Bücher veröffentlicht von Practical Action Publishing

This handbook provides practical guidelines for evaluating water and sanitation related hygiene practices for the purposes of project planning, monitoring or impact assessment. The main focus, therefore, is on the practical concerns of field personnel working in water supply, sanitation, and health / hygiene education projects.

Presents the principles of communicating the information needed for building improvement. Covers the uses of different media to convey information and describes the use of graphic design for education.ntroduction 1Who is this book for? 3What is this book for? 31. Communication in planning 5Community participation, 5Information gathering in the field, 7How people change, 112. Educational materials 14Choice of media, 14Demonstration buildings, 19Local relevance, 20How many messages? 21Preproduction testing, 21Educational context, 27Training, 27Impact assessment, 283. Illustrating building for safety 32Picture styles, 33Symbols and conventions, 43Cartoons, 54Connections and sequence, 59Cultural associations, 64Use of text and language, 73Conclusions 79Further reading 80Picture credits so

This book is the first attempt to examine 'what works for the poorest' and analyses innovative ultra-poor programmes from around the world and explores the lessons that emerge from this important body of knowledge. It should be read by staff of donor agencies and NGOs, students of development studies who are concerned about chronic poverty.

This book is essential reading for agribusiness leaders and technical staff, bankers and cooperative leaders working in agriculture, NGO and microfinance development practitioners, researchers and policy makers. Published in association with FAO.

The jiko, a charcoal-burning stove consisting of a ceramic liner fitted inside a metal case, burns 25 to 40 per cent less charcoal than the traditional stoves on which its design was based. This book provides guidance on its production and promotion.

Confronts the paradox of mass poverty coexisting with vast resource potentials in rural India, such as the potentials from groundwater and trees, previously underestimated. Combines empirical research with practical political economy.

Traditionally the primary function of NGOs has been to mitigate the effects of war; providing humanitarian aid and protection on the peripheries of violent conflict. Recently there has been an increased focus on the impact of humanitarian aid in general, and to a lesser extent on the impact of aid on conflict and peace dynamics.

People's Participation draws on the 165 papers discussed at the 1997 World Congress of Participative Convergence in Knowledge, Space and Time, to present the most significant themes arising from this important event. The book looks at the social, political, economic and cultural movements at the heart of Participative Research - where knowledge, space and time are seen as the principal tools for change for the advancement of peoples. It has been published to promote the ongoing discussion amongst economists, politicians, scholars, NGO workers, policymakers, engineers, scientists, social scientists and all those with a deep interest or involvement with Participatory Approaches and methodologies.

This is a practical handbook providing an introduction to the equipment, maintenance and operation of solar pumping systems. It identifies situations where solar pumps may be appropriate and it reviews developments in solar pumping technology.

This is a guide to the use of induction motors for electricity generation in remote locations. It is written as a practical handbook for engineers and technicians involved in designing and installing small water-power schemes for isolated houses and communities.

Local crop diversity in the South is being threatened by the promotion of modern 'high-yield' varieties. These worldwide case studies show the importance of small-scale farmers and local communities to maintaining crop diversity.

Renewable energy can present a baffling array of options to aid agency managers, government officials, and advisers. This publication contrasts the relative merits of biomass, solar, hydro, and wind power, as well as detailing some direct applications.

The book draws on the experience of farmers' own enterprises, combining superior production along with enhancement of biological diversity. It is based on work in 12 countries with collaborating scientists and farmers, showing how its authors perceive and quantitatively analyse agrodiversity, and how they work together with farmers.

The author addresses the major areas of tension existing between headquarters and field offices, which will be familiar to those working for NGOs, including flexibility and consistency in administrative practice, diversity and similarity of NGO staff, and field-orientated and organizationally-oriented attitudes of those staff.

This is the first book to focus on farmer-led extension, drawing on the experiences of over 70 farmers, community workers, NGO staff, researchers and policy makers from throughout the world.

This book addresses the long-overdue imbalance in disaster management: an over-emphasis on post-disaster assistance and a lack of attention to vulnerability reduction. It answers the fundamental question in this debate: how can we mould pre-disaster development initiatives to become the most appropriate means for vulnerability reduction.

This is the first book to look at gender issues in disasters in the context of South Asia, where disasters have a crucial impact on the development process. It shows how exploring the specific capacities and vulnerabilities of men and women in disaster situations will improve the chance of success in development projects.

''Somesh Kumar has compiled this useful collection with the intention of promoting creativity, experimentation and growth. This is, then, a source of ideas and advice, not a set of marching orders.'' - Robert Chambers. This book combines the concept, practice and application of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) in a comprehensive manner. The author views PRA as a means of opening up new ways of approaching various problems within the development process. He defines it as a growing body of methods to enable local people to share, enhance and analyse their knowledge of life and conditions in order to plan, act, monitor and evaluate their actions. The basic premise of PRA is that poor and marginalized people are capable of analysing their own realities and that they should be enabled to do so. The book provides examples from experiences, material with directions for use, as well as possibilities for innovation. It is rich in insight from actual practice in the field, and contains useful tips on the best practices which readers and practitioners will find extremely valuable. The book is divided into four parts. Part 1 deals with the concept of participation and explores its multiple dimensions. Parts 2 and 3 deal with the methods of PRA. Each method is explained with an introduction, applications, examples, a process outlining the steps, the time and material required, and the advantages and limitations of using these methods. The final part provides a summary of the concept of PRA. Somesh Kumar joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1989, after a brief stint as a psychologist in the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Mr. Kumar has worked in various capacities with the most backward communities in Andhra Pradesh and has implemented a number of innovative programmes including externally funded participatory development projects. He has also served as Director of the PRA Division of ActionAid India (1996-2000). As its first chief executive, he established Praxis - Institute for Participatory Practices, Patna, as a centre of excellence in participatory development. A leading PRA practitioner, he has contributed significantly to the repertoire of PRA methods. He has conducted extensive training programmes in participatory development in India and abroad for grassroots activists and senior level NGO professionals as well as for government agencies in varied fields.

Engineering in Emergencies is a hugely successful practical handbook for all relief workers involved in giving humanitarian assistance. It provides the information needed to implement an effective engineering response in the aftermath of an emergency.

Based on over 20 years' experience in training NGO staff in enterprise development, this manual provides detailed guidelines for an eleven-day training course whose objective is to enable NGO staff to better assist others trying to start their own businesses. It covers marketing, financial management, group enterprises, credit and gender.

This book describes wet, dry and 'old dry' processes of hot-dip galvanizing, including health and safety, principles and benefits, equipment, materials, power supply, maintenance and quality control. It covers the specification and costing for a galvanizing plant.

Written for the owners or managers of small construction businesses, the ROMAR books provide both the management and technical advice needed in order to make a success of routine maintenance and regravelling as a business activity.

This book has grown from Intermediate Technology's field experiences with micro-hydro installations and covers operation and maintenance, commissioning, electrical power, induction generators, electronic controllers, management and energy surveys.

This book looks at some of the experiences of small and medium enterprises projects. Four themes considered of central importance to SME development, financial support, technical and management services, favourable policies conducive to SME development and the involvement of international donor agencies, are examined.

The manual details major camel diseases and conditions with the disease signs, its causes, and simple prevention and treatment methods. Both scientific and tried and tested traditional treatments are presented, thus enabling the veterinarian or livestock practitioner to make the most appropriate choice in the prevailing circumstances.

This handbook provides practical help in choosing whether to, and how to build with earth, from soil selection to construction and maintenance. Earth can achieve very high quality and durability as a building material. It is also frequently used by people with few other resources for building. In many countries earth is associated with poverty, and is not thought of as a high quality and durable material. Much effort in recent decades has gone into giving earth building the technical and social credibility that it deserves. Today earth building successfully meets both modern and traditional building needs. It has also retained its advantage of responding to the requirements of both the rich and the poor. The techniques described in the revised and updated second edition of this book have a focus on maintaining this balance, and on achieving good quality results with accessible methods.

Its methods are targeted to housing production in places where resources are scarce, demand is high, urgency is acute, and where change and uncertainty are a way of life. The book shows that, under these conditions, efficient practice depends on methods that promote rather than hinder local action.

This revised handbook brings together the practical experiences of engineers in the field and of research programmes testing bamboo. The author shows how bamboo can be harvested, seasoned and jointed to form walls, doors and windows, roofs, floors, ceilings, roof trusses and bridges, and how to weave bamboo.