Participatory Extension for Household Food Security. Study Guide

The publications use to develop and design the qualifications are to be acknowledged. Thepublications are acknowledged the use of their material, content, illustrations, ideas andactivities. The material has been used for educational purposes to design and develop thismaterial study package to train household food security facilitators for educational purposesin the writing of this study material:Articles and illustrations have been adapted for use in this training material. These havebeen taken from publications where the publishers indicated that parts of publications orillustrations may be used for educational purposes provided that the sources beenacknowledged. Where this has not been done and recognised as such, the writing teamdoes acknowledge the relevant publications:The publications used are:Carter, I. 2001. Series: A PILLERS guides: Teddington: Tearfund.De Sagte, R. 2002 Learning about livelihoods: Insights from Southern Africa., UK,Periperi.Publications and Oxfam Publishing.Food and Agriculture Organisation. 2004. Rural households and resources: A guide forextension workers. Socio-economic and gender analysis proramme. Rome, FAO.Food and Agriculture Organisation. FAO. 2007. Food security information for action:Series. EC-FAO Food Security Programme.: Rome, FAO. Available at:http://www.foodsec.org/d. [CDs]FSAU. 2005. Nutrition: A guide to data collection, analysis, interpretation and use. Secondedition. Nairobi, Food Security Analysis Unit for Somalia.International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 2006 How to conduct afood security assessment: A step by step guide for National Societies in Africa, Geneva,IFRC.NSNC/AHPRC Food Security Projects. 2005 Thought about Food: A Food Security andInfluencing Policy. University of Dalhousie, Novia Scotia. Available at:http://www.foodthoughtful.caiv

3.5 Household monitoring and evaluation ............................................................ 145UNIT 4 Taking action for household food security .................................... 149Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1504.1 Portfolio activities and the “Triple A” Cycle ..................................................... 150Start-up activity ............................................................................................... 1514.2 Quantitative and qualitative methodology ....................................................... 1524.2.1 Qualitative and Quantitative data ........................................................ 1534.2.2 Qualitative approach quantitative approach ....................................... 1564.2.3 Participatory approaches .................................................................... 1564.3 Methodology for household food security assessments ................................. 1574.3.1 Qualitative and qualitative data used in food security assessments ... 1574.3.2 Qualitative data on food availability, access and utilization ................ 1584.3.3 Food security model with methods for data collection ........................ 1604.3.4 Facilitation skills for qualitative data collection ................................... 1614.4 Your main tasks in this unit are Portfolio Activities ......................................... 1634.4.1 Assessing (collecting of information) ................................................... 1644.4.2 Analysis …………………………………………………………………..... 1744.4.3 Action .…………………………………………………………………........ 176Evidence sheetsPortfolio activity 2.1 Identifying problems and solutions using storiesPortfolio activity 2.2 Household visit and household consentPortfolio activity 2.3 Household food security information and coping strategiesPortfolio activity 2.4 Household plan: Household visioning and objectivesPortfolio activity 2.5 Household visit reportsReferences ................................................................................................................. 179Annexure AAnnexure BAnnexure CAnnexure Dvi

Introduction to the moduleWe would like to introduce this module with an adapted version of the introduction from theLow Input Food and Nutrition Security World Food Programme (December 2005).“This module has been under development for hundreds of years! This is close to the truth –many of the ideas and processes used in this module have been handed down throughoutmany generations because of their success.”We therefore seek to address food insecurity issues and problems by adopting interventionswhich uses community and household participation as a vital ingredient for success.We do not ask……..We rather ask………what are your needs’what are your strengthswhat is wrongwhat is working herewhat can we providewhat are your resourceswhat is lacking in the communitywhat is good in your communitywhat is missing herewhat can we build onwhat can we do for youwhat can we support you with(Adapted from Positive Deviance/Hearth ManualParticipatory processes empower people to take better control of their lives. The HFSFacilitator should never lose sight of this fundamental objective of your work. Often you willbe tempted to do things for people and to decide on their behalf what is best for them. Yet,even if your plan is an excellent one, the results will not last unless people have beenempowered by considering the information and options for themselves, and deciding forthemselves what needs to be done and how they want to implement it in their own lives.They need to be able to carry on executing their plan long after you have moved on.The Water for Food Movement uses the following expression in the Sepedi language, whichessentially explains this concept of ubuntu by which an HFS Facilitator needs to assesshis/her own conduct:“Motho ke motho ka bathu ba bangwe.”A person is a person through other people.vii

Purpose of the moduleThe purpose of the module is to give you the Household Food Security Facilitatormobilization skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to facilitate collective action in rural –urban social processes, specifically of households through the use of participatoryapproaches.In this module you will learn how to use participatory approaches to facilitate improvedhousehold food security. The purpose of Module 2 is to:o Help you understand why it is important to use participatory approaches, instead ofrelying on written and external sources of information only – and only on your owninterpretation of information;o Give you an understanding of the range of your tasks as an HFS facilitator, how to planwhich tasks to do first, and how to know whether you are achieving success with thesetasks; ando Introduce you to a range of participatory tools you can use to fulfil these tasks.Participatory approaches are so fundamental to household food security facilitation, that youwill find you will be required to use them throughout all the modules for this course.For instance, you will be using participatory approaches in all the modules as the modulesguide you through the community process and working with households.o In Module 1, where you are required to prepare a status report on household foodsecurity, and will need to find information and other people’s insights on a range ofaspects to achieve this. You will also need to find role players and interact with them, andworkshop with community members;o In Module 3, where you will use tools and systems for tracking and managingenvironmental (natural) resource use;o In Module 4, where you will evaluate the manifestation of malnutrition and find measuresrequired to address immediate food needs; ando In Module 5, where you will use participatory approaches to help households to come upwith their own solutions to optimize household food production.o In Module 6, where you will focus on household livelihoods for available food resourcemanagement;viii

How Module 2 fits into the programmeEach module is an important part of the Household Food Security Programme. The modulesfor the programme are the following:• Module 1 PHFS01K Introduction to household food security concepts• Module 2 PHFS02L Participatory extension for household food security• Module 3 PHFS03M Sustainable natural resources use• Module 4 PHFS04N Food behaviour and nutrition• Module 5 PHFS05P Optimising household food production• Module 6 PHFS06Q Food resource managementThe modules are linked and what you learn in one module will also help you in another. TheFigure given below is a programme map that will provide you with an overall picture of theprogramme. It shows you the main purpose of the programme and what each of the sixmodules and the portfolio tasks of each module focus onFigure 1.1 The programme mapix

Module 2 outcomesStudents accredited with Module 2 will be able to utilize a range of facilitation andparticipatory skills to identify and mobilize households for improved household food security.Upon successful completion of this module you will be able to confidently say that you:Specific Learning Outcomes (SLO)Can select and apply participativefacilitation techniques suitable for use ineffective processes with food insecurehouseholds, their community andleadership, and relevant other role players;Can interpret and influence the impact oflocal dynamics on households’ ability toachieve food security;Can create awareness of food securityissues in a village and a shared vision ofeffective ways to address them, amonghouseholds, their community andleadership, and relevant decision-makersand role-players outside the village;Can mobilise and facilitate households toanalyse their own household situation withrespect to food security and relatedmatters;Can help households to plan, implementand monitor their own actions to achievefood security and well-being; andCan facilitate households and theirgarden learning groups to help improvethe well-being and stability of thecommunity through mobilisation andoutreach to others.Assessment criteria- a plan indicating appropriate selection oftechniques for wide ranging households.- evidence (capture in a portfolio) of theability to effectively apply participatorytechniques and processes to stimulateinteractions with the households isdemonstrated within a study group or givenscenarios.- a figure of a livelihoods analysis isdeveloped- a report (or drawing if illiterate) by thehousehold indicating an improvedhousehold control of assets and foodaccessibility- demonstrated facilitation, creating asupportive family and communityenvironment to boost the morale and activityof the food insecure; leadership support- a report demonstrating an understandingof the reality of food insecure households,hunger = the symbol of powerlessness;- figures drawn by the households and theCare Learning Group (CLG) for situationanalysis and pictures depicting facilitatedsessions- a household action plan to increase foodsecurity is methodically implemented withresources available to the household.- a process of household self monitoring isimplemented.-the household plans and practices arerevised in an open-ended communitymeeting and adapted in response to everchanging conditions and circumstances.x

Brief outline of the unitsInsert for module 2 using the following infoIn Unit 1, three main concepts are introduced, namely:o Hunger and Poverty;o Healing food securityo HFS facilitator competenciesThese three key concepts and the reasoning behind them are explained in Unit 1.In the other Units, you will learn in:o Unit 2 the basics of participatory approaches (Unit 2), and specific tools you can useto carry out the HFS taskso Unit 3 focuses on the analysis for visioning and mobilizing households whileo Unit 4 gives you the tools for your facilitation or ‘action’ tasksA reminder on how the Units in Module 2 fit togetherThese three key concepts and the reasoning behind them are explained in Unit 1. In theother Units, you will learn the basics of participatory approaches (Unit 2) and specific toolsyou can use to carry out the tasks shown in Figure 1.2. Unit 3 focuses on tools forinformation gathering and analysis (the top part of Figure 1.2); while Unit 4 gives you thetools for your facilitation or ‘action’ tasks (bottom part of Figure 1.2).You are expected to identify food security concepts, use them in case studies and collectinformation to develop household profiles. You are expected to link vulnerability ofhouseholds to food security on a micro level and on a macro level identify stakeholders forsupport and services to households. Finally to mobilize the household to take actionUnit 1: Household food security facilitator and hungerUnit 2: Participatory facilitation for food insecure householdsUnit 3: Visioning and mobilizing households for food securityUnit 4: Taking action for household food securityWhat is in your study pack?Check your study pack for this module. It should contain the following:This study guide : Part 1 and Part 2A module workbookA tutorial letter 101, with your assignments and bywhen you should submit them.A Tutorial letter 301 with general information on theprogrammeDuring the year you will receive additional tutorial letters on the portfolio and other that giveyou general feedback on the assignments submitted.xi

The teaching approach for this programmeWhat we as people do, flows from plans we make, based on information we have at thetime, and how we understand that information. As we start implementing our plans, we learnmore and can therefore improve our plans and actions. The approach that we will use, notonly in this module, but also in all the modules to follow, is the Triple “A” approach. The useof the Triple A approach will be to guide your learning by engaging you in a cyclical processof assessing, analysing and acting based on the new information which you have learnt.The ‘Triple-A’ is one of many ways in which this ongoing planning and re-planning process isdescribed. We gather information (assess), think about it and use it to come up with plans(analyse), implement those plans (act), all the while gathering new information.Figure 1.2 The Triple ‘A’ ApproachHow will the Triple ‘A’ approach be implemented in this module? In Module 2 the Triple Aapproach will be implemented in the following way; Unit 1 will offer information on the keyconcepts of the module, Unit 2 will impart insights on how to assess the situation (or theproblem) of the households, Unit 3 will offer ideas of how the problem could be analysed andUnit 4 will help guide you (and indirectly the households) to identify actions required toimprove the situation.How will you know what to do in the study guide?We make use of symbols, icons or shades of colour to show you what you are expected todo.xii

TextActivitiesThese are learning activities that encourage you come up with your ownideas as you read the text. Write your ideas in the blocks provided in thestudy guide.Icon forworkbookactivitiesSome activities have been selected that help you to reflect on your owncontext and deepen your understanding of the main issues dealt with inthe module. You will either do these activities by yourself or in a group.These are workbook activities which are provided in the study guide butwhich should only be completed in the workbook.Icon forportfolioactivitiesThe activities with the households in Unit 4 are portfolio activities. Theyare practical activities and you will be required to produce specificevidence for your portfolio in order to complete them.Case studyin blocksPeople’svoicesWe have included a number of short case studies that reflect what ishappening in practice in different parts of South Africa and in other parts ofthe world. The case studies serve two main purposes: to give youexamples of what people are doing in different contexts and to invite youto reflect on these experiences as they will help to strengthen your insightand understanding of the issues to be addressed.Boxes in the text give quotes of experiences of household members onfood securityxiii

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Unit 1: The household food security facilitatorand hungerIntroductionIn Module 1 you were introduced to the concept hunger. In this first unit of Module 2 weexplore the concept in more depth. At the end of 2009 the World Food Summit discussedagain combating world hunger. Diouff at the World Food Summit 2009 Summit said;Every six seconds a child dies of hunger,. This enormous tragedy is not only amoral outrage and an economic absurdity, but also it presents a serious threat to ourcollective peace and security(Diouff, 2009) (www.dw-world.de/dw/article0,,489601,00.html ) Accessed 2009/11/25)Further, an NGO representative said that it is a tragedy that the world leaders of the richestcountries did not go to the World Food Summit or as it has been renamed “Hunger Summit”.What does it mean when Jacques Diouff says one billion people in the world are hungry?How much is one billion? It is 1,000,000,000 and of which 25% is in Africa. It also meansthat that every one in six people is living with hunger and every six seconds a child die ofhunger related causes.Figure 1.3One in six people die and one child dies every six seconds.There is enough food in the world. The current empty stomachs of hungry children are notthe result of poor harvests, but because of high food prices and poor countries can’t afford toimport food. But what can people do?People become paralysed at the thought of knowing they are hungry but have no means ofproviding for that need. It is therefore important to truly understand this root cause of hunger,1

with poverty as an important linkage. The very purpose of participatory approaches is to fighthunger, poverty and the hopeless effects of being hungry through the use of democratic andinteractive processes for building capacity for renewed decision-making capabilities. In thebook “World Hunger: 12 Myths“(Lappe et al), the authors illustrate this point when they saythat:The greatest obstacle to grasping the causes and solutions to world hungeris that few of us stop to ponder this elemental question: what is hunger?They show that hunger should not be viewed merely as the statistics of numbers of peoplesuffering from deficient nutrition and thus the volume of food aid needed by them. Instead,hunger should be understood in terms of universal feelings experienced by the hungry, suchas the anguish of impossible choices, the grief of seeing loved ones suffer or even die thehumiliation of living in impoverished circumstances and fear of powerful people. As such,they state that for them hunger is the ultimate symbol of powerlessness strongly associatedwith poverty.What is your role as HFS facilitator in helping households to overcome poverty and otherissues of food insecurity? In this Unit you will learn to understand your own role as HFSFacilitator, by learning to understand the food insecure household.This unit consists of the following sections:1.1 Reflecting on poverty and hunger1.2 Healing for food security1.3 The household food security facilitator2

Specific outcome and learning outcomesThe table below shows you the learning outcomes that you will notice are linked to thethree sections that are addressed in this unit and to the list of assessment activities for thisunit. A time estimate is shown for the completion of each activity. This will help you to planthe use of your time. When you have completed the activities, write down the actual time youspent on them.Unit 1: Household food security facilitators and hungerUnit 2: Participatory facilitation for food insecure householdsUnit 3: Visioning and mobilizing households for food securityUnit 4: Taking action for household food securityLearning outcomes Assessment Activities Actual time spent1. Household foodfacilitator and hunger? Assignment 12. Participatoryfacilitation for foodinsecure households?3. Visioning andmobilizing householdsfor food security?Assignment 24. Taking action forhousehold foodsecurity.Portfolio3

Key Conceptshunger,famine,starvationpovertypowerlessnessisolationmalnutritionvulnerabilitydeprivation trapparticipatory approachesStart-up activityComplete this activity in you study guideAim: Reflect on the practical implications of living on one dollar (1$) a day.Time: 10 minutesWhat you must doFigure 1.4 Percentage of the population living on less than one dollar a day, 2000.4

Poverty and hunger in the world are link to certain geographical areas. Figure 1.3. displayingthe percentage of people living in different geographical areas on less than a 1$ per day.The highest incidence for poverty is in Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern part of Africa underwhich South Africa falls, with half its population living below the poverty line of 1$ a day.Sub-Saharan Africa is followed by Asia.1. Do the following calculation:How much money is a 1$ a day? How much money is this in South African rand?At the time of writing the guide 1$ was equal to R 7.50. Calculate how much moneyis R7.50 a day in a month with 30 days.…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………….……………………………………………………….……………………………2. What is the price of bread? ………………………………………………………………….How many persons eat from bread?………………………………………………………..3. What is the price of one cup of maize meal?.................................................................…………………………………………………..How many persons eat from a cup of maize meal…………………………………………4. How much money will a household of five needs as minimum to live on R7-50 a day?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..5. What is the amount received through a social grant to buy the basic food items?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..6. Explain the myth around the social grant as a replacement to provide for alivelihood.…………………………………………………………………………………………………..1. What is the purpose of the social grant?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..8. What else could be done to empower people to create a livelihood while receivingthe social grant as a safety net?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

9. How do you see your role as a household food security facilitator at the start of thismodule? (We will reflect on this question again at the end of the module?)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Comments on start-up activityFrom Module 1 and the proverb “one cannot live from bread alone”, also not only maizemeal. We will later in Module 4 come back to maize meal as an important cultural and astaple food. Households need a diversity of meal per day to be nutritional healthy.The social grant has been calculated based on the minimum amount live based on the“relative” poverty line. The poverty line is defined as the less than the average income or agiven percentage of the average income can be calculated using two methods: The incomemethod and the income position method. This amount is usually based on an approach thatconsiders the welfare position of each individual or household in relation to the welfareposition of other individuals or households to the same community.Poverty is not absolute and changes over time and seasons. Social grants based on povertyline as income indicator can never address the total income position of the poor. In 2009 itwas published in Newsletter 22 of the Municipal Outreach Project that poverty is moresevere among children, where the poverty rate was estimated at 65.5%, than among adults,where the poverty rate was significantly lower at 45.2%. The total number of poor children is11.8 million, taking into consideration the fact that child support grants are provided tochildren 15 years and younger; it is surprising that child poverty rates are higher thanamongst younger children. This is most likely that the child support grant do not move thechild above the poverty line or other expenses covered in the household.The child poverty survey was based on income below R4560 per person per year, or R380per month. 50% of households fall within this poverty group. The poverty rate was calculatedby dividing the household income by the number of people in the household. The povertyrate was highest in the Limpopo province at 78%, followed by the Eastern Cape at 77.9%and KwaZulu-Natal at 75%. The lowest child poverty was in the Western Cape at 37.9%.Child poverty was the highest in the most populated provinces Child You can read more onthe Municipal Outreach Project website (http://www.eumunicipaloutreach.org.za/newsletters/newsletter-22-2013-child-poverty.html)In Module 1 we have learned about food security and insecurity, malnutrition, hunger andpoverty and livelihoods. Module 2 the point of departure is the devastating situation ofpoverty and hunger as the core issue in World food security. But can one always measurepoverty and hunger in terms of money and numbers. There the main focus is on howhouseholds can be identified and assisted to take action out of this trap of deprivation. Wefirst need to know what poverty and hunger are.6

1.1 Reflecting on poverty and hungerIn this section we reflect on issues such poverty and the effects hunger, chronic hunger andfamine how to address the effects and causes of poverty and the concepts. The deprivedstate of people trapped in poverty and hunger, the importance of people to practice theirright to food and to provide for their livelihoods for themselves (See Figure 1.5).People become paralysed at the thought of knowing they are hungry but have no means ofproviding for that need. It is therefore important to truly understand this root cause of hunger,with poverty as an important linkage. In the book “World Hunger: 12 Myths“(Lapped et al),the authors illustrate this point when they say that:The greatest obstacle to grasping the causes and solutions to world hungeris that few of us stop to ponder this elemental question: what is hunger?They show that hunger should not be viewed merely as the statistics of numbers of peoplesuffering from deficient nutrition and thus the volume of food aid needed by them. Instead,hunger should be understood in terms of universal feelings experienced by the hungry, suchas the anguish of impossible choices, the grief of seeing loved ones suffer or even die thehumiliation of living in impoverished circumstances and fear of powerful people. As such,They state that for them hunger is the ultimate symbol of powerlessness strongly associatedWith poverty1.1.1 The effects of hungerJosue de Castro lived as a child among permanently malnourished communities in themangrove swamps of Brazil, and has made it his life’s task to break the silence on hunger.He explains the nature of two types of severe hunger, Chronic hunger or famine, Seedifferent description associated with hunger in Figure 1.6.7

Food security exists when allpeople, at all times, havephysical and economic accessto sufficient, safe and nutritiousfood that meets their dietaryneeds and food preferences foran active and life.Malnutrition is ageneral term forthe conditioncaused by animproper diet orpoor nutritionalcontentChronic hunger isconstant hunger leading toconstant malnourishmentmaking it difficult to studyand work and weakensthe weakens the immunesystemPhysical hungergenerally describe as asensation of pain due toSocial and mentalhunger causes feelingsof hopelessness, guilt,powerlessness shame,anxiety and anger:HUNGERSeasonal hungeroccurs certain times ofthe year if the harvest ispoor, no food stored,contract work, seasonalfarm workersFamine is a widespreadscarcity of food that mayapply to all animal specieswhich is usuallyaccompanied by regionaland increased mortalityStarvationA state of exhaustion ofthe body caused by alack of food, hungerand this may precededeathPOVERTYFigure 1.5Different faces and voices of hunger and at times labled as the same,even poverty.8

In South Africa of these food insecurity, malnutrition, seasonal hunger and chronic hungerare the most pressing needs. We will refer to this later in the module. It is howevernecessary to grasp the impact of hunger. Read the quotation below.There are two ways of dying of hunger: one is not to eat at all and rapidlywaste away until death and the other is to eat inadequately and begin a cycle ofspecific deficiencies which might ultimately end up in death. Partial or chronichunger is more pressing than total hunger (starvation). The latter has social andeconomical impact but the former (chronic hunger) will silently destroy andundermine countless populations.Access the following website to get a better understanding of this:[http://www.josuedecastro.com.br/engl/hunger.html]Write down your reflective thoughts in the space provided below on.Food insecurity……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Starvation……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Physical hunger……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Seasonal hunger……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Famine……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Hunger……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Poverty is usually described as the root cause of hunger. And hunger has many faces andcan be caused by different factors without the presence of poverty in the first phase. Poorcountries and extreme poverty of households are the most undisputable causes of hunger.But seeing poverty as the only root cause of hunger is simplifying the picture.In fact real poverty is both a cause and a consequence of hunger. Undernourishment andmalnutrition are the critical link in the vicious cycle of poverty. One third of poor healthoutcomes are associated with hunger and malnutrition as discussed in Module 1.In Figure 1.4 the different hunger and associated definitions are made visual. Hunger hasbecome in the lay-man’s language a lable for these concepts and perhaps associated withmany other such as poverty. The link between hunger and poverty is displayed in Figure 1.5.9

Activity 1.1The role of food security in hunger and povertyComplete this activity in your workbookStudy the Figure 1.6 below on poverty as a root cause for hungerFigure 1.6Food securities as the link to the causes and effects of hunger andpovertyHow does poverty influence household food availability?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………How does poverty influence household food access?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Discuss why household food security is described as a cause and consequence of hunger?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Why can people with food availability still be hungry?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10

Why can people with food access still be hungry? Even if there is food in the home.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Comments on Activity 1.1Food security can be seen in the diagram as the core between hunger and poverty. Foodinsecurity may cause both poverty and hunger. While interventions related to the fourdimensions of food security: availability, accessibility, utilization and stability should ifsuccessfully implemented address both.The extent to which food is available through production or the market determines theavailability, as well as the access of food by and in a household. While interventions relatedto the four dimensions of food security: availability, accessibility, utilization and stabilityshould if successfully implemented address both.Many decisions related to food security will determine whether a household can be foodsecure. Many decisions related to food security will determine whether a household can befood secure. Lewin (1947) has described these channels how food is moving into thehousehold, the tension between decisions to the taken and in the end the food that will beserved. Participatory approaches through the use of democratic and interactive processesfor building capacity for renewed decision-making capabilities. The very purpose ofparticipatory approaches is to fight hunger, poverty and the hopeless effects of being hungry.We discuss it later in this Unit.1.1.2 PovertyHunger and poverty are different, but so similar in its causes and effects that it becomesdifficult to differentiate between the two. How is poverty defined by the United Nations?The United Nations describe poverty, fundamentally, as a denial of choices (taking away theprivilege of making decisions) and opportunities, a violation of human dignity. It means lackof basic capacity to participate effectively in society. It means not having enough to feed andclothe a family, not having a school or clinic to go to; not having the land on which to growone’s food or a job to earn one’s living, not having access to credit. It means insecurity,powerlessness and exclusion of individuals, households and communities. It meanssusceptibility to violence, and it often implies living on marginal or fragile environments,without access to clean water or sanitation. (UN, 1998).The above definition is a very broad statement with similarities to what we have learnedabout food insecurity, hunger and livelihoods. We can identify the poor at different levels ofaction: the international and national level, communities in provinces and households incommunities. To reduce poverty and hunger is a world food security issue.11

International Millennium development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals for 2015 have been set for global internationaldevelopment with indicators to monitor the number of people living with hunger and inpoverty. By 2015 the world wants to see hunger and poverty halved in the world. TheMillennium Development Goals as follows:The Millennium Development Goals1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerReduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.2. Achieve universal primary educationEnsure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling.3. Promote gender equality and empower womenEliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by2005, and at all levels by 2015.4. Reduce child mortalityReduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five.5. Improve maternal healthReduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio.6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseasesHalt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS.Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.7. Ensure environmental sustainabilityIntegrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies andprogrammers; reverse loss of environmental resources.Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safedrinking water and basic sanitation.Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by2020.8. Develop a global partnership for developmentDevelop further an open, rule-based, predictable, nondiscriminatory trading andfinancial system.Address the special needs of the least developed countries, landlocked countriesand Small Island developing States. (FAO, 2009)Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt.In cooperation with developing countries, develop and implement strategies fordecent and productive work for youth.12

In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordableessential drugs in developing countries.In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of newtechnologies, especially information and communications technologies.(Adapted from FAO, 2009)At the recent World Summit 2009 the Director-General Ban Kid-Moon said that action iscritical. Out of a billion people suffering from hunger (one person out of every six persons)suffers from chronic hunger worldwide, some 200 million are children. In 2050 (forty yearsfrom now) the world will need to feed 2 billion more mouths – 9.1 million people in all. Whydoes Ban Kid-Moon make these challenging remarks? Does this mean the MillenniumDevelopment Goals are failing us? What needs to be done?Activity 1.2The first MDG as the core gear of the cluster MDG gears.Complete this activity in your study guideAim:Reflect on the MDGs and the possibility for the goals to be attained.Time: 30 minutesWhat you are to doThe first goal are of particular importance as the other MDGs rotate around the first goal andfrom we what learned largely depend on reducing the people living with hunger and poverty.The MDG gears turn backwardThe MDG gears turn forwardFigure 1.7Turn the gears backward or forward on hunger and poverty: When willall the MDGs towards world food security improve?13

1. If one turns the inner gear what will happen to the right, opposed to turning themiddle gear to the left?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..2. Is it possible to turn only the inner gear addressing only hunger and poverty toimprove food and nutrition security?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..3. If turn one turns one or more of the outer gears to the right, and addressing onlysome issues at the same time what will happen? Will the inner gear move? Whatdoes the speed against which the inner gear turn tells us?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..4. Can hunger and poverty be reduced by agricultural intervention in providingland and producing food for the market? Give your reasons.…………………………………………………………………………………………………...5. If possible, will it be a slow or rapid process. What do you suggest should be thedevelopment focus or foci?…………………………………………………………………………………………………..6. UN Director General says what is needed is below:"'single global vision' to address the plight of the world's billion hungrypeople.........Our job is not just to feed the hungry, but to empower the hungryto feed themselves," (Kid-Moon, 2009)What does Ban Kid-Moon mean by these words?........................................................................................................................................Comments on activity 1.2We are not all familiar with gears. But think about a speedometer. The motor car will runfaster forward if the speedometer moves to the right. If it moves backward the motorcarlooses speed. If the inner gear turn faster the smaller outer gears will turn faster and add amultiplier effect.Think about a donkey cart. If the cart has small wheels turning faster and pulled by twodonkeys the speed will be less than a cart with big wheels turning slower pulled by twodonkeys. The donkeys will have to work harder and probably slow down. To address hungerand poverty the big wheel turning will be more effective use of effort by the donkeys. Couldthis mean that the big wheel will have a multiplier effect to the effort of the two donkeys. So,do we go for the inner gear and the big wheels?14

Figure 1.8A donkey cart with big wheels to be pulled faster by the donkeys.Does a donkey cart move backward?. What does this means? The simpler we keep the taskand use the cart with the big wheels we may move forward? Focus on the big issues hungerand poverty to move the whole MDG cart forward.If the country has only this much agricultural arable land. Is their farm land for eachhousehold? Even if there is aren’t we too many people, so who gets the farmland.Agriculture is a business producing for the masses and for profit. We need the agriculturebusinesses for national food security and export to other neighboring countries. On the otherhand, statistics are quoted that by FAO and UN that 70% of the farmers in Africa are womenfarming with little inputs and hardly any extension services. Could we grow food enough for ahousehold on a 0.25 hectare to 1.0 hectare for a year if we can store some, sell some andstill keep our families healthy for our children to become productive citizens and employed.Figure 1.9 Aid to development by the European Union. (EU, 2007)15

The top layer to the left is the Figure is the benefit of aid to rural development which alreadyhas delivered results. With rural development comes human development such as educationand training. The second layer to the right is direct aids of egg food that do not make anychanges, except in emergencies. The EU funding supports three types of measures:1. improving access to agricultural inputs and services,2. safety net measures, and3. small-scale measures aiming at increasing agricultural production(like microcredit, storage, and training).This direction supports the notion of food security as an importance link between agriculture,food and nutrition to address hunger and poverty. Seeing poverty as the only root cause ofhunger is over simplifying the picture. In fact real poverty is both a cause and a consequenceof hunger. Undernourishment is the critical link in the vicious cycle of poverty. One third ofpoor health outcomes are associated with hunger and malnutrition as discussed in Module 1.To attend to the MDG 1 it may give food security a kick start for sustainable livelihoods as across-cutting issue for hunger and poverty. Food security and sustainable livelihoods for thereduction of poverty and hunger remain to the key to be addressed by integratedprogrammes supported in an enabling environment.Figure 1.10 Sustainable livelihoods as a cross-cutting issue in addressing MDG 1.16

South Africa released in 2002 the Integrated Food Security Strategy to address poverty andhunger. The strategy list five programmers for South Africa. In 2007 the National SchoolNutrition Programme was added to the list with three components sustainable foodproduction, School feeding and nutrition education. Let us look at the motivation for theIFFS.Poverty in South AfricaThe Integrated Food Security Strategy in South Africa (IFSS) is a long-term policy plan toimplement programmes to address the different issues on household food security.(Department of Agriculture, 2002).In everyday language poverty is associated with income and as measured as an economicoutcome. There are two ways to measure poverty as income. The examples have beentaken from the Integrated Food Security Strategy (2002). The two measurements are thePoverty Head Count Index to measure the number of people living in poverty and the otherthe Poverty Gap Index is the share of poverty in specific graphical area or specific situation.Activity 1.3Complete this activity in your study guideAim:Identify the poorest population groups in South Africa?Time: 10 minutesWhat you must doRead the histogram below from the Integrated Food Security Strategy (IFFS). On the leftvertical axes is the percentage and on the horizontal axes the four main population groups.Figure 1.11Poverty: Head count index by population group adapted from theIFSS (RSA 2002)17

1 List the head count index for poverty for each population group form the highest tothe lowest……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2 What does this mean to you as a food security facilitator where the need is forintervention?……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Comments on Activity 1.3The information used in the activities is from the Integrated Food and Nutrition Strategywhich is still in use as a policy document today. References to more recent information willbe provided later in the Module.In the world hunger and poverty are seen as multi-racial. In South Africa hunger and povertyhas a developed a racial face for many reasons, because of its history, its two economies, itsmulti-racial composition and relationships with neighboring countries.Activity 1.4Complete this activity in your study guideAim:Where are the poor in South Africa?Time: 10 minutesWhat you must doRead the pie graph below from the Integrated Food Security Strategy. The circle is divided insections (like slices of pizza). The larger the slice the higher the percentage it represents.Figure 1.12Share of poverty in each province in South Africa18

1. Identify the 4 provinces with the highest percentages of poverty in South Africa.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2 Which provinces are referred to as the rural provinces?..............................................................................................................................................…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Comments on Activity 1.4In South Africa hunger and poverty are referred to as higher in the rural provinces. Whatmeaning does this have for poverty alleviation and hunger actions? Does this mean that onlythese provinces should receive assistance and intervention support? Unfortunately SouthAfrica the provinces with a lesser percentage of poverty do have pockets of severe povertyand hunger especially in slum areas of larger cities and mostly in Gauteng and WesternCape. The Northern Cape is a poor province and therefore has a slow percentage of povertyin South Africa. The population is scattered in the province and the small percentage may bea large percentage of the people in the province on its own.In 2001 the State President of South Africa announced the most areas with the most severepoverty and declared them nodal areas that need intensive attention for development, toalleviate poverty and hunger. These areas are given in Figure 1.13. The dark areas are theposition of the poverty nodes.Figure 1.13Presidential poverty nodes in rural and urban areas of South Africa19

Are you working in one of these areas? If, not are there poor and hungry people we you areworking? They are amongst us wherever we go. How do we identify the poor and hungry?The President has declared the War on Poverty Campaign. This is an intensive field leveleffort to identify the poor of the poorest wherever they are. They may not be only in the nodalareas but are identified by community development workers with the collection of data incommunities to mobilize the households on field level and support services.It is recognized that within South Africa in rural provinces and municipal nodes there will becommunities with higher than moderate scores depending on where the poor are and whocould face severe food insecurity with hazards (You are advised to consult Module one onthese concepts again). It is known that people in South Africa, such as seasonal farmworkers, dry land subsistence farmers and contract workers could experience seasonal foodinsecurity and hunger.Food Insecurity and the IPCSouth Africa will be rolling out the IPC in all provinces to monitor food insecurity. The fieldworkers and researchers will be required to gather data from the micro to the macro level toassess the food security situation in vulnerable communities and how it changes over time toidentify the kind of support needed. Who are the poor?South Africa is not seen in Sub-Sahara Africa as a country with severe food insecurity. It isalso not a country vulnerable to a humanitarian crisis or a famine under presentcircumstances. In measuring and monitoring vulnerability to food in security and hunger inSouth Africa the instrument to measure vulnerability called the Integrated PhaseClassification (IPC). This classification indicates that South Africa has moderate foodinsecurity. This has been referred to in Module 1 as a measure for vulnerability and severity.A classification system for the various phases of food insecurity, called the HumanitarianIntegrated Phase Classification (IPC) System, includes information on:• crude mortality rate• acute malnutrition• stunting• disease• food access/availability• dietary diversity• water access/availability• livelihood capitals• livehood coping strategies• hazards• institutional structures20

• destitution/displacement• civil securityNote: At this stage you should be familiar with the terms and concepts given in the bulletedlist above. However if you are unsure of the meaning of some of them, you can consultModule 1, and its glossary.IPC is a classification system, which can be used to analyse food security in an area.It can be used as a tool to aid learning by doing. Depending on the problem and the area,the IPC classification is used by a team consisting of specialist researchers, programmecoordinators and field workers.Primary and secondary data are gathered. Primary data are data gather in the field or fromongoing monitoring systems. Secondary data are data gather previously and usuallyavailable from data systems or reports. The researchers will be required to gather data fromthe micro to the macro levels over time in order to assess the food security situation invulnerable communities. Fieldworkers are used on the micro-level to gather information fromhouseholds in communities. This will help them to identify the kind of support needed.(See Part 2)Re-enforce your understanding of this section on poverty and hunger by doing the nextactivity.Activity 1.5 Reflecting on the hungry and food insecureComplete this activity on your own in this workbookAim: Using your own experience to reflect on who can be regarded as the hungry.Time : 20 minutesWhat you must do1. Reflect on poor people/households you regularly interact with in your community.2. Apply the three questions below to your experiences with these people.QuestionsIn the past four weeks did members of these households:A. Experience a time when there was no food at all to eat in the house, because of lackof resources?B. Go to sleep at night hungry because there was not enough food?C. Went a whole day and night without eating anything at all because there was notenough food for all household members?21

If your answers to the questions above are rarely, sometimes, or often, the people could befrom households who experience hunger.3. Now reflect on the following in the spaces provided below.What are the characteristics, status and age of the members of the households you regardas hungry..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Under what circumstances are the hungry and food insecure living?.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Why is it so difficult to identify and assist the hungry and vulnerable to become food secure?.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Comments on Activity 1.5The three questions in the block above can be used in interviews, in structured questionnairesor as a PRA group activity when working with households. The answers can bescored and used as an example of the simple scoring method we will examine in Part 2.These three questions have been tested internationally with different cultures and aretherefore universally used as a hunger scale.The poor and hungry can include persons from the different categories as you can see inFigure 1.14 below.MothersBabiesToddlersChildrenElderly, Homeless,Illiterate, Landless,Unemployed youthFemale heads ofhouseholdsDisabled OrphansPersons living withHIV/AIDS and otherdiseasesFigure 1.14 Who can be regarded as the poor, the hungry and the vulnerable?22

Do the categories of people in Figure 1.14 correspond with your responses to the threequestions in the box above?The categories indicate that individuals or households are the people that may be hungry.There is no single means to guarantee food security for all individuals, or households oreven nations by outside agents. Individuals and households functions in a private domainand we have to find ways and means to involve the individuals and households in gatheringinformation, finding solutions and taking action that will enable them to address poverty andhunger themselves.The poor, hungry and vulnerable to food insecurity mostly have an access problem and arehouseholds or individuals that do not have:• Access to land and other natural resources such as water and firewood, and also forreasons other than ownership,• Access to food production equipment and labour• Access to postharvest labour• Access to infrastructure for food production, processing and marketing• Access to transport facilities to reach the market• Access to credit• Access to employment and opportunities to increase income• Access to information and the means to be prepared for emergencies such asdrought.• Access to resources to care for their family and household• Access to health facilities, schools, training and communication technologies• Access to groups and institutions to make political structures more responsive.• Access to cultural institutions and participation in ceremonies and rituals.• Access to housing, sanitation and waste disposal servicesNote:These vulnerable people may also not have the competencies necessary to deal with theproblems above.The information on access needs to be gathered by households and individuals to learnabout themselves and discover opportunities to help themselves. However, from yourexperiences this is not straight forward and by no means an easy task.Figure 1.15 below illustrates the relationship between the access to assets and foodinsecurity.23

Figure 1.15 Access to assets impacts on food securityIn the next section we will examine the human and social dimensions of hunger and poverty.This knowledge will enable you as a HFS facilitator to interact in a sensitive manner, with thecommunity, a group, household or individual.1.2 Healing as a foundation for food securityIn the previous section we have taken a closer look at poverty and hunger and at theimmediate impact of this on food security. Our first target is therefore the poor and thehungry. We need to develop a deeper understanding of hunger and malnutrition and how touse this knowledge to improve the effectiveness of our facilitation strategies.Joshua de Castro lived as a child among permanently malnourished communities in themangrove swamps of Brazil, and has made it his life’s task to break the silence on hunger.He explains some of the effects of severe hunger on the individual’s way of thinking aboutlife. De Castro explains the nature of two types of severe hunger:There are two ways of dying of hunger: one is not to eat at all and rapidlywaste away until death, and the other is to eat inadequately and begin a cycle ofspecific deficiencies which might ultimately end up in death. Partial or chronichunger is more pressing than total hunger (starvation). The latter has social andeconomical impact but the former (chronic hunger) will silently destroy andundermine countless populations.24

De Castro also says that:Hunger not only acts on the body of the victims… it also destroys the spirit, themental structure and the moral conduct of these people. No other calamity candisassemble the human character as deeply and as harmfully as hunger.Something to doCarefully read the quotations above. Reflect on ways in which the human character can bedisassembled (broken down) by the calamity of chronic hunger. Think of what you knowpeople do when they are desperate for food and cannot see a way out. How do theybehave? What do they do and say which they normally would not do and say? You may alsowant to read the following website to get a better understanding of this topic.[http://www.josuedecastro.com.br/engl/hunger.html]Myths about hungerIn the Western World hunger is regarded as being caused mainly by economic ills. Is thisentirely true? Lappe, et al. refer to these economic ills as myths. Myths are reasons forconditions which people believe to be true, but which are misconceptions.The 12 Myths about Hunger are:• Not enough food to go around• Nature is to blame for famine• There are too many people on earth• Protection of the environment at the cost of having food• The Green Revolution is the answer• We (the developed world) need more land and larger farms• The free market can end hunger• Free trade is the answer• People are too hungry to fight for their rights• More US Aid will help the hungry• We (the developed world) need to benefit from poverty• We need to curtail freedom to end hungerFor more information consult: http://foodfirst.org/12myths.Something to do1. Discuss the 12 myths in your group.2. Do you as an individual agree or disagree that one or more of the above are myths, ordo you believe them to be the main reasons for hunger?It is important to realise that only by freeing the hungry and ourselves from the grips ofwidely held myths can the root causes of hunger be grasped and solutions found.25

1.2.1 Healing of food insecure care giversThandi, whom you met in Module 1, was told of the work done in the field of food insecurityby MaTshepo Khumbane and members of her care group. Since the early 1970s, MaTshepoKhumbane has lived and worked with food insecure households across South Africa andLesotho as a beloved and respected social worker and development activist. She has adeep understanding of the stress and effects of chronic hunger on the mental state ofhousehold caregivers who fail to feed their families adequately. You will hear aboutMaTshepo Khumbane’s work throughout this module but from here on, we will refer to her asjust MaTshepo.What is stress?In short, stress is what we feel when wethink we've lost control of events Stress istherefore a condition or feelingexperienced, when a person perceivesthat demands exceed the personal andsocial resources he/she is able tomobilize. This is the most commonlyaccepted definition of stress (Richard SLazarus)Figure 1.16 MaTshepo Khumbane: Development activist for household foodsecurityMaTshepo has found that for a food security intervention to be successful we cannot onlygive attention to the physical dimensions of poverty and hunger, but we also need to addressother dimensions, including the “emotional” dimension (psychological). She learned throughexperience that the emotional healing of the household caregiver and the healing of familyrelations are essential to create a secure base from where an individual can plan and actwith confidence and joy. Often, when this is achieved, family members all start helping toshoulder the tasks for food security and harmony.Dimensions of healingHealing has different dimensions and in order for healing to take place we need to addressall the dimensions. Healing in the traditional and indigenous sense has four dimensionsnamely the physical, social, psycological and spiritual dimensions. People with posttraumaticstress need psychological attention. An example of the positive effect of givingattention to the psychological and spiritual dimensions is the post apartheid era. WhenApartheid ended and to build a reconciled nation people benefited from the nationalintervention of reconciliation, religious institutions and traditional healer ceremonies to26

estore the contextual self of the traumatised groups, families and individuals. The sameprinciples apply to the traumatic experiences of people who suffer from hunger and poverty.Activity 1.6 Voices in the headComplete this activity on your own in your workbookAim: Identify feelings of caregivers in food insecure householdsTime: 20 minutesWhat you must do1. Read the poem below which was written by MaTshepo and then answer the followingquestions.Questions1. Describe the different ‘voices’ (emotions) that need to be silenced?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......2. What does the poem tell you about how food insecure household caregivers feel aboutthemselves and people around them, such as:Their children………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......The adults in the household………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......The neighbours………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......Other members in the community………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….......3. Which dimensions of healing were addressed in the poem?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....................................................................................................................................................27

Case Study:THE SPIRIT OF HOPE FOR JUSTICIA COMMUNITYMa Tshepo KhumbaneNo more sorrowNo more tears, no more sorrow in JusticiaHappy are the mothers in JusticiaUnity is the answerCheerio to local gossipNo more tears, no more sorrow in JusticiaPlenty eggs and milk to feedPlenty vegetables and fruitsCheerio to local gossipNo more sorrowNo more tears, no more sorrow in JusticiaThere will be hope for the destituteThere will be plenty of loveCheerio to petty conflictsNo more sorrowNo more tears, no more sorrow in JusticiaThe good news of touch therapywill invade the community spiritThrough a candle ceremonyThatha-a-a to petty jealousy and egos28

Comments on Activity 1.6Feelings of guilt, anger and powerlessness, and eventually apathy and hopelessness, arecommon among the caregivers of food insecure households. MaTshepo’s poem about‘silencing the voices in the mind’ –describes the multiple voices of sorrow, tears, anxiety,self-loathing, gossip and disrespect from neighbours and family, and in severe cases caninclude hallucination/ dementia induced by nutritional deficiencies.These ‘voices’ can ring so loud in the food-poor mother’s mind, that at times she may beunable to hear advice – let alone act on it. The HFS Facilitator needs to be mindful of thesefeelings and physical and mental suffering such persons may be experiencing. At times thefacilitator may need to soothe and encourage, while at other times s/he may have to take astrong stance to get through to a person. The ability to use one’s judgement on the mosteffective approach in different situations comes with experience.The individual’s need for such a ‘secure base’ is described by Bowlby (quoted in Braun2003), who says that:Human beings of all ages are happiest and able to deploy their talents to bestadvantage when they are confident that, standing behind them, are one or moretrusted persons who will come to their aid should difficulties arise.Imagine a baby at its mother’s knee, willing to crawl away to look at something interestingacross the room, because he knows mom is there to save him if need be. By contrast, achild living with constant criticism may become too afraid to try anything. A child with HIV/AIDS will be stigmatized and traumatized. Adults’ reactions are influenced in similar ways bypeople around them when they have to face difficult situations in life. Reflect on your ownfeelings about hunger by doing the next activity.Activity 1.7 Your own feelings about hungerComplete this activity on your own in your study guideAim: Reflecting on your own feelings about hungerTime: 15 minutesWhat you must doImagine a situation when you and your family experienced hunger and then answer thefollowing questions.29

Questions1. Have you ever been in a position where you were unable to feed your family?………………………………………………………………………………….............................2. How would you feel if you were unable to put food on the table for your family, day afterday?………………………………………………………………………………………………….......3. Describe your feelings towards other people who have enough to eat ?……………………………………………………………………………………………. ............4. How do you think people who are food secure will act towards you if you are foodinsecure?…………………………………………………………………………………………..................5. Make a list of your feelings. Distinguish which feelings are about physically not havingfood and which are social, psychological (mental) and spiritual (emotional) feelings.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....................6. Suggest how you as a food insecure person can address the emotions associated withhunger.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….................................................................................................................................Comments on Activity 1.7You do not have to write down all your personal issues, but it is important that you reflect onyour own feelings.Each of us has different experiences and ideas about hunger. The ways in which thesefeelings are coped with, or treated, may differ in different communities and cultures.Remember to be culturally sensitive when working with food insecure people in acommunity.30

1.2.2 World views on well-being and healingDifferent cultures and nations have different belief systems. The Christians, Muslims andAfrican religious systems have one core element in common. That is that a powerful andalmighty Person referred to as God or Modimo gives life and oversees life and life afterdeath. In the African religious system, people communicate in different ways with God andare linked to God through different mediating persons or spirits.How each of the belief systems is organised influences the worldview one has of:• How the world is organised• How people should behave responsibly to be food secure• Relationships with people and obligations to care for one another• How to live sustainablyThis spiritual (religious) dimension influences the psychological (mental) dimension of wellbeingand play an important role in how people view the natural / physical and socialdimensions of their well-being.Figure 1. 17 The components of the PEN-3 model influencing world views(Adapted from Melancon et al, 2009).In stories one can identify the three components of culture: Cultural identity, relationshipsand expectations, and cultural empowerment. In each of the circles is three concepts startingwith a P, E and N.Cultural identify is determined by the concept of self, the extended family and theneighborhood. The relationships and expectations are formed by own perceptions, enablersfrom family and neighborhoods and nurtures are those expectations for care and services.Cultural empowerment are determined by positive, existential and negative behaviours ondecisions one will take and how one will act (Melancon et al, 2009).31

In South Africa two distinct worldviews determine how people think about health and wellbeingnamely the Western Worldview and the African Worldview. Therefore people will havedifferent cultural identities, perceptions for relationships and expectations and differentcultural behaviours and understanding of empowerment. The best way we can capture theworld view of a culture is by telling stories or recording incidents on people and food habitsthat reflect their world view. Many of these stories are passed from one generation to thenext and reflect the world view and important values for well-being and survival.Activity 1.8 Stories about the worldviews of people on healing, food security,and well-beingComplete this activity in groups in the workbookAim: Identify stories on healing, security and well-being from your culture.Note: The stories could included stories on well-being and the values important to people inthe usage of food.Time: One hourWhat you must do1. In small groups of three or four tell stories, or recall events or incidents that happened topeople from your culture that relate to some aspects of food security. These may bestories that are transferred from one generation to the next by word of mouth. Elderlypeople including grandparents, uncles, aunts and parents are usually knowledgeableabout cultural stories that reflect world views on healing, food security and well-being.2. Discuss the stories related in your group and then decide on one story that contains themost common elements. Draw a picture of this story, or even a range of pictures (likecomic strip) telling the story. You may find it useful to draw this story on a flip chart.Use some of the following questions to reflect on the story or incident decided on by yourgroup:Reflection questions:1. Where does the story or incident come from?2. From which cultural group does this story originate?3. Describe the people in the story?4. Describe the incidents which are referred to?5. What positive message can you take from the story?6. What are the negative aspects of the story?6. Which are the cultural elements of the story?7. How do these cultural elements link to your World View?8. Interpret the meaning and lessons in terms of food availability, access, utilization andstability or sustainability of the food.9. Interpret the meaning of the relationships between people and the food sources in thestory.32

10. How does this World View influence the physical, social, psychological and spiritualdimensions of the availability, access and utilization of food?11. How can you be sensitive to culture and build on the good of culture when dealing withfood insecure households?Comments on activity 1.8A good story can provide the ideal tool to exchange ideas, to learn in a simple, familiar andimmediately understandable way; it can also accommodate many points of view, strongemotions and difficult truths.No responses are correct or incorrect. Each culture has it cultural heritage transferred fromone generation to the next. The stories can be transferred either by word of mouth or by thewritten word.An example of a cultural story is The Origin of Life and Death: African Creation Myths.: UlliBeier ed 1966).Case study:How the world was created from a drop of milkAt the beginning there was a huge drop of milkThen Doondari (God) came and he created the stone.Then the stone created iron;And iron created fire;And fire created water;And water created air.The Doondari descended a second time. And he took the five elementsAnd he shaped them into man.But man was proud.Then Doondari created blindness and blindness defeated man.But when blindness became too proud,Doondari created sleep, and sleep defeated blindness;But when sleep became too proud,Doondari created worry, and worry defeated sleep;But when worry became too proud,Doondari created death, and death defeated worry.But when death became too proud,Doondari descended for the third time,And he came as Gueno, the eternal oneAnd Gueno defeated death.33

People have always been asking questions such as"Where do we come from?""What is the purpose of life?""How shall we behave?""Why should we behave in this way?""What is the consequence of misbehavior?""Why is there so much suffering in the world?""What is death and what does it mean?"Writings in religious texts, stories, poems and songs have been created as attempts toanswer questions about life, death, love and hatred, joy and sadness, food and health andthe most appropriate ways of living. These stories are often called myths. You may think of amyth as being a story that is important but not the facts is not necessarily true but carries amessage or meaning to provide insights into a problem.The new generations of people have lost most of these cultural “stories” or heritage becauseof migration, replacement, urbanization and communication technologies, which exposethem to the western world. Because of this people form their own new meanings. Culturetherefore changes and adapts to new circumstances which is called acculturation. Culturalconscience and proud communities still transfer cultural beliefs and practices from onegeneration to the other. New meanings can also develop through people interacting. Themeanings symbolise in some manner the physical, social, psychological and spiritualdimensions of the old and new culture, values and principles.In many African cultures ubuntu is an example of a world view, in which a person can onlybe complete through the relationships with others people and entities.Therefore relationshipswith people in the African world view are extremely important.Something to doWhat is your interpretation of ubuntu in terms of the right of people to food and foodsecurity?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...The household has always been seen as the basis for transferring culture and symbolicmeanings regarding food. Meaning is given to life and food through people interacting witheach other in the physical, social, psychological and spiritual in a culture, values andprinciples. Food therefore has been given meaning through culture and it determines to agreat extent, the food habits of people. One can therefore conclude that food also has in itsmeaning natural /physical, social, psychological /emotional and spiritual dimensions. Anexample is maize and sorghum beer in the African culture and bread and wine in theWestern culture with all four dimensions. Do you have more or even better examples?We can therefore conclude that the social, psychological and spiritual dimensions of healingwhich has always been part of the healing system of the African culture in the past, is socritical and current to the healing process.34

Certain world views are confronted with many psychological problems because they focuson only one dimension and only lately have they realised the importance of the social,psychological and spiritual dimensions of well-being. In any approach we take to improvepeople’s lives, we need to create a psychological space where the livelihoods, the individualprocesses and social processes all interact.The diagram below shows you how social events influence or are influenced by theindividuals psychological (mental) processes.Social processes (event)Individual / Mental processesThreatDestructionLossGossipFearTraumaGriefShameReflect on the diagram above. Do you agree that the arrows in the diagram is a truerepresentation of the interactions. Explain your answer……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………35

1.2.3 Care groups for healing and overcoming helplessnessReaching out to others is often an underestimated element of healing. People need to feelneeded by others. This gives meaning and fulfillment to life and helps to prevent backslidinginto former patterns of negative behaviour. It helps to keep silent those ‘voices in the head’.Activity 1.9 Care groups can be successful even if it takes timeAim:Using a case study to identify the elements for success in learning groupsTime: 15 minutesWhat you must do:Read the case study below and answer the questions that follow.Case study: Priscilla Mkhwanazi, a careworker from the villageMilddleplaas restores her dignityPriscilla Mkhwanazi, a careworker from the village Milddleplaas, was one of the firstcareworkers to become involved in a garden project. She attended training butbecame despondent when she realized the amount of work required to develop asuccessful garden. Hens, goats and cows roam freely in the village; her home lackedproper fencing; on top of this, there is no running water on her property so she hadto fetch water from a communal tap. At first, these problems seemedinsurmountable, and Priscilla allowed her garden to deteriorate. She was dulyembarrassed when she saw her garden on screen at the annual competition.During the competition ceremony, when all the gardens were presented, sherealized that others in the community had shared similar circumstances, yet theymanaged to erect fences out of whatever they could find and overcame their waterproblems. At this event, the other careworkers gave her water-drums andencouraged her to try again.The next year, Priscilla Mkhwanazi made a speech at the competition, and said thatshe was sorry for not putting enough effort into her garden in the first year, andfor not cooperating with the trainers. She said that she is now grateful toThembalethu Home Based Care Group for supporting her and assisting in hersuccess as a vegetable gardener.Priscilla also acknowledged that her garden had benefited her greatly. She is nowable to feed her family, and to assist people in the community who need food, andbest of all, she has a surplus to sell.36

1. Why did Priscilla become desponded? What where the nature of the reasons?........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2. What motivated Priscilla to participate again in the food garden project?........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3. Identify the social dimensions that contributed towards her motivation.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4. How did the care group change her life?........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................In food security facilitation, the household caregiver’s personal confidence is stimulated byjoining a care learning group or ‘HFS learning group’.This happens because caregivers/mothers in the village who are facing similar challenges can discuss their problems andsupport each other. The groups may have different names such as ‘support groups’, ‘selfhelpgroups, ‘care learning groups’ or ‘HFS learning groups’ The focus of theses group ishowever the same and that is to empower people to take control of their life, livelihood andfood security.1.2.4 Celebration, joy, fun and laughter in healingJoy plays a practical role in addressing all trauma (including the trauma caused by chronichunger and malnutrition), and in the healing of relationships (family, community). A happysociety is a healthy society that produces ‘mature’ (i.e. not just ‘adult’) citizens. Maturesocieties actively nurture the full development of its citizens, therefore healthy relationshipsare fundamental.We have all experienced how joy, fun and laughter can produce incredible energy that heals,which is why MaTshepo advises facilitators to “make it fun!” Singing, light-hearted banter,dancing and other joy-building activities are wonderful and useful tools in the facilitator’shands. The ability of previously hungry households to produce their own food also bringsgreat joy to the family.37

Activity 1.10The importance of building relationships with joyDo this activity in groups or on your own in your workbook.Aim: Reflect on the problems that may result in adult life if primary tasks are not carried outwith joy during various life stages.Time: 30 minutesWhat you must do1. Look at Table 1.2 below which shows you important tasks for various life stages.Table 1.2 Important tasks for various life stagesLIFE STAGESPRIMARY TASKto be completed during thisstagePRIMARY RESULTINGPROBLEMin adult life when this task isnot completedThe INFANT stage:Birth through age 3(Newborns and toddlers areincluded here, up to the agewhere they can effectivelysay what their needs are.)Learning to receive.The CHILD stage:Age 4 through to 12(Age 12 is the earliest agethis stage can becompleted.)Taking care of self.The ADULT stage:Age 13 to birth of first child(Age 13 is about the earliestage at which adult-leveltasks may beaccomplished.)Taking care of two or morepeople simultaneously.The PARENT stage:Birth of first child untilyoungest child has becomean adultMaking sacrifices to take careof children.38

Notice that the table has three columns:The first column shows the life stages of humans.• The second column shows the most important (primary) task that needs to becompleted during each stage to ensure a well-balanced adult.• The last column is for problems that may result during each stage when the primarytask in column two is not met.2. Notice that the third column has not been completed. In groups discuss what problemscan result when the primary tasks have not been completed during each stage of humandevelopment.3. After discussions, complete column 3 by writing the resulting problems in the table in yourworkbook.4. Discuss the role that joy plays in the various stages of human development and how afacilitator can make households aware of the importance of joyCommenting on Activity 1.10The Life Model which you can see in Table 1.3 below is based on the central place of joy inthe development of a mature individual, and thus a mature society. It creates a practicalframework that shows the primary tasks, from birth to old age that enables the individual todevelop all of the human capabilities. It shows clear support roles to be played by family andsociety to enable an individual to learn how to experience joy and therefore develop tohis/her full potential.The Life Model also shows the consequences that can take place in ta person and societywhen the individual, family and societal structures fail. It is another way to show how thefailure to develop joy skills can affect the development of human capabilities and lead toproblems.The Life model therefore:• creates a practical framework that shows the primary tasks, from birth to old age, thatenables the individual to develop all of the human capabilities when joy plays animportant role.• shows clear support roles to be played by family and society to enable an individualto learn how to do this.• shows the consequences in the life of the individual and society when the individual,family and societal tasks fail.39

Where the problems you suggested in Activity 1.10 similar to those shown in the Life modelin Table 1.3 below?Table 1.3 The Life modelLIFE STAGESPRIMARY TASKto be completed during thisstagePRIMARY RESULTINGPROBLEMin adult life when this task isnot completedThe INFANT stage:Birth through age 3(Newborns and toddlers areincluded here, up to the agewhere they can effectivelysay what their needs are.)Learning to receive.Weak or stormyrelationships.The CHILD stage:Age 4 through to 12(Age 12 is the earliest agethis stage can becompleted.)Taking care of self.Not taking responsibility forself.The ADULT stage:Age 13 to birth of first child(Age 13 is about the earliestage at which adult-leveltasks may beaccomplished.)Taking care of two peoplesimultaneously.Lacks the capacity to be inmutually satisfyingrelationships.The PARENT stage:Birth of first child untilyoungest child has becomean adultSacrificially taking care ofchildren.Distant or conflicted familyrelationships.Other related problems that can result from failure to complete primary tasks during the lifestages are crime and unacceptable behaviour, the deterioration of societal values, and anoverall decrease in the maturity of society.In a chronically food insecure family, if the person in the ‘parent’ role fails in Task 1 it resultsin family members being at risk, being deprived and feeling worthless. Consequently, if thecommunity – normally a structure offering back-up support – fails to give the opportunity forthe parents to willingly contribute to their family, the situation becomes grave.In child- headed households or where people in the ‘parent’ role are debilitated by the effectsof illness, the failure in Task 2 and its consequences may be inevitable.40

1.3 The household food security facilitatorThe strategies to combat chronic, ongoing hunger are different to the emergency strategiessuch as food aid, which we use to combat famine or starvation through some short-termintervention in events such as war or floods. Strategies for chronic, long-term hunger areaimed at empowering people as individuals and as social groups, by enabling them toengage in activities that can permanently improve or solve their ongoing food insecurity.However, HFS needs to be built on a secure foundation: The facilitator must first help thehousehold caregiver to take control of her/himself and come to some measure of innerpeace (actively silencing the voices in the head) before s/he would be able to act onopportunity. The caregiver needs to feel accepted by family and neighbours to affirm this“newborn” and still fragile inner peace and hope.The solution to deal with livelihood problems and therefore food security problems is to focuson reconstructing relationships of the individual, with household members, with thecommunity, governing structures and society. How does a Household Food SecurityFacilitator manage such a process?Role of the household food security facilitatorThe fundamental role of the household food security facilitator then, is to helpfood insecure women and men to regain hope and self-respect, so that they cangain control over their lives through practical, achievable self-help actions andbuilding supportive relationships. To achieve this the facilitator:-aims all information and activities at improving the ability of the household toachieve and maintain food security-aims to interact with other role players, with the specific purpose to createan ‘enabling environment’ within which these food insecure households can makeprogress.It is always important to enter the community you aim to work in through the leaders andleading organizations. However, the healing process must start on the individual level anddeal with the individual to rebuild past relationships or build new ones and more purposefulones. It is not possible to start with the community at large in the care group model. The bestis to start with the individual and move to the next level. Soon the processes will snowballand grow by reaching more people.1.3.1 Capacity building for empowermentAnother reason for using participatory approaches may be for empowerment or socialtransformation. This will strengthen local people’s capacity in decision-making, and inmanagement of local resources. This will improve their awareness of options and tostrengthen their ability to act on their own behalf (Ashby 1996:16-17).41

Empowerment is therefore the process of increasing the capacity of individuals or groups tomake choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes.Empowerment can be measured by the degree to which local people or a specific group has:o Improved capacity (knowledge, problem solving skills, etc.) to deliberate about choices ofaction;o Broadened options for concrete action; ando Increased autonomy in engaging in these options.How can a HFS facilitator enable empowerment?The issue of helping others in an enabling role, which require a very specific attitude andhumble demeanour of the facilitator. It is based on promoting participation by enhancing asense of local ownership of development projects. Some organizations mobilize villagers inopen-ended projects where activities are based entirely upon local perceptions of felt needs.Others seek to establish integrating partnerships into larger development programmes toaddress specific objectives.Activity 1.11 Is this an example of empowerment1. Read the case study below.2. Explain why the Nyabyumba Farmers Group can be regarded as an example ofempowerment………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………….3. Give your own example of how individuals or your community have been empoweredin the field of food security…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..42

The case study across is a good example of this. With training given (the support required)and skills gained, the group was enabled to think of solutions to their problems and to evendevise means to solve these problems.Case Study: The Nyabyumba Farmers GroupThe Nyabyumba farmers group of Kabale district, Uganda, was formed in 1998, with40 members. The group, supported by an NGO Africare, focused on producingimproved potatoes from clean seed provided by the National Agricultural ResearchOrganization (NARO). In 2000, the Nyabyumba group formed farmer field school(FFS) to improve their technical skills on potato production and increase yields. In2003, equipped with the necessary skills for producing high quality and quantity ofpotatoes, the group decided to increase their commercial sales and requestedsupport from AFRICARE, NARO, PRAPACE, and CIAT. Through this consortium ofpartners, the Group received training in identifying and analyzing marketsopportunities and developing a viable business plan for the potato enterprise. Fromthe market study the group identified Nandos, a fast food restaurant based inKampala, and the local wholesale markets in Kampala. The group has set up a seriesof committees to manage, plan and execute their production and marketing process.To maintain a constant supply the farmers have set up a staggered planting systemto ensure that there are up to 50 tons of potatoes are available each month, fromwhich they then select 25-30 tons of best quality tubers for the Kampala market.To date the group has supplied more than 50 metric tons of potatoes to Nandos anda similar amount of lower quality tubers to wholesale markets in Kampala. The grouphas received a steady income and now has savings of nearly one Million Ugandashillings (US$ 600). These funds are being used to build a store and buy irrigationequipment to expand the business. The success of this group is based on a longtermsupport from a consortium of Research and Development partners, increasedtechnical skills in potato production and the market, and collective marketingprocesses.The Nyabyumba Farmers Group project is under the ‘Enabling Rural Innovation (ERI)programme of CIAT. A number of outcomes were developed by CIAT and its partners tomeasure facilitation efforts and service being provided. These are:o To assist farmers to identify and develop sustainable enterprises that generate incomeand employmento To have these farmers generate and access information, knowledge and technology insupport of their productive activities and to demand effective services in support of theseactivities.o Local support institutions and community organizations provide an enabling environmentthat permits development to proceed.43

In their facilitation role, CIAT researchers and government extension personnel actually linkfarmers with markets to identify preferred product, offer technical skills for production andorganizational (and business) skills for mobilization and advocacy abilities.Conclude this section by doing the next activity.Activity 1.12 True or false statementsWe have emphasized a few things key to HFS facilitators. Read the statements below andstate whether they are True or False in your workbook. Motivate each answero We should ask other service providers what people’s problems are, they know thisfrom their experience and education. We do not need to engage in dialogue withpeople………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………….o Stimulate thinking by probing and ascertaining views of all on what works or doesn’t………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………….o Tell the households they must work together, otherwise they will not achieve theirobjectives.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………o A facilitator needs a good understanding of a range of participatory tools andmethods for joint analysis, critical reflection and decision-making by the households.………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………….o A facilitator should coordinate the engagement of the wide range of stakeholders(from within the community and outside) for optimal delivery towards meeting theneeds of the households.………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………………………………………………………….1.3.2 Competencies of the household food security facilitatorYou are now aware that in order to successfully carry out her/his tasks, the HFS facilitatorneeds certain skills, knowledge, values and attitudes. These can be summarized as acompetency profile, which is shown in Table 1.4 below.44

Table 1.4 Competency Profile of the HFS facilitatorSkills Knowledge Values and AttitudesInformation Skills1. Analyse a specific rural area andidentify food security and nutritionneeds.2. Prepare a status report onhousehold food insecurity andrelated issues in a specific area.3. Formulate a written request forassistance from differentstakeholders.4. Assess communities and identifyfactors that contribute to foodinsecurity and constraints thatprevent food security interventionsfrom succeeding.5. Use suitable methods to presentinformation to communities aboutfood security, use of andmanagement of natural resourcesand nutrition.Project Skills6. Coordinate the project managementcycle (Design, Plan, Implement,Monitor, Evaluate, Makeamendments in the light of reality)Theoretical and practicalunderstanding of:• Situational analysis methodsand techniques• Features of different types ofresearch reports• Writing reports for differenttarget audiences• Methods of presentinginformation to differentaudiences• All stages of the projectmanagement processCommitment to the rigorsof researchWork systematically andwith accuracyInterpret data collectedand present informationholistically and withintegritySystematic and organizedway of working45

Skills Knowledge Values and AttitudesFacilitation Skills7. Use suitable facilitation methods andtechniques to encourage and assisthouseholds in rural areas toparticipate in actions to improve theirown food security, nutrition andhealth.8. Work with members of thecommunity to identify suitable foodsecurity and nutrition projects in theirarea.9. Engage with selected households ina specific area and assist them to:• formulate their own vision andaction plan for food security• develop a household foodresource plan for improved foodand nutrition security• compile and refine an annualplan for the household foodproduction system10. Assist selected households to reflecton the implementation of their actionplans and to refine them continuallyin the light of emerging realities.11. Support members of a community tomonitor food security interventionsand take appropriate actions to keepthe projects on track.12. Assist individuals and selectedgroups in a specific area to reflect onthe impact of natural resource useon the environment and on people13. Develop in conjunction withindividuals and selected groupspossible solutions/interventions forimproved use of natural resources14. Work with a group of people in acommunity and assist them to plan,design and implement experimentsin different farming practices• Role of the facilitator who isinvolved in building capacityin rural communities• Suitable methods offacilitation• How to motivate and involvepeople in projects• How to work with groups ofpeopleCommitment to capacitybuilding in anddevelopment of ruralcommunitiesRespect for the lifeexperience of ruralcommunitiesBuild on indigenouspracticesCreate a non threateningenvironment which isconducive to dialogueActivity 1.12 Skills, knowledge, values and attitudes of an HFS facilitatorComplete this activity in your study guideAim: Comparing your knowledge, skills values and attitudes with those on the competencyprofile table46

Time: 30 minutesWhat you must doDiscuss the competency profile in Table 1.3 and answer the following questions.Questions1. Identify the skills in Column 1, which you are confident to carry out at this stage. Whichskills do you feel need more practice?2. Do you have a theoretical and practical understanding of all the points listed in theknowledge column (column 2). Explain your answer.3. Do you agree with the points listed in Column 3 (Values and attitudes? Explain youranswer.Comments on Activity 1.12Do not become discouraged if you do not at this stage, have all the competencies listed inthe table above. As you work through this module you will gain the necessary competenciesand you will have another opportunity at the end of Unit 3 to score yourself.Concluding remarksIn this unit we reflected on poverty and hunger and examined the importance of healing as afoundation for food security. We also focused on the food security facilitator and thecompetencies needed to be successful. From the discussion provided in the unit, one wouldbe forgiven for looking at caring for people as a vocation; requiring people who feel calledinto it, in the same way as do priests, teachers and social workers. The principles discussedin the unit all bring this message home.You will learn more about how to create and work with the household food security carelearning groups in remainder of the units. These care learning groups fulfill the samefunctions as the well- known ‘support groups’, but takes the intervention further to achievefood security for well-being. We conclude with a quote belowPeople who have the same problems as me, best understand what I am going throughand can provide legitimate moral support and first-hand advice. And they also need me forthe same reason.47

UNIT 2: Participatory facilitation for household foodsecurityIntroductionWelcome to Unit 2, a unit especially dedicated to the facilitation process and skills to helpyou facilitate HFS projects well. In this unit we will look at participatory and facilitationtechniques in relation to Household Food Security. We will examine the background andhistory of community development and the difference between the approaches thatdeveloped.We will describe the community development approach we will be using for the HouseholdFood Security Programme with its content modules based on household food security andsustainable livelihood issues. The care model is described the delivery strategy throughusing HFS promoters facilitating HFS learning groups. The main methodological approachis participatory facilitation to encourage human interaction and learning. These concepts willbe used to describe the conditions and processes necessary for one to practice HFSfacilitation.The unit consists of the following sections:2.1 Community development: Brief history and approaches2.2 Framework for the HFS Programme2.3 Facilitating participatory processes2.4 Participatory facilitation: Methods and tools

Specific outcome and learning outcomesLearning outcomes Assessment criteria Actual timeWorkbook activities2.1 Community development:Brief history and approaches2.2 Practice theory for HFScare learning model2.3 Facilitating participatoryprocesses2.4 Participatory facilitation:Methods and toolsAssignment 2:Key conceptsCommunity developmentCare modelAdult learningFacilitationParticipationCare learning groupsCommunity development workerVolunteerSmall groupsLearning cycleParticipatory research approachParticipatory methodsHousehold resource managementVisualization methods and toolsInterview methods and toolsReporting methods

Start-up activityYou are on this programme because of your interest in community development as acommunity development worker or as a volunteer Reflect on why you are interested incommunity development and reflect on your reasons as stated in the box below.Why I am in community development?• the situation your are working, in.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................• the people you are caring about or care for,.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................• the method you like to use and your reasons.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................•did you had success and why did you had success........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2.1 Community development: Brief history and approachesThe term community is laden with complexity; composed of the young/old, the rich/poor,literate/illiterate, male/female, powerful/powerless. HFS facilitation is about helping foodinsecure households to take control of their lives and therefore need to learnpsychologically (I believe I can)…and physically (I can do) self-help skills.…and spiritually (I believe it is what I must do)…and social (I can do together with others)Community development canbe described as a learningprocess, using their owninitiative to learn from theirown experiences to becomeself-reliant and self-sufficientCommunity development can be described as a learning process which includes thecomponents of participation by the community to achieve their goals through self-reliance,the stimulation to use their own initiative, for self-sufficiency and participation in evaluation tolearn from their own experience (Swanepoel, 1989). Due to these differences between

people, assisting communities to realize their development goals could be a very challengingundertaking and is conceived differently by many.Activity 2.1Aim:To reflect on whether the activities are community development activitiesTime: 15 minutesWhat must you do1 Read the list of “community development activities” below- a person who provides farming inputs for people to feed themselves,- a person who builds recreational facilities for entertainment,- a priest who establishes a church to uplift the morality of the area,- a drug dealer who establishes a martial arts training club for the children nearby,- a person who extends their house beautifully and in the process improves theaesthetics of the neighbourhood.2 Use the description of community development and change the activities to beindeed community development activities. Give your reasons for your suggestionsbased on the description of community development...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Comments on activity 2.1Community development is about a process with content and objectives, procedures andhuman interaction or participation. Perhaps the best way to ensure success in anydevelopment venture will be interacting with the people concerned; asking them what theyaspire to be, what their wish for the area is, brokering agreement on this and then jointlyworking towards this common goal. Certainly if we should ask any of the people mentionedin the examples above, to them they are doing the community development but it is actuallya service. These activities will only be regarded as community development if the

eneficiaries have identified the activities as objectives and have been involved in thelearning process using some or all of their own initiative. There are different approaches incommunity development, but it can only be community development if the community isinvolved in the learning process See the Annexure A.2.1.1 Phases in community developmentPeople argue that they do things for the community because the community do not have theknowledge or the skill to do it for themselves. Rural people have also been accused of beinglazy, uneducated and backwards. Is this the case?Activity 2.2Explore your ideas about community development and the rural poorAimTo be aware of and sensitive to the potential of rural and poor peopleTime 10 minutesWhat you must doRead the case study and answer the questions below.Case studyThinking on rural people in developmentProf Anil Gupta (2006), India’s Honeybee Foundation challenged that, “the thinking thatpoor rural people have hands, mouth and feet but no brains, is highly misleading. Theconcern over viewing the rural poor this way was raised by Professor Gupta after yearsof frustration at the limited view of people’s intellectual ability by outside agencies anddevelopment institutions particularly governments. The top-down approaches also calledthe directive approaches (See Annexure A) used by some development agencies seemto assume that people cannot think for themselves of what is good for them. Thisthinking informs programmes and projects conceived elsewhere and implemented atlocal level requiring labour from the locals without consideration of whether theyactually want the project or not. Repeatedly rural people have been informed throughthe actions of officials and or speeches (perhaps unintentionally) that developmentaffairs should be left to learned outside experts.1. Is it true that rural people cannot think or do anything? What would be your immediatethoughts on involving rural people in community development?

.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2. . Do you have any experience or know of any rural person or group who has beenbelittled in a group? What was the end result?...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3. Which approach is considered as an appropriate approach in the case study? Give yourreasons..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4. What method is Prof Gupta suggesting? According to Annexure C which approache(s)could be suitable?.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Comments on activity 2.2The case study refers to the directive approach as a undesired approach where the outsiderplays a prominent role. Perhaps the best way to ensure success in any development venturewill be participation and interaction with the people concerned; asking them what they aspireto be, what their wish for the area is, brokering agreement on this and then jointly workingtowards this common goal. This approach could be the endogenous approach or theintegrated approach if more local support and services are needed for sustainability. Howhas the different community development approaches developed?First phase – pre 1970s 9 (Directive approach)The outsiders made most of the decisions - They decided what the problems were how tosolve them, designed the project, set the objectives and activities, provided the inputs,managed the implementation of projects, monitored activities and evaluated outcomes. Theresults were not very encouraging. The conception was top down (development wassomething governments did for or to people), and the language was military- "objectives","targets", "strategies", "capability". This is still used in macro-level planning.Second phase – 1980s – 1990s (Indirective approach)Then the outsiders began to ask the insiders more questions about what the problems andneeds were, but still the outsiders made most of the decisions. The outsiders began torealize that insiders knew a great deal. Situation appraisal methods that emphasized theimportance and relevance of situational local knowledge were used to gather data. Use ofthese methods highlighted the importance of getting the big issues broadly right, rather thanachieving spurious statistical accuracy.

Third phase – post 1990s 9(Participatory-approaches including self-help)Insiders with support from outsiders now became active in decision-making. The resultswere promising; locals were responding positively to the outsiders and taking on more of theleadership role. Participatory development arose as a reaction to the realization offailure/resistance by insiders at being ‘milked’ for information. This was popularizedparticularly by Gordon Conway and Robert Chambers (1992), and more recently by DavidKorten (1996).These three phases initiated different approaches and units of analysis can be is identifiedfor each with a different emphasis. (See Annexure A for the completed table). The briefdescription in the Annexure A make it possible to describe community development as alearning process emphasising process (abstract) and task orientated (concrete) objectives,for the formation of personal and social relationships in collective action and cooperation.The process extracts the content from the people according to their self-identified needsstimulating their own initiative to ensure ongoing change in attaining their self-directed goals.It is important to note the community development the tasks in community projects are to beinitiated and done through the process of learning and participation which leads to theoutcomes of the process objectives for the tasks to be done. In essence the peopledetermine what they will be learning with the guidance of the facilitator.The characteristic of community development in practice can therefore be listed asbased on- people using their own initiative- human interaction as prerequisite for building relationships towards progress- goal orientated as well as directing a method- needs (also human needs) of the community are motivating forces for action- idea with its own content, skills and agents to attain process and task objectives- "reaching out" initiative of society to act collectively and cooperate to helpcommunity- community dynamics stimulated to realize that something can be done to helpthemselves- ongoing organized action initiated by leaders and used as a source of stimulation,not domination- philosophically based on own values- process of change holds promise for progress to improve quality of life.The core of the characteristics of communitydevelopment guide the use of communitydevelopment as a process, method and aproject/ programme. A programme is usuallyseen as a collection of projects with the sameoverall goals. It also forms the basis for thepractice theory of community development. Apractice theory is the characteristics andprinciples of the theories used to guide theThe Role of the OutsiderAn outsider who comes with ready-madesolutions is worse than useless. He (sic)must first understand from us what ourquestions are and help us articulate thequestions better, and then help us findsolutions. He (sic) alone is a friend whohelps us think about ourproblems on our own.Source: Tilakaratna (1987)

practical application of the process and its methods. The practice theory guide the facilitationduring the situation analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of thelearning activity, the project, and the programme in practice. Therefore the proverb ‘there ismethod in the madness’ can be true for community development.Meaning why don’t we just do it for the people.Facilitation should be a participatory process to be successful in using self-help care groupsto address the tasks to be done to improve the different dimensions of household foodsecurity: availability, accessibility, utilization and stability. This also applies to improving thelivelihood assets and strategies to support household food security.2.2 The HFS Learning Group as modeling communitydevelopment practiceThe Household Food Security Programme has been developed as a learning curriculum incommunity development with theory and practical applications integrated in the model.The community development programme or curriculum should always be developed in aparticipatory manner and integrate the use of community assets to address the needs andinclude aspects of the different sectors that impact on the complex nature of household foodsecurity.Figure 2.1 Bridging the gap between theory and practice (Adpated from………? )The diagram above display how the we have tried to bridge the gap between the twoextremes of theory and practice. In designing the Household Food Security Programme, youare studying, we have tried to integrate a selection of the “state of the art” theory fromdifferent subjects such as community development, sustainable livelihoods, food securityand nutrition with the practice of facilitating people through a planned learning process, whileparticipating in activities with households working and learning in the community.

Communities are different, households and individuals are different. The age-old institutionof a family unit or households has always been the unit for learning life-skills. With thechanges in society the household lost of its indigenous or traditional capacity to cope withmany responsibilities, risks and its vulnerability. However, learning takes place where thereis interaction between people. The specific context and situation of the people provides thecontent of the programme by the people involved identifying their problems and findingsolutions addressing the problems. People have always in real life done exactly this. But withchanges in the environment and society one may argue “refreshed” or new solutions areneeded. People have thought about this processes and tried to find theories “ theoretical“recipes” for as answers and guidelines.We will be referring to a number of theorists who did theoretical work on principles which thecommunity development approaches in use today are build. Kurt Lewin did research on foodsecurity and why people eat what they eat with Margaret Mead in the 1940s to try and findsolutions extending the range of foods people eat and address food shortages during theSecond World War in America and Europe. He drafted the Channel theory, Force Fieldtheory, Action Research as a learning process and the small group discussion-decisionmethod.The Positive Deviance Hearth Model (acknowledging good indigenous household practices),models using care groups, is based on these theories is used with success in developingcountries in Africa recognizing peoples own good practices and decisions in findingsolutions. MaTshepo you heard from in Unit 1 also used these same principles, withoutknowing the theories, in her food security and indigenous food strategies achieving manysuccess stories. This is true for Africa in many case studies where women are the foodproducers (providers), community workers and reproductive care-givers and the householdmembers where engaged in the activities.Kurt Lewin, referred to as Lewin, from here on, found in during the Second World War thatfood behaviour and food security could be improved by using small group activities tochange decision-making in groups and bring about change. He proposed the ChannelTheory to display the decisions made by gatekeeper providing food in households. Thegatekeeper(s),may be one or more persons in the households responsible for food relateddecisions. The decisions may be the best decisions under circumstances or could be poordecisions. The development of the ability to make improved decisions for household foodsecurity can therefore only be addressed on the micro- level and its usefulness confirmed ina small group or household.

Figure 2.2 The channels through which food reaches the household members(Adapted from Lewin by Roberts ……….?)The channels in Figure 2.2 of acquiring food, producing or buying food, require manydecisions to harvest, process, storage, prepare and serve food to household members. Eachof these decisions is like little “gates” with forces impacting on them that need to beovercome to be open them.These forces impacting on decisions can be the causes and or effects of food security andinsecurity and malnutrition. We have done this in Module 1. Positive decisions will ensure abetter flow of food with less forces hindering positive decisions to ensure enough, acceptableand nutritious food reach the people to be shared. These “gates” should be supported byinformation and competence in practices.

Activity 2.3. Household food security decisions and changeComplete this activity on your own in your workbookAim: Reflect on the influences and forces that influence household food decisions to be foodsecure in food security interventions for changeTime: 30 minutesWhat you must doStudy the Figure 2.2. Channels through which food is shared and answer the questionsbelow:1. Imagine a household you know and identify the person and their role in the household orcommunity making the decisions at each gate...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2. At each gate different livelihood factors or forces will influence the decision(s) made.From your previous knowledge what could be these forces influencing these decisions.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3. If an agriculturalist or nutritionist tell people what to plant or eat, could the decisions andlivelihood forces be changed to make better decisions?. Identify this approach?.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4. What will be the consequence if only one member of the household of a gender role isinvolved in the food security intervention and want to change decisions?....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................5. Is it possible and how can we ensure harmony in the household during food security andlivelihood interventions?.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

6. What would be the ideal situation for household participation in the food securityintervention? What are your reasons?....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................7. Do the channels address the components availability, accessibility, utilization, andstability of household food security on the micro level? Name the learning content topicsthat households could identify to improve their household food security.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Comments on activity 2.3The ‘gatekeepers’ are usually those with the knowledge and skill and cultural or indigenousknowledge about food are transferred in this manner. Therefore, food security strategiesaimed at the household should develop the household’s ability to take care of themselves,make healthy choices and take responsible decisions. It aims to systematically reduce thehousehold’s dependency on outside help of all kinds. This reduces their vulnerability, andhelps them to avoid food crises and malnutrition.Lewin has also indicated that change is achieved though using small groups and groupinteraction or dynamics to gather information consider options and making plans for action. alearning process The small groups provide a comfortable environment to enable people toreflect on their assets and food needs to be satisfied, to learn with each other and to improveon or make new decisions in their own, local and cultural context. People can build on theirindigenous knowledge giving positive results and extend their knowledge by learning moreimproved or new practices.More competence can be learned if people communicate or experiment in small groups andlearn from each other how to make best decisions to improve their livelihood and foodsecurity behaviour. In this way new decisions or better decisions that are selected andcontrolled by their own values. The decisions are then their decisions and taken bythemselves. Those participating in decisions then become the informed ‘gatekeepers’ for thefood available, accessible, to be utilised in a sustainable supply by the household.The channels describe the relevant content for activities and content for the programme onmicro level. To achieve many of these changes the household will need community supportor support service from the local environment. The same principles demonstrated in theabove activity should be used in the learning activities of the care learning groups to be verypractice orientated. In the training programme aims for the household facilitator to learn howto manage the learning process the practical applications need to be supported with selectedtheory background to enable the facilitators to work with confidence in communities. Thedesign of such an integrated curriculum can be visualized further on.

The household food security facilitator should be selected by the community where (s)hestays or work and be recommended by the employer or supervisor.The household food security facilitator will assist with the process to enter, create awarenessand analyse the community situation. As soon as this process has been concluded andpeople group for selected activities or projects households or members of households workin small groups. The interaction will be with care learning groups and at times with theindividual households. Lets look at the care learning group model.The HFS care learning group modelA HFS care learning group model will be used for training the household food securityfacilitator working with care groups and the caregivers of food insecure households. Thehousehold food security facilitator can be linked to any organization or non-governmentalorganization working in community development in local government, health organizations,farmers groups, youth organizations and church organizations. Any facilitator can join a carelearning group for household food security with the consent of their organisation. Thehousehold food security facilitator is a community development worker or communityvolunteer trained in household food security competences to deliver a specialized servicethat link with the objectives of programmes of the organisation they serve.Figure 2.3 Facilitation model for the Household Food Security learning groups.(Adapted form …………….)The HFS learning groups of 20 -25 students (minimum 15 students) are trained by a HFSpromoter. The promoters work under supervision of a regional coordinator. This HFS carelearning group model is not a standalone and should be linked to an educational institution

and the community partners or service providers overseeing or supervising the students.See the framework for the HFS programme in Figure 2.4.Figure 2.4The Framework for the Household Food Secuirty ProgrammeThe modules of the Programme Household Food Security form the core curriculum offeredby the education institution. This is an integrated curriculum with the core in household foodsecurity, participatory facilitation, sustainable natural resource use, intensive household foodproduction, food behavior and nutrition and food resource management. This is the group inthe top left-hand corner.To the top right hand corner is the community service providers. The HFS programmmeshould be delivered in partnering with community service providers to act as mentors forHFS facilitators and establishing support relationships for future delivery of household foodsecurity interventions. This is essential to create a sustainable community development andvolunteer cadres in communities.

The programmes of most of thecommunity institutions andorganizations (community serviceproviders) do have communitydevelopment workers, care workers,home-based care workers or carevolunteers in service responsible fortheir own projects micro-level projectsin communities with groups orhouseholds.In the bottom right hand corner theusual micro projects of CDW’s andvolunteers are displayed. A volunteerstart with a small group of people andthe small groups later on formorganizations, cooperatives and smallenterprises. This care learning modelgrows interventions from the individualcaregivers and household sparticipating on the micro level andupwards. Even the successfulcommunity development workers start from the individuals and households in his/her ward.The growing is stimulated by well-functioning groups, later working together as groups andcluster when common interests are found into larger and stronger groups or organizations.Household Food Security facilitators are learning as a group of diverse CDWs andvolunteers from different service providers in the bottom left corner. The HFS facilitators cancontinue working with their care learning groups networking for support and keep onestablishing new care learning groups. Therefore the extension to more members joininggroups and more groups should create a sustainable mass for the households in thecommunity to become more and more independent and self-supportive. The HFS facilitatorsthemselves can decide whether they want the HFS learning group to continue after thetraining to share information and continue the learning process and support each other.Will this be a good idea? Give your reasons.................................................................................................................................................………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Can this be sustainable?………………………………………………………………………………………………………Participatory learning in action as learning methodologyA participatory approach is used as the learning methodology in the small groups andsimulates the strategy for learning in the small groups. As already indicated Lewin is knownto described this process to be used in small groups. Lewin is seen as the father of theaction research process that works through three basic phases:

Look - building a picture and gathering or assessing information. When evaluating we defineand describe the problem to be investigated and the context in which it is set. We alsodescribe what all the participants (educators, group members, managers etc.) have beendoing.Think – Analysing, interpreting and explaining. When evaluating we analyse and interpretthe situation. We reflect on what participants have been doing. We look at areas of successand any deficiencies, issues or problems.Plan – Is not added in all learning cycles, but is a logical part of the learning cycle to guideaction.Act – Taking action and resolving issues and problems. In evaluation we judge the worth,effectiveness, appropriateness, and outcomes Stringer 1999: 18; 43-44;160)The action resource process or action learning process has been endorsed by Kolb andadapted. A variation is also known as the Kolb’s learning cycle.• It is democratic, enabling the participation of all people.• It is equitable, acknowledging people’s equality of worth.• It is liberating, providing freedom from oppressive, debilitating conditions.• It is life enhancing, enabling the expression of people’s full human potentialActivity 2.4Complete the activity on your own in your study guideAim Compare the different learning cycles and identify similarities in principles.TimeWhat you must doThe Triple A cycle referred to in Modules 1 and indicated in the introduction of the modulesis said to be used in the programme. Compare and write down the similarities anddifferences between the Triple A cycle Figure 1.2 and Lewin’s the action research processand the learning cycle of Kolb Figure 2.5.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Comments on activity 2.4The Tripple A cycle follows the process of action learning process. The basis of the actionlearning process is observe, look or gathering information, think or analysis and to plan andaction to do the tasks with regular reflection. This process can repeat itself in cycles forminga spiral. The learning process is also called the learning cycle because the process repeatsitself. The learning cycle in Figure 1.2.Figure 2.5Kolb’s learning cycle based on Lewin’s work (Adapted from….)We can combine the curriculum, the care model and the learning cycle process in onediagram and display the methodology for the care learning group processes as phases ofthe methodology for the HFS programme in Figure 2.6Figure 2.6The learning process of the care learning models applied to householdsand the community (Adapted from…….)

Each cycle represents a different phase in working with households as used in thisHousehold Food Security curriculum. The first phase assists households to build a visionwhich will be discussed in Unit 3, In this Unit 2 we will refer briefly to the use of participatoryapproaches in household food security and refer to participatory learning in action (PLA)methods.You will in Unit 4 of this module start to implement the process using visioning and PLAmethods and provide evidence for your portfolio. The PLA tools can be used in all steps andphases of the community development process and care learning group to gatherinformation, learn and make plans to act and reflect to continuously improve on their foodsecurity. Modules 3, 4, 5,and 6 will focus more on the development of competence(knowledge, skills and values) for different technical areas important for household foodsecurity.You will have to become confident with this mode of doing and use it regular in yourinteraction working with your community and care learning groups. You will notice that somemay work with larger groups of the community and at times more regular with smallergroups. The methodology stays the same. It should become part of your regular conduct.2.3 Facilitating participatory processesFacilitation is the process of helping groups, or individuals,to learn, find a solution, or reach a consensus, withoutimposing or dictating an outcome. Facilitation works toempower individuals or groups to learn for themselves orfind their own answers to problems without control ormanipulation. Facilitators need good communication skills,including listening, questioning, and reflecting. FacilitationFacilitation: the process ofhelping groups, or individuals,to learn, find a solution, orreach a consensus, withoutimposing or dictating anoutcome.is used in a variety of contexts including training, experiential learning, conflict resolution,and negotiation. [dictionary.bnet.com/definition/facilitation.html]Local people have unexpected capabilities. The facilitator can harness the inherentcapabilities (for creativity, and critical thinking) by encouraging and allowing people to takethe lead, to determine the change of agenda, to gather, express and analyse information andto plan.In a way the facilitator, performs a local leadership role in the equation; helping people tomake rational decisions, enabling them to participate fully, assisting them to take initiative,helping them discover their assets (resources), and help them to plan and act. Throughhis/her facilitation, people engage in a learning process through which they gain selfreliance,become empowered and build self-esteem. It is rare to find someone who was bornwith facilitation skills. People have to acquire or develop facilitation skills and the more theypractice, the more they are experienced and improve.

Activity 2.5 Ways of engaging with communitiesComplete this activity on your own in your workbookAim:Two ways of interacting with groups of peopleTime: 15 minutesWhat you must doFacilitation involves interacting with people in a specific way. Care groups meetings are agood and commonly used way in projects to interact with people being assisted. Not all caregroup meetings are run the same. Some are considered good care group meetings whilstothers not. To illustrate the two different methods of interacting with people, look carefully atthe pictures below and plan a role-play for by dividing the class into two groups:1. Each of two groups must act a picture using contrasting methods of interacting withpeople, namely facilitation and role play.Picture 1 Facilitation Picture 2 Teaching2. Select on objective for your role play and a title to fit the role play, select persons for theroles and plan the different roles.3. Each group use the table below to assess the other group in how well they achieved theobjective and demonstrated the method. Each point can be rated 1,2,3,4 or 5.

Table 2.1Contrasting interactive facilitation and conventional teaching approachTYPE OFINTERACTIONScoresTYPE OFINTERACTIONScoresDialogueMonologueActivePassiveVisualTextDiscussionWritingDemonstrationsExplained answersReflective on ownInstruction on how toexperience for whatdo things.will workCultural sensitivityCultural ignoranceCreate environmentEnvironmentfor sharingcontrolledEmpathyApathy4. Write down the scores the two groups decided on in table above.5 Discuss and reflect on how each group could improve on their method in terms offacilitation................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................6. Write eight guidelines for facilitation for mentoring new volunteers based on yourexperiences in the role-plays...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Comments on Activity 2.5The two pictures and the supporting table required you to think of factors that possiblymotivate choice of method when interacting with households as you facilitate. You can eitherhave an interactive discussion with all present having a say or you can have a typically

classroom scenario wherein there is one person talking, that person holding a position ofpower and giving others their knowledge.Picture one shows a group of people engaged in a discussion about something. All thepeople in the picture are attentive to what is going on: we do not get a sense that only oneperson is dominating. There are general expected skills that the HFS facilitator needs tomaster. They must be:o An effective communicatoro An organizer/good plannero A critical thinkero A problem solvero An active listenerWhat challenges of working with households does this activity raise and how would adoptingthe approach used in picture one help you deal with those challenges? Write your responsesin your workbook.We hope that contrasting the approaches implied in the two pictures (and the supportingtable) helped you reflect on the benefits of facilitation. Facilitating learning of others in thefirst picture is depicted as:ooocreating opportunities for dialogue, where everyone can actively share theirviews,stimulating thinking by demonstrating things and explaining to people ratherthan seeking answers to your questions,encouraging use of visual (pictures, drawings, symbols, etc) rather thanwritten text helps people think.Furthermore, a good facilitator is:ooooooocaring and empathizing with those being assisted,approachable and encourages people to make own decisionsallowing people to express their opinions,encourages mistakes as part of the learning process,creates a positive climate in which people are comfortable, open mindedchallenges people willingly participate and to actively pursue their own goalsa role model.Picture two on the other hand reminds us of our school days: with the teacher standing infront and us ‘soaking in’ the information. The activity tends to get you thinking about‘teaching’, which you know from first-hand experience (having been in the school classroomsituation very often in your life), and then to get you to think about how facilitation should be.

HFS facilitation engages adults in a learning processAs a rule, food insecure households need time to reach food security. If we see this as aprocess that involves people feeling dissatisfied about their current situation and deciding toact on this, we would not be mistaken to think that it is adults who engage in this process.Because household food security interventions should be a learning process, it mustinvolves households and local leaders and through experimentation expose them toknowledge, skills and resources to try or discover how they can improve the situation. Onecould call this “the art of changing people’s behaviour by facilitating their learning.” Training,discussions, meetings, workshops, demonstrations and experimentation are a few of themethods that can be used, and all these are centred on learning.An HFS facilitator is instrumental in all these activities, and performs a local leadership role.Through his/her facilitation, the food insecure households are engaged in a learning processthrough which they gain self-reliance,empowerment and self esteem. We shallexplore this point further in the section onleadership and facilitation.What are the implications of workingwith adults as a HFS facilitator?Adults have the sense (and power) to actto change an undesirable situation to amore favourable one. For this reason, theycommand a certain level of respect andacknowledgement of their active role in alearning process.A household food security facilitator needs to understand the key principles of adult learningto be successful in facilitating the learning of others. Let us explore how you prefer to learn,before exposing you to the skills, tools and methods you will need to do your job well, whichis to help households learn.Activity 2.6 Principles of adult learningComplete this activity on your own in your study guideAim: Identify how you learn bestTime: 10 minutesWhat you must do

In this activity you will do a quiz, a self-check and then apply the principles of adult learningto experiences in your work.Quiz: How I learn bestFirst, think about your personal preferences, by ticking what applies to you in the quiz below.There is no right or wrong answer, the exercise helps you think about how you learn best, soplease be honest with yourself.I learn best by doing, seeing and hearing things firstI learn best by finding new ways of doing thingsI learn best when I feel I’m in a ‘safe’ environmentI learn best when I’m relaxed and calmI learn best when I can see the ‘big’ pictureI learn best by working it out as I go alongI learn best when I have a plan with goals and targetsTick for yesSelf-check:Now read the characteristics of adult learning below, and fill in the missing words to helpassess your understanding of the concept.CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULT LEARNERSThere is understanding that adults possess certain characteristics that affect how theyapproach learning and how they learn. Below are four of the characteristics identified byKnowles (1990).1. Adults need to know ………… they should participateAdults are less accepting of information given and are more likely to ask questions such as‘How will this help me and my family?’ or ‘How will make my life easier? This means thatwhen you bring ideas to help the community, concentrate on what is beneficial to them, adultlearners.2. Adults see themselves as ………..………. personsAdults tend to see themselves as being responsible for directing their own lives: decidingwhat change they want; deciding how to bring up their children; deciding what socialactivities they wish to follow. In household or even family level, people like to set their owngoals and choose their own developmental tasks.3. Adults have a ……………… of experienceAdults will have varying degree of life experience; attending school, working, handlingmoney, bringing up children, following religion, politics and so on. They therefore viewcommunity engagement as building on those experiences.4. Adults tend to be ………………. by personal factors

Adults tend to have a motivation for everything they engage in; joining a sewing groups forsocial affirmation, seeking spiritual growth through joining a local church, taking a drivingcourse just after coming into some money and wanting to purchase a vehicle and etc.Comments on activity 2.6Since much of your work is likely to be with adult members of the households, often with alearning outcome, you need to understand how adults interact and learn, why people getinvolved with others for development and what sustains them. The activity thereforedescribed and applied the key characteristics and principles of adult learning. We expect thatthis made you realize that interacting with adults should be a well thought out process.In the mid-1960s Malcolm Knowles (………..) first articulated some key differences betweenhow adults and children prefer to learn. These can also be expressed in terms ofparticipation, and shows that adults:ooooohave a need to know why they should participate;have a need to be self-directing and decide for themselves when they want toparticipate;have a far greater volume and different quality of experiences than young people anduse these past experiences to make participating in the experience moremeaningful;become ready to participate and learn when they experience a life situation wherethey need to be involved;enter into the participation process with a task-centred orientation to learning; and

oAre motivated to participate by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation based onpersonal factors.The HFS facilitator must ‘facilitate’ not teach.We have already seen above that an HFS facilitator engages adults in a learning processthrough which they gain self-reliance, empowerment and self esteem. The HFS Facilitatorperforms a local leadership role, as follows:o by helping households caregivers to make rational decisions;o by enabling all members of a Care learning group to participate fully;o by assisting the households to take initiative, through helping them discover theirresources; ando by helping them to plan and act.What is participation?Participation is a process through which stakeholders’influence and share control over development initiatives,decisions, and resources that affect them. It can takemany different forms ranging from information sharingand consultation methods, to mechanisms forcollaboration and empowerment that give people moreinfluence and control (World Bank, 2001). An importantParticipationa process of communicationamong local people anddevelopment agents duringwhich local people take theleading role to analyse thecurrent situation and to plan,implement and evaluatedevelopment activities.task for an HFS facilitator is to identify stakeholders, people interested in, concerned withand affected by food insecurity.The stakeholders include the household, (in fact the household is a primary actor) individualsand organization from outside. You need to identify the various stakeholders you need inyour efforts towards household food insecurity. This can help you plan your activities better,by being clear who should be engaged for what, how and why. Some stakeholders play akey role; they are instrumental in the activities, whilst others are not. A tool called astakeholder analysis is commonly used to identify stakeholders and entails asking thefollowing questions: a) who are the stakeholders, b) what role they play in dealing with HFS,c) how stakeholders are organised, d) how stakeholders are linked and e) how they canimprove the situation.Activity 2.7 Participation by of stakeholdersComplete this activity in your study guideAimIdentifying stakeholders that should participateTime 20 minutes

What you must doThis activity is best suited for the contact session with your peers that is other students doingthis course in your area, (forming as part of your study group) or can be done during yourtutor-facilitated session. Read the following case study and then answer questions with yourstudy group below on stakeholder analysis.Case studyThe Dlamini CaseDlamini was a prosperous farmer who lived in Ezintabeni village, Loskop in KwaZuluNatal. He owned land on which he grew different crops and kept hundreds ofcattle, sheep and goats. His wife, Zithulele also kept a number of fowls; chickens,ducks and even geese and grew fruit trees. Dlamini had a large family to support,most of who were relatives that could not look after themselves. The familyprovided the labour required in the farm.In 2000, Dlamini started to get sick, he became very weak and could no longersupervise work on his farm. The neighbours and his relatives blamed it all on hiswife, accusing her of bewitching him to steal their clan’s wealth. Despite all thenegative talks, Zithulele remained committed to her 40-year old marriage, whichhad produced thirteen children and seven grandchildren. After some persuasion,from Zithulele and the local priest, Dlamini agreed to visit the Ladysmith ProvincialHospital where he was told he has HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, locally knownas Ingculazi. He accepted his fate with difficulty but his relatives still blamedZithulele for being a mahhosha (prostitute) who had brought the disease into thehome. Dlamini’s health got worse from that point on and everything in the oncewell-to-do home fell to ruin. The crop harvest declined, the livestock was sold oneby-oneto cover treatment costs and hospital visits and to maintain the family.Disaster loomed around the homestead.Dlamini died at the beginning of 2003 and as soon as he was buried, his relatives,who had come from various parts of Loskop, started fighting over the property hehad left behind. Zithulele and her children watched the scene as it unfolded, facedwith the reality of starting afresh in order for her and her children to survive.She first took her plight to the Development Committee, established with the helpof the local extension officer to receive services from the Department of

Agriculture. The Committee was instrumental in getting support from the WorldFood Programme of the United Nations for starving families five years ago, butcould not help her now as they had no resources. Seeing that Loskop falls withinthe Ingwe Municipal District, although governed by the Traditional Council, shewrote two letters, one to the local council and another to the Traditional Councilwith hope that she will receive help. The Municipality has developed an IntegratedDevelopment Plan, and has some funding available but only for developmentactivities that fall within their Plan. Two researchers from a nearby Universityhave a project aimed to encourage people to boost local economic development,gave her vegetable and field crop seeds to plant and two egg-laying hens. An NGOfunded by the European Union also volunteered to teach her (and other women)craft skills and to establish marketing channels for their products.Questions for group discussion:Answer the questions below based on the Dlamini case, in your workbook. Take your timeand read the story again and think hard about what is being asked.1. What is the Dlamini case all about?2. What factors may explain the decline in farm productivity in this case study?3. Who are the key stakeholders in the projects Zithulele was establishing towards theend of the story? Why do you consider them important?4. What does each role-player want to achieve / what are their objectives, what factorsare constraining their efforts?5. How influential are these different stakeholders? Why are they so influential?6. If you were tasked (as a local HFS facilitator) to facilitate a joint process by thesestakeholders, what would you do?Comments on Activity 2.7In the case study: institutions, individuals and groups play different roles in food security andcommunity development. This is because they all have a different stake in the problem,meaning they are concerned differently, are affected differently and as such invest varyingresources depending on how the problem affects them.Quite often stakeholder groups from outside, that is: government, NGOs, donors and etcundermines the importance of local groups as key stakeholders. Appraising the power thatlocal stakeholders have to influence a project or development activity, helps identify relativerisks posed by these stakeholders and potential coalitions. You should aim your activities(such as meetings, workshops and demonstrations) at encouraging optimum participation bythe households and local groups, such as the Care learning group (GLG).

Your answer to the last question should be elaborately prepared and shared with others inyour peer/study group and entered on your portfolio. We are proposing it for portfolio as thequestion tests the many skills that you as a learner have learnt. Please ask others to giveyour their opinions on your presentation (your ideas). They should tell you what is goodabout your proposed approach to the last question and why, what they think are loopholes(things that would not work) and what they suggest you do to improve.How to foster effective participation?As suggested in the beginning of this unit, you will find yourself working with groups ofpeople at a time representing households and at time with individual in a household as agroup. The group strategy is useful as it helps utilize the time and other resources at yourdisposal better. It is wise to be prepared by anticipating what could possibly go wrong in afacilitated group session. Although we have been suggesting that there must be effectiveparticipation, things could go wrong. You may think you are doing everything right, askingpeople to share their opinions, asking the right questions and being responsive to theirfeelings only to find they are reluctant to participate.Activity 2.8 Obstacles in participationComplete this activity in your study guideAim: Identify obstacles in participationTime: 60 minutesWhat you must doThis activity is best done in a group. You are therefore advised to get together with the otherstudents doing this course in your area, as part of your study group. Carefully study thesheet below to review obstacles impinging on effective participation. You will first need to dothe task alone and then form into a group with others to discuss and agree on worst threeobstacles. You will need to rank by allocating a number to all the obstacles before settling onthree. When you are satisfied with your choice in the group, you need to present yourthought in plenary.Obstacles to ParticipationIndividualChoiceGroupChoiceThings preventingparticipation1 group size2 Fear3 lack of participation4 Politics5 lack of peer support

6 age differences7 lack of training8 dominating individuals9 Shyness10 no opportunity to talk11 Leaders12 little experience13 Tradition14 Men15 people with education16 Language17 lack of skills18 no one takes notice19 other (specify)Comments on Activity 2.8We can see from this list there are many things that prevent people from participating.Achieving participation in a group is easier said than done, and is not likely to happen byscolding or urging. Firstly an enabling safe and caring environment needs to be created.Further it takes great skill and commitment to help people participate effectively in a groupthough common visioning. It also helps to have combined efforts of every member of thegroup.From the list, are there things that prevent you from participating in a group? Do you perhapshave any thoughts on how you can overcome these obstacles, if you should encounterthem?...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................We will now examine the notion of participation itself. There are two specific types and levelof participation. We will begin by examining the five levels of participationLevel of participationDescriptionLevel 1: Nominal participation -Level 2: Consultative participation -Community lends land and labour towards aprojectCommunity’s opinions are sought on what is tohappen

Level 3: Action-oriented participation - Community is involved in implementing someproject stagesLevel 4: Decision making participation - Community has a role in deciding what shouldbe done and how it should be done, and alsohas a role in carrying it out. Decision makingparticipation can involve several levels: thecommunity may have one representative in aplanning body, in which case they have onevote, or the community may constitute themajority in a planning body.Level 5: Collegial participation - Researchers/extension officers or developmentworkers are involved in strengthening farmer’sown initiativesAnother commonly used model for depicting levels of participation is the typology (typegroups) of participation developed by JN Pretty (1995) and his colleagues from the Institutefor Development Studies (IDS).Table 2.1 Typology of participationTYPEDESCRIPTIONPassive participation People participate by being told what is going to happen, or hasalready happened. It is practiced through giving a unilateralannouncement by an administration or project management,without listening to people’s responses. The information beingshared belongs only to external professionalsParticipation ininformation – givingParticipation byconsultationParticipation formaterial incentivesFunctionalparticipationPeople participate by answering questions posed by extractiveresearchers using questionnaire surveys or similar approaches.People do not have the opportunity to influence proceedings, asthe findings of the research are neither shared nor checked foraccuracy.People participate by being consulted, and external agentslisten to views. These external agents define both problems andsolutions, and may modify these in the light of people’sresponses. Such a consultative process does not imply anyshare in decision-making, and professionals are under noobligation to take on board people’s viewsPeople participate by providing resources, for example labour,in return for food, cash or other material incentives. Much on–farm research falls into this category, as farmers provide thefields but are not involved in the experimentation or the processof learning. It is very common to see this called participation, yetpeople have no stake in prolonging activities when theincentives end.People participate by forming groups to meet predeterminedobjectives related to the project, which can involve thedevelopment or promotion of externally initiated socialorganization. Such involvement usually occurs not at early

InteractiveparticipationSelf-Mobilizationstages of project cycles or planning but after major decisionshas been made. These institutions tend to be dependent onexternal initiators and facilitators, but may become selfdependent.People participate in joint analysis, which leads to action plansand the formation of new local institutions or the strengtheningof existing ones. This type of participation tends to involveinterdisciplinary methodologies that seek multiple perspectivesand make use of systematic and structured learning processes.These groups take control over local decisions, and so peoplehave a stake in maintaining structures or practices.People participate by taking initiatives independent of externalinstitutions to change systems. They develop contacts withexternal institutions for resources and technical advice theyneed, but retain control over how the resources are used. Selfinitiatedmobilization and collective action may or may notchallenge existing inequitable distribution of wealth and power.2.4 Participatory facilitation: methods and toolsSince the mid 1970s, there has been an accelerating evolution of participatorymethodologies. You may have heard or have read about some of these, which are known bytheir acronyms –Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), andParticipatory Learning and Action (PLA). These are all sets of approaches, methods,behaviours and relationships for finding out about local context and life.In the late 1980s and early1990s participatory rural appraisal (PRA) evolved out of RRA. InPRA outsiders convene and facilitate. Local people, especially those who are poorer andmarginalized, are the main actors (play the main role). It is they, (typically in small groups),who discuss, map, diagram, observe, analyse and act.The term Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) introduced in 1995 is sometimes used todescribe PRA but is broader and includes other similar or related approaches and methods.PLA, the latest and more inclusive of these approaches, evolved as behaviours andattitudes, methods, and practices of sharing change to encompass different phases ofinteracting with local people. PLA embodies participatory ways to empower local andsubordinate people, enabling them to express and enhance their knowledge and take action.These approaches are proposed in the HFS programme (through this module) to help youlearn how to encourage participation in the assessment, appraisal (analysis), action andmonitoring of a household by its family members.The common theme in all these approaches is the full participation of people in theprocesses of learning about their situation (needs and opportunities) and in the actionrequired to address them. They also promote interactive, shared learning: flexible, yetstructured analysis. According to Chambers (1993)PLA enables rural communities to do their own investigations through modelling

(drawing models), diagramming, ranking and quantification; to share their knowledge andteach outsiders or investigators; to do the analysis and presentations; and to plan and ‘own’their outcomes.2.4.1 Participatory methods and toolsFacilitators favour participatory methods, because this provides an effective way to empowerthe people they are working with. In fact, this is the only known way to enable peopleparticipating in a development programme to come up with their own analysis of theirsituation, and to develop their own solutions. Through decades of bad experiences,development facilitators now understand that it is unsustainable to force external solutionsonto people.There are many participatory methods and tools described in literature and it can becomeconfusing to know which method and tool to use where and how to use them. To help yousee the bigger picture do the next activity.Activity 2.8 Interpreting facilitation methods and toolsComplete this activity in your study guideAim: Interpreting a diagram on facilitation methods and tools.Time: 15 minutes

Figure 2.7 The big picture: Participatory facilitation methods and tools

What you must do1. Look at the following diagram, which shows the bigger picture of how facilitation methodsand tools can be classified.2. Answer the following questions.Questions1. Explain why you think the first methods and tools to use are consultation with communityleaders, community mapping and transects.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2. Why are the third group referred to as visualization methods and tools?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3. Why is it important to give feedback for example, by means of reporting?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………In the sections to follow we will examine each of the four groups of methods and tools shownon the diagram in Figure 2.7. It is important to remember that our discussions of thesemethods and tools will be generic, that is we will focus on general principles to familiarizeyou with them. When you engage with the other modules in this programme you will get anopportunity to apply these methods and tools in practice. The tools not discussed in detailwill be discussed in Unit 4 in Part 2 of Module 2.2.4.2 Start-up methods and toolsConsult with community leaders and stakeholdersThe first thing that will need to be done is to consult with community leaders andstakeholders. The purpose of this is to do a situation analysis and to consult with people onthe meso and exo levels in order to inform them what you will be doing and to find out aboutother similar projects and programmes that are taking place in the community. Refer back toModule 1 for more information on this topic.Community mappingThis method and tool help us to understand which resources are available and how peoplesee their resources in communities or by a group of housheolds. Focusing on someresources or relating these resources to a particular topic during the mapping exercise couldavoid overloading the map with information. You could ask which natural resources (such astrees, forests, crops, land, water, fish ponds, etc.) are the most important for household foodsecurity and which physical resources (such as health clinics, schools, kindergartens, roads,bus stops, buildings or meeting places) are the most important for efficient time use.Important village resources could be marked by arrows to indicate distance.

Figure 2.8A Social map indicating the food security status of householdsConsider whether the human resources (e.g. the numbers of people of different ages andgenders in each household) should be on the map or should be included in accompanyingnotes. Social resources such as family networks and membership can be included on thismap, but to focus more specifically on human and social resources, it could be useful todevelop a separate social map which you can learn more about in Part 2. Mapping can alsobe used to indicate the flow of resources from one point to another and how it is allocatedand used.

TransectsThe transect is a tool (see figure 2.9) that directly builds upon the Village Resources Map tohelp us learn more details about the environmental, economic and social resources in acommunity. A transect is a sort of one-dimensional map of a line cut through a village. Itdepicts a cross-section of an area along which a number of issues are recorded. Thepurpose of a transect is to organise and refine spatial information and to summarise localconditions in the area. The information is gathered from direct observation while walking astraight line through the community.Figure 2.9A transect map indicating food security activities

• ProcessOrganise 2 or 4 groups with a mix of participants such as women and men, young and old.Either the different participants can be asked to take different RA team members forseparate transect walks, showing the areas of most importance to them, or, each group canhave responsibility for a different topic while they all walk together. For example, one groupmay focus on soils, land use and cultivation, a second on trees, vegetation and waterresources, and a third, on infrastructure, housing and services. Afterwards the groups sharethe information from their walks to construct the transect diagram(s) together.Using the Village Resources Map, and the advice ofthe participants, choose a more- or-less straight linethrough the area. The line chosen should take in asmany of the different physical zones, types ofvegetation, land-use areas and sections of thecommunity as possible. It is often a good idea to startfrom the highest point in the area. Depending on thesize of the area to be covered and the nature of theterrain, a transect can be done on foot, animal, cart ormotor vehicle. But the slower modes are preferablebecause they allow for greater observation.A Transect is a straightline that cuts across apiece of land or terrainindicating what has beenobserved• Notes to the facilitatorWhile on the transect, ask questions about each zone. Everything noted is written down asthe transect proceeds. During the transect walk (or ride or drive) take time for brief andinformal interviews with women and men met along the way. During these interviews,discuss the critical issues already identified by the RA team and ask whether there are otherissues as well. One of the advantages of doing a transect is that often people are morewilling to discuss sensitive issues such as land ownership patterns when they are away fromthe village. Allow sufficient time for the transect. It may take several hours.• Some questions to Ask While FacilitatingWhat are the major activities carried out in each zone of the community? by whom? Whatservices and infrastructure are available in each zone?What are the natural resources available in each zone?Who uses them and for what purposes?What economic opportunities are available in each zone?Are the rights of access in each zone different for women and men, or for people fromdifferent ethnic or other socio-economic groups?What are the principle problems?ExampleIn the Gambia, transects were produced on separate walks with young men, old men, youngwomen and old women so that priorities by both gender and age could be understood.Shown in Figure Development Context Tool 2 are the transects by young men and youngwomen, both giving attention to soil types, land use, interventions and problems. Differences

in the two transects reflect gender-based differences in activities and access to resources.For example, the women's transect emphasises the rice fields because rice production istraditionally the responsibility of women, for both food and income.2.4.3 Interviewing methods and toolsNote that the interviewing methods and tools are indicated below the start-up methods andtools on Figure 2.7.This topic is about is how you talk to people and listen to them. Theprinciples of semi-structured interviewing and sensitive listening run like a golden threadthrough all the participatory methods. The methods include semi-structured interviews, focusgroup interviews (including home visits), key stakeholder interviews. Therefore we will firstpay some attention to this.Semi-structured interviewingThis is a guided conversation in which only the topics are predetermined and new questionsand insights arise as a result of the discussion and visualized analyses. This means that youas the facilitator know what information you want and need and have a broad list of thethemes (such as income, types of farming, etc) that you need to cover. Instead of having aquestionnaire however, you have a “conversation”. You make sure you give the person/senough chance to talk freely about the themes in a way that suits them. This type ofinterviewing can be used for individual interviews, key informant interviews and focus groupdiscussions.Key components of Semi-Structured Interviews:Team preparationThe goals/ themes of the interviews need to be defined – What is important to understandmore about and how will we find this out? During the preparation: Develop an interview guide or checklist; Assign team roles and responsibilities; and Ensure good group dynamics and behaviour in the interviewing team.Interview contextWhen doing the interview the facilitator needs to pay attention to the setting (where?), timing(when?), body language, seating arrangements (how?) and biases (why? and who?).Sensitive interviewingSensitive listening and questioning means to ask open-ended, non directive questions and toprobe answers. This is not easy to master, yet effective interviewing will only occur if thishappens. (More about these ideas below.)Judging and cross-checking responsesInformation that is generated needs to be cross-checked, rather than accepting the firstanswer one hears. This is part of probing.

Recording the interviewIt is vital to record the detail of interviews. Ask permission from the person being interviewedto take notes or record the interview. Use a recorder if discussing and writing at the sametime is difficult for you. Record the detail of what is said and also what is NOT said, and ofwhat is observed. Make follow-up notes and record personal impressions.Self-critical reviewAfter the interview it is important to assess critically which questions were effective andwhich were not, how some questions could have been phrased differently and how thecontext influenced the flow of information.Sensitive questioning or interviewing• Use open ended questions (non-directive) as opposed to leading questions. This is aquestion which does not require yes or no for an answer. It requires and explanation or adescription.• Ask clear, unambiguous questions.• Use simple questions. Make questions short and easy to understand, but aim atconsistently drawing out more details. Do not ask a sequence of two or more questionstogether.• Lead from more general topics to more specific topics.• Do not make abrupt changes of topic.• Probe! Use the 6 helpers: what? when? where/ how? who? and why???? But why?(Do not overdo this – it can be a bit threatening.)• Avoid making conclusions for the interviewees or help them finish their sentences.• Avoid giving advice at this stage.Sensitive interviewing takes a while to learn to do well (like driving a car). As a facilitator youneed always to be aware of what you are saying and how. You need to observe how thisaffects the people you are talking to, and make constant adjustments!! It is a continuouslearning process.Over the years, as you become more experienced, you will develop your own favourite set ofquestions that work well for you. Below is an example:Case Study: Masthepo interviewWhen MaTshepo Khumbane interviews local organisations (community basedorganisations, NGOs, etc.) during a scoping exercise, they always voice the problemsthey are facing. MaTshepo makes a habit of asking, right at the end of theinterview: “How are you planning to deal with these issues you have mentioned tome?” This induces forward-thinking, and it is quite amazing how the expression inpeople’s eyes change when they hear it like this. This approach also helps emphasizethat the facilitator has not come to the area to solve people’s problems for them,but to help them think through how they can solve their own problems.

Activity 2.9 Ambiguous and leading questionsComplete this activity in your study guideAim: Illustrate the details of ambiguous (unclear) and leading questions.Time: One hourWhat you must do1. Look at the short list of questions below and identify what is wrong with each question.Then re-phrase the question to be less ambiguous or more open-ended.Questions1. Is it true that it is difficult to get your cattle to the veterinary clinic?2. How do you get your medicine?3. Wouldn't you prefer to grow improved potato varieties?4. What do you do as a farmer?5. Isn't the new clinic wonderful?6. Do you sow seeds in a straight row?7. How do you find the school?8. Shouldn't you cover your water storage container?Source: (Pretty et al. 1995)

Comments on Activity 2.9What is wrong with the question? Answers: 1=leading, 2=ambiguous, 3=leading,4=ambiguous, 5=leading, 6=leading, 7=ambiguous, 8=leading.There are various ways to rephrase the questions and you should discuss this in yourgroups.2.4.3 Visualization methods and toolsNote that the visualization methods and tools are indicated below the interviewing methodsand tools on Figure 2.7The purpose of these group of methods and tools are to:• Get more information on groups, institutions, rules and customs• Idenfify combinations of food security and livelihood activities• To identify respondents for more detailed activities• To understand historical processes and seasonal changesRanking excercisesRanking exercises include Ranking (preference and pair wise) and scoring (simpleand matrix)Ranking and scoring methods give participants an opportunity to assess the relativeimportance of different items. It elicits people's own assessment of a situation, and theimportance of features, items and issues within this situation.Through interviewing or questioning the assessment criteria used (the information oropinions used to make the assessments/ judgements), a whole lot of information is gleaned.This helps the facilitator and the local people to all deepen their understanding of thesituation. Our reasons for making choices are not always very clear – not even to ourselves.If someone says for example “I prefer oranges to apples” and you then ask them why, theymay respond unexpectedly with an answer such as the one below:And you thought they would say oranges taste better than apples!!

Orange trees are hardierthan apple trees.Birds do not eat oranges onthe trees.Orange trees do not needpollinators; so we only needone tree in our garden.World Vision participant, Bergville KZN.(Photo: E. Kruger, 2007)There are many different ways in which ranking and scoring can be done. Here we will lookat a few different processes. Each process has a slightly different intention – and way inwhich it needs to be facilitated. Once you start to feel confident with ranking and scoring andyou have facilitated these processes with a number of groups, you can start to use your ownvariations – the process is flexible. For the moment, let us look at the following ranking andscoring methods:i. Preference rankingii. Pair wise rankingiii. Simple scoringiv. Matrix scoringPreference RankingRanking usually involves placing items in order of importance (1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd , etc). Preferenceranking is the simplest form of ranking where a list of needs, desired outcomes, objects orfeatures are arranged in order of priority or preference. Each person basically votes yes/noor 1/0 (one or zero) for each item in the list.As an example, let us assume we did a water inventory with a small group of communitymembers, using a resource map and transect walk exercise. From these two exercises, thefollowing list of issues with water in the area was made: A number of borehole pumps in the area are broken; Borehole environments are dirty, muddy and unhygienic; Spring sources have been trampled and fouled by cattle and people cannot use them; The wetland is not in a good condition and is eroding;

Flash floods coming down the dongas are washing away the fields; and Water run-off on the roads do a lot of damage.Now, we may want to prioritize the issues according to urgency for action.For each item, each participant needs to give a yes or a no (a one or a zero). They can dothis by a show of hands, or by placing a stone or a seed or a tick or other mark on a chartwhere the items are listed.Let us assume our group consists of 10 people. We will ask them “Which is your mostcritical issue?” and ask individuals to raise their hands if the issue you are calling out is themost important. Then we will move on to the next issue and ask “Which is your next criticalissue or your 2 nd most important issue?” and ask individuals to raise their hands if the issueyou are calling out is the next most important.Now our list may look like this:Table 2.2 Preference ranking exampleItem to be rankedNo of votesfor each itemRankA number of borehole pumps in the area are broken 9 1Borehole environments are dirty, muddy andunhygienicSpring sources have been trampled and fouled bycattle and people can not use themThe wetland is not in a good condition and iserodingFlash floods coming down the dongas are washingaway the fields25185462Water run-off on the roads do a lot of damage 6 3Pair-wise RankingThis is a slightly more complicated version of preference ranking. Here, each individualcompares two items on a list at a time and decides which of the two is preferable. This isdone for each pair of items in turn. Remember that the most interesting part of this exercisewould be to unpack the reasons why people have chosen specific items, in other words, theircriteria for assessment and the reasons for using these criteria.Let us do an exercise in pair wise ranking:

Activity 2.10 Do a pair-wise ranking exerciseComplete this activity on your own in your workbookAim: Practice as an individual or in a group of 3-5 people how to do a pair-wiseTime: 3 hoursWhat you must doThe key question for this exercise is ”What are your food source preferences?” (From alivelihoods project in Niger (Catley, A. Et al. 2007). Answer the following questions and fill inthe pair wise ranking matrix (See Table 3.6) below.If you are working in a group, allocate roles for the group members: one interviewer, onerecorder and a few informants.Now, the interviewer asks the informants to suggest the sources of food in their homesteadsor village. Ask them to choose a maximum of six items for this exercise. If there are toomany items, then the exercise can become unwieldy.The recorder may then make the list. Let us assume in this case the list is as follows:-Millet (own farm production)-Vegetables (own production)-Purchased food (excluding cereal bank)-Cereal bank (millet) purchases-Livestock production (milk and meat)Then the recorder sets up the pair wise ranking matrix as follows:Table 2.3 Pair wise ranking matrixFood source Millet Vegetables Purchases Cereal bank LivestockMillet - MilletVegetables -Purchases -Cereal bank -Livestock -

The informants are then asked pair by pair which they prefer most. For example, theinterviewer may start by asking: “Which food source, between millet and vegetables do youprefer most?” The answer may be “millet” and that is then written into the appropriate block.NOTE: It does not make sense to compare millet with millet, etc., and therefore the blockson the diagonal would be left open. Also, the blocks below the diagonal are a repetition ofthose above the diagonal, and need not be filled.Now continue to compare the items pair by pair until the table has been completed.The recorder needs to write down all the reasons the informants gave for their preferences.At the end of the exercise you may want to ask the following reflection questions:Did the criteria and preference lists vary greatly between the informants? Why was this so?-What worked well?-What did you find most difficult?-What changes would you make to a pair wise ranking exercise in the future?-What have you learned from your experience?Below are the actual outcomes for the pair wise ranking exercise that was carried out inNiger. You can compare them with yours and check the accuracy of your exercise. (SeeTable 3.7)Table2.4Pair-wise ranking showing food source preferences in NigerFood source Millet Vegetables Purchases Cereal bank LivestockMillet - Millet Millet Millet MilletVegetables - Vegetables Vegetables VegetablesPurchases - Cereal Bank PurchasesCereal bank - Cereal BankLivestock -(Burns, J. et al. 2007)An overall preference score can then be calculated by counting the number of times eachfood source was ranked the highest. See if you can work out what the overall ranking is andfill it in the table below: (The answers are given in small print at the end of this activity)

Table 2.5 Preference score, based on pair-wise rankingFood SourceScoreMilletVegetablesPurchasesCereal bankLivestockAnswer to preference ranking score: Millet (4), vegetables (3), cereal banks (2), purchases (1),livestock (0).Simple scoringRanking involves placing items in order of importance, whereas scoring methods assign avalue (or a score) to a specific item. Scoring is usually done by using numbers or counterssuch seeds, stones, nuts or beans to attribute a specific score to each item or indicator.Example 1In a food security project which aims to establish homestead food gardens, you may want tomeasure the impact of the gardens on household food security. A simple scoring exercisecould be done as follows:1. Ask project participants to identify all the food sources that contribute to the householdfood basket.2. Use visual aids to represent each of the different food sources.3. Then ask the participants to distribute the counters amongst the different variables toillustrate the relative proportion of household food derived from each source.Now look at the diagram below (See Figure 3.5) that shows what the results may be of sucha scoring exercise (Catley, A. Et al. 2007).

When doing scoring on a community level, we usually give people counterssuch as beans, small stones, etc. It is sometimes difficult to know how many ofthese counters to give each person that is involved and one does not want tobe doing a lot of counting of beans while doing your exercise. Many of yourparticipants may also not be literate enough to be doing lots of countingthemselves.Proportional piling is a nice way around this difficulty. Here the participantsare asked to distribute 100 counters (that you have given them pre-counted –their pile) amongst the different variables or indicators in the table/ matrix, withthe largest number of counters (the largest pile) being assigned to the mostimportant indicator or item, and the smallest number of counters (the smallestpile) being assigned to the least important indicator or item.Although using 100 counters makes it easier to automatically assign apercentage score to the results of your scoring exercise, it is not essential thatyou use this many. Often it is quicker to use fewer counters (say 20 forexample). As a general rule, you can use 10 counters for every two variablesthat are being compared.Questions:1. What percentage of food comes from the project garden in the example given above?2. Which food source makes up the largest proportion of a household’s food? Whatpercentage can be allocated to this food source?3. What percentage of food for the household comes from outside the community? (HINT:This is a combination of two food sources mentioned in the example above)

Figure 2.10An example of scoring food sources using proportional piling Top right shows the exercise as it was done with the group: picture cards of the food sources, with thecounters (in this case beans) piled on each picture card.On the left is the matrix of food sources and the number of counters that had been piled on the picturecards.Bottom right is a pie chart with percentages that have been worked out from the piles of counters foreach food source.With simple scoring each participant's preferences can be scored, and then added togetherto create the overall score. In the example above a joint pile of counters was created. Lookat the example below to see how the two exercises would differ.Example 2:The question asked here is: “What are the most serious constraints to agricultural productionin your area?”Five participants make a list of constraints and agree on five constraints to compare andscore. Each participant then scores the constraints individually. They are given 5 counters(stones …) each. These 5 counters are divided among the five constraints according to eachparticipant's preference. See the Table 3.9 below for a possible outcome of their scoringexercise.

Table 2.6 Table of individual participant scoring of agricultural constraintsConstraintsParticipantsA B C D ETotalScoreRankingDrought 2 3 5 1 2 13 1Pests 0 2 0 3 1 6 2Weeds 2 0 0 0 0 2 4Costs of inputs 1 0 0 1 1 3 3Labour shortage 0 0 0 0 1 1 5(RUAF, March 2004)Matrix scoringIn matrix scoring or ranking we are now comparing a number of items with a number ofcriteria against which each item is scored. (In the previous ranking and scoring exercises,the items were either scored against each other, or against one criterion, such asimportance.)This exercise is often done after the issues of importance to a community or group has beendiscussed and provides for a more in-depth analysis or investigation of the issues.Let us continue with our investigation of food sources that we started under the heading ofpair wise ranking. (Burns et al, 2008)From further discussions related to the pair wise ranking and scoring of preferred foodsources, it became clear that the overall preference for millet from own production waslargely attributed to the volume or quantity of food that is produced from this source. Theassessment team also asked the participants what sources provided the most nutritious orhealthy foods, as opposed to just largest quantities.Based on the discussion, the facilitation team and the participants agreed on the followingfour broad categories of food preference indicators:1. Availability (quantity/volume);2. Income earning or savings potential;3. Accessibility; and4. Nutrition/health value.Participants were then asked to score the five food sources against each of these four foodpreference indicators.

This was done using visual aids to represent each food source (Remember from Figure 3.5,picture cards of the food sources were used). A millet stem was used to represent millet fromown production, a broad green leaf was used to represent vegetable production, a handful ofcoins was used to represent food purchases, a small bag of ground nuts was used torepresent cereal bank purchases and a bottle top was used to represent livestock production(milk and meat).After carefully explaining what each visual aid symbolised, the facilitation team asked theparticipants to use fifty counters to score each of the food sources (millet, vegetables,purchases, cereal bank and livestock) against the first food preference indicator (availability).The exercise was then repeated for each of the other three food preference indicators. Thephysical distribution of counters was done by one volunteer, but this was based on groupconsensus or agreement.Table 2.7 below shows the outcome of the matrix ranking exercise:Table 2.7 Matrix scoring of different food sources against indicators of preferenceMillet Vegetables PurchasesCerealBankLivestockAvailability(quantity/volume)Access(easy to come by)Income earning andsavings potentialNutritionalvalue15 12 5 13 522 8 3 12 412 13 0 8 176 17 6 6 15TOTAL 55 50 14 40 41(Catley et al, 2007)Note: Although livestock ranked the lowest during the pair wise ranking (See Figure 3.5 above),against specific indicators such as income potential and nutritional value, it ranks much higher thansome of the other food sources.Questions:1. What rank does livestock as a food source have in the matrix scoring exercise in Table3.10? (HINT: Compare the totals in the bottom row and rank them, giving 1 as the highestrank and 5 as the lowest.)2. Why do you think the ranking for livestock is different in the matrix ranking exercise ascompared with the pair wise ranking exercise?

Many different issues related to resources can be explored using resource matrices (plurealfor matrix). Some examples are: Uses of different types of water sources (boreholes, rives, springs) for different needs(drinking, cattle, washing); Types of natural vegetation and their uses; Sources of income from natural resources and their uses (or importance); Ranking the severity of diseases within the community, and where and how they aretreated; Different assets in the community and how access is managed (who has access); and Different types of crops grown and different uses of these crops.Activity 2.11Draw a matrix ranking diagramComplete in your workbookAim: To practice a ranking exerciseInstructions:Practise in a group of 3-5 people a matrix ranking activity that focuses on a resourceissue.Here are suggestions to guide you through a process consisting of the followingsteps:PlanPlan Do Reflect1. Decide on the resource issue that you want to explore. It could be land use,water use, erosion, sources of income. Look at the above list for additional ideas.Choose one that your group can do easily.2. Where possible find a person (informant) who has local knowledge and is willingto discuss the issues with your group3. Then decide on the criteria you want to use to explore these issues. For example,if you want to explore land-use then you might list the following criteria:landownership and access, income generation, food production, wild foods,fodder, firewood, problems.4. Agree on the scale you will use to score or rank the items. You can rank out offive or more; where 1 is the least preferred option and 5 is the most preferred. Youcan also use the proportional piling method that was described under theheading simple scoring in the text above.5. Collect the counters for ranking. You can use beans, small stones seeds, or anyother small objects that are easily available.

Do1. Prepare your matrix diagram.Along the top of your matrix, write the categories showing different types of landuse.Along the side of your matrix, write the criteria you have listed.The Figure shows an example of how a group started preparing their matrix andwhat it looked like when they had completed it:2. Each person uses the counters to show how they would score the items.Discussion takes place until there is agreement in the group about the ranking ofeach item. The agreed number of counters I then places in each block3. The final results are now recorded and the diagram is completed.ReflectReflect on the matrix ranking activity:-What worked well?-What did you find most difficult?-What changes would you make to the matrix ranking activity in the future?-What have you learned from your experience?Figure 3.6 An example of a group busy with a matrix ranking exercise(Pretty, J.et al.1995)

Seasonal calendarsSeasonal calendars can help explore changes in livelihood systems over the period of ayear. They can be used to study how much people work at different times of the year (ingeneral, for specific tasks or specific crops, etc) or how income changes throughout theyear. They can also be used to show seasonality (e.g. for food availability or rainfall). Anactivity profile, which indicates more precisely how much time women and men spend on thedifferent tasks, could be added to the seasonal calendar. This could be done by adding extracolumns to the calendar table.Remember to include activities on smaller plots/home gardens and off-farm activities suchas mushroom gathering, charcoal burning, beer brewing and fuel wood collection.Step by step:1. Explain that you want to learn about what people do during a year.2. Draw a long line and explain that it represents a year.3. Ask participants how they divide the year (seasons, months, etc.) and have themmark this on the line. Be aware that people may want to start with their plantingseason and not necessarily with the first month of the year. Encourage people touse the tool in a way that is comfortable for them and not in a way that iscomfortable for you!4. It is easiest to start the calendar by asking about rainfall patterns: ask theparticipants to put stones or draw a dot under each month to represent relativeamount of rainfall (the more stones or dots, the more rain).5. When it is finished, draw another line under it and ask about another divisionsuch as labour for agriculture, expenditure, income, availability of differentresources, etc.6. Make sure that all calendars are aligned with the first one, and that participantsdraw a sign on one end of the calendar to indicate the topic.8. Repeat the process until all the areas of interest have been covered.

Timelines, time trends and activity clocksA timeline or activity clock shows the activities done by whom, when and where and how.They can be done in a table format or as a circle as if resembling a watch or traditional clock.The instructions are similar as for a seasonal calendar.Venn diagramsYou carried out a Venn diagram exercise in Module 1, but to refresh your memory the Venndiagramming is a method that is used to understand organisations or social groups (localand others), their linkages and their relationships. It is often used in a situation analysis orassessment to find out what the roles of the different organisations are, how they get on andhow this impacts on what happens in the community. It is often easy to see from thisexercise where the gaps or the major stumbling blocks are.Venn diagrams can be used with individuals and small groups. If you are working with alarge group of people, you will have to divide them into smaller groups (5-8 people). You canorganise separate focus groups of men and women. Be sure that the poorest and mostdisadvantaged are included, or have their own groups, as appropriate.2.4.5 Writing methods and toolsNote that the writing methods and tools are indicated on the bottom part of Figure 2.7ReportingWhere to report findings?When you have concluded your participatory facilitation it is a good idea to call a meeting ofpotential participants, local leadership and other stakeholders to present to them the findingsand outcomes, and discuss together the validity of these findings and possible interventions.This is also the place where you will suggest the intervention of intensive homestead foodproduction and water management, as a way of dealing with SOME of the constraints andissues raised.At this workshop/ meeting you can also make a call for initial homestead volunteers whowould be interested in participating in a learning and mentoring process. You can augmentthis list later with other volunteers or interested homesteads suggested by role players andstakeholders. Examples could be the home based care group, vulnerable families who arepart of a feeding scheme or soup kitchen. Government Departments (Social Development,Health), HIV/AIDS support groups, farmers' organisations and the like could also help toidentify homestead volunteers.Who is reporting? Those ready to say: ‘I am/we are going to…’The facilitator should be careful NOT to always be speaking on everyone’s behalf. Inparticipatory processes it is customary for the local people who do an analysis, to also reportback on it to the village meeting.

Where practical, this same principle should be carried through to reporting to leadershipstructures (especially in their own village) and where possible, also with official structures.When village people do the reporting, they need to do so as fully mandated representativesof those who participated in the analysis.Reporting carries the most weight (and generates the most energy) when the reporting isdone by a person who is ready to say: “I am/ we are going to…” This implies the following:1. The speaker has the authority to speak on behalf of him/herself or on behalf of the grouphe or she is representing; and2. He/she/they are committing themselves to act on their decision.The content of reporting should also be action-oriented: First: what I/we are planning to do, and by when (i.e. without outside assistance); Then: what we need “you” and “others” to do so that I/we can do more; Encourage them to be as explicit as possible about timing (immediate and longerterm goals); and Ask them to describe the expected impacts of their planned actions. This implies avisioning process, or reinforcement of the vision, thereby getting themselves andothers on board with the dream. It also provides the facilitator an opportunity tomitigate unrealistic expectations.TriangulationTriangulation is to create a full picture of a situation, it is important to obtain information fromall the relevant subgroups, and compare the information from one source with that fromothers – this is called triangulation.Triangulation means using a range of methods and types of information to cross-checkinformation from various sources.In this way information can be cross-checked for accuracy. It means looking at anyproblem from as many perspectives as possible, but at least three. Triangulation isachieved by using different tools to gather information on the same issue (e.g. maps,transects, and trend lines to examine environmental changes); and by listening todifferent people with different points of view about the same topic (e.g. women/men,young/old, wealthy/poor about food production).For example, to find out about resources in a village, an extension worker might interview akey informant (someone with a lot of knowledge about the village), create village resourcemaps with men and women, and hold focus group discussions on a particular topic. Involvingpeople from different sectors (nutrition, health, agricultural subsectors) in field visits andcomparing and sharing information with them is also a way of triangulation.

Activity 2.12 Usng the HFS framework to identify suitable methods and toolsComplete this activity in your workbookAim Identify the PLA tools for gathering information in using the HFS frameworkTime 1 to 2 hoursWhat you must do1. Use the Household Food Security Framework Module 1 at the end of Unit 2 .2. Identify the tools that can be used for each of the building blocks in the framework4. Also give the key information that can be gathered with the tools for that block.5. Use the following table and complete the information for the columns key informationareas and methods and tools The key information areas required information that willdescribe the food security dimension. For the key information areas give a list of suitabletools in the column methods and tools. There may be many overlaps in using the sametool but with different questions receiving different information.Dimension/ Key information areasCapitals (Mention specific issues)Names of methods and toolsFood security dimensionsFood availabilityAccessibilityUtilizationStability /sustainabilityLivelihood capitals and strategiesPhysicalNaturalHumanSocialFinancialComments on activityMethods and toolsWe conclude this unit with Table 2.7 which summarises the use of PLA Methods and tools tocollect various kinds of information. The table shows you that you can collect information by

using various tools such as maps, transects, Venn diagram, etc on different topics such ashistory, social matters, food sharing etc.Table 2.7Use of PLA tools to collect different types of information

Concluding remarksIn this unit we have given you the basis for understanding participatory processes forhousehold food security to help you develop collegial relations with the households that youwork with. We have looked at the context of your work, community development by firstdefining the field. It would seem it is a complex field of work for one to be engaged in,requiring specific kinds of attitudes and mindset.From the discussion provided in the unit, one would be forgiven for looking at communitydevelopment as a vocation; requiring people who feel called into it, in the same way as dopriests, teachers and social workers. The principles discussed in the unit; adult learning,participation, and facilitation methods and tools all bring this message home. The tools weexplored are specifically useful in analysing the situation in the community and householdsto address the challenges they face.The next unit will introduce you to the participatory processes that will help you facilitatework with the households.

Unit 3Facilitation processes for household food securityIntroductionThis unit is will illustrate the participatory facilitation processes to be used in the communitiesand households. The participatory methods and tools we have discussed in Unit 2 can beuse in any of these processes according to a plan of action to keep the processes flowingand the people participating in the learning cycle to progress in their empowerment andmobilisation to take action themselves.The processes start with the community and then move over to the care groups andindividual households to strengthen their food security and livelihood activities. Differentfacilitation learning strategies can be used during the facilitation processes.This unit consists of the following sections:3.1 Overview of the facilitation processes3.2 Facilitation processes in the community3.3 Facilitation processes with care groups3.4 Mind mobilisation and visioning for household food security3.5 Household monitoring and evaluation

Specific outcome and learning outcomesThe specific outcomes for this unit is to identify stakeholders and interventions in order toaddress household food security.The table below shows you the learning outcomes that you will notice link with the threesections that are addressed in this unit and the list of assessment activities for this unit. Atime estimate is shown for each activity. This helps you to plan the use of your time. Whenyou have completed the activities write down the actual time you spent.Learning outcomes Assessment activities Actual time spend3.1 Overview of thefacilitation processesWorkbook activities3.2 Facilitationprocesses in the community3.3 Facilitationprocesses with care groups3.4 Mind mobilisationand visioning for householdfood security3.5 Householdmonitoring and evaluationAssignments

Key ConceptsFacilitation processesScopingScoping reportSecondary resourcesPrimary resourcesInformation tasksNutrition motivational workshopMind mobilisationHousehold experimentationStart-up activityTo work together in households is as important as team work in small groups. Study theFigure 3.1. Reflect on household situations where these situations are true. How canteamwork be used to ensure that each individual in the household receives adequate,nutritious and acceptable food.Figure 3.1Together we stand

Can communities and households work together towards their own happiness and joy?......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Small groups working effectively can add to the well-being of all its members. Householdscan very seldom have a choice who to live with, in a house or dwelling. But in the samemanner as one would expect small groups to work together household members shouldwork together accepting their different roles and responsibilities to nurture their well-being.Households can provide in the needs and wants of each family member if the resources areallocated and managed in a participatory manner just as members of a small group buildingrenewed relationship to work together. It is the cornerstone of our cultural heritage, of societyand individual human development.3.1 Overview of the facilitation processesHousehold functions in the private domain and its livelihood activities and decisions are notalways open for discussion in public. Any domain outside the household is public domain.Households do have a choice in what information they want to or are allowed reveal into thepublic domain according to good conduct, self-respect and group ethics. In creating atrustworthy, respectful and enabling environment the small group self-help concept can go along way to support households. Self-help groups can be small groups or members ofhouseholds as small groups building a healthy community.3.1.1 Cultivate local awareness and support for households.The scoping exercise goes a long way to create local awareness and support for householdfood gardening. This does not apply only to households who may potentially decide toparticipate in the learning and gardening process, but also to their neighbours and leaders.You need the agreement of the local leadership. Build up relationships with them. Make sureyou are aware of all the important people – not just political leadership, but also traditionalleaders, leaders of other community groups and religious leaders of all faiths.The scoping exercise provides one in-depth way of engaging and getting agreement fromthe local leadership. If this is difficult in your area, due to conflicts or lack of organisation forexample, the very least you need to do is to inform the local leadership of your intentions.One of the hardest things for poor people is that almost anything they do which is slightly outof the ordinary tends to be viewed with suspicion.Example 1:When Eva Masha in Sekhukhune, Limpopo started to dig an excavation to build her ownunderground rainwater tank, people walking by, day after day, for weeks on end, ridiculed

her. They were asking cutting questions about what crazy thing she was trying to do now,and so on. Many others would not have held been able to continue as determinedly as shedid, and complete her excavation and build the tank. Today, thanks to her perseverance,many other households in her own village and across the country have rainwater tanks likehers.Example 2When five women in northern Limpopo started digging planting trenches in their backyardsto establish their household food gardens, they were viewed with severe suspicion. Othervillagers accused them that they were “digging graves to bury our children.” To counteractthese suspicions, once they had harvested their first huge spinach leaves, one of thesewomen took a bunch of beautiful spinach to the local radio station to be interviewed so thatthe whole area could hear that there was indeed ‘method in their madness’. The radio jockeysaid on air that he had never seen such huge spinach leaves in all his life!Facilitator should be aware of this tendency to belittle and put down poorer people, andshould continually be on the lookout for opportunities to affirm the good work of participatinghouseholds – to themselves and to the community at large.3.1.2 Importance of including the leadershipHere are some ideas that help with this process:• If leadership is sympathetic, they can be made aware of this difficulty and asked todo their part in providing moral support and recognition of households’ self-helpefforts;• Occasional reporting to leaders and other organisations keeps them aware ofprogress and problems, and gives the households a chance to talk about what theyhave achieved and still plan to do; and• Celebrations like harvest festivals, where people display and celebrate theirachievements, are very useful, andgreat fun for all.Sometimes, leaders may also offerphysical support. This is usually mostwelcome, but care should be taken that thepromised help is shaped in such a waythat the process with the households willnot get stuck if these commitments shouldfail to materialise. Also, the assistanceshould in not take any of the hard-woncontrol over their livelihoods away from thehouseholds!

3.1.3 Overview of tasks for the facilitatorThe work of a household food security (HFS) facilitator involves cycles of informationgathering, analysis and action steps as described in the Triple A cycle and alreadydiscussed in Unit 2 where we applied the learning cycle in the participatory learning in actionmethods and tools. The same cycle will also repeat itself in the facilitation processes andtasks of the facilitator.Figure 3.1 shows what types of information a facilitator needs to gather and analyse, even atnational level, to improve his/her understanding of the context of the target households in aspecific village. It also shows at which levels s/he needs to ‘act’ or ‘facilitate’ to enable thetarget households to improve their food security.Figure 3.2 Overview of the tasks of the household food security facilitator

NOTE 1: In the diagram above, these arrows show improved/healed relationships:between the household caregiver and his/her family; between the Care learning group andthe leadership or other organizations that can recognize, encourage or assist food insecurehouseholds’ own efforts towards food security; and so on. Improved relationships provide avery important foundation for the household caregiver to move forward with confidence andfor social well being.NOTE 2: There are various levels at which the Household Food Security facilitator needs toengage, described here as: Household level (all persons that make up a basic socioculturaland economic unit), village level (a community made up of households), municipallevel (all villages/ communities falling within wards that make up a local municipal structure.A number of local municipalities are combined to form a district municipality), and nationaland international levels (politics, policies and strategies at country and global levels thataffect people).The levels in Figure 3.2 have been discussed in Module 1 and used in the household foodsecurity model in Figure 2.10 and 2.16. At the end of Module 2 Unit 1 we have given thecompetencies the household food security facilitator should acquire to fulfill these tasks,The facilitator gathers and analyses (interprets) new information all the time so that actionstaken can become more and more effective. In other words, HFS facilitation requires a‘lifelong learning approach’. This applies to every household or community situation thefacilitator works in, but also in the HFS facilitator’s personal development.The information gathering and analysis tasks of the food security facilitatorThe facilitator has to gather and analyse (interpret) information to understand the foodsecurity situation and factors affecting it. S/he thinks herself into the shoes of the householdcaregiver, and interprets which factors at household, village through to national level areaffecting this person’s ability to feed her family. The facilitator then assesses which factorss/he would be able to influence, and develops a facilitation plan accordingly. (Note: you willlearn more about developing a facilitation plan in the next section, where Key Concept 2 isdiscussed).The action and facilitation tasks of the food security facilitatorThe household food security facilitator act on the knowledge – and also the relationships –which the s/he has built up during information gathering and analysis. His enables the HFSfacilitator to facilitates change by interacting with the household caregiver, with localleadership, and with other organisations involved in food security matters in the area. Toreach more households simultaneously and to build a permanent ‘support group’ amongfood insecure households in the neighbourhood, s/he establishes a Care learning group andhelps it to develop its own vision, goals and action plans.

Let us summarise how this learning and action cycle works. Like life itself, household foodsecurity facilitation is an ongoing learning cycle for the facilitator and the households. Theinitial information gathered, enables the facilitator to plan and start a process in the village.Then, as things develop, she learns more and more, and further builds relationships with thevarious role players and households. This enables the facilitator to improve the facilitationplan and actions – but always through participatory processes using participatorymethods and tools, so that the plans are made by those who will implement them.Remember that in household food security, our challenge is to facilitate in such a way thatthe household caregiver always takes the role of main actor/decision-maker.We will now have a closer look at the ‘information’ tasks (including analysis) (top part ofFigure 3.2) and the ‘action/facilitation’ tasks (bottom part of Figure 3.2). Then, in latersections of this unit, you will learn practical facilitation strategies throughout the discussion ofprocesses, mind mobilization and visioning, as well as further learning. Presentation of the situation analysis: community and care group Nutrition motivational workshop Visioning - helicopter planning Household experimentation Planning learning sessions3.1.4 The application of the learning processes in food securityLike Lappe et al (Lappe et al,1998), De Castro stresses the need for us to understandhunger before we can hope to have an impact on it:In order to adequately plan solutions to feeding people around the world, it is necessaryto overcome one of the main obstacles in the fight against hunger: the lack of a deeperknowledge about it – understanding the notion that hunger is a complex set ofmanifestations that can simultaneously be biological, economical and social.”Every household is unique, and therefore needs their own strategy to solve their problems.For instance, a deeply traumatised andfractured household would need adifferent approach to one where familyrelationships are healthy; a householdwith a natural spring would have otheropportunities than those without easyaccess to water; a householdconsisting entirely of school goingchildren could not use the samesolution as one consisting of apensioner with working age sons and

daughters. Equally, every village is unique in terms of its natural resources, its leadershipapproach, history and politics, and relationships among community members.You have to understand the causes and effects of hunger, the resources and constraintsaffecting a particular household, and factors beyond the control of the household, the betteryou will be able to understand what could and couldn’t be done to improve the situation.The facilitation processes in Figure 3.2 explain how the facilitator should apply thispractically in his/her work. Lets first look at a few ethical considerations.Activity 3.1Ethical considerations in working with householdsComplete this activity in your study guideKey ethical questions are:1. Discuss whether it ethical to engage people in an analysis of their situation and helpthem to plan for action, unless the resources are already available to address theirneeds?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………2. May you raise expectations that cannot be met? Give reasons for your answer.………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3. On the other hand, is it ethical to withhold knowledge and planning skills from people,just because the resources for implementation may not be immediately available?Give your reasons.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..4. May one expect people to achieve things without given resources?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5. How can and should a facilitator formalise the relationship with the household andcare learning group members?.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Comments on the activity 3.1Read the example below. Discuss in groups whether this is a suitable and relevant examplefoe a consent forms for the households to agree to participate in the food security

intervention. Reflect on your experiences and identify who sign a consent form and whataspects should be agreed to in the consent form. Develop your own sample consent formand discuss among your peers in the household food security learning group.Example ONLY: Consent form for household participation in the project• The purpose of our work is to find out if a household needs help to become foodsecure and in participation with the household decide on actions to change their foodsecurity status.• At the end of our investigation/study, the leaders of the project will give a full report tothe household/community and will be available to discuss the results if they wish.• If you would like to participate in this project/programme, it will take about………..…of your time over a period of ………….. All information will be confidential and neverpublicly attached to the name of any member of this household.• This project/programme is carried out by ……….…. in cooperation with…………….• At any time you can refuse to answer any or all of the questions and ask us to leave. Thelocal community leader will answer any questions you may have about thisproject/programme or will refer you to the project leaders.Project/programme facilitators1……………………2…………………….• Do we have your permission to begin? Yes No• Household member’s signature……………………………………..• Household member’s name………………………………………….• House number…………………………………………………………• Community…………………………………………………………….Facilitator, once you have given a copy of this consent from to the householdmember, please initial this form:……………..(your initials)Information tasks of the HFS facilitatorFrom Figure 3.1 you will see that information gathering and analysis needs to be done at thevarious levels we have discussed above, namely at household, village, municipal and higherlevels. In Table 3.1 and Figure 3.2 below, summaries are provided for the basic processesand actions for these information tasks. This should provide you with an overview of whatneeds to take place. In the following sections of this unit we will discuss each of the basicprocesses in more detail.Study Figure 3.2 identify the different processes. Compare the processes for clarificationgiven in the Table 3.2 with the different processes, the key questions and actions required.

Figure 3.3Overview facilitation processes with community and households

Table 3.1Overview of facilitation processes for the information tasksThe basicprocessesScoping orsituationanalysisCreating anenablingenvironment(in the village,local and districtmunicipalitiesetc)Reporting andcommunitymobilisationHouseholdmobilisationand supportCare LearningGroupsSelfmonitoringand renewalKey questions1. How does one know what information to look for,and what to ignore?2. What useful information can one get fromoutside sources, like databases and computerprogrammes, and on government policies andprogrammes?3. How does one structure this information in asensible way?4. Which participatory facilitation techniques canone use to get household caregivers thinking anddebating about relevant food security informationamong them? And leadership and other local roleplayers?1. How can one involve local leadership in a waythat they are supportive and active in the foodsecurity processes of their community?2. How can one set up report-back sessions toensure that local leadership are involved andsupportive and that households become motivatedto undertake their own food security initiatives?How can one give structure and order to theinformation, so that it can be reported in ameaningful way?How does one ensure that the informationgathered, analysed and debated, leads all the waythrough to a shared vision on food security, and apractical food security action plan with agreedroles and responsibilities, timeframes and (self-)monitoring processes?This is discussed in later sections of this unitHow can one ensure that the food security actionplans are implemented and continued over aperiod of time?ActionsGather backgroundinformationParticipatoryinformationgathering andanalysis in thevillage usingmethods such asParticipatory RuralAppraisalOpen the doorGet leaders’ supportGet buy-in fromother organisationinvolved in foodsecurity in the areaReport tocommunitySet up care learninggroups for learningand actionsEvaluate and refinelearning and actioncycles3.2 Facilitation processes in the communityThere are three main processes: Doing the scoping using a situation analysis, writing andpresent the report (These are usually team activities). The third phase will be discussed asthe household processes. Households are mobilized to form and work in care learning

groups. This phase students may involved in already as community development workers orvolunteers.3.2.1 Scoping or situation analysisPreparation for scoping: Facilitator’s homeworkPurpose:Gather and analyse essential background information from external sources tounderstand what is possible.Design a scoping report framework’Get permission and leadership assistance to do scoping in the village. Use yourscoping report framework ‘and proposed ‘Facilitation plan’ to share informationabout the background information you have collected from external resources andthe process you plan to introduce in the village.Undertake the participatory information gathering and analysis in the village usinga number of different methodsBefore it is possible for people to intervene in asituation and work together around changing orimproving that situation, it is important first tounderstand the situation.As a facilitator, there are a number of steps that youneed to take to introduce a process in a communityor village. The first is to know something about thearea, the people living there, their traditions andpractices, and the environmental or farmingconditions in the area. If you come from the area,this will be easy for you. If you do not, you will have to do a bit of background reading;finding external sources of information that can tell you more about the area, its people andits resources.Once you have done this, you need to get local support for and understanding of the processyou plan to introduce there. You will need to consult the local leadership (including traditionaland municipal structures) and people in the community (organised groups or individuals thatare involved in community development activities).Then, when you have a clearer picture of who is living and working in the area, you will beable to finalise the design of your process for finding and analysing local information, for

the initial mobilising of potential participants in an intervention, and for how to present theinformation (create a scoping report framework).Background information: consult external resources (Your homework before youstart).There are many potentially usefulsources for basic information regardingthe areas that you will be working in;both published materials andinformation on the internet. Thisinformation is called secondaryinformation and can be found from anumber of national and provincialsources that can give indications ofclimate, natural resources, farmingpractises, demographics (statisticalinformation about the population), andsocio economic conditions.Municipalities generally also have their own websites where their Integrated DevelopmentPlans (IDPs) and other information for the area can be found.You can start gathering secondary information from your local organizations and localgovernment offices information. See Annexure BCreate a scoping reportBelow is a suggestion for your reporting framework. Your main tool is Semi-StructuredInterviewing (SSI) of individuals and focus groups, but in the last column of Table 3.2, somefurther methods are listed which are not in Unit 2 that will be discussed in Unit 4 or futuremodules for doing your portfolio activities. The information to be gathered correspond withthe conceptual framework of the Household Food Security Model in Module 1.Table 3.2 suggests that you sort and group the information under five different headingsnamely: development context, stakeholder s household profiles, food consumption analysisand livelihoods analysis. You will thus gather information that will fit under these headings.Methods that you can use to gather this information are also given in the last column of thetable (‘Methods used for analysis and reporting’). You will need to choose a number of thesemethods and implement them to get the required information. And you will need toimplement at least one method from each heading, but possibly more!!You will need to make a decision before you start which participatory methods you may wantto use and make up your own scoping report framework. This is also part of your‘homework’ before you start your processes in a village. You will report to your localleadership structures what your intended process is going to be for the scoping and you canshow them your scoping report framework.

Table 3.2 Scoping report framework and methodsIssue Description Questions that arebeing answeredMethods used for analysis andreportingDevelopment contextTo learn about theeconomic,environmental, socialand institutional patternsthat pose supports orconstraints fordevelopmentWhat are the importanteconomic, institutional,social andenvironmental patternsin the village orcommunity?What is getting better?What is getting worse?What are the supportsand constraints fordevelopment?Natural resource assessments(Module 3)Resource mapping(Module 2 and 3Transect Walks (Module 1 and3)Assets pentagon (Module 2)StakeholdersTo learn about thepriorities of differentstakeholders and to plandevelopment activitiesbased on women’s andmen’s priorities.What are thedevelopment prioritiesof differentstakeholders and howdo they intervene?What are differentpriorities for differentgroupings in thecommunity?Venn diagram and institutionalprofiles (Module 1 and 2)Preference rankingdevelopment needs, priorities foraction-related matters, e.g. water(Module 2)Flow diagrams: e.g. Activities ofdifferent organisations and whobenefits in the community(Module 1 and 2)SWOT Analysis (Module 1)Crossing the River (Module 2)Best bet action plans (Module2)Household profileFocuses on the structureof the household,composition, age,gender of the householdHow many householdmembers, age, genderare in living in thehousehold? Thelifecycle stage of eachhousehold member?The geographiclocation of themembers of thehousehold membersand residenceVenn diagramSocial mappingHousehold composition

Issue Description Questions that arebeing answeredMethods used for analysis andreportingFood consumption analysisFocuses on howhouseholds acquire foodand feed themselves.The resources requiredand used to provide andensure food to besecured. The types offoods householdssecure and traditionallysecured The activitieshouseholds are involvedin the food systemHunger scaleFood security profileDiet diversity and frequencyTraditional dietary patternFood coping strategiesSeasonal food availabilityLivelihoods analysisFocuses on howindividuals andhouseholds and groupsof households maketheir living and theiraccess to resources todo so. It reveals theactivities peopleundertake to meet basicneeds and to generateincome. Gender andsocio-economic groupdifferences are shownwith respect to labourand decision-makingpatterns.(Adapted from Wilde, V. 2001)How do people maketheir living? Are therehouseholds unable tomeet their basicneeds?What are the patternsof use and control ofresources?What are the risks forhouseholds and foodinsecurity?Five livelihood assets Semistructuredinterviews and focusgroup discussionsLivelihood strategiesCoping strategy indexAlsoWealth RankingFarming systems diagram:Present food gardening activitieswith inputs andoutputs(Module 1)Matrix diagrams: For foodsources, income and expenditure(Module 2)Open the door: Get local support exerciseOnce you have done your ‘homework’, you want to get permission and support to do a localscoping exercise. Use the background information you have gathered (with what youalready know about the area) and your scoping report framework to discuss your idea andplans for household food gardening with local role players – especially leadership structuresand other organisations involved in household food security including household foodgardening.

Discuss the following:• What the purpose of the scoping is, how it will be done, and what it will entail;• What support local leadership could provide to you in organising the scoping; and• How the outcomes of the scoping exercise will be reported to the leadership and thecommunity; and what is likely to happen after the scoping (forming of care learninggroups and mobilisation, training and support of interested households).Discussion pieces’ can be useful in your discussions with leadership and other organisationsto get support for the scoping exercise in the village, for instance:Table 3.3 Discussion pieces to get local support for scoping exerciseDiscussion piecePhotos and casestudy of asuccessful homefood gardenExample of aworkshopscheduleA simplifiedversion of theScoping Reportframework (SeeTable 3.2).A preliminary(proposed)Facilitation PlanPurposeTo help people to visualise how household food gardening cancontribute to food security. Emphasise that these production methodsuse low external inputs, meaning that it is achievable even for thepoorest households. (You will find these in this Resource Material).To show the typical content of training sessions that has lead to theresults seen in the photos and case study. Emphasise that the exactcontent will be decided together with the participating households, tobuild on what they know already. (You will find this in this ResourceMaterial).This helps to show what will happen during the scoping andparticipatory assessment, and what type of information would bereported back to leadership and stakeholders. You want to set theirminds at ease that your intention is not to create trouble in the village,or undermine leadership or current efforts. Emphasise the importanceof scoping (i) to analyse the local context so as to tailor-make afacilitation process for this village, and (ii) to kindle interest amonghouseholds in the village.Show what the facilitator plans to do, how long the overall programmewill take (6 or 12 months, or longer?), and how and when reporting willbe done. Invite comments on the proposed Facilitation Plan. Discusshow leadership and other stakeholders could help?

• • • • Stakeholders and institutional analysisStakeholder and institutional profiles are tools that help to learn more about the nature of theinstitutions/ organisations identified in the Venn Diagrams. A chart or table (see Part 2) iscreated, and each institution is added: We examine what they have accomplished, and whatthey would further need to foster their development work.Whereas the Venn Diagrams reveal the importance of local and other institutions and thedegree of interaction between them, the Institutional Profiles show details about how theseinstitutions function, and for what purposes. This information will be very important when thecommunity is planning development activities.The following organisations or institutions are often active in the broader food securityenvironment, and some of them may also be active in your area: Government Departments:Department of Social Development (e.g. grants, soup kitchens, community centres, preschools),Department of Health (e.g. mobile clinics, school nurses, Community and Home BasedCarers),Department of Education (e.g. National School Feeding Programme, school gardens,local facilitators)Department of Agriculture (e.g. support for community gardens and dip tanks for cattle,food security projects, land care projects)

Local Municipality (provision of services such as water, in conjunction with theDepartment of Water Affairs and Forestry), electricity, roads, support for some projects inthe community; Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs); and Community-Based Organisations (especially burial societies, churches, drama groups,women’s groups, water committees, etc).Adding primary local information into the Scoping ReportRemember that before you started your scoping exercise in the community, you prepared aframework for your scoping report. By then, you had already:- Done your ‘homework’, by looking at external sources of information, documents,maps, etc., and noted this information into your Scoping Report Framework.- Identified, in your report framework, which local information (primary information iscollected in the community you work using PLA and other methods) needed to becollected and analysed in the participatory scoping processes with the community,and which methods you were planning to use to get this information.Then you presented the scoping report framework and your proposed Facilitation Plan to theleadership and other relevant organisations, and undertook that the information would bereported back to them.Once you completed the scoping exercise with the community, you need to add the newinformation into your reporting framework. At this point you need to use your judgement tosee whether the scoping exercise succeeded in the following key aspects:• Did it generate enough information and analysis so that all participants have asufficient understanding of the food security situation in the village: food availability,food accessibility, food utilization and food stability over the longer term.• Did it generate enough information and analysis so that all participants have asufficient understanding of available resources and access to the resources (natural,human, financial, social and physical) that people could use to improve theirsituation?• Did the participatory process involve a representative cross-section of households(especially the poorest households) and organisations in the village, so that a widerange of viewpoints were considered?• Did this result in adequate interest among households to participate in the proposedintervention?

If the scoping exercise achieved these objectives, the Scoping Report can now bedeveloped, and the necessary arrangements be made to report on the results of the scoping.In the next section, we will look at this process in more detail.Where to report findings?When you have concluded your scoping or situation analysis/ assessment, it is a good ideato call a meeting of potential participants, local leadership and other stakeholders to presentto them the findings and outcomes, and discuss together the validity of these findings andpossible interventions. At this stage you will suggest intensive household food productionand water management as ways to deal with SOME of the constraints in your scopingexercise.At this workshop/ meeting you can also make a call for initial household volunteers whowould be interested in participating in a learning and mentoring process. You can augmentthis list later with other volunteers or interested households suggested by role players andstakeholders. Examples could be the home based care group, vulnerable families who arepart of a feeding scheme or soup kitchen,Health), HIV/AIDS support groups, farmers'organisations and the like could also help to identify household volunteers.Who is reporting?Those ready to say: ‘I am/we are going to…’ are the reporters. The facilitator should becareful NOT to always be speaking on everyone’s behalf. In participatory processes it iscustomary for the local people who do an analysis, to also report back on it to the villagemeeting.Where practical, this same principle should be carried through to reporting to leadershipstructures (especially in their own village) and where possible, also with official structures.When village people do the reporting, they need to do so as fully mandated representativesof those who participated in the analysis.Reporting carries the most weight (and generates the most energy) when the reporting isdone by a person who is ready to say: “I am/ we are going to…” This implies the following:-The speaker has the authority to speak on behalf of him/herself or on behalf of thegroup he or she is representing; and-He/she/they are committing themselves to act on their decision.The content of reporting should also be action-oriented:• First it should include what I/we are planning to do, and by when (i.e. without outsideassistance).• Then: what we need “you” and “others” to do so that I/we can do more.

• Encourage them to be as explicit as possible about timing (immediate and longerterm goals).• Ask them to describe the expected impacts of their planned actions.This action plan implies a visioning process, or reinforcement of the vision, thereby gettingthemselves and others on board with the dream. It also provides the facilitator an opportunityto mitigate unrealistic expectations.Finalising the Scoping ReportYou can now add the institutional profile and stakeholder analysis to your report and yourreport back. Any other exercises, such as matrices, flow diagrams and farming systemsdiagrams can also be added. The community action plan and volunteer listing concludes theworkshop.Most probably, you would want to adapt the framework for the Scoping Report as a result ofthe information that emerged during the scoping exercise and the discussions at the reportbackmeeting. That is normal.The Community Action Plan builds on the findings of the scoping exercise, because villagersdo this planning during the community report-back meeting, with the scoping results fresh intheir minds.The preliminary Facilitation Plan for household food gardening can now be refined byaligning it to the findings of the scoping exercise and the relevant portions of the CommunityAction Plan.The first steps in creating an enabling environment in the village have now been taken. It isworthwhile to consider how continued focus on an enabling environment can assist theimplementation processes.

3.3 Learning and supporting processes with care learning groupsThe establishment of care learning groups (or support group with whatever name ispreferred by the member households) creates a ‘safe circle of friends’ for participatinghouseholds. This is one of the most important elements of the ‘enabling environment’ that afacilitator can help create for disempowered households. The establishment process andtypical tasks of a care learning group are laid out in the diagram below and discussed in thefollowing sections.3.3.1 Establish a care learning groupWaiting for change to be brought into the community by outsiders may take a very long timeindeed. It may also not bring the changes that people long to see. It is possible for a smallcommitted group in a community to bring about real changes for the better, on their own.This is called mobilisation.As discussed above- The support of local leaders is very important in the process of mobilisation; and- By creating a local support group (e.g. Care learning group), the mobilisation ofhouseholds, the learning workshops and follow-up support can be better coordinated;and the support group can help maintain sustainability even after the facilitatorcompleted his/her work in the area.A Care learning group would normally not exist yet, as it will be created as part of yourfacilitation process. However, it is important to find out what local interest groups exist, andwhat they do. There is the possibility that an existing forum could function as a Care learninggroup, but even if not, it has to be debated and agreed how a new Care learning groupwould relate to existing organisations to nurture harmonious relationships in the community.The role of the Care learning group to the memberhouseholds is:- To provide a safe base of friendship formember households, to share experiencesamong themselves and to provide mutualmoral support;- To reach out to more and more foodinsecure households to spread themessage of hope and skills for foodsecurity;- To mobilise outside support to the groupand/or specific member households asneeded; and- To do regular internal review (See Table 4.6: Self-Evaluation Tool) and re-planningto ensure renewal and continuity of the group.

Figure 3.4 Establishment and tasks of a care learning group

3.3.2 Joint planning with a Care learning groupAn introductory session is held with households and community members who have shownan interest in a focus on gardening. All people who have shown an interest are invited.At this stage, the season-long ‘learning group approach’ is introduced to provide householdswith training in rainwater harvesting and intensive food production. The content and timing(schedule) of the learning workshops are agreed with Care learning group members inaccordance with their own learning needs. The process used to identify and recognise priorlearning (RPL) and decides the learning content, is described in more detail below.Household experimentation and follow-up visits to the household gardens form anintegral part of the learning process.Later in the season, once the learning processes are running smoothly, and households’gardening is in full swing, the facilitator can help the Care learning group to:- Plan their own outreach activities; and- Introduce regular self-monitoring and replanning – by individual households andthe Care learning group itself – as a way to ensure renewal and increase thechances of sustainability for the gardens and the support group.3.3.3 The learning group approach and workshops methodThe recommended learning approach for household food gardening is called experiential oraction learning. It is a hands-on, interactive learning process and is shown in Figure 3.4 asthe action learning cycle for farmer groups.Figure 3.5Action learning cycle for care groups

If you speak another language, translate the English into your home language or that of yourcare learning group.1....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................2....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................3....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................In this process we analyse a situation (observe), make a plan, act on that plan and reviewhow well the action has worked, so that we can go into the next cycle of observing, planning,acting and reviewing. It is an ongoing cyclical process. This cyclic process fits into the overallfacilitation and management of the Care learning groups in the following way:Figure 3.6Cyclical process for managing the Care learning process

The cyclical process needs careful planning to keep the motivation and interest of the groupin learning more and more.A situation analysis (this aspect was covered in detail in section 2.3 Scoping incommunity and reporting ) Continue to select appropriate participatory methods to find moreinformation, allow the members to analyse the situation and to monitor where they are andprogress.A learning needs assessment is done with the prospective learners (households)themselves. Usually it starts with the visioning process and then identifying the skillsrequired. It includes a skills audit to enable recognition of prior learning (RPL). In the processit becomes clear what participants want and need to learn; also what they want and canexpect from the process. They define their learning agenda/ training needs. The skills auditrefers to a group process through which members can express their know-how (what theyknow well and can do already) if different food security practices and gardening. Thisprovides a way to recognise prior learning (RPL) in the group, acknowledging indigenousknowledge and to avoid repeating information that is known.Development of a learning and action agenda is the design of the workshopcontent and schedule. This involves picking content from the resource guide or selectedresources that suits the group's learning agenda and finding other relevant information if it isrequired. The process also incorporates the learning groups’ own knowledge of goofpractices and experimentation (household experimentation) throughout the learning plan.Also, ask the households whether any specific problems are arising and where appropriateand possible adapt the learning agenda to cover these issues.Implementation van be seen as learning through training and experimentation.The learning cycle repeats itself in smaller and larger circles depending on the kind oflearning required and the learning for action process.3.3.4 Determining the training / learning needs of the groupIt is important to find out from people what they know already (recognising their priorlearning) and what they would like to learn. This needs to be done in a participatory way,acknowledging good practices of indigenous knowledge, with all the group members.It is important to distinguish between resources that are required (such as fencing and water)and learning that may improve the situation (such as learning to use the water we do haveas well as possible). These training needs, combined with the skills audit or finding out theprior knowledge of the group, will then give you a clear idea of the content you will need topick from this resource pack that is the most relevant to the group. Be prepared that you mayalso need to find some information/content from other places (an example here could be theuse of commercial fertilizers in home gardens – this information is not included here).

Once you have decided on the content, then it is possible to design the workshops andhousehold or farmer experimentation for the Care learning group.3.3.5 Care learning group processesThe learning group process is ideally set up to run throughout a growing season (or eventwo if possible, in other words 9 - 11 months). This is not always possible. Individuals cometogether to learn and exchange ideas, but do their work in their own household or householdyards.- Each workshop is held at a different individual’s house or household and is designedto take approximately three to five hours. Resource materials to be used in theseworkshops are to be planned, or use selected handouts or resource materialdeveloped by the Departments of Health, Agriculture, Social Development, the WaterResearch Commission, the Agricultural Research Council or material available onappropriate Internet Websites.- Household experimentation is introduced as a central learning process and membersare expected to try innovations out at home and report back on their progress to thegroup in each workshop session. This process worked very well as a learning tooland many members developed a good ability to try things out and observe andanalyse their results.- The facilitation team should also assist members of the learning group to purchaseseeds, fruit trees at low cost, by ordering in bulk from commercial nurseries, andstores for packaging and storage, grow seedlings if this is at all possible.Workshops are planned and replanned to fit into the seasonal and learning requirements ofthe learning group members. Different aspects may be emphasised. Starting with adiscussion and analysis of nutrition however is important, and provides the basis for themotivation to implement more intensive food based consumption and productionapproaches.The helicopter planning process should be included early on in the series of workshops. Itis revisited and new ideas are added in subsequent workshops. Elements that could beadded include trench beds, rain water harvesting run-on ditches, planting of fruit trees andwind breaks, for example.The household experimentation process is usually introduced during the secondworkshop, so that experiments can be designed for each subsequent workshop and newideas that are introduced. Household experiments could include trench beds, making andapplying liquid manure, making and applying a pest or disease control brew, using deepirrigation, as examples.Below is an example of what the training process could look like with potential resourcesrequired.

Table 3.4Outline ofworkshopsTraining process for intensive food production: An exampleNotes of the workshopResources RequiredNutritionDiscussions are held on food types andparticipants analyse the gaps in theirnutrition. Diversity of food is introduced bylooking at traditional foods and new andinteresting crops that can be introduced.Each participant makes a list of new cropsand foods they will introduce in their gardensto balance their nutrition.Seed and examples ofinteresting household cropsfor people to try.SeedlingproductionThis assumes people are starting gardeningfrom scratch, but also introduces the centraldesign element of trench beds and run-onditches. The trenches are prepared asseedling beds and a slightly fiddly crop suchas planting of carrots demonstrated.Materials for makingtrenches: some manure,mulch, etc. is brought if it isin short supply. Seeds forplanting are also provided.FertilitySupplementary methods of natural fertilityenhancement are discussed, as are soiltypes and their management. The design of arun-on system to the garden from the rest ofthe household is tackled.Materials for liquid manure,examples of soils.

Outline ofworkshopsNotes of the workshopResources RequiredOutline ofworkshopsNotes of the workshopResources RequiredFruitProductionDemonstration of fruit tree planting, deliveryof trees. Input on different methods ofpropagation (cuttings, seed, grafting), pruningand pest and disease management.Fruit trees are subsidised.Seed and cuttings provided,as is manure/compost forplanting. Secateurs andwound heal is provided fora pruning demonstration.Pest anddiseasecontrol,includingwindbreaksGarden layout,run-on andbed design.IrrigationIntegrated pest management is emphasised,as is making brews for pest and diseasecontrol from natural ingredients. Commonproblems in the area are discussed, andsolutions suggested.Design of gardens is covered in detail; aswell as elements in the gardening processand how they work together; completerainwater harvesting system is tackled(including storage).Concepts of irrigation, water in the soil andwater management emphasised.Materials for making pestand disease control brews.Windbreak plants aresupplied.Tools for digging the run-onditches (e.g. spades, picksetc) are brought.Materials are brought formaking line-levels tomeasure out contours.Processing,value addingand seedsaving, ANDCelebration!Discussions on value adding and processing.This could include demonstration of solardriers and processes such as blanching,pickling, jams, preserves, freezing (ifappropriate), etc.Seed exchange is another option (and takesa full workshop). Here participants bring seedthey have kept to exchange with each other.The session is accompanied by an input onseed saving and discussions on theimportance of managing local sources ofseed.Seeds for exchange arebrought, materials forprocessing andrefreshments are provided.More detail on the household learning content and facilitation of the workshops is provided insection 2.7 below. But first we will discuss the processes of Helicopter planning andhousehold experimentation that you will use in the learning workshops.

3.4 Introduction to mind mobilisation and visioningThe term ‘Mind Mobilisation’ was first used by researchers of the International WaterManagement Institute (IWMI) to describe both the philosophy and the facilitation methodsand approaches used by MaTshepo Khumbane to lead indigent (poor) households on ajourney to food security.The visioning exercise fits into a broader process of an individual situation analysis. Here wewill look at the process of mind mobilisation as one very suitable approach. Mrs Khumbaneis a social worker by training and devoted more than four decades of her working life to helpwomen with malnourished children to stand up to apathy, helplessness and scorn, and totake control of their lives.Why is Mind Mobilisation necessary?When the mother of a house consistently fails to put food on the table for her dependants,this has deep and severe impacts on her psychological well-being. She feels ashamed ofherself, helpless and powerless to do anything about the situation. When this persists longenough, she loses hope and becomes apathetic, because she no longer believes there isanything she can do to change the situation. She often withdraws from community life toavoid the contemptuous glances and nasty remarks of neighbours. This is one of thereasons why the most in need are seldom to be found in village meetings where povertyrelief programmes are introduced and discussed.Even when sufficient effort is made to ensure that she hears about opportunities, the battle isfar from won. She may have been in a state of apathy for years and would need counsellingand encouragement to change her outlook on life and her patterns of behaviour – and eventhen there is no guarantee that she will hold onto the hope. Mrs Khumbane’s methods arebased on her deep understanding of these realities in the lives of food insecure women.As a young social worker, many years ago, MaTshepo realised how utterly pointless andindeed counter-productive it was when nurses at rural clinics would scold a mother becauseher child has ‘kwash’ and would angrily instruct her to ‘go and give the child milk!’. Eventoday, many rural mothers dread going to the clinic. They cannot understand how theirchildren could have ‘kwash’ if they are feeding them in the traditional way (see NutritionWorkshop Outcome in Module ??), and anyway, no matter how scared they may be of thenurse, they simply don’t have milk to give the child – not on that day, nor on the many daysto come until the next clinic visit.Through her life’s work, Mrs Khumbane has shown that instead of scolding and scorn,people need hope and encouragement, coupled with practical skills to overcome hunger.Mind Mobilisation aims to rekindle the hope and open the mind to absorb the practical skillsof low-cost organic production methods and rainwater harvesting to fight hunger at home.This is the women’s “War on Hunger”.

How does mind mobilisation works?The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) studied Mrs Khumbane’s approachesfor several years, in an attempt to identify each method, understand its application andrelevance, and to establish whether there was a typical sequencing in the use of themethods that is most likely to lead a person to self-reliance, food security and a more stableand fulfilling personal and family life.IWMI’s research found a strong correlation between Mrs Khumbane’s approach and thecounselling approaches which were first developed by Alcoholics Anonymous and lateradopted to assist individuals on their difficult journey out of substance abuse of all kinds.It is important to understand that Mind Mobilisation (MM) is essentially a personal growthprocess. Several important steps need to take place in the individual’s mind, and for this thesequencing is important. However, depending on the individual case, more or lessintervention may be necessary to guide and support the individual through various parts ofthis painful but liberating process.It is a well accepted fact in substance abuse counselling that the healing process cannotstart until a person admits to him/herself that he/she has a problem. When the individualreaches this point of admission, it is usually followed by feelings of helplessness and fear. Asignificant feature of both the AA and MM processes is that at first it focuses the individual’sattention on herself; then strengthens her by creating a small support group around her ofpeople who are facing similar problems; and next gives her a greater purpose by shifting herfocus to the plight of others.The similarity between the typical sequence in the ‘mind mobilisation’ process and that of the‘alcoholics anonymous’ and other substance abuse counselling processes, is shown in thediagram below:Table 3.2 Mind mobilisation and substance abuse counselling processes.MindMobilisationStepSelf-reflectionAdmit problem toself and othersReceive hopeDecide to changeAlcoholics Anonymous StepsWe make a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves.We admit helplessness in one or more specific areas of our lives.We admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exactnature of our wrongs.We believe that there is a Power greater than ourselves.We make a decision to turn our lives over to the care of God as weunderstand Him/ Her/ It.We are ready for God to change us, to remove these defects ofcharacter.Humbly we ask Him/ Her/ It to do so.

MindMobilisationStepVision and planTake action; learnpractical skills,implementSelf-evaluateCommit to reachout to others(candleceremony)Alcoholics Anonymous StepsWe make a list of all the people we have harmed, and we becomewilling to make amends to them all.We make direct amends to such people when possible, when to do sowould not injure them or others.At intervals we continue to take personal inventory, and when we arewrong, promptly admit it.Through daily prayer and meditation, we seek to improve our consciouscontact with God as we understand Him, praying only for the knowledgeof His will for us and for the power to carry it out.We try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles inall our affairs.In mind mobilisation for food security, the person best placed to provide support and share astory of hope is someone who has been through this him/herself. The process is followed bythe visioning and planning processes. (See Table 4.3) The visioning process if also calledhelicopter planning. Helicopter planning is also called the “five-year food security plan”. Thisis done by a participant “flying over” his/her yard in his/her mind’s eye and drawing her visionof what she would like it to look like in five years’ time.Mind mobilization in a broader contextAs explained earlier in this Unit, this personal process of Mind Mobilisation is set in abroader framework of community and leadership mobilisation, which creates an environmentto recognise and morally support (instead of scorn) the efforts of those trying to gain controlover their livelihoods.A person facilitating food insecure households needs to be aware of the difficulties faced bythe person shouldering the responsibility for the household’s food security – both in her viewof herself, and in her interactions with others, such as members of her household, herneighbours and community leadership.• Each step in the facilitation process has a specific purpose, but every step builds up to theultimate aim of enabling the food insecure individual to lead her household to food securityand stability.• Some steps take place in community meetings, some in small group situations (e.g. the Carelearning group) and yet others only through personal reflection.• Milestone steps’ are special steps which must be completed before subsequent steps cantake place meaningfully.

cannot shoulder this alone, and she cannotbe everywhere at once, especially forfollow-up support after a Mind Mobilisationworkshop. Thus, it is critical to create alocal support group (such as the local Carelearning group).A strong bond usually forms amongparticipants during the shared experienceof the Mind Mobilisation workshop, whichprovides a good starting point for such amutual-care support group when theyreturn home.Facilitation of a mind mobilization workshopThe facilitator aims to create a culture and practice of mutual care between participantsduring the Mind Mobilisation workshop, so that this can form the basis for future behaviouramong them. The candle ceremony establishes a burning candle as a symbol of hope and aregular reminder of their pledge to stay committed and to notice and care for each other andfor others in the village who face similar problems.The Mind Mobilisation Workshop usually follows the steps shown in the Table below:Table 3.5Who isinvolvedin thisstep?Facilitator,maximum10 targethouseholdmembersThe mind mobilization workshopStepIntroductionWhat is doneduring this step?Opening Prayer &Welcome,Housekeeping rules,Introductions &ExpectationsHow does this step help the foodinsecure individual towards selfreliance?Set the person at ease, create a comfortableenvironment.

Who isinvolvedin thisstep?StepWhat is doneduring this step?How does this step help the foodinsecure individual towards selfreliance?EachparticipantSelf-reflectionDraw own “Presentsituation analysis”:Each participantreflects on her ownsituation, honestlyand in detail. Shecaptures this onflipchart in a detaileddrawing of herhousehold, who eatsthere and how theysurvive.Reflecting on her situation, she confrontsherself with the stark reality. In day-to-day lifepeople get so used to their situation that theystop questioning whether this is what theywant from life, and stop looking foralternatives.Facilitator,participantsAdmitproblem toself andothersPlenary report-backand jointdiscussion on eachworkshopparticipant’s “PresentSituation Analysis”Healing cannot start until a person admits toherself that she has a problem. In presentingand discussing her ‘Present day analysis’ sheadmits to herself and others that she has aserious and overwhelming problem, which, fora long time, she has been unable toovercome.This is a very hard, cannot be forced, but avery important step.Counsellor/facilitator,individualparticipantExtra supportIndividualcounselling (wherenecessary)Most people find talking about their presentsituation painful and many break down andcry. Some individuals are traumatised andinconsolable.If there is only one facilitator, she may want tocall for a break at this point and spend sometime alone with the individual to support herthrough this very difficult experience. Ideallythere should be a second counsellor/facilitatoravailable to work with the individual separatelywhile the rest of the group continues.Storyteller,participantsReceive hope“Tshepo’s Story”:Listen to the life-storyof someone (Tshepoor other) who was inthe same positionand succeeded ingetting outBy hearing first-hand from someone who‘made it’, she receives hope that there is away out – a way that is difficult and which willrequire great personal sacrifice, but which isnot impossible

Who isinvolvedin thisstep?StepWhat is doneduring this step?How does this step help the foodinsecure individual towards selfreliance?Decide tochangeShe decides that shewants to changeAt this point people experience a mixture offear and excitement. Once she has taken thedecision to change, energy levels are usuallyhigh and she is eager to take practical action.This energy is next channelled into a visioningand planning exerciseShe develops a vision of how she wants tobe, and draws up a doable plan of action ofhow she can get there.This becomes her ‘roadmap’ for the next fiveyears. She takes this home and henceforthplans her daily activities towards achieving theHelicopter Plan in five years.This helps to keep her focused and motivatedin periods of low morale, and also helps avoidthat she becomes discouraged by trying to dotoo much in the beginningEachparticipantVision andplanDraw own“Helicopter Plan”Also called the “fiveyear food securityplan” – vision of whatgarden will look likein 5 years time toprovide all needs.Facilitator,participantsTake action;learn practicalskillsPracticaldemonstration:deep trenching forintensive gardeningAdults learn best by doing. By practicallymeasuring out a new trench bed, digging it,placing the organic stuffing, and plantingsome seedlings, she becomes less likely toput off starting her own when she gets backhome.Preparing the demonstration bed with otherparticipants binds the support group closertogether and helps them remind each otherhow to do it once they get home.Below some further detail given on some of the steps:Household present situation analysisThe following process is used to facilitate the present situation analysis:- Each participant finds a quit place to sit and draws her/hers own present yard andhousehold situation (as detailed as possible) on flipchart paper- Present back to other participants in a plenary.- The facilitator and the other participants ask questions about household well-beingand yard features (taking hints from drawing).- Notes can be made of the report back.This drawing and notes on the household’s present situation analysis is effectively abaseline study of the household.

Figure 3.6:Present situation analysis – An example from Mr MabasaMr Mabaso’s household is in Potshini, KwaZulu-Natal. This was a drawing of his householdat the time, what he was doing there and a beginning of his ideas for future change.3.4.1 Combined visioning and action planning: Helicopter PlanThe following process is used to facilitate helicopter planning:- Participant draws her/his Helicopter Plan on flipchart (as detailed as possible)showing how she/he would like her/his yard to look in five years’ time.- She presents this back to other participants in plenary.- The facilitator and other participants ask questions to lead the thinking towardsinterim goals and reality checks. The facilitator must ensure that this interrogation ofeach other’s plan is done very gently and always in a spirit of mutual support.

Figure 3.7 The original five year food security plan of MaTsepo Khumbane.Take note how sections have been changed over time and posted over the original.mple questions for confirmation of information and observations:“Are you sure the water flows in that direction on your yard during a rainstorm?”“You already have 2 beds, how long did that take you? How much would you realistically beable to do by (target date) (Christmas, next month?)Figure 3.8 A diagram of Ma Tshepo Khumbane’s household yard after five years(Diagram developed and supplied by “The Star” Newspaper).

Note: MaTshepo distributing seedlings during a mind mobilization workshop in Limpopo3.4.2 The nutritional motivational workshopThe Nutrition Workshop (as described in detail in Module 2 Part 2) has been developedthrough this Water Research Commission project as a ‘lighter’ alternative to this very deepand effective mind mobilisation process developed by Mrs Khumbane.These approaches are not mutually exclusive. The facilitator must always use her judgementon the appropriate motivational and intervention strategies for the particular situation shefinds in a village she is working in.

As a general rule:- The Nutrition Workshop can be used with the majority of households in a village, andwill be of interest and benefit to households at all levels of food security; while- A full Mind Mobilisation process may be necessary for the most food insecure andtraumatised households in the village.3.4.3 Care learning group household experimentationprocess will be introduced here to give you an idea of how it works. We will refer back to thissection in other Modules, where we introduce specific gardening practises that individualsand households can try out or experiment with.This becomes the main technique used for interventions in the garden itself. Small scaleexperimentation is a way in which food gardeners can try out new ideas without risking theircrops and livelihoods. They try out these new ideas in a small area of their garden,comparing it with their normal food gardening practices and observing closely what theoutcomes are. Then they are well informed to make their own decisions about their preferredpractices and how they would like to adapt them.Once an innovation has been tried and established that food provider or gardener may beginexperimenting with other innovations. At the same time she/he may teach the innovationsalready implemented to others. When technology is introduced slowly by overcoming limitingfactors one by one, food providers and gardeners have a chance not only to test, implementand share the innovations, they also build up strong circles of knowledge amongstthemselves.It also means that as a facilitator your job is not to try and convince food providers orgardeners to “adopt” specific technologies and innovations that you think are a good idea.Your job is to introduce new ideas/innovations that food gardeners can try out for themselvesand make their own decisions about.In food gardening, we will face new challenges all the time. We may also want to try out newideas. We need to try these new ideas without taking risks and without making moreproblems/challenges for ourselves. An experiment is a test to see if an idea works. When wehave worked out our problems and the causes for this problem, we can come up withsuggestions for possible solutions to this problem. We can use these suggestions to plan anexperiment.3.4.4 The care learning group outreach activitiesThe Care learning group can provide a platform for outreach activities of the households.Outreach activities helps the Care learning group to avoid getting stuck, by looking only‘inwardly’ at its own members’ problems. Instead, it helps to create an outward-lookingperspective for the group and its members.

Examples of what groups can do as outreach activities include the following:- Draw other food insecure households into the group and help them to also startproducing food;- Find and look after or arrange care for orphans and other vulnerable individuals inthe community;- Arrange for disabled person(s) in the village to get proper care – e.g. one grouparranged for a deaf child to start attending the school for the deaf in Nebo,- Limpopo; other groups managed to get hold of wheelchairs, crutches, or other aidsfor the disabled in the community;- One group helped people in the village to get IDs so that they could start benefitingfrom government support like pensions, disability grants,- RDP housing and education;Environmental clean-up activities in the village andsurroundings; and- Any other needs that are identified within their sphere of influence.3.4.5 Household learning contentThe learning content can be self designed using the resources in this manual and thegardeners’ resource materials attached. It is possible also to tailor make your own contentdepending on the expressed learning needs of specific Care learning groups.The content of Water Research Commission Resource Material for Facilitators and FoodGardeners (WRC, 2009) provides technical information for household facilitation andtraining:• Living and eating well• Diversifying production in household food gardens• Garden and household water management for food gardening• Soil fertility management: Optimising the productivity of soil and water• Income opportunities from household food gardeningMore topics can be added to resources. Let us now have a look at a practical example ofhow this was applied in practice. A case study: Potschini Learning workshop sessions areattached as Annexure D. The case study is an example of how the learning process forworkshops was conducted in Potshini in Natal with the content and processes indicated.The Nutrition Motivational Workshop (which could be or link with the motivational workshop(See detailed example in Module 2) provided a good introduction to the subsequentworkshop topics, for which the training content and process is summarised below. Notes areprovided on further training needs identified during the workshops and follow-ups athouseholds.Household visits were conducted between the workshop sessions to check implementation,assist householders and provide further motivation. One day was also spent delivering fruittrees to care learning group members and doing a practical demonstration.

3.5 Household monitoring and evaluationSelf-evaluation for renewalSelf-evaluation provides a good basis for re planning and adapting one’s activities forimprovement. It also helps to renew the vision and commitment to production and action.This is true both at the individual household level, and for the Care learning group’s ownactivities.The Self-Evaluation Tool below was adapted from such a tool developed by MaTshepoKhumbane to help households and groups to achieve this. Each care learning group shoulddevelop their own self –evaluation tools as and adapt suitable PLA activities for theirhousehold’s situation.Table 3.6 Self-evaluation tool for household food securityBasic categories for a Household FoodSecurity self-evaluation toolQuestions to/by the Household:Progress with my garden and food security?Wellbeing of my family? (health, income)Transformation of my family? (social and foodbehaviour)Questions to/by the Care learning group:Mobilisation and outreach achievements of ourCare learning group?Support our group has successfully mobilisedfrom our leadership, and from otherorganisations?Cross-cutting aspectsIn each of these questions (1-5), thefollowing cross-cutting aspects (a-d)need to be explored:Creativity: what creative ideas orapproaches have you come up with?How has the environment improved(own household, community)What support do you require, whichyou cannot manage yourself?What are your planned next steps?Forward planningThe Self-Evaluation Tool above can be used as a basis for planning. In deciding on whichquestion they would like to ask themselves over time to evaluate themselves, the carelearning group is, in effect, setting goals for itself. They are planning in which aspects theywish to excel.Self-monitoring toolsThere are also a range of specific self-monitoring tools – most of these developed over theyears by MaTshepo Khumbane – to help households to learn from their experiments,mistakes and successes. Self-monitoring provides a reliable basis to answer the questions inthe Self-Evaluation Tool above during their occasional self-evaluation.

Monitoring tools also help the households to keep track of the success or failure of creativeideas tried out in their activities.Here is a list of some of the self-monitoring tools that can be used:Family time management tool/ Daily household activity charting (called the ‘Calendar- Activities’ or, jokingly “The Manager”- Moral regeneration charting;- Household action planning tool: Planting calendar;- Household diet diversity planning based on planting Diet diversity plan- Household food flow planning: Harvest calendar;- Houshold food storage plan for a year Food storage plan and- Water and weather calendar (daily charting of climate, rainfall, water use andstorage).ExamplesParticipatory tools can be used as guides for designing planning toolsCalendar of activitiesThe Calendar of Activities tracks the daily activities of household’s members, and is usuallyfilled in by the children in the household. This activity creates a lot of fun, but also tangiblechange. Everyone in the household becomes very aware of how they utilise their time and itquickly shows up where the load for food security and other household chores is unevenlydistributed among household members.Some women jokingly call this chart “The Manager”, because it hangs on the wall and ‘keepsan eye on everyone’!

Figure 3.9 Ma Tshepo Khumbane’s “Calendar of Activities”How it works: The numbers in the ‘Key’ represent the daily tasks. These numbers are writteninto the day’s block on the calendar, next to the symbol/name for each household member.At a glance, it can be seen who has done their part (including schoolwork)!It could be the tasks of children to keep “the manager” up to date and to assist on thenegotiation of tasks to be done and that tasks are done on time and divided fair according toage, capabilities and learning new skills.Planting calendarParticipatory planning of the household planting calendar to fill the diet gaps identified, takesinto account the following considerations:• Crop choices to yield a wide variety of ‘go, grow and glow’ foods year-round;• Cultivar choices: open-pollinated, long-yielding, pest/disease/drought resistant, andadapted to the local climate;• Succession planting to yield a constant supply of fresh food to the household;• Seasonal planting of winter/summer crops; and• Rotational planting to avoid plant diseases.(Also see Module ?? for an example and Module ?? for more detail on diversification).Harvesting calendar with harvest estimate- Participatory analysis of the harvesting calendar; and- Estimates of food flows (weekly and seasonally)

Unit 4:Taking action for household food securityIntroductionWell-done! You have now completed units 1-3 of this module and have gained importantknowledge and skills to equip you to identify and engage with the households you will beworking with. There is no reason to be nervous of this prospect, as you are not on your own. Inthis unit we will guide you step by step on how to go about applying some of what you havelearnt and to engage with households. The Modules to come will also give a variety ofopportunities. You also have the support of your promoters and lecturers. All the activities youcarry out in this unit will also form part of the evidence you need for your portfolio for Module 2.Before we continue, complete the table below and decide if you do have a clear understandingof what you have learned in Units 1, 2 and 3.Key conceptsI still recall thebasic definition(Tick next to theconcept)The information can befound on page……. of thisstudy guide (Add pagenumber)Unit 1HungerFamineStarvationPovertyPowerlessnessIsolationMalnutritionVulnerableDeprivationParticipatory approachesUnit 2Community developmentCare modelAdult learningFacilitationParticipationCare learning groupsCommunity development workerVolunteerSmall groups Page …..

Learning cycleParticipatory research approachParticipatory methodsHousehold resource managementVisualisation methods and toolsInterview methods and toolsReporting methodsUnit 3FacilitationScopingScoping reportSecondary resourcesPrimary resourcesInformational tasksNutrition motivational workshopMind MobilisationHousehold experimentation4.1 Portfolio activities and the “Triple A” CycleThe core of the Module 2 focusing on gathering information, analysing to learn and then tomake decisions or a plan to take action is a basic approach to management. In Unit 3 welearned that the participatory process starts at community level and then move to the group orhousehold level. This is the most used method in community development especially when thefocus is on issues relevant to a whole community such as health services, water, sanitation,roads, energy or electricity, education and community organization. The information on acommunity is written into documents or reports available at the local government level or fromconsultants. It is also called secondary data.An organisation and local government employ the community development workers of a ward, avolunteer or home based care giver will be recruited or employed to assist in gatheringinformation and tasked to address issues in small groups or with individual households. TheUnit 3 and the portfolio activities take the community process further to the household level.Why is it necessary to work on the household level with household food security?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………...........................We have learned in Module 1 that household food security is deeply settled within thehousehold with the community providing the support and services. It is also known as you haveseen in this module Unit 1 that those who really need help may usually not attend a community

meeting or visible to an extend to identify them as households in need. To understand thisextreme private domain the best is for the household to use information (sometimes sensitiveinformation they don’t want to reveal) about themselves and which may be considered in theanalysis to find solutions for themselves.The household food security facilitator’s main task will be to work with information from differentresources. The information gathered by them and the households they work with will be primarydata used to facilitate the process of household decision-making and taking action. It is thenvery important to use a participatory approach as you have been practicing in these units. Theessential decisions to food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and stabilizing the foodsupply can be found in the answers to four key questions.All the portfolio activities you do in this unit will be guided by the “Triple A Cycle” approach. Wehad a fourth dimension of having a vision and objectives of where we want to go with workingwith households in communities.Start-up ActivityDo you still remember what the “Triple A’’ cycle approach is? To find out whether you do,complete the following sketch.ObjectivesVisionFigure 4.1 The “Triple A” ApproachStep 1:…………………………………………………………………………………………………….....Step 2:………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Step 3:………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Your sketch should show the following:Step 1: Assessment phase: Collecting current information on key issues/indicators.Step 2: Analysis phase: Interpreting the information, making sense of it, identifying areas ofsuccess and areas that need improvement.Step 3: Action phase: Identifying strategies for action or action plans to address identifiedproblems and improve implementation activities.The four questions below are underpin in the community situation analysis and more so in thehousehold analysis or case study. These four questions are for households to answer in thedifferent assessment, analysis and action steps to find out what we want and what may happenif we have it.• What do we as household have? What is the present situation, resources andconstraints?• What do we as household really want? What is our vision and objectives?• How can we use what we have to get what we want? Identify a plan of action?• What will happen when we get it? Be sure about the result you want, the effect /impact and being able to avoid negative consequences?These four questions are the essential decisions of management and to be asked all the time bythe community development worker in action, planning and monitoring. In answering these fourquestions lies the basis for a household to empower themselves. In this way a process can bestarted by themselves for themselves in not being dependent on the community for handouts. Ifyou look carefully, they are the four questions included (perhaps disguised by elaboration) in theTriple A cycle and any brainstorming to find a solution or other project plan document and inbrainstorming (Bartle, 1989). Information required for empowerment towards food and nutritionsecurity be gathered and analyzed for taking action.In Module 2 we will gather what is referred to as baseline information to know where thehousehold is at present. This will enable the household and the household facilitator to assessprogress and results towards well-being as moving through the modules. Difference methods ofgathering and analyzing information or data can be used. The information will be of a qualitativenature, although we will use numbers and calculations to calculate scores.4.2 Quantitative and qualitative methodologyThe information can be gathered using different methods in a specific manner to provide datathat can be measured against indicators or targets set for progress.

4.2.1 Quantitative and qualitative dataThe information gathered by the household and food security facilitator can be of a quantitativenature or qualitative nature.Activity 4.1 Identify the difference between quantitative and qualitativeinformation.Read the paragraphs above and below and complete the table belowDescriptors Quantitative data Qualitative dataObjectiveData formatAnswers the questionsPerspectiveStudy design andinstrumentsOne can identify the difference to look at the method driving the question to gather theinformation or data. Quantitative data is usually are expressed in numbers, frequencies, ratesor proportions: for example the number of meals eaten daily, the number of respondents whoanswered a particular question in a particular way, rates of malnutrition, proportions of incomelost.Qualitative data tend to reflect peoples reflections, ideas, opinions, intentions, perceptions andobservations. Qualitative data tend to put a problem in context, or provide insight into how theproblem affects a community and provide meaning to quantitative data providing explanations.

Read the two examples in the box and identify the differences.Examples of qualitative and quantitative dataExample 1• A mother is asked how many days her household has eaten meat in the past week and sheanswers "2". This is a numerical answer, thus quantitative data. Because the question doesnot attempt to capture attitudes, perceptions or intentions, and the answer is expresseddirectly as a number, it is not considered qualitative data.• However, what an enumerator hears and observes while asking this question during ahousehold interview – which is usually a quantitative method – may be rich in qualitativeelements, such as size, food storage, cooking items in and around the house, and husbandwifedynamics. If noted, these become qualitative data. Enumerators should be encouragedto record this kind of information in comments section to enrich the data collected andinform its interpretation.Example 2• In a focus group discussion – which is a classic qualitative method – five men are guidedto pile stones in answer to the question "Where do you get your food?". The question isopen-ended, which is a sign of qualitative methods. The method is participative, so followsthe qualitative approach.• The answers that result, however, can easily be quantified – for example, 50 percentfrom production, 25 percent from the market – and do not produce information onattitudes, perceptions and intentions. What is heard and observed during the focus groupdiscussion can produce qualitative data, but the answer to the question itself is notqualitative. (Adapted from Moriniere, 2009).Try to give an explanation of the following example 3 on your own.Example 3An investigator asks a village key information how many sacks of cereal an averagehousehold has harvested? What does the question assume? What if he/she cannot countthe sacks (Adapted from Moriniere, 2009).The question can be answered in two ways. Is the above an example of a question requiringqualitative or quantitative data?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………………………………………………………………………………………...........Rephrase the question for a qualitative answer?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Rephrase the question for a quantitative answer?…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….If the key informant answers an average of 12 sacks perhousehold then it is a quantitative answer. If the key Data are the products of datainformant answers enough sacks until the next plantingcollection methods can benumerical or narrative (textual).season, the answer is not vague, but the informationindicate that it is not enough to last until the next harvest,only up to the next planting. The answer could imply that people do not harvest enough sacks ofcereal for daily use or an income.In food security assessments and information gathering we will work with both quantitative andqualitative data. Usually quantitative data is used for statistical significance. Although, we willwork with mainly descriptive statistical data, graphs, pie charts and histograms as in Module 1which if can be quantified can be used in both a quantitative and a qualitative approach. Rapidsappraisals can provide both quantitative and qualitative information depending on how thequestion is phrased to provide numbers.Answer to study guide activityDescriptors Quantitative data Qualitative dataObjectiveTo explore understandpeople’s perceptions, values,To quantify, confirm statementsor hypothesisideas ,values, or objects andphenomenaData formatManual written or textual orabstract observations, butalso numerical and categoricalMainly numerical, given infrequencies, proportions andcategorical, but sometimescontextual or concreteobservationsAnswers the questions How? Why? (Open-ended) What? How many? (General)PerspectiveLooks at the whole contextfrom the insideLooks at specific aspects fromthe outsideCan lend itself to communityparticipation if time allowsStudy design andinstrumentsFlexible, the assessor is alsoan instrumentFixed, standards controlassessor’s

Data are the products of data collection methods can be numerical or narrative (textual).Approaches describe the main types of data collection and analysis based on the objective forfinding the information.Methods refer the how the data are collected refer to how the data are collected, such asthrough observation. Interviews, household surveys or analyzed such as coding or memoing.Tools are the instruments that assist data collection or analysis , such as questionnaires andrecording devices (Adapted from Moriniere, 2009).You should know be familiar with the two types of data. One can go further and identify twoquantitative approach and qualitative approach. This means that the manner in which thequantitative and or qualitative data is collected and the method used to analyse the data is canbe identified as an approach.4.2.2 Qualitative approach quantitative approachQualitative approaches aim to explore and understand,while quantitative ones strive to confirm hypotheses or astatement of what could be the result of the data analysis.Quantitative approaches are usually based on fixed formalsurveys.Approaches describe the maintypes of data collection andanalysis based on theobjective for finding theinformation.Qualitative approaches are based on flexible observations, discussion and reflection andinclude participatory and rapid appraisals.4.2.3 Participatory approachesParticipatory appraisals are designed to empower communities in their own development; rapidappraisal is often called participatory, even when it does not include true participation. Can yourecall this from Unit 2. Both types of appraisal can be used in rapid or in-depth assessments:• Participatory appraisals aim to gain deeper understanding of a situation for theparticipants. It often serves also as a learning process to increase the knowledge, skills andcapacities of participants in the method used (See Unit 2).• Rapid appraisals are similar, but done by external consultants and less participatory toprovide quick, low-cost ways of generating qualitative data.Many assessments that claim to use participatory approaches do not truly engage communitymembers. Participatory methods help communities to take ownership of a proposedintervention, but they are difficult and rarely appropriate in rapid food security assessments(Adapted from Moriniere, 2009).

4.3 Methodology for household food security assessmentHow are quantitative and qualitative data and approaches used in food security assessments?4.3.1 Quantitative and qualitative data used in food securityassessmentsQualitative data are not just an explanatory add-on toquantitative data collection. In rapid-unforeseen emergencies,floods and fire when time and/or access are limited,qualitative approaches frequently form the core of theassessment. A qualitative approach, when applied properly,can produce high-quality information that could be used in allthe processes of a programme.The use of qualitative approaches and data in a food securityassessment, increase the understanding of food security andlivelihood security by identifying who is and who is not foodsecure,and why. The data analysis is enriched byincorporating the perceptions of livelihoods and food securityheld by both food-secure and food-insecure. In general, anassessment can use qualitative approaches when:Tools are the instruments thatassist data collection oranalysis , such asquestionnaires and recordingdevicesMethods refer the how the dataare collected refer to how thedata are collected, such asthrough observation.Interviews, household surveysor analyzed such as coding ormemoing.• the causes of food insecurity are unknown, and hypotheses have to be generated, byexploring the situation, such as in a new crisis situation that is still poorly understood;• a broader understanding of the nature of a particular food security issue is required; forexample, quantitative data do not explain the causes of malnutrition reported in a previousanthropometric survey or in secondary data;• information is needed about attitudes linked to food and livelihood security choices, orpriorities, perceptions and intentions regarding food security; for example, why people behavein a certain way to maintain their food security;• the situation is quick to change, such as when there is conflict and continuous displacement,which make quantitative data rapidly outdated or unfeasible to collect;• time and funding are insufficient for a comprehensive quantitative food security assessment; itis generally accepted that qualitative data are more easily obtained during initial and rapidassessments than purely quantitative data(Adapted from Moriniere, 2009).Comprehensive is not synonymous with quantitative, however, and all food securityassessments should combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to the extent possible.

4.3.2 Qualitative and quantitative data used in food securityassessmentsWhat types of qualitative data provide information on food availability, access and utilization andon the causes of malnutrition? Qualitative data can be collected on all aspects of food andnutrition security (see the Food and Nutrition Security Conceptual Framework in Module 1 Unit2). In Unit 2 we have classified the different participatory tools we can use in food and nutritionsecurity assessment. The diagramme give an idea of the tools we can use for a baselineanalysis. A variety of qualitative data can be obtained using different qualitative methods –observation, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews – to inform each element ofthe conceptual framework. By visualizing information using PRA tools with discussions andsemi-structured interviews the data can be more enriched. These are only illustrative examplesand are not exhaustive (See Unit 2).Sampling of households for food security interventionDifferent methods of sampling do exist. The purpose of sampling is to give households an equalchance to be selected for a uniform sample. In this case random sampling is usually used, egevery third household is selected with a child five years of age or under. The criteria forsampling are set in advance to fit the purpose of the study.In sampling for assessment of household food security level we will use purposeful sampling,working with those households that are vulnerable and food insecure. The households who arevulnerable and food insecure will be found by sampling in multiple stages by• Province with high rates of food insecurity and malnutrition – national data• Nodal area in South Africa or identified at risk district – provincial data.• Municipality ward / community or the beneficiaries of an organization – municipal data• Interviewing ten households according criteria of the municipality/ organisation• Analyse the survey and select vulnerable food insecure households• Identify the food insecure households according to the rapid assessment resultsThe aim of food security intervention is not to exclude households, but as intervention continuesis to reach each possible vulnerable and food insecure household. The households shouldsuffer from hunger, consume a diet low in diversity and variety foods, struggle to cope and aredependent on multiple unstable sources of income and food aid.This sounds impossible but you are going to succeed by following instructions.TriangulationTo identify the households at risk, vulnerable and or food insecure the data needs to becompared to check whether different assessment methods gives results in the same categoryand is valid for selecting specific households. Triangulation is a way to cross-check information

and data for accuracy especially in working with qualitative information. It means one look at thedata from different angles, at least three to use as many perspectives to the problem aspossible. In qualitative participatory approaches triangulation can be achieved by using differentmethods and tools to gather information on the same issue (eg. Maps, transects, trend lines toexamine environmental changes as in Module 3). Triangulation can also be done by listening todifferent people with different points of view about the same topic (eg, women/men, wealth/poorand community leaders about production and income). For the Portfolio Activities of Module 2we will use assessments on household food security (eg. Household Hunger Scale, HouseholdDiet Diversity Score and Reduced Scoping Strategy Index). Other information gathered canalso be combined as to triangulate data.Figure 4.1Examples of triangulationYou can use the conceptual framework from Module 1 Unit 2 as a guide for the assessing orgathering, analyzing and triangulate information related to the causes of household foodssecurity and livelihoods.

4.3.3 Food security model with methods for data collectionFigure 4.2Conceptual framework for household food security and methods

Cause of household food security and plans of actions can be guided by the informationfathered to assess and analyse the present situation food security status and situation andguide action and measure progress. The boxes give the methods that you will could use and willuse in this portfolio.4.3.4 Facilitation skills for qualitative data collectionWhat skills are needed to collect and analyse qualitative data? A facilitator has an all-importantrole in both collection and analysis:• in collection, to extract accurate information from respondents;• in analysis, to guide teams through triangulation sessions.Other important human resources required for qualitative data collection and analysis includegood trainers and excellent translators/interpreters. For qualitative data collection, the mostuseful skills are observation, listening and asking questions in ways that elicit honest response.These skills may require intensive training; strong expertise is needed to design tools andrecord insights that can be retrieved and used by other people – especially those who were notpresent during the data collection in the field.Examples of skills required for adequate observation• In an area where the harvest provides livestock fodder, staff need to be trained to look atfodder stocks and observe the differences in colour, which distinguish fodder fromprevious harvests from more recently harvested fodder. This gives an idea of whenharvests took place – information that would have been missed if the assessor hadmerely reported seeing fodder stocks.• Livestock condition also provides additional information, but a bony cow is notnecessarily in poor condition; assessors should instead look at its rump and the hollowson its back.• Thinness in humans does not necessarily mean that they are malnourished. On theother hand obesity may be an indicator of being malnourished.• Sensitive topics such as physical abuse in conflict zones require other special skills tocircumvent cultural barriers and obtain useful information.• General communication skills and high cultural sensitivity are key.• Gender issues are important when sensitive topics are being discussed, and theassessment team must have appropriate numbers of male and female members.Qualitative data analysis is challenging. Because there are very few set rules, such as those instatistics, qualitative data collection, interpretation and analysis are based on experience.Careful design and adherence to tools and adequate communication are the first steps toensuring insightful data collection and qualitative analysis.

Tips for facilitators during qualitative data collection in food securityassessments: Practice with role-play before interviewsAt all costs, do not:• ask leading questions: "Don’t you think that….?";• forget to follow-up on vague issues;• redirect or interrupt the flow, of fail to recognize interviewees’ reactions to theinterviewer – body, dress, social status, etc.;• use non-verbal clues to indicate the "right" answer, such as nods; and• state personal opinions on an issue (Adapted from Moriniere, 2009)..Important hints for facilitating discussions and interviews:• Always start with small talk to make respondents/interviewees comfortable.• Start by defining appropriate domains of culture: "What issues are people concernedwith in this village?".• Avoid asking questions that are hard to understand, or in ways that halt conversation.• Make sure that questions use terms/phrases that the respondent will understand –appropriate to her/his culture, education, gender, etc.• Always ask for clarification of vague terms and facts, and the local meanings of slangterms used by respondents.• Keep questions as short as possible.• Avoid questions that yield yes/no answers.• Avoid double-barrelled questions: "How often do you eat maize and rice?".• Avoid negatively worded questions: "Don't you agree that …..?".• Follow a rational order of questions in discussions and interviews. Typically this ordershould move from the past to the present, from simple to complex, from concrete toabstract, and from low to high levels of threat. Domains should be grouped together –all nutrition questions together, all food access questions together, etc.• Avoid complicated series of instructions: "From this list, circle the names of fourpreferred foods and put them in order from most to least preferred”.• Avoid strong and culturally embedded associations: Nazi, Mother Theresa, etc.• Do not repeat as a statement something that was mentioned tentatively: "We live onthe edge of town", "Oh, so you live in a rural area?".• Do not finish respondents’ sentences for them.• Use probes such as neutral agreement, repeat what has been said in a question, ask"Could you tell me a little bit more about..?".• Ask for narratives or “stories” about experiences and opinions (Adapted fromMoriniere, 2009).

4.4 Your main tasks in this unit are Portfolio ActivitiesWhat are your main tasks for this unit? Your main tasks are the five activities shown in the tablebelow. These activities are compulsory Portfolio Activities, which must be included in yourportfolio.You should also include other items, such as reflection items in your portfolio. Use the portfoliofile you received especially for the purpose, for filing your completed portfolio activities.It is very important that you refer to the portfolio section in the General Information Letter whenyou compile your portfolio.Your task Tools and methods Portfolio activityGetting startedEntering the household groupand identifying householdsHousehold stories Activity 2.1Identifying problems andfinalising solutions using stories2.11. Assessing (collectinginformation) information youwill be collecting on your ownor in partnership with thegroup.2. Analyzing the informationyou collected in partnershipwith the group and decidingwhich are positive and whichare negative points3. Taking actiontogether by coming up withan action plan that willaddress food security issuesHousehold visitActivity 2.2 Household visit andhousehold consentHousehold assessment andanalysisActivity 2.3 Household foodsecurity assessment and copingstrategiesActivity 2.4 Householdresources: Visit or Focus groupdiscussions of household onresource map and physicalassetsHousehold action planActivity 2.5 Household visioningand household plan for thefutureActivity 2.6 Write household visitreports for each household2.22.32.42.52.6

How do you go about conducting (carrying out) the tasks of gathering information, analysinginformation and taking action in partnership with your household for improved food security?4.4.1 Assessing (collecting information)During this programme you will need to collect different sets of information and there areseveral techniques that make it easy for you to do so. This will be discussed in more detail inthe next module. We start with basic principles in this module. It is an important skill for ahousehold food security facilitator to talk about food security and to be observant.From this point you will be able to identify your households and work with an individualhousehold or established care group or establish a household food security care group. Thismay not be always possible as the person you care for is unable to participate. It is importantthat the household caregiver or “manager” participate.Conducting household visits and requiring information also demands keeping informationconfidential and acting with ethics and displaying high moral values. This activity requires you tovisit the households identified and selected with the assistance of the organization, or who youusually work as agreed. The households have to sign consent forms to work with you not only inthis module, but throughout the programme.Guidelines for conducting household / family visits• It is important for all participants to greet appropriately, be polite and respectful of thehousehold that is visited. Always remember the home and yard / plot of the household areprivate domain. And needs permission or an accepted invitation to enter.• When visiting households questions should not be asked pointing directly to them aboutpoverty, wealth or malnourishment. Develop good observation skills.• You are not to criticize the family / household on what is right and wrong, positive indigenousknowledge should be acknowledged and strengthened.• Do not in any way create expectations, promises or hints about financial support, not evenhandouts• Remember you are visiting them to learn from the family /household as part of yourprogramme and their goodwill is extremely important and find new ways of all helping people(households with one child with the age below nine years) towards health and a better life.• Explain it could be a learning experience for them for their benefit and the household orfamily have a choice to participate.• Explain very short what household food security is and that it involves the resourceshouseholds have, to use them to make more food available in different ways. Thisprogramme is not for those with access to agricultural land.After you have introduced yourself to household members, you need to explain what thepurpose of your visit is and what the programme is all about.

You will also be required in a later activity to get the consent of the households. Therefore it isimportant to negotiate with the organisation in the area, ward/ village / community section inwhich you will work with households. You may already be working with households or you mayhave to be introduced to a group of households through your organization or ask assistanceform a community / church leader with the assistance of your promoter to get the process rollingto identify households. The circumstances of all students will not be the same.Remember to use the following:Notebook: Do not scribble down your observations on any old piece of paper. You should anotebook for recording your questions and making notes. Use the evidence sheet to record youfinal information.Diary: In working with the community you must have a diary if you do not have one to writedown your appointments and tasks as you continue working through the programme.Portfolio Activity 2.1: Identifying problems and solutions using storiesYou have studied in Module 1 the household food security framework and learned about eachelement. In the portfolio activities of modules you will be using the framework to withhouseholds assess or gather information, they help to analyse their own information and thentogether an action plan is made with each household. First you have to visit households andlisten to their stories and assist them to talk about their problems and reflect on possible ways tosolve it. This may not be possible in one session, therefore first listen to their stories, ask theirconsent to participate in the intervention with you and find more information to make a realchange to their lives.The more you know about problems and solutions for each household the clearer you are aboutwhat they want to achieve, the more effective you will be, in order to take action.Aim: Use story-sharing techniques to identify food insecurity issues in a community.Time: 1 hourWhat you must do1. Work in groups with workshop members or community members. Group members mustbriefly share stories (experiences) on food security issues that they observed duringPortfolio Activity 1.1.Note: Be careful about confidentiality and do not use original names and places thatcould offend people, when telling your stories.2. Listen carefully to the stories with an open mind and open heart.

3. Brainstorm the themes that contribute to the food insecurity issues. Write them on aflipchart or somewhere where everyone can see them.4. Look for themes ,issues and causes that run through the stories. Think about immediate,underlying and basic causes and the outcome of causes on the different levels of action.Even include projects and programmes that contribute to the problem, whether in naturalor socio-cultural environment. Write them on another page of the flip chat and hang itnext to the list of issues.5. Discuss the effects of the situation. What have you learned from the story? Do you needto find more information before you can do anything about it? What kind of informationdo you need?6. Look at the issues and causes and brainstorm ways to address them. Be practical whenyou think of the solutions. However, also think of solutions, if you could do whatever youwanted to correct the problem.7. Now use the following diagramme to help you organise the information which wasdiscussed by the group.What is happening?Why is it happening?So what?Now, what can we do about it?Example of a shortened story and only the themes given.Case study Polina’s story (shortened)Polina has no vehicle. Most of the grocery stores, or big stores are two kilometers ormore away. So when you’re walking, and you are walking with an 8 year-old… shecannot help to carry much ……..she also gets tired….hopefully somebody’s got myyounger child……. And you’re walking though the store, you are thinking about whatyou will be able to carry home…. continue

WHAT?Tell stories and look for themes that run throughthe stories. Brainstorm with the group. Use thebuilding blocks of the food security model as aguideline. What issues contribute to foodsecurity? Write them on a flip chartWHY?Why is food insecurity happening? Look forthemes through the stories and link the themesto the building blocks of the food security modelWrite on a flipchart and hang next to the list ofissuesSO WHAT?Look at the effects of the issues and thesituation. What have we learned from thesestories? Do we need to find more information?What has changed for you after hearing thesestories?(Adapted from Labonte and Feather in NSNC/AHPRC Food Security Projects, 2005)

The following evidence sheet will help you to document, in a structured manner, what you havediscussed and decided on.Evidence sheet for Portfolio Activity 1.2: (Identifying themes, problems andissues related to food security using storiesThis evidence sheet is ONLY an example. You have to complete the evidence sheet forPortfolio Activity 1.2 which is in your resource file.Use the food security model Figure 2.19 to identify the themes, conditions, people, problemsand opportunities that relates to food security, nutrition and livelihoods.Food and nutrition security outcomesDeaths of children and persons living with HIV/ AIDSIllness among children, the aged, women and men of productive ageAge and gender of effected people.Immediate causes of food insecurity and malnutritionThere are many reasons why a child or a person may become undernourished. The causesvary from person to person, but can divide them into immediate, underlying and basiccauses.A poor diet may be due to• poor variety of food• low concentrations of energy and starchy• low concentration of nutrients in foods• meals are too small• foods are too watery• infrequent meals• insufficient breast milkSick and people with infectious diseases may:• not eat much• eat food, but body absorb few nutrients• lose nutrients from the body• use up nutrients in the body more quickly (eg during fever)Underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutritionThey can be divided into food insecurity and malnutrition, as well as livelihood relatedunderlying causes. These family food shortages. Inadequate care and feeding practices,especially of children and women, and poor living conditions and poor health services.

Food insecurity and MalnutritionFamily food shortages, which may be due to:• lack of money for food• low production of food• poor food processing and preservation and lack of equipment• poor food storage and facilities in the house• poor choices and budgeting• cultural preferences and food habitsInadequate care and feeding practices:• the way families feed young children and encage them to eat• the way families care for women (especially during pregnancy, childbirth andbreastfeeding) and for the sick and old people• the way food is prepared and the level of hygiene in the home• the ways families prevent and treat illness at home and use health facilities.Inadequate health and environmental services:Poor living conditions (eg. insufficient water, inadequate sanitation and overcrowdedhousing) and poor health services. Shortages of medicines and skilled health staff increasethe risk of disease, Inadequate environmental sanitation services increase the rsik of foodborne diseases.Livelihoods assets and gender resource controlHousehold productive, communication and reproductive activitiesWomen’s workloads and social roles are important underlying causes of food insecurity andmalnutrition. Role of gender and age in task and time division to• role in food production for the family and local trading• care and quality of diets women can give• workloads and social role in the family• heavy workload demands decrease to prepare more than one meal a day• little authority and little control over resources such as land and money effects thetype of care women can giveHousehold Livelihood assets and resources• Natural resources• Physical resources• Financial resources• Social resources• Human resources

Basic causesFor each underlying cause there are deeper causes to be traced back to local , provincial,national and international levels that may include:• widespread poverty and lack of employment opportunities• unequal distribution and control of resources at community , district , provincial andnational /international levels• the low status and education of women• population pressures• environmental damage• crime, political unrest and conflict• lack of health, education, and other social servicesdiscrimination of minority and indigenous groups(Adapted from Burgess and Glasauer, 2004 )Note: Don’t forget to put the completed evidence sheet into your portfolio file as evidence!You know have identify food security issues that could be in the community you will be working,but organisations operate in the community to address these problems?You may ask the consent of the household participate in the household food securityprogramme already at the end of this activity if household members are present. If thehousehold members are not all present, or at least most of them, then make an appointment ata suitable time and acquire the consent of the household. Each member can then also offer tobe responsible for a task in the household process to try and improve their situation. The form isalso attached in the home language to allow the households to read and interpret the consentfor themselves. Then you can continue with Activity 2.2.Portfolio Activity 2.2 Household visit and household consentAim: Visit ten households and ask their consent to participate in the programme and gatherhousehold food security information.Time: 30 minutes to arrange for each household visit. One hour for each visit to assess thehousehold situation informally and signing a consent form.What you must do1. Go to each identified household according to your criteria set and identified from theanalysis. Introduce yourself and the note taker and ask permission to talk to the householdabout the programme at a convenient time.

2. Make an appointment with the household for a household visit when convenient for thefamily and ask whether other family / household members can also be present. Rememberto tell them the length of time you wish to stay.3. Explain that it involves them to participate and that you not a researcher who only collectsinformation. Explain then if confirmed that though the programme they will also find ways tohelp themselves for the better.4. If the household seems to be food insecure explain that you and the household will enterinto a working together relationship for about nine months while you on the programme andcould continue if they wish as part of your work.5. Asked them to give you require written permission by signing the informed consent form.6. This is of the utmost importance, because by signing this form they give you permission towork in participation with them on addressing different household food security issues andgives them permission to with draw if it is completely inconvenient to them.7. Request the households for a convenient time to visit when all or most household memberswill be present and give a household profile. Obtain informed consent from the male orfemale head (or de jure) of household and the care giver.8. Explain that other members responsible for food related aspects as such as buying foodand the garden also have to agree to participate and assist. The programme is moresuccessful the more household members agree.9. Do the information household composition and household food security information sheetduring the same visit as signing the consent form.10. Write a short reflection report. Include the general observation of the household andmembers present.. What was good, what was bad, do the household need assistance and whatkind of assistance, are they prepared to participate and give their reasons.Evidence sheet for Portfolio Activity 2.2 (Household visit andhousehold consent )Use the evidence sheet in the portfolio file when you do this activity and NOT this example inyour study guide. When you get consent from your household, use the copy that is includedin your portfolio file.USE INSTRUMENT 2.3 Household visit and household consent (English or otherlanguage)The note taker should record on the list while you are interviewing you households.

Note: Don’t forget to put the completed evidence sheets 2.3 and add into your portfolio file asevidence! This will involve analysis of certain questions and recording for a food securityprofile of each household.Make a note of the households ten households you can use for focus groups and groupsinterviews. The households you will use for the case studies and household visits can beidentified for intensive work in the community for your portfolio activities of the wholeprogramme.Make AN APPOINTMENT FOR A NEXT VISIT. Make an appointment with the households forPortfolio Activity 2.4. You can organize a focus group if you are used to work with groups orhouseholds visits if you are used to work with individual households with their members. Useyour own discretion and ask assistance from the promoter.Portfolio Activity 2.3 Household food security assessment and coping strategiesComplete the following semi-structured interview schedule questionnaire with the household.The purpose of the questionnaire is to have a brief profile of the household for each visit and totrack progress of the household through the programme.Aim: Gather information on household food security and coping strategies for assessment ofthe households present situation.Time: This should not take more than an hour. Make sure an appointment has been made withthe households.What you must doInstruction1. Make an appointment with ten households for an interview – you have to submit informationon a minimum of five households for your portfolio and building a profile of households.2. Obtain informed consent from the male or female head (or de jure) of household for theinterview. The words de jure means the responsible household member in absence of thehead of household Conduct an interview using a semi-structured interview schedule.3 Request permission to interview the person mainly and usually responsible for foodprovision and preparation.3. Calculate the results for each rapid score using the instructions given in the Methods andinstrument guide.

4. Report the results as household visit reports to use when you visit the household again. Donot reveal the scores, but do give them an indication of their vulnerability.5. Submit the results sheet and evidence with your portfolio. Submit the completed semistructuredinterview schedules to the HFS office via the promoter at the end whensubmitting the portfolio.Plan1. The semi-structured interview schedule consists of different questions. These questionseach focus on specific information necessary to assess household food security and copingstrategies.2 During the discussion of the semi--structured interview schedule explanations will be giventhe information gathering procedure for the question and analysis in the Methods andinstrument guide. The reporting will be submitted in Portfolio activity 2.6.Evidence sheet for Portfolio Activity 2.3 (Household food security assessmentand coping strategies )Use the evidence sheet in the portfolio file when you do this activity and NOT this example inyour study guide. Use the copy of the instrument or semi-structured interview schedule in yourportfolio activity sheets and calculate the information you need. Submit the evidence sheetswith your portfolio and start to complete the household visit report Portfolio activity 2.6.USE INSTRUMENT 2.2 Household food security assessment and coping strategiesThe instrument gather information by questions on the following: Compare instrumentQuestion 1Question 2Question 3Question 4Question 5Household composition living and eating in this householdHousehold history and social capitalHousehold Diet Diversity Score and Food Variety ScoreCoping Strategy IndexSources for acquiring foodThe information gathered is confidential. Ask the household head for permission and interviewthe person usually responsible for food decisions and preparation. The household food securityassessment scores will give a qualitative indication the household food security status and foodaccess and whether intervention is needed. You only report on the scores as on the evidencesheet to identify whether the household may have a problem with food security and will be oneof your group of households. Under no circumstance reveal the scores to the household or anyother household, except for Portfolio Activities to be submitted as evidence and send to the HFS

office for information on progress. These scores are ONLY for the purpose of the learningprocesses and monitoring of this programme.This is NOT a nutritional status analysis and you cannot give advice on diets forhousehold members with medical or clinical conditions. These households should visit theclinic. If you are in way concerned about the nutritional status of a child or family member it isyour task to in a sensitive manner encouraged the caregiver to visit the clinic.Please note that not some questions refer to the instruction to observe, eg the physical asset list(LSM instrument) observe and tick down the “truly owned” items by asking probing questions.What else do you have that uses electricity? Or equipment used for relaxation, to listen tomusic, news, and communicate? Do not embarrass poor households owning little.Note: Don’t forget to put the completed evidence sheets into your portfolio file as evidence!Make AN APPOINTMENT FOR A NEXT VISIT. Make an appointment with the household.Activity 2.3 should be discussed with a household visit and with household members.4.4.2 AnalysisThe programme do not expect you to do the analysis of all the information. The evidence sheetswill indicate the specific information gathered by rapid assessment you have to analyse andreport on for action by households. In the role of household food security facilitator you shouldbe good in gathering valid and reliable information and do rapid analysis for the situation athand.You will submit all the semi-structured interview schedules to the promoter with your portfolioevidence sheets. The analysis of the research will be done by a household food securityconsultant or researcher. The results will be available to the community worker as part of a HFSprogramme monitoring report. This will enable a broader knowledge base on the householdfood security situation in a community and not for specific households.Portfolio Activity 2.4: Household resource map and physical assetsComplete the following household resource map, checklist with probing questions and list ofphysical assets mainly through observation.The purpose of the informal probing questions and questionnaire is to have a brief profile of thehousehold’s resources and physical assets. The household will need a large 01 flip chart paperand three coloured pens.

Aim: Gather information on household resource map and physical assets for assessment ofthe households present situation.Time: This should not take more than two hours. Make sure an appointment has been madewith the households.What you must do1. The household will need a large 01 flip chart paper and three coloured pens.2. The household draw a household map indicating the FOUR CORNERS of the household,the borders within which the household could function, it could well be fenced or only partlyfenced.3. Give the household instructions to draw the position of the household / homestead buildings,open food preparation area, food storage area, as well as building material, windows androof for each.4. Ask the household to indicate or not indicate ask question or observe any of the followingand tick on list:5. Give instruction to draw the water source running water tap in or outside house, the waterstorage containers, the dish washing, bathing and clothing washing area, woodlots,electricity or other energy sources.6. Assets: refrigerator, deep freezer, one cell phone, or more cell phones, washing machine,vacuum cleaner, radio, TV set, home centre, motor vehicle, electricity, running water, toilet(kind).7. Garden area (used or unused), any plants of importance, animal houses/kraal, feedingareas, fodder storage. Any other means of transport people or goods.8. Most household will be limited in what is present, observe when visiting household, or ask towrite or draw picture on flip chart.9. Make a copy of the household drawing on an A4 sheet for your portfolio and complete thechecklist in the portfolio activity sheet. The household keep the flipchart sheet of theirhousehold drawing. (You or they can take photos).Evidence sheet for Portfolio Activity 2.4 (Household map and assets)This evidence sheet is ONLY an example. You have to complete the evidence sheet forPortfolio Activity 2.4. See Unit 3 for examples.USE INSTRUMENT 2.4 Household plan – helicopter plan and probing questionsDo not forget to use a legend indicating information with text or symbols /drawings

Note: Don’t forget to put the completed evidence sheets into your portfolio file as evidence!Make AN APPOINTMENT FOR A NEXT VISIT. Make an appointment with the household.Activity 2.5 should be discussed with a household visit and with household members4.4.3 ActionWith the information gathered you have moved through the stages of assessment and analysis.The household and you should have enough information to make a start on identifying thedirection, vision, to take and the activities for what the households want to achieve in terms offood security and nutrition. This plan will determine a number of household’s interests. Selectthose that link with food security and relevant resources to achieve household food security. Itwill also be a tool for discussion, guidance on the household’s interests, motivation andcontinuous updating throughout the programme as they discover what works for them andimproves food access, health and wealth.Portfolio Activity 2.5 Household visioning and household plan for the futureUse the completed map and suggested activities for the future. Ask the household to dream andthink about what it is they want the household to achieve. They can write a vision and thensome smaller objectives / activities to achieve towards the vision. Remind the household that itdo take time, work and patience to build a household to achieve its vision. At this stage you canask the households to freely dream on the difference that could be made or they could make tothe households food and life improvement. If the household is discouraged on this enormoustask that lies ahead without much resources and income, let them think about their own talents,knowledge or indigenous knowledge, skills and gifts that could be used to make a differenceand those of family members.Aim: Gather information on household resource map and physical assets for assessment ofthe household’s present situation.Time: This should not take more than two hours. Make sure an appointment has been madewith the households.What you must do1. Go on to the next step2. Based on the results reported back give the household time to consider changes orimprovements they can make with what they have, the little money they have as householdor working with the care group and share such as seeds, manure, small plants, etc.

3. Ask the household to use another pen with another colour pen and make indicate resourcesthey can use or change in their yard to make this possible.4. Hopefully it will be an objective to at least provide for Vitamin A and Mineral rich foods tocombat hidden hunger and malnutrition.5. Allow the household member or the household members to think and consult each other onwhat plans they can make to have more food, available, access and food in the house toprepare by storage or drying, etc.6. Ask the household to envisaged changes and new developments they would like to see infive years time to their household and household yard to improve food security, nutrition andtheir livelihood. Let them draw this into the map and make an activity list for the nextportfolio activity.7. If you have done this activity in a focus group, make an appointment the possible solutionsfor changes. As you continue working with the household through this Portfolio activity thisplan will take more shape. In Module 3 they will learn which decisions will be best or tomake changes for more successful activities.8. The household use the above information to draw and add to the draft plan. Let thehousehold write down the activity, what they have and what they will need, who will beresponsible and by when could it be done.9. The household need to discuss the implications on labour, time, water, money and otherresources and how it will be shared between household members.10. The household can as in Unit 3 discuss for the future a time schedule for tasks allocated, awatering schedule, a planting schedule to ensure a variety of vegetables availablethroughout the growing season.11. Even if the household have other income generation activities this must be allowed in theschedules and how money will be allocated to improved food access by only plat vitaminrich vegetables and or buying more nutritious foods.Evidence sheet for Portfolio Activity 2.5 (Household visioning andplan for the future)This evidence sheet is ONLY an example. You have to complete the evidence sheet forPortfolio Activity 2.5Household planUSE INSTRUEMNT 2.5 Household plan for the futureNote: Don’t forget to put the completed evidence sheets into your portfolio file as evidence

Portfolio Activity 2.6 Household profile and visit report.Keep a household visit report (sheets) for every household you visit and gather information toassess progress using the proxy instruments. The information you gathered with this round isreferred to as baseline information and you will assess this information again after Module 4 andafter Module 6.Aim: Assess and analyse information gathered in the previous four activities to complete ahousehold visit report.Time: This should not take more than two hours.What you must do1. Summarise the important information requested by the household visit report sheet.2. Complete the questions briefly and to the point to ensure you have baseline information totrack and monitor the household’s progress in terms of household food security.3. Complete the SMS sheet, send the SMS and add as evidence to the portfolio.4. Make sure your 10 questionnaires are coded and completed properly and submit to thepromoter.Evidence sheet for Portfolio Activity 2.6 ( Household visit sheet card )This evidence sheet is ONLY an example. You have to complete the evidence sheet forPortfolio Activity 2.5.Write a sheet for the household visitSummarise the relevant information from the instruments on the complete the SMS sheetsfor the households. Attached one sheet to your portfolio and SMS the information to the HFSOffice. Remember to complete the coding on the sheets.Send an SMS with results to 0828156683 using the format givenNote: Don’t forget to put the completed evidence sheets into your portfolio file as evidence!

ReferencesAsset-based Community Development Institute. 2005. A Community Building Workbook.Section III: Helpful tools connecting assets. Sample – Capacity inventory.Bartle, P. 1986. The four key questions in management and planning. Managementtraining. Website unknown.Carter, I. Mobilising the Community. A PILLARS Guide. Tearfund.http://tilz.tearfund.org/webdocs/Tilz/PILLARS/English/PILLARS%20Mobilising%20the%20community_E.pdfCatley, A.; Burns, J.; Abebe, D.; and Suji, O. 2007. Participatory Impact Assessment: AGuide for Practitioners. Feinstein International Centre. Tufts University, Medford.http://www.scribd.com/doc/15436957/Participatory-Impact-Assessment-a-Guide-for-PractitionersChambers, R. 1992. Rural Appraisal: Rapid, Relaxed and Participatory. Discussion PaperNo 311. IDS, University of Sussex.EC/FAO and FANTA. 2008. Guidelines for measuring household food security andindividual diet diversity. Version 4. Italy:Rome.FAO. 2009. Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Use Guide, Version 1.0. TheIPC Central Region and East African Region Project. Nairobi: FAO. 2008. www.ipcinfo.orgFAO. 2008. Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Use Guide, Technical ManaualVersion 1.1. The IPC Global Partners. Rome: FAO. 2008. www.ipcinfo.orgFAO/ILSI. 1997. Preventing Micronutrient Malnutrition. A Guide to Food Based Approaches:A Manual for Policy Makers and Programme Planners. Washington DC. International LifeScience Institute (ILSI).IISD. ….Participatory Research for Sustainable Livelihoods. A guide for field projects onadaptive strategies. www.iisd.org/casl/CASLGuide/GISEx.htm.Martins, J.H. 2006. Housheold Cash Expenditure by Living Standards Measure Group. Jnlod Family Ecology and Consumer Science. Vol.24.Michigan Department of Eductation. 1999. A guide to Home Visits. Early ChildhoodProgrammed. USA: Michigan.

Nutrition Working Group, Child Survival Collaborations and Resources Group (CORE).2002. Positive Deviance / Hearth: A resource Guide for Sustainably RehabilitatingMalnourished Children, Washing ton, D.C. DecemberOldewage-Theron, W.H. and Kruger, R. 2008. Food Variety and Diet Diversity asIndicators of the Diet Adequacy and Health Status of an Elderly Population in Sharpeville,South Africa. Jnl of Nutrition for the Elderly. Vol. 27(1/2), 101-133.Pretty, J. et al. 1995. Participatory Action and Learning: A Trainer’s Guide. IIED.Methodology Series.South African Research Foundation. 2008. Do it yourself LSM Classification. The SAARFAMPS Living Standards Measure (LSM) (Registered Trademarks). Pg 92-99.Steyn, N.P., Nel, J.H, Nantel, G, Kennedy, G and Labadarios, D. 2005. Food variety anddietary diversity scores in children: are they good indicators of dietary adequacy?. PublicHealth Nutirtion: 9(5), 644-650.Technical Guidance Sheet No 8. 2009. Introduction to Qualitative Data and Methods forCollection and Analysis in Food Security Assessments, L. Moriniere, WFP EmergencyNeeds Assessment Service (now Food Analysis Service). February.Technical Guidance Sheet No 9. 2007. Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis for FoodSecurity Assessments, L. Moriniere, WFP Emergency Needs Assessment Service (nowFood Analysis Service). September .Technical Guidance Sheet No 12. 2009. Complementary methods and tools for emergencyfood security assessments (EFSA). WFP Emergency Needs Assessment Service (now FoodAnalysis Service). February.Technical Guidance Sheet No 14. 2009. Strengthening rapid food security and nutritionassessment. (EFSA). WFP Emergency Needs Assessment Service (now Food AnalysisService). February.Wilde, V. 2001. Socio-economic and Gender Analysis. Field level handbook. SEAGAProgramme. FAO.WFP. 2008. Rapid Food Security Assessment of IDPs in Iraq. February. Pg 1-12.WRC project (K5/1575/4). 2009. Final Report: Participatory Development of TrainingMaterial for Agricultural Water Use in Household Farming Systems for Improved Livelihoods.Deliverable 20: Final Report. March. RIENG – Rural Integrat

Annexure A The ten human capabilities1. Life.Being able to live to the end of a human life of normal length; not dying prematurely, or before one’slife is so reduced as to be not worth living.2. Bodily Health.Being able to have good health, including reproductive health; to be adequately nourished; to haveadequate shelter.3. Bodily Integrity.Being able to move freely from place to place; to be secure against violent assault, including sexualassault and domestic violence; having opportunities for sexual satisfaction and for choice in matters ofreproduction.4. Senses, Imagination, and Thought.Being able to use the senses, to imagine, think, and to reason—and to do these things in a “trulyhuman” way, a way informed and cultivated by an adequate education, including, but by no meanslimited to, literacy and basic mathematical and scientific training. Being able to use imagination andthought in connection with experiencing and producing works and events of one’s own choice,religious, literary, musical, and so forth. Being able to use one’s mind in ways protected by guaranteesof freedom of expression with respect to both political and artistic speech, and freedom of religiousexercise. Being able to have pleasurable experiences and to avoid non-beneficial pain.5. Emotions.Being able to have attachments to things and people outside ourselves; to love those who love andcare for us, to grieve at their absence; in general, to love, to grieve, to experience longing, gratitude,and justified anger. Not having one’s emotional development blighted by fear and anxiety. (Supportingthis capability means supporting forms of human association that can be shown to be crucial in theirdevelopment.)6. Practical Reason.Being able to form a conception of the good and to engage in critical reflection about the planning ofone’s life (protection for the liberty of conscience and religious observance.)7. Affiliation.A. Being able to live with and toward others, to recognize and show concern for other human beings,to engage in various forms of social interaction; to be able to imagine the situation of another.(Protecting this capability means protecting institutions that constitute and nourish such forms ofaffiliation, and also protecting the freedom of assembly and political speech.)B. Having the social bases of self-respect and non-humiliation; being able to be treated as a dignifiedbeing whose worth is equal to that of others. This entails provisions of non-discrimination on the basisof race, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, caste, religion, national origin.8. Other Species.Being able to live with concern for and in relation to animals, plants, and the world of nature.9. Play.Being able to laugh, to play, to enjoy recreational activities.10. Control over One’s Environment.A. Political. Being able to participate effectively in political choices that govern one’s life; having theright of political participation and protections of free speech and association.B. Material. Being able to hold property (both land and movable goods), and having property rights onan equal basis with others; having the right to seek employment on an equal basis with others; havingthe freedom from unwarranted search and seizure. In work, being able to work as a human being,exercising practical reason and entering into meaningful relationships of mutual recognition with otherworkers.

Annexure BSome useful internet sources:1. www.arc.agric.za and www.agis.agric.za: These sites host the Agricultural GeographicalInformation System Atlas – useful for all kinds of data such as rainfall, soils, temperature,land use, erosion, crop potential and more.2. www.wrc.org.za: This site hosts many publications related to water and water use inagriculture. You can also go to www.dwaf.gov.za for information on water provision.3. www.beeh.ukzn.ac.za This is the site for the Department of Bio Resource Engineering andEnvironmental Hydrology at the University of KwaZulu Natal, where you can find thefollowing publication: Schulze, R.E. 1997. South African Atlas of Agro hydrology andClimatology. WRC Report NO. TT82/96 or go to www.agriculture.kzntl.gov.za/publications.4. www.sagis.org.za. South African Grain Information Services. This site provides all kinds ofproduction and economic data on grain production in SA.5. www.statssa.gov.za This site provides statistics of all key population indicators for SouthAfrica. It has a lot of detail on many different things for your area, such as size of population,incomes, expenditures, unemployment and so on.6. www.idasa.org.za This site gives a lot of different information on Municipalities and can helpyou find information specific to the district or local municipality you are after.7. www.treasury.gov.za This site provides information on budgets, expenditure and plans for allthe provinces and municipalities in SA. You can also go to the provincial equivalents e.g.www.limtreasury.gov.za for Limpopo, It is possible also to just type in the name of themunicipality when you are searching. You are likely to find their IDPs there and other usefuldevelopment information or go to www.dlgta.gov.zaInternationally there is an incredible amount of information. You can start with the followingtwo very useful links:1. www.fao.org: This is the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations whichpublishes a lot of information and statistics regarding agriculture in many different countries.See also www.faostat.fao.org2. www.ileia.org This is the site of the Centre for Information on Low External Input andSustainable Agriculture and has a wide range of agricultural information for the 3 rd world.

Annexure C The units of analysis as used in the different approachesUnit of analysis Endogenuous initiative Exogenuous initiative Collective initiativeName of approach Process approach Directive approach In-directive approach Integrated approachPrimary focus Own initiative Stakeholders or outside agenttakes initiativeRelationship with society (Personaland social relationships)Objectives(Aimed at change)The development of people insociological defined communities.It is a micro-level approachfocusing on human potential andcannot be applied as a nationalstrategy.Process orientated objectives areprimary and attained by means ofthe community setting taskorientated objectives.Orientation (Identification of needs) Self-identified needs to beaddressed by participating in theprocess.Principles(Self-directed goals)Type of action(Nature of activities)The community is allowedmaximum freedom and selfdeterminationto gain self-reliance.These democratic principles meantaking full responsibility for theirown future.The community helps themselvesthrough participation andcooperation in all the phases of theprocess. Activities are of a cyclicalnature, also known as the learningprocess.The integration of geographicaldefined communities into anational development programmefocussing on social, economic, andphysical development.Task orientated objectives areprimary and process orientatedobjectives are secondary.Problem-orientated focus on needsidentified by outside person orinstitution.The community is given theopportunity to accept responsibilityby means of manipulation or evenforce, radicalism and violence inextreme situations. The emphasisis on power.The community is manipulatedfrom outside to participate incertain activities of the agent.Activities are usually of atechnical nature, also known astechnical assistance.Motivated by agent to takeinitiative in own communityThe development of the humanpotential of a socially definedcommunity by means of acommunity-based programme withthe help of material resources.Process orientated objectives areprimary and the task orientatedobjectives are secondary.Need (growth) orientated focus onneeds identified by the community.The community is given theopportunity to accept responsibilityby means of allowed (motivated)freedom of choice to gain in selfsufficiencyand self-reliance. Theemphasis is on participation andcooperation.The community is stimulated fromoutside to participate andcooperate in activities of theprocess. Activities are usually of aneed-orientated (process)nature, also known as self-help.Collective initiative by allparticipants (community plusfacilitator).The development of communitiesby improving social, economic,physical and cultural conditions byrendering support.Process orientated objectives forthe facilitator are primary. Taskorientated objectives are primaryfor the community.Integration of need (growth) andproblem orientated focus bycommunity and facilitator oncommunity needs to ensureongoing developmentFlexibility in mutual interaction(collective) by all parties involvedleads to empowerment. It involvespower, freedom of choice andtaking responsibility for owndevelopment. The emphasis is onempowerment through activeparticipation by all parties in thedemocratic process.The community and the facilitatorcollectively participate andcooperate in activities of thecommunity in all phases of thelearning process stages. Activitiesare of a problem-solving nature,also known as integration.

Role of the community The community is self-guided andperpetuate the process accordingto their own preferences.Implicates an opportunity for thecommunity to participate inactivities of the process that mightlead to improvement. The role ofthe community is passive.Role of the communitydevelopment workerRole of the stakeholders:government, NGO’s private sector.The community developmentworker is rather distinct, in theoryno role is assigned. Furthermore,the role is said to be contradictoryin that a measure of externalassistance is allowed, also referredto as non-directive.The community is responsible towork out their own strategy distinctfrom directed programmesstakeholders or outside.The role of the communitydevelopment worker is directiveand he/she plays a main role tointroduce specific changes bytaking decisions on what he/ shethinks is best for the community.The role involves increasingpressure to increase the tempo ofthe process to satisfystakeholders.The stakeholders: government andrelevant institutions have a primaryrole in that all community actions(task orientated) should becomeintegrated into nationalprogrammes.Target group(People in community)Process aimed at smallestidentifiable group with the sameinterests, e.g. action group.A community is usually definedgeographical on local, regional andnational level.Contributors to the content of theframework of approachesSwanepoelKotze and SwanepoelDu PreezCoetzer The community is motivated toparticipate in the process,specifically need identification, andthereby in their own activities intheir own way.The role is in-directive and theemphasis is on the community tohelp them to make decisions, toverbalize their needs and toprovide opportunities to takeinitiative. The community isallowed to determine their owntempo.The community tend not to act toneeds identified by stakeholders oroutside agencies whereprogramming takes place at anational level. The community tendto act to local issues on a microlevel.A community is usually definedsocially as a group of people withthe same interests and whoidentify themselves as acommunity to act together.Kotze and SwanepoelLombard, Weyers and SchoemanThe attempts of the people and thefacilitator are united. Thecommunity is on the foregroundand acts in its own activities whilethe facilitator intervenes ifnecessary to facilitate support.The community developmentworker work in-directive, at timesmore directive to stimulate theprocess, but always collectivelyand in cooperation with thecommunity.The community is the unit of actionto collectively act in cooperationwith stakeholders or outsideagencies that create anenvironment for development incommunities. This mutualinteraction build capacity that willcontribute to national development,e.g. RDP.A community is usually definedgeographically and socially in thatit involves groups of people, in thesame locality and with the sameinterests that develop collectiveendeavour and collectiveresponsibility for the success of thecommunity.Coetzee

Annexure DCase study: Potshini learning workshopWorkshopthemeContentProcesscommentsNotesWorkshop 2:Seedling production(14/07/2006)1. Discussion on soilsusing bottle tests2. Discussion on waysto prevent frostdamage; includingaspect, slope ofgarden, use of lowstone walls to trapheat…3. Preparation of atrench bed4. Preparation of aseedbed tilth on thetrench5. Planting of carrotand beetroot seed6. Distribution of smallamounts of carrot andbeetroot seed amonggroup members* The discussionon soils was abit difficult;many groupmembers areyoung peoplewho haveseemingly neverthought aboutthis – they couldnot distinguishbetween sandand clay or thedifferent soils inthe area* Trench andseedbedpreparationwent well* Interestingpoints wereraised aboutfrost controlPlanting of beetroot seed inprepared seedbedFurther training needs:- More on soils, types,characteristics, identification andmanagement

WorkshopthemeContentProcesscommentsNotesWorkshop 3:Fertility(28/07/2006)1. Review of progresswith seeds, seedbedsand a look atSizakele’s garden (shewas the host memberfor this trainingsession)2. Water splash,infiltration and organicmatter demonstration3. Demonstration ofproduction of liquidmanure and provisionof orange sacks andsome manure to allmembers present4. Discussion onmanagement ofgarden beds and kraalmanure5. Input on householdexperimentation, andthen each memberdesigned their owngarden experiments* The organicmatter andwater splashdemonstrationwas veryeffective inbringing acrossthe issues of soildepth and theamount of waterheld by organicmatter.* Liquid manuredemonstrationwas alsoeffective.*Experimentationhandouts inisiZulu wereprovided –people generallyfound them hardto follow and alot ofexplanationwere required.They worked insmall groups todesignexperimentsDemonstration of making of liquidmanureFurther training needs:- A tight follow-up onexperimentation will be required- Re-emphasise importance ofmulching- No requests from members

WorkshopthemeContentProcesscommentsNotesWorkshop 5:Pest and disease management(28/09/2006)1. Input on the use offertilizers byDepartment ofAgriculture extensionofficer2. Follow up onexperimentation andprogress3. Inputs (withhandouts):- natural predators andgarden friends- windbreaks- different homeremedies for commonpests4. Demonstration ofchilli, garlic, soapmixtures for pestcontrol.5. Demonstration ofmaking fruit fly trapfrom 2l coke bottle andmaking up a fermentedmixture with orangesand sugar.6. Supply of smallamounts of thefollowing to members:Napier fodder,rosemary and rosegeranium cuttings,garlic cloves forplanting, soap, chillies,oranges, bottles, toiletrolls for cutworm.1. The input bythe extensionofficer wasmeant as a wayto compareorganic vs.inorganicgardening. Hisinput howeverfocussed on thetechnicalities offertilizing maize.2. A picture withgarden friendswas providedand memberswere asked toidentify andname all andthen describewhat they do –this was a goodexercise andwasrememberedlong after.3. Thisworkshop had alot of differentinputs, coveredin a bit of a rushand it wassuggested byco-facilitatorsthat we“unbundled” it infuture.Picture of predators and gardenfriends used in the exercise.- It was found that the cuttingsprovided did not survive; shouldrather provide plants in futureNapier has grown well in mostgardens – but now must bepropagated and planted aswindbreaks- Fruit fly traps were forgotten bymost by the time summer arrived;they should be discussed again inthe right seasonFuture training needs:- Still need to cover the aspect ofdiseases, have only dealt withpests

WorkshopthemeContentProcesscommentsNotesWorkshop 6:Garden layout and design(11/10/2006)1.Report back onexperimentation2. Group exercise inwater flow in thehousehold (withhandouts ofMatshepo’s system)3.Measuring contourswith A-frames and linelevels4.Exercise for makingditches for waterharvesting in thegardenThe water flowexercise workedwell as did usingphotos ofMatshepo’ssystem; highschool studentshad joined us forthe day andadded manyinsightsTrying tomeasurecontours in thegarden werevery confusingfor all – (wemuddled theconcepts ofstraight andlevel) and wasabandonedGetting peopleto dig ditches inthe garden andthe whole groupto discuss,worked wellOne member digging while beinginstructed, corrected, and generally“made suggestions to” by the restof the learning group (standingoutside, as the garden is so small)Future learning:- Need a different context and wayto introduce contours and levels.- Also, digging ditches really needsto happen for each individual withadvice and support… so homevisits are essential.

WorkshopthemeContentProcesscommentsNotesWorkshop 7:Irrigation workshop(25/10/2006)1. Review of progressto date2. Demonstrations oftreadle pump and handvalve pump to extractof water fromunderground storage3. Demonstration ofwetting circles in dripkit area; for discussionon where water goesunder the soil4. Discussion andanalysis of irrigationpractices5. Demonstration ofhow to build a towergarden- Large interestin treadlepumps; butpeople cannotafford to buythem- Irrigationdiscussion wasa bit difficult aspeople do notreally thinkabout whathappens towater in the soil.Certainconcepts wereintroduced, suchas deeperwatering lessoften; deep soilholds morewater; big rootsmean a bigplant. Thisbecame a bit ofa “lecture”.- Looking at thesituation in agarden inpractice anddigging to seewhere it was wetworked better.However, thediscussion tooka while and afew people lostinterest halfway.Practical “look-see” where watergoes in Thabani Dladla’s garden;looked at trenches vs. normalplanting, where there were ditchesetc.Future training needs:- Need to refine how concepts ofsoil moisture are introduced- Find ways that people can gohome and monitor for themselveswhat happens (perhaps give out afew augers to volunteers – for themto report back)- Can one introduce technologiesthat people cannot afford withoutworking on ways to bring suchtechnologies to the area?

WorkshopthemeContent Process comments NotesWorkshop 9:Evaluation and planning(07/02/20071.Evaluation:What wentwell and whatdid not2.Commentson thelearningprocess3. What westill need tolearn4. Plantingcalendar5. Planningfor the future6. Householdgarden visits7. LearningquizzThis evaluation followedon an internal exercisethe learning groupsconducted to thinkthrough what they aregoing to do this year.It flowed nicely as amore in-depth analysis oftheir learning and whatthey still wanted to learn.NOTE: Members weretrying very hardthroughout to persuadethe facilitators to spendanother season doingmore training in thesame way. Theymentioned continuallythat it helps to motivatethem and keep the focusgoing.They also repeatedlystated their wish for morecross visits to otherplaces to learn fromthose people.Home visits to eachlearning group memberwould be appreciated.An initial list wascompiled, to see thosewho facilitators have notyet visited.The quizz worked VERYwell, was fun and gaveus a very good idea ofwhat people knew!!Members appreciated the process ofgoing to peoples’ homes and doingpractical training.Ditches and trench beds, using liquidmanure, planting of fruit trees, newways to grow carrots, planting cropsfrom seed and keeping seed, and pestcontrol were mentioned as havingworked well for them practically.What did not work so well were dripkits, toilet paper roll collars forcutworm, string for scaring birds, andsome fruit trees did not grow.Future learning needs from the group:A comparison between organic andconventional methodsEnglish literacyComputer trainingKeeping traditional chickensDealing with blight on tomatoesHow to write funding proposalsUse of fertilizers and pesticides ingardensMostly members were now alsowanting “things”, mentioning itemssuch as fencing, the undergroundtanks, tools, materials for towergardens, seed and seedlings.

college ofagriculture andenvironmental sciencesCollege of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, c/o Christian De Wet and Pioneer Avenue, FloridaPrivate Bag x 6, Florida, 1710, South AfricaTelephone: +27 11 471 2259 / 3092, Facsimile: +27 11 471 3867