DIMAPUR — The community development forum of North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR), Chümoukedima, organised a training programme on Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) on Thursday.
According to a press release, the initiative was part of NEISSR’s commitment to enhance the practical skills of its students in the field of community development, particularly in rural settings.
The resource person for the event, Mark Lanthau, programme manager of the SBI Gram Saksham Project under AIDA, Dimapur, began the training by providing a detailed theoretical input on various PRA tools.
He explained that PRA is a set of participatory and analytical tools designed to help local communities analyse their own situations and take charge of their development processes.
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The key tools discussed included social mapping, resource mapping, and seasonal calendars etc., each of which plays a critical role in identifying community assets and challenges.
Following the theoretical input, the participants were divided into 11 groups to put their learning into practice. Each group was tasked with creating social and resource maps based on hypothetical rural communities.
This hands-on activity allowed the participants to engage directly with the PRA tools and to explore the nuances of facilitating participatory processes, the update stated.
The session was moderated by Noknyam, a first-semester MSW student. Earlier, the programme began with a welcome note from Alongba, MSW Sem-I student, who spoke on behalf of the community development forum.
The training programme concluded with vote of thanks by Savino, who expressed gratitude to Mark Lanthau for sharing his expertise and to the community development forum for organising the event.