The World Bank Participation Sourcebook

World Bank, 1996, The World Bank Participation Sourcebook, published by World Bank
This is a very useful resource that reflects on the issue of participatory development using numerous practical examples of development programs implemented worldwide with support from the World Bank. Because of its structure, the guide not only introduces a number of important factors influencing [...]

Incorporating gender into your NGO

N. Wassenaar, 2006. Incorporating gender into your NGO, Networklearning.
The fact that gender is a very common term with an unclear meaning is the first issue highlighted in this manual, which provides background information on the meaning of the term and guidelines on how to engender a non-government organisation. The manual is relatively short (31 pages), [...]

Indian Travellers Tale 2: From ‘rags’ to respect

In the streets of any large city in India you will see small groups of women (and sometimes children) around garbage skips, going through them and collecting scraps of paper, tin, plastic, and cloth. These are the ‘rag pickers’, and in India’s pervasive caste system they sit fairly close to the bottom rung. They are a sub-group of Dalits (once known as sudra or untouchables) and are generally marginalised in society, kept to the most menial and unpleasant tasks.

But a remarkable thing has happened with the ragpickers of the city of Pune in Western India: the ragpickers are now a central part of the city’s new waste management system, and had a critical hand in its design. But let us go back to the beginning. Twenty years ago, a couple of people from the SNDT Women’s University in Pune started an ILO-supported project to provide adult literacy to the city’s ragpickers. Very early on, the ragpickers made it clear to them that it was not literacy they wanted but respect and the opportunity to have a safe work environment free from harassment from the police and city government officials. Thus Kagad Kach Patra Kashtakari Panchayat (KKPKP) was formed: the Pune Ragpickers’ Union.

A community-based approach in UNHCR operations

A community-based approach in UNHCR operations, UNHCR, 2008.
This manual is specifically written for UNHCR staff, but it contains much practical examples and know-how tips that are very likely to be of use also for other practitioners willing to develop their capacities to implement aid interventions with a community-based approach. After discussing the significant relevance of [...]