Bøger udgivet af Practical Action Publishing

Examines the question of how developing countries can mobilize and absorb the energies and industry of future generations by providing them with opportunities for productive work, and examines the appropriateness of vocational training schemes. Includes case studies from Nigeria, Trinidad and Malawi.

Poor roads and transport infrastructure are key factors in the marginalization of women and other disempowered groups, but there is little understanding of the many ways in which a lack of mobility affects peopleΓÇÖs lives. In South-east Asia, huge strides are being made in highway development and regional economic integration. The complex interplay of factors makes the connections discovered both interesting and challenging for study. Do roads necessarily bring economic opportunities and prosperity? How does the possible change in mobility transform the lives of women and marginalized groups? How does the differential impact of these changes on people depend on geographical, social, and historical factors and peopleΓÇÖs own capacities to make optimum use of the new resource? Gender, Roads, and Mobility in Asia brings together stories from different points of transformation and what emerges is a nuanced picture of how peopleΓÇÖs own positions and capabilities ΓÇô gender, age, ethnicity, literacy, and education ΓÇô influence the impact of the infrastructure development on their lives.This book should be read by policy makers, transportation planners, development practitioners and researchers.

In the case studies presented here, irrigation engineers describe water distribution practices as they actually occur in various schemes. Six of the schemes (in Indonesia, Mexico, Portugal and Bolivia) are farmer-managed, and two (in South India and Bali) are managed jointly by farmers and technical officers. The authors relate water flows to social processes and contrast conventional engineering wisdom with the practices they have observed.

To maximize the potential of agricultural scale up, NGOs need to act as facilitators of multi-stakeholder processes that establish new types of farmer organizations, alliances to influence policy and investment, new business models, and innovative ways of delivery market services.

Candlemaking for Profit covers the various materials and methods used in candlemaking. It includes step-by-step illustrations to explain methods appropriate for small-scale production. It advises on different wax types, wicks, dyes and scents and gives advice on dealing with material suppliers.

The Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004 devastated the coastline in Aceh province on the northern tip of Indonesia leaving 167,000 people dead and over half a million people without homes. This resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian response. Over the next three years the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Member Agencies collectively constructed almost 20,000 houses in Aceh, in addition to numerous schools and health centres. In ''Lessons from Aceh'' their experiences are used as a case study to illustrate the practical realities of delivering a successful programme and the range of issues that need to be considered; highlighting best and worst practice whilst recognizing that there is validity in different approaches within the same response. ''Lessons from Aceh'' is targeted at senior managers, decision-makers and programme advisers to help them make informed decisions, manage expectations and reduce risk in future responses. It will also be of interest to built environment professionals, researchers or policy makers. An important theme throughout is the way in which reconstruction can act as a catalyst to recovery, contribute to long-term development and reduce vulnerability to future disasters. In Aceh, the most successful reconstruction programmes have left a legacy that is much more than just bricks and mortar.

Commercial and Inclusive Value Chains includes case studies on fifteen profitable and inclusive value chains from different countries in Western, Eastern and North Eastern Africa, and from India, Cambodia, Peru.

Commercial and Inclusive Value Chains includes case studies on fifteen profitable and inclusive value chains from different countries in Western, Eastern and North Eastern Africa, and from India, Cambodia, Peru.

What assistance do disaster-affected communities need? This book guides humanitarian field staff in answering this vital question during the early days and weeks following a disaster, when timely and competent assessment is crucial for enabling informed decision making. Needs assessment is essential for programme planning, monitoring and evaluation. In an emergency response, however, a quick and simple approach to needs assessment may be the only practical possibility - in other words, it needs to be 'good enough'. This guide does not explain every activity needed to carry out an assessment, but it describes the assessment process, and provides a step-by-step guide through the process. It also contains a number of tools and resources that may be helpful when planning or carrying out humanitarian needs assessments. This guide is essential reading for field staff carrying out assessments after a humanitarian crisis; it should also be read by humanitarian policy makers, students, lecturers and researchers.

This book makes the case for upfront public investments to develop national and local capacities for scaling up rural energy services delivery, and to catalyse private financing.An invaluable guide for decision makers, development practitioners, policy analysts, and programme planners both in the developing and developed world.

Sharing the Load aims to stimulate collective action among animal-owning communities to improve the health and husbandry of their draught and pack animals. It should be read by anyone working with animals and their owners, including veterinarians, community-based animal health workers, government workers and rural development NGOs.

Do we use obscure or fashionable words to impress our colleagues or win research proposals? Are many of our actions against poverty simple, direct and wrong? Provocations for Development is an entertaining and unsettling collection of writings that questions concepts, conventions and practices in development. It is made up of short and accessible writings by Robert Chambers reflecting on the evolution of concepts like participation and of organizations like the World Bank. Besides provocations, there is mischief, verse and serious fun. The book irreverently examines vocabularies of development and how words are instruments of power; challenges concepts of poverty, presents empowering breakthroughs in the current explosion of participatory methodologies; is critical of past and present procedures and practices in aid; points to feasible changes for doing better; touches on values, ethics, gender and participation, immersions, hypocrisy, and paradigms; and finally invites readers to ponder the question 'what would it take to eliminate poverty in the world?'

This book examines farmers' innovation through 17 wide-ranging case studies from around the world. It concludes by revisiting the major themes in relation to the lessons learned, and sets out the future issues and challenges for governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in agricultural development.

Understanding Vulnerability breaks new ground by exploring the issues of disaster and vulnerability from a South Asian standpoint, presented in the form of case studies and essays by experts from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The numbers of the urban poor are on the increase; at the same time their position has been made more vulnerable by the recent food and economic crises. City authorities need to find innovative strategies to eradicate urban hunger and improve the livelihoods of the urban poor. Urban agriculture provides such a strategy by enhancing access to fresh and nutritious food, and contributing to local economic development and social inclusion of the urban poor, especially women. It also has the effect of greening cities, promoting the productive reuse of urban waste, and reducing vulnerability to climate change. How can policy be developed to include all the relevant sectors and disciplines, including agriculture, urban land use planning, health, waste management, social housing and slum upgrading, and parks and nature management? Cities, Poverty and Food presents the experience of RUAF Foundation and provides valuable insights and guidelines which are essential reading for the staff of municipal authorities, producer groups and community-based organizations; for NGO field workers; university researchers; agricultural extension officers and others who seek to enhance participatory governance, urban food security, urban poverty alleviation and improved urban environmental management.

Over 20 years ago, concerned famersΓÇÖ groups in Kenya and Burkina Faso began to adopt new measures to conserve soil and water and to re-establish trees in their fields. Two videos, Looking after our Land and Building on Traditions, recorded the new participatory approaches for land conservation being developed at that time in various countries. More People, More Trees returns to the same communities, and some of the same people, in Kenya and Burkina Faso to document developments since the original filming. The film shows spectacular changes: most obviously more trees planted and protected by the people themselves aided and encouraged by continuing community projects. More People, More Trees thus highlights a demonstrable success story for community participation in agricultural change in Burkina Faso and Kenya. In this film, the landscapes tell their own story, but so do the local people. The accompanying book expounds upon the powerful messages in the film and describes the technologies employed by the communities, provides hard data to support their testimonies, and looks at the current challenges of soil conservation in the context of climate change.

Based on a three-year project in Kenya, this booklet examines the key features in understanding the development of participatory urban planning strategies and approaches that will assist in safeguarding of the position of poor and vulnerable.

This revised edition of a classic text re-emphasizes the importance of agroecology as the discipline that provides the basic ecological principles of how to study, design and manage agroecosystems

Women Feeding Cities analyses the roles of women and men in urban food production and is essential reading for policy makers, planners, researchers and practitioners working on urban agriculture programmes.

Farmers and researchers too often live and work in different realities. Researchers breed plant hybrids in the laboratory that are successful only under ideal conditions, requiring just the right inputs of water, fertilizer, and pesticides. For resource-poor farmers, however, such conditions simply donΓÇÖt exist. As a result, they either obtain poor results from high-tech seeds or continue to do the best they can with local varieties. Seeds and Synergies reflects on the innovative efforts of a group of Chinese researchers and extension agents to connect scientists and farmers. Their action research has enabled indigenous women and men in local communities to improve maize varieties jointly with professional plant breeders. This has invigorated maize production, created new livelihoods, and strengthened organizational capacities. The research has also resulted in policy changes in plant breeding, in the conservation of agricultural biodiversity, in the protection of indigenous knowledge, in farmer organization, and in the provision of services, notably extension. This book will be of particular interest to rural development scholars, researchers, teachers and trainers, and field-level practitioners.

In water-scarce areas of the Middle East, greywater (household wastewater excluding toilet waste) is commonly used by poor communities to irrigate home gardens. This both supplements the water available to the household and improves food security. This book draws together material presented at a conference in Jordan in 2007, and examines the technical approaches to treating and using greywater for irrigation, including its associated risks to health and the environment. It discusses many of the non-technical issues that influence effectiveness and sustainability of greywater use. It also takes a hard look at economic issues, arguing that more clarity and consistency from policymakers is essential if low-income, water-stressed communities are to make better and safer use of their existing water supplies. The book concludes by offering suggestions for where donor efforts and research could best be focused in the near future.Greywater use in the Middle East is important reading for researchers, donors, implementing agencies, and policymakers, in the fields of water supply, water reuse, livelihoods and agriculture.