Marçal da Silveira , Adriana Galvão FreireAS-PTA has tried different ways of facilitating communication and stimulating farmer-to-farmer exchange of knowledge. Its whole approach is founded on a basic assumption: in rural areas, knowledge is traditionally passed between generations and people in general through informal exchange networks. These networks work best in communities where the technical know-how is part of the cultural heritage. One simple yet effective documentation methos that has been tried and used successfully is the Boletin Informativo da Agricultura Familiar, a two to four page information sheet.
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42 - 43Constructing an "innovation history" is a methos for recording and reflecting on an innovation process. The process of preparing this history stimulates discussion, reflection and learning among all those involved. This article describes an experience where this method was used as part of a workkshop aiming to learn from various cases. The innovations studies were unusual partnering arrangements among different organisations.
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44 - 46written by Donn Hewes , Karl NorthMany different tools are currently being developed for measuring sustainability. An interesting approach is the one using web graphs, with which, considering different indicators, it is possible to visually summarize the sustainability patterns of a given farm. The authors used this tool for measuring their own progress towards sustainability, analysing their situation after several years. They stress the importance of measuring progress, but also of considering the high levels of interdependence which the different variables show. This is a tool which helps plan future activities, looking at the farm as one whole which needs to be managed as such.
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47 - 49written by Doug ReelerEvery month, the practitioners in our organisation take a week-long reflective pause from fieldwork, participating in a process which we call our \"home week\". This is a conscious process, centred on our practice, where we aim to learn from each other. We reflect on our work, and on the experience of the previous few weeks on the field. We try to draw learnings, and deepen and improve our practice.
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50 - 50written by Ikpegbu EkeleFamilies in Olokoro, in the state of Abia in Nigeria depend on crops for food, while livestock keeping is for income generation. The Centre for Grassroots Agriculture Development is supporting these farmers since 12000, in particular against goat plague, or the \"running nose\".
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56 - 56The LEISA Magazine has a comprehensive website for more than a year now. At present, this is visited by more than 10 000 persons every month. In it, you can find more than 2000 articles...
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