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The first version of this guide was drafted on the basis of discussions at a workshop in Nairobi (September 1994) organized for the purpose, to assist implementation of IISD's project on adaptive strategies for sustainable livelihoods in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). Originally conceived purely as a guide to participatory research techniques for the IISD project, it became clear that the needs of project staff were not so much for a tools manual as for a guide that would help them apply an abstract set of concepts in a concrete field situation and guide the fieldwork design and implementation. There are many sources of information on participatory research techniques in general, and most participants had some skills and experience, but there was little help on how to apply them in practice to the concerns of this project. By the time a second workshop was held in South Africa (March 1995), community and policy studies had been drafted in relation to nine sites in five countries, although the Kenya field study was not available for circulation. We were thus able, in the course of other tasks, to share ideas and experiences about the conduct of the project. The first version of the guide had served its initial purpose, and it was agreed that it would now be useful to incorporate the insights, experiences and lessons learned from the project in order to promote similar projects elsewhere, and to share these with a wider community. This would serve both to extend the understanding of the concepts of adaptive strategies, and to strengthen the policy recommendations. This revised version has benefited from the submission of updated materials from project participants.
J. K. Rennie
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