Planning, communities and empowerment - An introduction to participatory rural appraisal

Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is a family of methods that enables communities to share and enhance their experience, and to plan and act together with external service-providers to enrich their lives. The methodology remains unknown outside development work circles, to the detriment of other professionals concerned with community empowerment. This article introduces PRA, and outlines some of its advantages compared with conventional community planning approaches.