Report on Field Study

by

Nguyen Vu Khoi and Lindsay Anne Ratcliffe

CARE International in Vietnam

January - May 1997

On behalf of:

Deutsche Gesellschaft für

Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH and

Mekong River Commission Secretariat

Contents

Final Report on the Initial PRA Exercises

in 9 Pilot Hamlets in Dak Phoi and

Krong No Communes, Lak District,

Dak Lak Province

Executive Summary 1

1. PRA Exercise in Buon Dung, Buon Jie Yuk and Neig hbouring Hamlets 2

1.1. Methods and Tools 2

1.2. Reflection on Methodology 4

1.3. Findings 9

2. Priority Areas as Perceived by the Target Groups 24

3. Recommendations from the First & Second PRA Miss ions in Buon Dung, Buon Jie Yuk and Neighbouring Hamlets, Dak Phoi Commune

26

3.1. Priority Sectors 26

3.2. Proposed Strategies 27

3.3. Follow on PRA Steps (Concentrating on Agreed Priority Sectors) 28

3.4. Formation of Community Development Groups 34

4. PRA Exercise in Site 3, Buon Ba Yang, Krong No C ommune 36

4.1. Methods and Tools 36

4.2. Reflection on Methodology 36

4.3. Findings 38

Page 1 of 40

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF DIAGRAMS

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 - Terms of Reference

Appendix 2 - PRA Programme

Appendix 3 - PRA Team Members

ABBREVIATIONS

5. Priority Areas as Perceived by the Target Group (Buon Ba Yang) 48

6. PRA Exercise in Site 3, Buon Lac Dong, Krong No Commune 52

6.1. Methods and Tools 52

6.2. Reflection on Methodology 53

6.3. Findings 53

7. Recommendations from the PRAs in Ba Yang and Lac Dong Hamlets, Krong No Commune

67

7.1. Proposed Strategies 67

7.2. Follow on PRA Steps (Concentrating on Agreed Priority Sectors) 67

8. Proposal for Future Cooperation between CARE and the Project 73

Table 1. Site Classification

Table 2. Evaluation of PRA Tools Employed With Target Groups at Project Pilot Site

Table 3. No. of Households per Hamlet

Table 4. Distribution of Rice Mills, Water Pumps and Tractor in Target Area Two

Table 5. Women's Daily Timetable

Table 6. Men's Daily Timetable

Table 7. Women’s Problem Ranking Matrix - Buon Dung, Buon Nam and Buon T’Long

Table 8. Problems, Causes and Opportunities in Ba Yang Hamlet (Men's Focus Group)

Table 9. Problem Ranking in Ba Yang Hamlet (Men's Focus Group)

Table 10. Problem Ranking in Ba Yang Hamlet (Women's Focus Group)

Table 11. Men's Agricultural Calendar - Lac Dong Hamlet

Table 12. Women's Agricultural Calendar - Lac Dong Hamlet

Table 13. Training Programme Proposal

Diagram 1. Women’s Focus Group Institutional Diagram

Diagram 2. Men’s Focus Group Institutional Diagram

Diagram 3. Krong No Commune Organisation Flowchart

Diagram 4. Women's Community Map - Ba Yang Hamlet

Diagram 5. Men's Community Map - Ba Yang Hamlet

Diagram 6. Men's Community Map - Lac Dong Hamlet

Diagram 7. Women's Community Map - Lac Dong Hamlet

Diagram 8. Men's Resource Map - Lac Dong Hamlet

Diagram 9. Transect Walk - Lac Dong Hamlet

ARDO Agriculture and Rural Development Office (District level)

BFP Bank for the Poor

BMT Buon Ma Thuot

CAEV/s Community Agricultural Extension Volunteer/s

CDG/s Community Development Group/s

CDP/s Community Development Plan/s

Page 2 of 40

Executive Summary

The "Sustainable Management of Resources in the Lower Mekong Basin" (SMRLMB) Project is a technical cooperation project between The Mekong River Commission Secretariat (MRC) and the Federal Republic of Germany. The German Agency For Technical Cooperation (GTZ) is implementing the Project on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Project is being implemented in the four riparian countries (Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia) and became operational on 1 December 1995.

The Objective of Phase I of the Project (2 years), as set out in the "Project Outline" document, dated October 1996, is that "appropriate participatory approaches for the sustainable management and rehabilitation of watersheds are identified, adjusted to specific physical and socio-economic conditions of the Lower Mekong Basin and their application is initiated in selected pilot areas."

The Project has selected Dak Phoi and Krong No Communes, Lak District, Dak Lak Province as it's pilot site in Vietnam. In January 1997, CARE International in Vietnam was contracted by GTZ to conduct a participatory situation and problem analysis in Buon Dung and Buon Jie Yuk and neighbouring hamlets in Dak Phoi Commune (Pilot sites 1 and 2) in cooperation with target groups, project staff and relevant government staff in Dak Phoi Commune.

A two member PRA team from CARE worked together with SMRLMB Project staff and staff of the District Agriculture and Rural Development Office (ARDO) to form a larger PRA team over a period of 6 days to carry out a preliminary PRA analysis in 7 hamlets of Dak Phoi Commune (Sites 1 and 2). The team received the invaluable support and assistance of Dak Phoi Commune People's Committee (DPCPC) during the entire time spent at the pilot site.

Following this initial PRA in sites 1 and 2, CARE was then contracted by the Project to carry out a participatory situation and problem analysis in Pilot Site 3 (Ba Yang and Lac Dong Hamlets, Krong No Commune, Lak District). These PRAs were carried out separately in the two hamlets during April 1997.

The same two member PRA team from CARE once again worked together with SMRLMB Project staff and a staff member from Lak ARDO to carry out the PRAs in Site 3. During this time, the team worked in full cooperation with the Krong No Commune People's Committee who assisted with facilitation and translation when required.

This report aims to present the findings from the initial PRAs carried out in 9 pilot hamlets. It should be stressed, however, that the findings presented here are by no means definitive of the actual situation in the pilot sites but should rather serve as a preliminary introduction to the general conditions of the communities involved in the PRAs. The time allocated for these PRAs, one to three days per site, only really allowed the PRA team to develop a relatively superficial overview of these communities and the issues affecting them on a daily basis. Ideally, the PRA process is one that needs to be ongoing as the Project and the communities learn more about one another and a solid relationship develops.

For the purposes of this report, as well as for overall Project coordination, the target hamlets are classified into three separate groups according to geographical location and forest land classification as follows :

DARD Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (Provincial level)

DPCPC Dak Phoi Commune People's Committee

DWU District Women's Union

FSTAC Forest Science and Technology Application Centre

GoV Government of Vietnam

GTZ German Agency For Technical Cooperation

IWP/s Improved Woodstove Programme/s

KNCPC Krong No Commune People's Committee

KNCWU Krong No Commune Women's Union

LDPC Lak District People's Committee

LTAEAs Long Term Agricultural Extension Activities

M & E Monitoring and Evaluation

MRC Mekong River Commission Secretariat

NRM Natural Resource Management

NTFP/s Non Timber Forest Product/s

PAEAs Preliminary Agricultural Extension Activities

PRA Provincial Youth Union

SMRLMB Sustainable Management of Resources in the Lower Mekong Basin

Page 3 of 40

Table 1.Site Classification

1. PRA Exercise in Buon Dung, Buon Jie Yuk and Neighbo uring Hamlets

The Terms of Reference for this PRA exercise clearly states the names of two hamlets (Buon Dung and Buon Jie Yuk) to be included in this participatory situation and problem analysis. The neighbouring hamlets selected by the team for inclusion include Buon T'Long A, Buon Nam, Buon Du Mah, Buon Bu Yuk and Buon Lieng Ke. (Note, spelling of the hamlet names varied between focus groups and the actual spelling may differ to that recorded here). Justification for the inclusion of these additional five hamlets is that all of the hamlets are clustered together in two groups surrounding Buon Dung and Buon Jie Yuk, each group seemingly functioning as a single community and thus making it very difficult to separate out the individual hamlets for participation in the exercise. For the purpose of the PRA, the target community worked with the team as two groups : Group One included participants from Buon Dung, Buon T'Long and Buon Nam Hamlets (Site 1). Group Two included participants from Buon Du Mah, Buon Lieng Ke, Buon Bu Yuk and Buon Jie Yuk (Site 2).

1.1. Methods and Tools

As a part of the preparatory work required for the PRA exercise, the CARE team prepared a guide list of topics to be covered along with a set of proposed PRA tools. During a briefing session with the SRMLMB Project team members before proceeding to the field, these lists were discussed and contributions were invited from all team members. It was emphasised that the lists were to serve only as a guide and that if, at any time during field work, team members felt that a particular tool or topic was either not relevant or inappropriate then this should be discussed and possible alternatives selected.

A working programme for the following six days was also agreed upon during the briefing session (this programme conflicted with pre-arranged appointments which had been made with both the District and Commune People's Committees and this issue is further discussed under 1.2).

The team also discussed the possibility of the inclusion of staff from both the District (two persons) and Commune (four persons) People's Committees along with hamlet leaders (two persons). The CARE team expressed the concern that while it was important to involve these organisations and individuals as a part of the capacity strengthening and awareness raising process, it was also important for PRA teams to maintain as low-key a profile as possible.

Due to the varying degrees of PRA expertise amongst team members, it was agreed that initially the team would work together as a single unit with a community group of both sexes, then split into sub-teams to continue working with focus groups and individuals.

The team met with both Lak District People's Committee (LDPC) and DPCPC before proceeding to the field. These meetings provided opportunities for valuable information exchange between the local authorities and the project and are an essential step in any PRA process, helping to promote the issue of transparency.

The team arrived in Buon T'Long Hamlet to find the villagers gathered together in one longhouse with the women at one end of the building (the rear) and the men at the other (the entrance) where a community meeting organised by DPCPC was in progress. The meeting was held in M'Nong language. The subject of this meeting was the farmers' responsibility for forest protection during the current high fire danger season and also a reminder of government policy on shifting cultivation. Late January to mid-February is the traditional season in these communities for the preparation of upland fields for cultivation. The villagers were reminded that shifting cultivation is no longer permitted by the government and if they did carry out land preparation in their upland fields they would in fact be breaking the law and would be subject to heavy fines.

Community members were required by the hamlet authorities to attend this meeting and, as became apparent at a later stage, also the PRA exercise. (This issue is further discussed in section 1.2.)

It was very useful for the team to observe this meeting for two main reasons. Firstly, it gave the team an insight into how meetings were organised and conducted in the hamlets i.e. quite formal with no two way communication between the speaker and the audience. Secondly, it very clearly demonstrated the traditional gender segregation practiced during community meetings i.e. men and women seated at opposite ends of the longhouse and the male speaker targeting the men.

Once in the field, the importance of flexibility in all stages of the PRA process was immediately emphasised. From observation of the community meeting, it became clear to the team that trying to facilitate equal participation by both men and women in a single group comprising of both sexes would not only be culturally inappropriate but it would also be unlikely that the women would feel free to voice their opinions.

The team therefore decided to split into two sub-teams (each sub-team included one CARE consultant), one to work with the men and one to work with the women. This approach was utilised during the PRA exercise over the next four days.

The sub-teams utilised a number of standard PRA tools including Community Maps, Mobility Maps, Time Lines, Agricultural Calendars, Institutional (Venn) Diagrams, Daily Timetables, Village Walks, Direct Observation, Individual Interviews and Problem Ranking. (For more detailed information regarding PRA tools employed see Table 1.) Some tools were better received by the target groups than others and some proved to be too time consuming, taking up too much of the participants valuable time as well as making it difficult to sustain their interest. The women were very reluctant to physically participate in the diagrammatic exercises. They did, however, express real interest in the various exercises through lively, verbal participation.

All tools were utilised within the framework of semi-structured interviews and it was this combination of techniques which helped to ensure and maintain active participation by the target groups as well as maximising information gathering in the restricted time available.

Direct observation was a vital tool employed in the PRA process used to verify information gathered via the use of other tools. Photographic documentation of both the situation and the PRA process can be utilised during the ongoing monitoring an evaluation of the Project as well as during training.

Regular team meetings and discussions were also an integral and important part of the process. Often these meetings were informal, over lunch or dinner or while traveling to and from the pilot site, but were none the less vital to the PRA process. These discussions provided team members with opportunities to exchange experiences, discuss information gathered and to evaluate the effectiveness of the tools employed and the progress of the PRA process as a whole.

Site No. Forest Land Classification Hamlets

1. Protection Forest 1. Buon Dung

2. Buon T’Long

3. Buon Nam

2. Bare land 1. Buon Lieng Ke

2. Buon Du Mah

3. Buon Bu Yuk

4. Buon Jie Yuk

3. Production Forest 1. Buon Ba Yang

2. Buon Lac Dong

Page 4 of 40

1.2. Reflection on Methodology

The CARE team was unable to review secondary data before proceeding to the field due to the limited time available and in fact, the two existing reports on the project pilot site were not available until half way through the mission. While a review of this information, prior to the PRAs, would have been useful, this did not have an adverse effect on the CARE team's task of commencing a dialogue and information exchange between the target group and the project.

As mentioned above (section 1.1), participation by the target groups in the PRA exercise appears to have been required by the hamlet authorities. A letter from the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) in Buon Me Thuot requesting the presence of the villagers during the exercise had been sent to the Chairman of LDPC who then passed the directive onto DPCPC who were finally responsible for ensuring the target groups' participation.

This of course calls into question the "participatory" value of the whole exercise. The team was assured that without such measures there would be no possibility of meeting with the target groups as they would all be busy with their daily tasks and thus be absent from the hamlets. Knowing that the people were being kept from their work, the team felt pressured to maximise the time available and to keep the PRA sessions as short as possible.

There are several possible options for dealing with similar situations in the future :

1. Compensation ( e.g. daily per diem etc.) 2. Invitation to participate in the PRA exercise, emphasising voluntary involvement rather than a directive emphasising compulsory participation. 3. Additional time allocated to PRAs allowing teams time to visit people at work.

Each of these options need to be discussed at further length by the Project team.

It appears that prior to the PRAs, no real documentation of the initial project implementation process (i.e. making first contact with the communities at the pilot site and preliminary information gathering) had occurred. This procedure was put into place during the course of the PRAs and includes detailed records of hamlet visits which may be used as reference material at a later stage. Documentation of this process is vital to ensure that repetition and time constraints are kept to a minimum and any problems in the process can be identified and dealt with at an early stage.

The CARE consultants were unable to establish exactly how many visits had been made to LDPC, DPCPC and the hamlets by both Project staff and others associated with the project or exactly what information had already been obtained (a report prepared by an agronomy consultant was not yet available).

Discussions held with both LDPC and DPCPC prior to the PRAs, demonstrated that both organisations were unsure of exactly what the project was about and yet appeared committed to working together with the project at the pilot site. Project staff found it necessary to hold several rounds of discussions with both these organisations during the PRAs to facilitate a clearer understanding of the project. This included provision of translations of basic information relating to the project. It would have been very useful for Project staff to host a Project information session for both LDPC and DPCPC and also to provide them with some basic documentation regarding the Project in their area prior to the PRAs to ensure their full understanding of the Project and it's objectives.

At the end of the PRA exercise, several of the participants expressed their concerns that their contribution to the PRA exercise along with all other visits to the hamlets beforehand should guarantee some form of future assistance from the project.

The most important lesson gained from the PRA mission was the importance of preparing a fixed working schedule and maintaining it. Communication between the Provincial, District, Commune and Hamlet centres is hampered by many technical factors and appointments must be made well in advance. On several occasions during the PRA mission, the work programme was adjusted without due consideration being given to other parties involved. As a result, people at District, Commune and Hamlet levels were left waiting, wondering when the PRA team would arrive and consequently doubting the team's commitment. Obviously, this scenario should be avoided at all costs to enable a secure and enduring partnership to develop between all project stakeholders.

Finally, the question of validity, accuracy and reliability of the information obtained arises. As mentioned above, the bulk of the information contained in this report was obtained through utilising a combination of semi-structured interviews and various other PRA tools with target groups. Natural resource management issues in the pilot area are very complex involving many actors, generally poorly understood by outsiders and certainly controversial and deserve additional research by the project. Many of the participants in the PRA exercise are forced by financial hardship to engage in illegal activities (such as shifting cultivation) to ensure their own and their family's' survival. This means that certain topics are quite sensitive and participants may feel threatened by repercussions arising from giving accurate accounts of their activities.

Page 5 of 40

Table 2. Evaluation of PRA Tools Employed With Target Groups at Project Pilot Sites 1 and 2

1.3 Findings

1.3.1. Natural Resource Management Aspects

Tool Target Group

Purpose Effectiveness Comments

Community Maps

Women

Men

Visual summary representation of the hamlets in relation to basic land use systems, resources and public services

Well received

Good starting point for PRA exercise - simple, initiates dialogue

Provided PRA team with efficient overall view of community layout

Women reluctant to draw but enthusiastic.

Successfully combined with Mobility Map with second women's group

Mobility Maps

Women Provided quite accurate information of women's movements, in particular, time and distances involved

Well received

Women reluctant to draw but enthusiastic.

Successfully combined with Community Map with second women's group.

Agricultural Calendars

Women

Men

Provided information on seasonal food shortages, peak labour demands, seed varieties and fertiliser use

Well received

Efficient way to obtain large amount of detailed information

One Woman felt comfortable to draw.

Institutional (Venn) Diagrams

Women

Men

Provided an insight into the different organisations associated with the communities along with the communities' perceptions of these organisations

Highlighted women's lack of knowledge concerning various organisations, their role in the community and services available through them

New concept requiring time to explain purpose and process.

Instrumental to understanding relationships between various organisations and the participants

Not as well received as some other tools

Participants hesitant to comment on government organisations

Project staff team members expressed concern that women did not fully understand this exercise. More likely that women had little knowledge about various organisations

Daily Timetables

Women

Men

Provided an insight into gender issues and the time spent on individual tasks.

Well received

Oral rather than visual

Most useful when able to compare with men's daily timetable

Village Walks

Women

Men

Children

Provided verification of Community Maps

Encouraged participation of additional participants

Enabled direct observation

Raised additional issues

Well received

Effectively combined with informal and semi-structured interviews at peoples homes and in their fields

Some people appeared slightly threatened by presence of team members on their land

Direct Observation

Women

Men

Children

Provided verification of information

obtained

Important tool for PRA teams

Combined with photographic documentation

Permission obtained before taking photos

Photo copies should be returned to the community

Individual Interviews

Women

Men

Provided more specific information

on certain topics

Well received

Enabled teams to interview individuals not participating in focus groups i.e. more disadvantaged individuals

Some people felt more comfortable to speak in private rather than public situation

Problem Ranking

Women Provided opportunity for women to analyse problems which they had identified themselves

Provided team with insight into most important issues facing the women

Well received at first

Women appeared to enjoy analysing issues affecting them

Exercise became too long (i.e. too many issues) and tiring to sustain interest

List of issues should be shortlist to no more than 5 issues before using matrix to avoid loss of interest

Time Lines Men General overview of history of communities, including major changes such as resettlement.

Generally well received

Good opportunity to communicate with community elders

Good tool to use as start up as it demonstrates team's interest in the target group

Target groups felt more comfortable with oral history

Page 6 of 40

There are some very fundamental changes occurring in the traditional natural resource management (NRM) systems practiced by the target communities as the authority of the traditional village leaders is gradually eroded, surrounding population pressure increases and forest protection is more strictly enforced forestry agencies.

Where traditionally the village headman was finally responsible for the community’s management of natural resources (i.e. areas to be fallowed, new forest areas to be cultivated, areas for protection and worship etc.) government agencies such as Lak Forest Enterprise, have now taken over that role.

Here in the pilot area, as elsewhere in Vietnam, land allocation to poor rural households is resulting in the transfer of responsibility for the management of forest and forest lands to local communities. The weakness lies in the fact that this system of land allocation is based largely on forest protection and does not take into consideration the social, economic and production system requirements of the target communities.

Due to increased competition for natural resources and the introduction of tighter forest protection regulations, the target communities have lost their traditional right (as perceived by the communities themselves) to practice their inherited form of agricultural production i.e. shifting cultivation.

Many of the households have formed groups (8 - 10 households per group) to receive surrounding forest and forest land allocations from Lak Forestry Enterprise under long term contracts (20 - 50 years). These allocations vary in size (8 groups in Buon Lieng Ke have obtained a total of 288 ha of natural forest) and the groups receive 40,000 VND \ ha per year to protect these areas and in some cases reafforest them. The households have the right to intercrop in these plantations during the first year after reafforestation.

However, owing to a shortage of suitable alternative land for agricultural production, the target communities feel that they have little other choice than to continue practicing shifting cultivation as an illegal activity to ensure their survival. Many of the people spoken with, explained that they intended to honour their contacts with the Forestry Enterprise by protecting the areas allocated to them. They also explained that this meant that they simply moved further into the natural forest to continue shifting cultivation practices.

So, in fact, rather than effectively halting the loss of forest due to the target groups' traditional farming practices, what the allocation programme is doing is merely masking the issue of forest loss and placing increased burdens on the households as they are forced to travel even greater distances to meet their basic subsistence needs.

Increased competition for natural resources and reduced access to upland fields have meant that the fallow period for these fields has shortened significantly from 20 years down to only 10 years or even less in many cases. Some households spoken to, do not even appear to practice a rotational field use system and simply keep moving onto new fields when the fertility of the present field drops. Most of the households spoken with expressed a similar opinion that returning to cultivate upland fields after a shortened fallow period was extremely difficult due to the secondary bamboo forest growth. According to them, more mature forest (10 - 16 years old), was far easier to clear and produced higher yields.

According to the findings of the GTZ Gender and Participation Consultant, who spent a week in Sites 1 and 2 conducting household surveys during April, the majority of the households cultivate each upland field for only one season before returning it to fallow and moving onto the next field.

The households are dependent on a variety of non timber forest products (NTFP) which they obtain from the forested areas surrounding the hamlets. These NTFP include those which can be sold (e.g. the bark of Litsea sp. used for incense production 200 VND \ kg) and those important for domestic consumption (e.g. wild potato and the leaves of various shrubs and climbers). Different species of bamboo are used for basket weaving and to produce handles for farm tools.

The Imperata cylindrica grasslands are important as a source of thatching material for the households. Annual repairs are required and complete re-thatching takes place every 2 - 3 years.

Fuelwood consumption is high at around 15 - 20 kg \ household \ day (according to some reports as high as 40 kg \ day). Fuelwood collection is primarily done by the women who often have to travel long distances (2-3 km and further) to collect it from their fields and forest edges. Fuelwood is collected in loads and carried in baskets on the women's backs. The team observed women carrying loads in excess of 40 kg and these women reported that in two days time they would have to return to the forest to collect more fuelwood. The fuelwood is used in open fires which burn 24 hours per day during the cooler months for both cooking and heating.

Fuelwood collection is a heavy and time consuming task which takes up a significant amount of the women's time and energy. Experience from other projects in Vietnam has shown that the introduction of improved wood stoves can greatly reduce both the time and energy inputs in fuelwood collection as well as fuelwood consumption.

According to the women, fish stocks in both of the rivers have been seriously depleted by over-fishing and the use of water electrification to catch fish. As a consequence fish is a very minor component of the communities diet.

Another significant change in the hamlets directly related to the changing natural resource management systems is the move away from the traditional Ede style stilted longhouse design for housing. According to the men, forest destruction and reduced access to natural forest has meant that the timber species required for longhouse framework construction (lasting up to 60 years) are no longer freely available. According to Mr. Ama Thom, from the District Agriculture and Rural Development Office, scarcity of suitable timber species for longhouse construction has raised timber prices and meant that many people have no option but to construct ground level houses. According to Mr. Ama Thom, an average stilted longhouse requires 20 m3 of timber for construction. The price of grade three (low grade) Dipterocarpus timber is approximately 1.5 million VND \ m3 and therefore the cost of timber for stilted longhouse construction is approximately 30 million VND.

Households wishing to cut trees to use in housing construction or for any other reason (e.g. support posts for pepper cultivation) must submit an application to Lak Forestry Enterprise.

1.3.2. Land Use Systems

A number of different land use systems were identified by the participants during the PRA. During the short time available, it was not possible to obtain a complete picture of all aspects of land use systems in the target hamlets. The team was also aware that an agricultural and land use survey had been carried out by another consultant and wished to avoid replication of information.

Almost all households have small coffee plantations (average size approximately 0.1 - 0.2 ha) surrounding their houses. Coffee is a relatively new introduction to the area although some older bushes (approximately 10 year old) are present. Most of the trees are young (2 -3 years old) and many are exhibiting signs of water stress and leaf yellowing due to nutrient shortages. Irrigation for coffee is done by hiring a water pump (14,000 - 15,000 VND \ hour) to pump water from the river and irrigation frequency depends on the financial resources of the individual households rather than being based on optimal growth requirements. This applies to fertiliser application as well. The result of course is expected to be low yields (most of the plantations are not yet yielding.

During the wet season, during the first 1 - 2 years after planting, many households intercrop corn, green beans and black beans with the coffee.

In addition to this, many households have also planted fruit trees, such as banana, papaya, jack fruit, mango and tamarind, near their houses. The team did not see any home vegetable gardens and in general, home garden development is very basic.

Wet rice cultivation is limited by a lack of suitable available land and many families have less than 0.1 ha of paddy fields. Rice yields are low at around 1 - 1.5 tons \ ha. Low yields may be attributed to low inputs. Those few households with paddy fields next to the rivers can plant 2 crops per year and others (the majority) away from the river are limited to one crop.

Almost all of the households have upland rice fields located between 5 - 10kms from the hamlets. Cultivation of these fields is illegal, however, due to a lack of alternative suitable land for agricultural production the people are forced to continue this practice.

The first year of cultivation after forest clearing produces the highest rice yields (up to 2 ton \ ha). These yields gradually decline over a period of about 3 years until the villagers leave them fallow and move onto a new area. Traditionally, fallow periods were around 20 years. Now for some households, that period has been reduced to 2 - 3 years and rice yields have reduced accordingly.

Page 7 of 40

Animal husbandry activities are limited. Some households raise pigs which are usually free to roam the hamlets rather than being confined. According to some women, this has serious implications for home garden development.

1.3.3. Demographic Aspects

The Time Line exercises carried out with the men's focus groups provided the team with an insight into the histories of the hamlets and the movements of the communities prior to settling in their current locations.

Thirty years of war has had a significant impact on the settlement of the target hamlets. Some communities were forced to accompany the army and move deep into the forest during the wars (Buon Dung) while others were forced out of the forest after 1975 under the government's resettlement programme (Buon Lieng Ke).

Buon Bu Yuk is a relatively newly established hamlet (established in 1994) and was formed by a group of households from the other three hamlets in Target Group One. These households were originally located down along the river and decided to resettle near the road seeking economic opportunities. This hamlet appears to be the poorest of the 7 hamlets with very basic housing and very little home garden development.

Traditionally the man will live with his wife's family in their hamlet. This inter-hamlet migration was the main migration pattern identified by the participants. The only other obvious pattern was the movement of a small number of ethnic Kinh households into the hamlets to set up small stores selling basic goods to the M'Nong villagers.

The teams spoke with a number of women heads of households but their positions were due to the deaths of their husbands rather than outward migration. There appears to be no trend of out-migration of men to the cities which is often the case in poor rural communities.

More accurate and detailed demographic information should be obtained from DPCPC to ensure that a complete picture of the communities situation is obtained.

Table 3. No. of Households per Hamlet (according to PRA participants)

1.3.4. Economic Aspects

Overall, the main source of food and income for the target groups is from agricultural production. Many of the household production systems operate below subsistence level. Income generation for those households operating above subsistence level is largely through the sale of surplus and cash crops such as rice and coffee.

Additional income generation is through the sale of Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP), working as hired labour, cottage industry activities (such as basket weaving) and participation in the National 327 programme (for some households this is their only source of cash income).

Several of the more comfortable households have invested in water pumps and rice mills and this is their main source of cash income. One household in Buon Jie Yuk has a tractor which they hire out to individuals. (See Table 2.)

Table 4. Distribution of Rice Mills, Water Pumps an d Tractor in Target Area Two

As many of the households have established small coffee plantations there is a great demand for the hire of the water pumps. Water pump hire costs VND 14,000 -15,000 per hour and each plantation requires irrigation at least twice during the 6 month dry season. One hectare of coffee requires at least 26 hours of irrigation per time. (Irrigation inputs in coffee plantations managed by ethnic Kinh households are usually much higher with up to 40 hours of irrigation \ hectare four times during the dry season). Often the households do not have the cash to pay for this service and either the coffee bushes must go without irrigation (many do) or payment must be made in kind e.g. by providing labour (one day’s labouring is equivalent to one hour water pump hire) or as barter i.e. paying in paddy or coffee beans after harvesting.

Several of the households still practice traditional crafts such as basket weaving and black smiting. These are traditionally men's' crafts only passed on from father to sons and thus any income generation from these activities is controlled by the men.

Both of the women's focus groups identified weaving as a traditional women's craft and a potential income source. Traditionally the M'Nong grew cotton which was then spun into thread and woven into sarongs and other garments. Cotton is no longer grown by the target communities and thread is now purchased. Weaving has not been practiced in the communities for many years, however, several of the women elders were skilled in the craft and expressed an interest in its reintroduction. There may be potential to do so if the Project or the communities can identify other M'Nong communities who still practice traditional weaving and these communities can assist with training.

Both the men’s and women’s focus groups identified an annual four month period (July to October, prior to the harvest of upland rice in October) when the communities suffered food shortages. During this time the villagers rely on fruits and vegetables gathered from surrounding areas of natural forest for their survival. A particularly important vegetable during this time is a type of tuber which is used as a substitute for rice. The women expressed concern that they are having to travel further and further from their hamlets in order to harvest these wild fruits and vegetables due to over-exploitation and destruction of natural forest areas close to the hamlets.

Most people spoken to possessed a basic understanding of credit, interest rates and the associated implications for income generation. What was lacking was a clear understanding of what formal credit services were currently available along with knowledge of borrower criteria and how to access these services. Several different types of loans were mentioned, however, even people who had already received loans through government agencies were unsure of exactly from which government or other programme the loans had come. Several people claimed to have obtained loans from DPCPC with amounts ranging from approximately USD 50 to USD 100. The Chairperson of the Commune Women's Union identified five households who had obtained 6 month loans with 1.2% \ month interest rates from the District branch of the Vietnamese Agricultural Bank.

In addition to this, many people expressed a real fear of high interest rates and short repayment periods (usually 6 months). According to the participants, repayment periods on loans to assist with agricultural production must extend beyond 6 months to enable them to repay the loans.

According to the Vice Chairman of LDPC, who is also involved with administration of the Bank for the Poor (BFP) credit programme at the District level, USD 300,000 was made available to approximately 30% of the District population in 1996. The maximum size of loans is approximately USD 180 at 1.2% interest calculated monthly and repayment periods are based on returns from the loan investment. BFP has come under a good deal of criticism due to it's subsidized interest rate which brings the sustainability of the programme into question.

Hamlet Du Mah Lieng Ke Bu Yuk Jie Yuk Dung Nam T'Long A Total

No. of Households 45 33 32 89 63 75 75 412

Hamlet Rice Mill Water Pump Tractor

Buon Jie Yuk 1 2 1

Buon Lieng Ke 3 1 0

Buon Du Mah 1 0 0

Buon Bu Yuk 0 0 0

Page 8 of 40

Recent reports from the government state that credit services available through BFP remain highly under-utilised and that BFP has a surplus of capital available as loans to poor households.

The Women's Union at the District level (DWU) is involved in the identification of suitable applicants for participation in the BFP credit programme. DWU, however, does not actually control the funds and the criteria are unclear.

The DWU manages it’s own savings groups and revolving credit scheme and has considerable expertise in these activities at the commune level. This is dealt with in more detail in the second PRA report in the section dealing with Organisation Profiles.

Informal credit systems exist within the communities in two main forms :

1. Interest free borrowing between households and household members and 2. High interest "buy now pay later" (mua chiu) loans usually in the form of goods and services provided by ethnic Kinh traders in the hamlets.

According to the villagers, they are very dependent on the services provided by these traders despite the reportedly high interest rates.

There is real potential for the Project to combine a community credit awareness programme with training to ensure that the target communities are able to access existing credit services. This could be done in collaboration with the Women's Union at both District and Commune level with training for the Women's Union in business plan development and credit management an integral component. The Chairperson of the Commune Women's Union, Ms. H'Jrai, is from Lieng Ke Hamlet and is an articulate and dynamic woman whose participation (relevant training would be necessary) in such a programme could greatly benefit her community.

Marketing of produce remains underdeveloped, it is selling and mainly involves individual transactions with ethnic Kinh brokers who regularly visit the hamlets to barter or purchase goods such as rice, non timber forest products, cassava, coffee, cashews and vegetables. The women reported that they usually received goods, such as dried fish, in exchange for their produce rather than cash. One farmer in Buon Bu Yuk Hamlet was selling dried cassava to one such broker for 500 VND \ kg. This farmer was unsure of the market price (according to Vietnam News 29.1.97, 600 VND / kg) and felt that he had no other real options.

There is good potential for the Project to play a role in improving marketing knowledge and skills amongst the target communities. The formation of marketing groups would help to empower the villagers and strengthen their bargaining power.

There is also a need to investigate potential value-added products to develop the agri-business potential of the producers.

1.3.5. Social Aspects

Both of the women's focus groups identified health issues as being their priority concern. According to the women, the four most common health problems amongst the target communities are diarrhoea, malaria, reproductive health and respiratory tract infections. Many of the children observed in the target hamlets were suffering from respiratory tract infections.

Women give birth to an average of seven children and, as a consequence, must spend a great part of their lives managing health issues related to pregnancy and lactation. There is very little access to pre- and postnatal care and most births take place at home with the assistance of traditional midwives and female family members. There are traditional midwives in each of the target hamlets. The women are expected to return to their normal farm work 7 to 10 days after giving birth. This includes walking up to 10 km2 to their upland fields to work with their new born babies strapped to their chests and returning home with a 30 to 40 kg load of fuelwood carried in baskets on their backs.

Women experiencing difficulty during delivery must be transferred to the Commune Health Station, however, none of the participants interviewed had ever given birth away from their homes. According to the women, child mortality rates in the target hamlets are higher than survival rates. No exact figures were available, however, such reports are similar to the situation found in other ethnic minority settlements in Vietnam e.g. Ha Bac and Son La. The team spoke with one widow who had lost four children. Many of the women spoken to had experienced the loss of at least one child in their family.

Family planning programmes are promoted by the Women's Union at the Commune and Hamlet levels. However, these programmes are largely educational and are targeted towards the women who are then unlikely to have the available economic resources to access family planning services. No information on the availability of such services at the District or Commune level was obtained by the team but it is likely that these services are limited and in many instances contraceptives are unavailable at the Commune level. Long-term breast feeding is practiced by all the women with young children as a method of birth control.

The women, including the older women, have no knowledge of traditional medicines and often rely on free distribution of medication from the Commune Health Station. There is a free government sponsored vaccination programme for the children but it appears that few, if any, of the children have been fully vaccinated. None of the families had the standard Government issued vaccination record books and most could only recall one vaccination visit to the hamlets by the Commune health workers in the previous 12 month period.

Many families, including those who lack the financial resources to pay for medical services, procure the services of the traditional village healer. The traditional healer works in collaboration with the traditional spiritual leader to make offerings to particular spirits in order to cure the sick person.

Water for both drinking and irrigation is drawn from the perennial rivers which run through the target sites (Dak Lieng River through the first target area and Dak Phoi River through the second target area). Water is not always boiled before drinking and the collection sites are shared with cattle, pigs and people bathing.

River water collection for domestic consumption is primarily carried out by the women and girls of 10 years of age and older. Water is collected two to three times a day, 20 - 30 litres at a time and carried distances of up to 200 m.

Wells are not common due to the ready availability of water from the rivers and the communities preference for river water for drinking and cooking. The sandy soils in Lieng Ke make well construction difficult. One household interviewed had constructed a small dam to irrigate their coffee plantation.

According to the PRA, labour exchange or sharing is a common cultural practice. Labour exchange groups are formed amongst related households or amongst groups of households who have a close relationship with one another. If one household secures the labour services of another household for a certain period or task then that household is obliged to repay the services at the other household's request. People exchanging their labour take their own food with them for the day and the host household is not expected to provide them with meals. This type of labour exchange relates mostly to agricultural production.

Another form of labour exchange occurs in the event of housing construction. In this case the repayment of services is also obligatory but the host household must provide the guest workers with meals.

Many of the houses in Target Area One are traditional Ede longhouse structures on stilts with thatched roofs, although at least four houses in Buon Dung have tin roofs. The use of stilts and the position of the main entrance at the front is apparently a legacy of close ties with the Ede minority group. The most obvious representation of this relationship is the fact that almost all of the people in the target hamlets speak fluent Ede. There is an obvious change occurring in the housing design away from the traditional Ede structures back to the traditional ground level M’Nong houses which require less timber (approximately 10 m3 as opposed to 20 m3 for stilted long houses). This is attributed by the participants to the shortage of suitable timber trees for the longhouse framework near the hamlets, the costs involved and also the government restrictions on logging in protected areas.

The houses in Target Area Two were more similar to those found in poorer rural ethnic Kinh villages. Houses in Buon Bu Yuk, seemingly the poorest of the 7 hamlets, are very basic structures with dirt floors, thatched roofs and woven walls set around a timber frame.

Communication is limited by the poorly developed infrastructure system. There are several black and white televisions and some radios in the 7 hamlets, however, access is restricted by the need to constantly recharge the batteries used to power them. Other than occasional newspapers brought in from the Commune and word of mouth, there is very little opportunity for the communities to become informed of developments in the province let alone other parts of the country.

Page 9 of 40

The PRA teams utilised an Institutional Diagramming exercise to try to establish the participants’ awareness of the various government organisations active in the area and their understanding of the services available to them. Both men’s focus groups identified a significant number of organisations (12 in total) and their relationships to the communities. The women’s focus groups however, only identified four separate organisations active in their communities and were unsure of the roles of these organisations in relationship to themselves. (See Diagrams 2 & 3)

Several of the Project staff expressed concerns that the women did not fully understand the exercise process, however, it is more likely that the women’s response gives a true indication of their limited awareness of organisations active and services available in their communities. The exercise also demonstrated the disparity between the men’s and women’s awareness of these issues. As long as the women remain uninformed of the services and networks available to them they remain unable to exploit potential resources which could in fact make a crucial difference to their livelihoods.

There is a need for the Project staff to more clearly understand the organisations which are active and the services available in the target communities. Clearly the development of a programme to raise awareness of these issues within the communities should be a task of the Project.

The time constraint meant that there was little opportunity for the PRA teams to explore the interactions, linkages and conflicts between the traditional and political community structures. Traditionally, the village leaders were responsible for all major decisions affecting the communities as well as being responsible for resolution of conflict within the communities. The villagers relied on the traditional village leaders to advise them on all issues relating to shifting cultivation including suitable sites, optimal rotation periods and forest areas to be protected. It is likely that as the traditional way of life, including the practice of shifting cultivation, is gradually eroded so will be the influence of the traditional village leaders within their communities. The role of the traditional leaders in community conflict resolution remains significant and their advice and intervention is still highly respected by the communities.

1.3.6. Public Service Aspects

At present there is no electricity available in the pilot area. There is a government programme being implemented to extend the national grid to Dak Phoi Commune. It is due for completion during 1997. Concrete power poles are already in place in the second target area and once electricity becomes available it will be up to the individual households to purchase connection to the service. Experience of CARE in other provinces has been that the price precludes the majority of people.

Dak Phoi Commune has one health station (serving a population of 3,506) located approximately 5 km from the target hamlets. Despite the relatively good condition of the dirt roads between the Commune and the hamlets during the dry season (when the PRA was carried out) access to the health station is limited due to poverty and a lack of transportation facilities. Very poor people (unable to pay for motorised transportation such as motorcycle or tractor) in need of medical attention either walk or are carried to the health station. This includes women experiencing difficulty during labour.

Diagram 1. Women's Focus Group Institutional Diagra m

Page 10 of 40

Diagram 2. Men's Focus Group Institutional Diagram

Once the people are able to reach the health station there is no guarantee that they will receive treatment unless they are able to pay for the services and any medication required. The cost of a medical examination starts at 5000 VND. The health station is equipped to deal with only minor illnesses and more serious cases must be referred to either the District or Provincial level. Both Buon Bu Yuk and Buon Lieng Ke each have M'Nong Village Health Workers who received basic, short term training at the Commune Health Station. Both Health Workers operate from their homes with virtually no equipment and minimal medication.

Walking is the main form of transportation in the pilot hamlets. Reaching the commune centre (5 km) on foot takes around 2 hours (this is often combined with fuelwood collection along the way ) and the district centre (15 km) approximately 4 hours. The women often carry their children with them in addition to fuelwood gathered along the way.

Several of the hamlets have newly built classrooms catering for grades 1 and 2. These classroom are very basic structures with dirt floors, thatched roofs and woven walls set around a timber frame. The classrooms were built by the communities with materials they themselves supplied. Classroom furniture including desks, chairs and blackboards were supplied by the District Education Authority. Children commencing grade one receive an allocation of schoolbooks from the government. Teachers in the hamlets are from the M'Nong ethnic group and receive government salaries. All classroom instruction is in the Kinh language.

Students wishing to attend grade three to grade five must travel five kilometres to the Commune centre and those wishing to attend grade 6 must travel to Lak District centre. The numbers of students going on to grade 6 are very low for all the target hamlets (only two each in Buon Du Mah and Buon Lieng Ke and none in Buon Bu Yuk). Two young men from Buon Dung Hamlet have completed year 12 yet were unable to continue on to tertiary education due to a lack of financial resources. According to the parents, boys and girls attendance at school is equally encouraged with no educational preference given to either sex. Figures for the gender breakdown of attrition rate were not known.

As explained above (section 1.3.4.), no formal markets exist within the hamlets with most production being on a subsistence rather than income generation basis. Neighbours barter goods and services with one another. Small trading posts, run by ethnic Kinh families, exist in each of the two areas covered by the PRA. Basic goods such as sugar, rice, oil and alcohol are available. The target groups can either trade or purchase goods with cash. According to one store owner, only one in every four or five transactions carried out at the store are in cash. One milk can of rice (approximately 250 g) has the equivalent monetary value of 500 VND.

1.3.7. Gender Issues

Owing to time constraints, it was not possible for the team to gain any more than a very basic overview of the gender situation in the pilot area. Given the extremely complex nature of gender issues and the importance of a thorough understanding of the activities and resources of both men and women a separate gender consultancy was initiated by the project.

PRA tools used in the preliminary gender analysis included Men’s and Women’s Daily Timetables (See Tables 4. and 5.), Direct Observation and the use of Semi-structured Interviews with separate Men’s and Women’s Focus Groups.

Page 11 of 40

Table 5.Women's Daily Timetable (Buon Dung)

Table 6.Men's Daily Timetable (Buon Lieng Ke)

According to the Women’s Focus Groups, most farming tasks, including clearing, land preparation, seeding, weeding, harvesting and transporting of produce are shared equally between the men and the women. The women are mainly responsible for water, fuelwood and forest fruit and vegetable collection together with reproductive tasks such as cooking and cleaning. It is interesting to note that both the men and women identified child minding as an important men’s task, however, the team only observed women and girls with younger children strapped to their backs.

A comparison between the men’s and women’s daily timetables demonstrates that women work longer hours than the men who appear to have more leisure time. Social drinking of an evening is a very popular pass time amongst the men and, according to the women, takes place on a regular basis. Women did not record having any "free time" at all.

More information is required concerning gender-based access to resources and control over those resources. Preliminary information obtained shows that the women are very concerned about forest destruction and reduced access to forest resources. The women are heavily dependent on access to forest fruits and vegetables which make up a vital part of their families’ diet throughout the year but most importantly during periods of food shortage.

As mentioned above (section 1.3.5), the women generally have a much lower level of knowledge of organisations in their communities and of the services available via these organisations.

Time Activity

4 - 6 am Wake up

Prepare breakfast

Eat breakfast

6 am - 5 p.m. Go to the fields

Work in the fields (land preparation, weeding, harvesting etc.)

Collect fruit and vegetables from the forest adjacent to fields

Collect fuelwood from the fields

(The women did not mention a lunch break)

5 - 8 p.m. Return home for the night

Mill rice

Bath

Fetch water

Prepare dinner

Eat dinner

8 - 9 p.m. Mending clothes

Go to bed

Time Activity

5 -6 am Wake up

Mind children while women prepare breakfast

Eat breakfast

6 am - 12.30 p.m. Go to the fields

Work in the fields (land preparation, weeding, harvesting etc.)

Collect fuelwood from the fields

12.30 - 1.30 p.m. Break for lunch

1.30 - 5 p.m. Continue work in the fields

5 - 8 p.m. Return home for dinner

Bath

Mind children while women prepare dinner

Eat dinner

8 p.m. Often have social drink with neighbours

Sometimes go to watch video in Commune

Go to bed

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At DPCPC there are only two women in positions of authority, the chair and vice-chair of the Women’s Union. These women are responsible for disseminating information relating to government health, education and family planning programmes for the women in their communities. They are very limited in their capacity to assist other women due to an almost complete absence of funds. The Women’s Union representatives at the Hamlet level are even more powerless and have very little influence in the decision making process within their communities.

This powerlessness is compounded by cultural constraints which dictate that the men in the community are the ones responsible for decision making. Women’s physical position in the house is limited to the rear, or kitchen section, while community meetings take place with discussion focused on the men positioned at the front of the house. This may make it quite difficult for the Women’s Union representatives to voice their opinions.

As mentioned (section 1.1), the absence of real community participation and two way dialogue characteristic of community meetings in the hamlets effectively means that the women have little opportunity to express their needs and the men, whilst having more opportunity, still are not equal partners in the meeting formats.

2.Priority Areas as Perceived by the Target Groups

A Problem Ranking Matrix Exercise was carried out with the first women’s group to facilitate the women’s identification of priority areas. (See Table 7.). Each time a problem is ranked as being of more importance than the compared problem, it is given a point. The number of points awarded to a problem reflects it's importance to the group. The higher the number of points, the higher the priority.

The exercise proved to be too lengthy for the focus group to complete and the exercise was adapted. As an alternative, the women were asked to simply list their constraints in order of priority.

- Priority Areas as Perceived by the Women’s Focus Groups

In order of priority :

1. Health 2. Lack of knowledge and skills 3. Lack of capital for investment 4. Shortage of land for wet rice cultivation

The men were simply asked to list their constraints in order of priority.

- Priority Areas as Perceived by the Men’s Focus Groups

Both issues considered of equal importance :

1. Lack of capital for investment 2. Shortage of land for wet rice cultivation

Table 7. Women’s Problem Ranking Matrix - Buon Dung , Buon Nam and Buon T’Long (table incomplete - see above 2. Priority Areas as Perceived by the Target Groups)

3. Recommendations from the First & Second PRA Missio ns in Buon Dung, Buon Jie Yuk and Neighbouring Haml ets, Dak Phoi Commune

The following recommendations were prepared in late February 1997, immediately following the first and second PRA missions in Sites 1 and 2, Dak Phoi Commune. Many of these recommendations, and in particular recommended follow on PRA steps, have since been implemented by the project including :

� Facilitation of Project Workshops for Provincial, District and Commune People's Committees. � Training for project staff in PRA feedback methodologies, facilitation of Community Development Groups (CDGs) and Community Development Plans (CDPs). � Feedback of PRA findings to individual communities � Formation of CDGs � Facilitation of CDPs by CDGs. � Commencement of Improved Woodstove Programme ("spark" intervention) � Commencement of preliminary agricultural extension activities ("spark" intervention) � Commencement of participatory situation and problem analysis in two additional hamlets (Ba Yang and Lac Dong Hamlets, Krong No Commune) in Lak District.

This section has not been updated to take into account those recommendations which have been implemented. However, one activity to be discussed here is the formation of CDGs as this is important to the long term development of the project in the pilot site (see 3.4. Formation of Community Development Groups).

Health Paddy field

shortage

Distances to upland

fields

Distances to collect wild

fruit & vegetables

Water collection

Fuelwood collection

Shortage of credit

Large families

Health

Health Health Health Health Health Credit Shortage & Health

Large farm. & Health

Paddy field shortage

Distances to upland fields

Distances to upland fields

Distances to collect wild fruit & vegetables

Water collection

Fuelwood collection

Shortage of credit

Large families

Page 13 of 40

3.1. Priority Sectors

The proposed strategies and follow on PRA steps are designed to work through existing organisations and are based on the priority sectors as perceived by the target group. These priority sectors are listed below :

The issue of shortage of land for irrigated rice cultivation was identified by both the men's and women's focus groups. Many households are currently cultivating approximately 0.1 ha, or less, of paddy land. Yields are low (1 - 1.5 ton \ ha) and frequency of fertiliser and pesticide application is based on financial constraints rather than optimising productivity. There is considerable potential for increasing agricultural outputs. The PRA team felt that, rather than wholly concentrating on aiming to secure additional land for wet rice production, it would be more beneficial to concentrate on raising the productivity of the existing paddy fields through agricultural extension activities to improve cultivation practices combined with increased access to credit services. As many of the paddy fields currently under cultivation are only suitable for single crops, the project should explore the irrigation potential for these areas to enable dry season cultivation of these areas. For those families with insufficient paddy land, the project could assist by supporting the land use planning process at the District and Commune levels and thus identifying additional land available for allocation.

3.2. Proposed Strategies

To ensure a process facilitating participatory and gender sensitive developments in natural resource m anagement the following strategies are proposed :

The proposed strategies are based on CARE's experience that land allocation, strict forest protection and law enforcement alone are not effective long term solutions to the issue of non-sustainable natural resource management practices. To effectively reduce their dependency on forest resources, the communities need to be assisted to develop and improve their resource base in a sustainable manner.

3.3. Follow on PRA Steps (Concentrating on Agreed Priority Sectors)

Based on the above listed priority sectors as perceived by the target group as well as some "spark interventions" as identified by the PRA team, follow-on PRA steps are recommended as follows :

3.3.1. Project team meets with CARE to discuss a wo rk plan detailing CARE's involvement during remaind er of Phase I of the Project and possible future collaboration during Phase II.

It is important to the overall coordination of project planning that the Project team meets with CARE to discuss a proposal for future collaboration before any further activities take place. This discussion should include the elaboration of a detailed workplan for CARE's involvement along with a financial estimate. Once this workplan is agreed upon it will be submitted to the CARE Country Director for final approval.

3.3.2. Facilitation of (possibly individual) Projec t workshops for People's Committees and other relev ant organisations at the Provincial, District and Commune levels.

There is a need to organise information workshops to ensure that all involved parties involved possess a thorough understanding of the Project and it's objectives. This is important to secure support for the Project from all government levels. These workshops could be organised separately or the different levels could be combined.

3.3.3. Provide training for Project staff in the fo llowing areas :

i. Feedback of PRA findings to target communities ii. Establishment of a Community Development Committee iii. Facilitation of Community Development Plans

This training could be completed during a half day workshop followed by a practical in the field over a period of two days.

3.3.4. Feedback of PRA findings to individual commu nities.

This is an important step used to verify the PRA findings and to encourage participation of the target communities in the planning process from the very beginning. The feedback of findings can then be used to facilitate the next PRA step (see below). Meetings will be organised with community groups in both of the target areas to discuss the PRA findings, verify priority areas and to propose the establishment of Community Development Groups (CDGs). These groups should be small, primarily hamlet based, may be based on existing structures and preferably have at least the following members :

i. Traditional Hamlet Headman ii. Official Hamlet Headman

i) Priority Areas as Perceived by the Women’s Focus Groups

In order of priority :

1.Health

2.Lack of knowledge and skills

3.Lack of capital for investment

4.Shortage of land for irrigated rice cultivation

ii) Priority Areas as Perceived by the Men’s Focus Groups

Both issues were considered by the men to be of equal importance :

1. Lack of capital for investment

2.Shortage of land for irrigated rice cultivation

1.1. Improvement of the standard of living of the communities in the Project pilot site through appropriate interventions in agriculture, credit, land use planning and health.

1.2. Strengthening the institutional capacity of existing local organisations at the Hamlet, Commune and District level through training and involvement in project activities.

1.3. Strengthening the extension, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation capacity of Project staff through implementation of an on-going training programme.

1.4. Continue research into traditional natural resource management systems (including NTFP utilisation), agricultural practices, culture, health needs, potentials for off-farm income generation and gender analysis.

1.5. Empowerment of the target communities through education and participation at all levels of Project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

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iii. Women's Union Representative (Hamlet level) iv. Representative from Commune People's Committee

Once this has been proposed, the communities then need time to discuss this amongst themselves and to prepare recommendations. Project staff should take this opportunity to emphasise the role of the project in strengthening the capacity of existing community groups to access available government services.

3.3.5. Formation of Community Development Groups in each target area to be responsible for the formula tion of Community Development Plans, oversee implementation and participate in monitoring and ev aluation.

It is vital to the success of the project that the communities participation is facilitated at all levels of the development process, from initial appraisal through to planning, implementation and on to monitoring and evaluation. The CDGs will be responsible for working directly with project staff during all phases of the project and will form an important link between their respective communities and the project. They will be responsible for identifying, planning, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating activities at the hamlet level based on the above listed priority sectors as perceived by the communities themselves. Meetings will be organised with community groups in both of the target areas to officially endorse the CDGs and to outline their responsibilities.

3.3.6. Facilitation of Community Development Plans (CDPs) by CDGs.

Formulation of a CDP is a logical flow on from the communities identification of their priority areas. CDPs help to facilitate identification of the most appropriate solutions to the problems as well as encouraging community participation and sharing of responsibility. This can help to avoid a situation where the project is expected to take over the role of the government in the provision of assistance and services. The process also strengthens the capacity of the communities to identify development needs, solutions and access to these services helping to ensure sustainability of the development process. These CDPs should not be seen as "blueprints" for development but rather as flexible instruments which may be adapted to suit changing local realities. CDPs will include the following areas :

During the CDP exercise, the project staff should introduce proposed "spark interventions" as identified by the PRA team for inclusion in the Community Development Planning process. It is felt by the team that in order to encourage participation of the communities and to demonstrate the project's commitment, thus facilitating the development of a longer term programme of project involvement to encourage sustainable resource management, some priority needs to be given to immediate action leading to concrete short term results. These "spark interventions" include the small scale introduction of improved woodstoves (via a sub-contract with the Forest Science and Technology Application Centre [FSTAC] in Hanoi) and the initiation of some preliminary agricultural extension activities (through the District Agricultural Extension Station) prior to the arrival of the planting season (May - June). This meeting with the target communities should serve as an opportunity to identify potential households for participation in the "spark interventions".

These two "spark interventions" were identified by the PRA team in response both to the perceived need to carry out some relatively immediate concrete activities within the target communities and also in response to constraints identified by both the men's and women's groups. Low yields, annual food shortages and a lack of agricultural extension services within the communities were mentioned by all four men's and women's groups. It was felt by the PRA team that supporting agricultural extension activities within these communities was something that could be done immediately to try to improve agricultural yields and thus reduce the burden of food shortages on the communities.

Both women's focus groups identified fuelwood collection as a demanding women's task both in terms of time and energy. Fuelwood is collected every two days on average in loads of up to 50 kg. Some women are traveling distances of over 5 km with these loads every two days to meet the daily fuelwood needs of their families.

In response to the above information provided by the women, CARE introduced the possibility of trialing a small scale improved woodstove programme in the communities via FSTAC in Hanoi. This centre has been active in the research and promotion of improved woodstoves in 14 provinces throughout Vietnam with considerable results achieved. As a direct result of improved woodstove use, household fuelwood consumption can be reduced by up to 30 %. Cooking time is also significantly reduced. Savings in these two areas then enable the women to devote more time to other activities. FSTAC's programme is largely based on a transfer of skills to local communities to allow the communities themselves to adapt and \ or expand the woodstove programme according to their needs.

3.3.7. Commencement of Improved Woodstove Programme in two hamlets with 20 families.

The introduction of improved woodstoves should at this stage be limited to approximately 10 households in each target area to allow an initial assessment to take place. The 9 households in the first target area who were involved in the household surveys have already expressed their interest and willingness to participate in the improved woodstove programme. An additional household should be selected from the first target area and 10 households from the second target area. Preferably this activity should be funded by the project as a research activity. Once an initial assessment of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the stoves has been made the project can then decide on appropriate follow on activities. Under FSTAC's improved woodstove programme, selected individual community members receive training in the design, construction, use and maintenance of the stoves and these people may then be utilised as extension agents by the project to expand the programme into other areas. In addition to this, a Project staff member should be assigned full time to this activity to facilitate future extension of the programme. FSTAC consultants are available to begin work in the Project pilot site in the last week of March 1997.

Proposed Improved Woodstove Programme Working Sched ule

2 consultants from the Forest Science and Technology Application Centre in Hanoi

Sub-total : 10 days (+ 5 days in Hanoi waiting for bricks to dry before construction)

Problem - states problem as identified by target group

Opportunity - states solutions identified for each problem

Action - notes steps to be taken for each opportunity

Who will do it - list the groups or individuals (internal and external) responsible for carrying out each action, thus building in accountability.

Starting date - stipulates when the action will begin

Monitoring - stipulates the groups or individuals responsible for monitoring the action and ensuring accomplishment

First Trip Day 1 Travel : Hanoi - BMT

Days 2 - 4 Initial survey : Buon Dung & Buon Lieng Ke

Days 5 - 9 Training in mud brick preparation and stove design for 5 trainees in 2 hamlets. Preparation of mud bricks for 20 stoves.

Day 10 Travel : BMT - Hanoi

Second Trip Day 1 Travel : Hanoi - BMT

Days 2 - 10 Training in construction, use and maintenance for 5 trainees in 2 hamlets. Construction of 20 stoves.

Page 15 of 40

Sub-total : 11 days (+ 5 days in Hanoi waiting for stoves to dry before use)

Sub-total : 6 days

Financial Estimate :

Additional expenses include travel to and from the Project pilot sites and possible purchase of some construction materials e.g. cement, reinforcing steel etc.

3.3.8. Commencement of preliminary agricultural ext ension activities.

This step is planned as a confidence and trust building measure between the community and the project and should be seen as an initial stage in an on-going agricultural extension programme in the pilot area.

Once discussions relating to preliminary agricultural extension activities with the communities have taken place, potential households for participation have been identified and an activity plan is agreed upon, the initiation of some preliminary agricultural extension activities in collaboration with the District Agricultural Extension Station needs to commence as soon as possible. It is essential that this activity commences prior to the arrival of the planting season (May - June). If not, then the project will miss out on a chance to increase agricultural outputs until the following year. Once again it is recommended that this activity begin on a small scale possibly with existing agricultural labour groups. Participation in this activity must be on a fully voluntary basis. The Project will directly assist these groups or individuals with loans in the form of seed, fertiliser and pesticides (if required) as well as agricultural extension to introduce improved cultivation techniques. The beneficiaries will enter into contracts with the Project to ensure repayment of loans after harvest.

The Project should aim to identify at least one Community Agricultural Extension Volunteer (CAEV) from each hamlet to work with the District Agricultural Extension Officers on this "spark intervention" activity as well as on long term project supported agricultural extension activities within the pilot sites. The role of these CAEVs would be to facilitate and assist with the coordination of agricultural extension activities at the hamlet level. CAEVs would receive basic training in participatory extension methodologies as well as improved cultivation techniques with a view to strengthening the agricultural extension capacity at the hamlet level.

3.3.9. Commencement of long term agricultural exten sion activities.

Long term agricultural extension activities (LTAEAs) in the pilot site differ to the preliminary agricultural extension activities (PAEAs) mentioned above in three main respects :

i. The Project will not directly provide credit for these LTAEAs but will rather assist the communities to access existing credit services through training and networking.

ii. LTAEAs will take in to account long term land use planning aspects and will include the introduction of erosion control measures, soil improvement strategies and multi-purpose tree species into the farming systems.

iii. The long term agricultural extension programme will involve training for Agricultural Extension staff at the District level in Participatory Extension Methodologies as well as Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT).

3.3.10. Commencement of credit and savings assistan ce programme.

The main aims of this programme will be to :

i. Strengthen the capacity of the target communities, in particular women's groups, to access existing credit services. ii. Strengthen the capacity of the Women's Union at District, Commune and Hamlet levels to coordinate and manage credit programmes and carry out extension of

credit and savings programme extension.

To do this the following activities are recommended :

1. Conduct appraisal of traditional household financial management and underlying causes for women's lack of access to existing formal credit services. (According to the Executive Director of the Lak District Bank For the Poor [BFP], 100% of borrowers in the District are men.) The GTZ gender consultant could be involved in this.

2. Continue discussions with BFP in Lak District regarding potential collaboration with the Project to improve target community access to existing BFP credit services.

3. Meet with representatives of UNICEF credit programme currently being carried out in Dak Lak Province through the Provincial Women's Union. 4. Provide training for the Women's Union at District, Commune and Hamlet levels in management of sustainable savings and credit programmes with a focus on

training of trainers. 5. Provide training for women in target communities on application procedures for BFP credit services and on the establishment of savings groups.

3.3.11. Commencement of participatory health survey in the pilot area to identify priority areas and p otential project interventions.

Health was identified by both women's focus groups during the preliminary PRA as the number one priority area. Limited project intervention in this area could be implemented as a confidence building measure. Activities should be designed and implemented in collaboration with the District and Commune Women's Union and the District Health authorities. A proposed intervention programme could concentrate on the following areas :

1. Conduct a preliminary health assessment in the pilot site. 2. Design and implementation of a primary health education programme based on findings of the above assessment.- eg. family planning and reproductive health,

Day 11 Travel: BMT - Hanoi

Third Trip Day 1 Travel: Hanoi - BMT

Days 2 - 5 Initial evaluation of stove programme

Minor adjustments

Day 6 Travel: BMT - Hanoi

Report Preparation : 3 days

Total : 30 days

Per diem -30 days x 12 USD / day x 2 persons = 720 USD

Travel 3 return tickets Hanoi - BMT x 2 persons = 900 USD

Accommodation - 24 nights @ 10 USD \ night x 2 persons = 480 USD

Total =2,100 USD

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water, hygiene for traditional birth attendants, nutrition etc. 3. Design and implementation of a maternal and infant health monitoring programme. 4. Limited assistance provided to the Commune Health Station e.g. improved water supply, basic equipment, training etc.

3.3.12. Commencement of participatory situation and problem analysis in two additional Hamlets in Lak District.

After the selection of two additional sites is finalised, a participatory situation and problem analysis will be conducted at both sites in cooperation with the target communities. The aim of this exercise will be to jointly identify priority areas as perceived by the target groups. A meeting should be organised with the Hamlet authorities to discuss the Project's aims and objectives prior to conducting the PRA. If the new sites are located within a new Commune, a workshop should be held for the Commune authorities to allow them a clear understanding of Project aims and objectives prior to conducting the PRA. Representatives from Dak Phoi Commune could be involved in this workshop to facilitate this process. Once priority areas have been identified, the follow on PRA steps should be basically the same as those recommended for the first two target areas i.e. :

1. Feedback of PRA findings to individual communities. 2. Formation of Community Development Groups. 3. Facilitation of Community Development Plans (CDPs) by CDGs based on PRA findings 4. Implementation of intervention strategies ("spark" and long term)

3.3.13. Continuation of training and awareness crea tion programme for project staff, relevant governme nt officers and member of participating local organisations.

See Table 1. Training Programme Proposal

Once project staff have participated in the second participatory situation and problem analysis (see 2.11) in collaboration with CARE consultants and received additional training as outlined in Table 1. Training Programme Proposal, they should have gained the necessary skills to facilitate any subsequent PRAs on their own in a gender sensitive and participatory manner.

3.4. Formation of Community Development Groups

The basic concept behind the formation of the CDGs is to develop the capacity of the community to manage their own development needs from initial appraisal through to planning, implementation and on to monitoring and evaluation.

The concept was first discussed during PRA feedback sessions with representatives of Buon Dung and Buon Lieng Ke communities (including hamlet leaders) on two separate occasions. It was intended that feedback would be given directly to representatives of all seven hamlets, however, due to a misunderstanding concerning meeting arrangements, only representatives of the two hamlets mentioned were available to participate in the feedback sessions. The project team also discussed the proposed "spark interventions" (hybrid corn and improved woodstove programmes) for Sites 1 and 2 and the selection criteria for participants in these programmes. The team introduced the CDG concept and invited response from community members. The project team also discussed the issue of CDGs with the chairman of DPCPC, Mr. Y'Bang, to enlist his support. The basic concept outlined included the following main points :

1. The CDGs would serve as a vital link between the community and the project and be responsible for sub-project identification, appraisal, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The project would provide the necessary support and training for the CDGs to enable them to fulfill this role.

2. Members of the CDGs would be selected by the communities themselves and should ideally be respected members of the community. The size of membership would be determined by the communities and should include a certain number of women as well as key farmers.

3. The CDGs are not designed to replace existing village management structures but rather to enhance the capacity of these structures. Therefore, the CDGs may include important members of existing government and mass organisations on the hamlet level along with the traditional hamlet leaders.

4. Each hamlet would form it's own CDG.

The CDG issue provoked a good deal of lively conversation amongst the meetings' participants and the project team continued to answer questions until both parties felt that a clear understanding of the CDG concept had been reached. The project team then requested that the leaders of both Buon Dung and Buon Lieng Ke assist the project by facilitating community meetings in the remaining five hamlets to discuss the PRA feedback, proposed "spark interventions" and the formation of CDGs in each hamlet.

It was then agreed that the communities would provide lists of the CDG members to the project team within the following week when the team would return and work together with the individual CDGs to prepare Community Development Plans for the "spark interventions".

However, when the team returned to Buon Dung the following week to work with Buon Dung CDG, it was discovered that there had been some misunderstanding on the community's behalf regarding the formation of the CDGs which had delayed the selection process in this hamlet. According to the Party Secretary for Site 1, Mr. Y'Tap, the community had held a semi-formal election to select CDG members for Buon Dung Hamlet and this had raised some concerns at the Commune level. The team discussed the CDGs concept in detail once again with representatives of Buon Dung community and requested the hamlet leaders to meet with representatives of the other hamlets in Site 1 to clear up any misunderstandings.

The team then returned to DPCPC to discuss the CDG issue once again with the chairman of DPCPC to ensure that there would be no further misunderstandings.

The project team then received lists of CDG members along with lists of participants for the "spark interventions" from the seven hamlets and moved on to the next step of working together with the groups to formulate Community Development Plans for the "spark interventions".

4. PRA Exercise in Site 3, Buon Ba Yang, Krong No Commune

4.1. Methods and Tools

For the purpose of conducting PRAs in site 3, the CARE team proposed working in each of the two hamlets (Ba Yang and Lac Dong) separately. The aim of this was to enable more time to be spent in each hamlet (2 days proposed per hamlet) and to enable the PRA team to work with smaller groups.

As with the PRAs carried out in Sites 1 and 2, the CARE team also prepared a list of guide topics to be covered during the PRAs in Site 3 along with a set of proposed tools. Before proceeding to the field, a briefing session was held with Project team members and the Gender and Participation Consultant to discuss the list of guide topics, the proposed tools and whether it was necessary to work separately with men's and women's groups.

During this briefing session, the team decided to focus on NRM aspects and livelihood analysis of the target communities while at the same time still trying to cover a fairly broad range of issues from land allocation through to education. The team also decided that it would be best to work with separate men's and women's groups and that it would be interesting to try to use the same tools with the different groups for future comparison.

The team met with Krong No Commune People's Committee (KNCPC) in the morning before proceeding to the field. This meeting provided an opportunity for the Project team to reintroduce (the Project team had met with KNCPC on several previous occasions during the selection of pilot sites) the main aims and objectives of the Project and also to introduce the concept of PRA as a research tool. The team was also able to gain an overall understanding of the organisational structure of KNCPC. (See Diagram 3. Krong No Commune Organisation Flowchart).

Upon arrival at Ba Yang Hamlet in the early afternoon, it became apparent that there had been a misunderstanding regarding the appointed time to meet with the community. The villagers had gathered in the morning and waited for the team. After a couple of hours most people had already left for their fields and thus were not available to speak to the team. The team decided to return the following morning and condense the PRA into a single day.

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Before the PRA team split into two sub-teams to work separately with the men's and women's groups, project staff gave a brief introduction to the project. This introduction emphasised the desire of project staff that together with the community and the GoV, a range of appropriate solutions to the issues affecting the community of Ba Yang Hamlet may be identified.

A range of standard PRA tools were utilised by both groups including Time Lines, Community/Mobility/Resource Maps, Venn Diagrams, Problem Ranking, Village Walks and Direct Observation. As with the previous PRAs in Sites 1 and 2, Semi-Structured Interviews formed the basis of the PRA. Individual Interviews were also carried out but on a limited scale owing to the time constraints.

Diagram 3. Krong No Commune Organisation Flowchart

4.2. Reflection on Methodology

Once again the question of making appointments to meet with the communities became an issue during this PRA due to a communication problem. It is important that all arrangements should be confirmed in writing and in time to avoid simple misunderstandings and unnecessary inconvenience to all parties.

The CARE team had intended that the PRAs carried out at all three sites would serve as on-the-job training for project field staff which when combined with PRA workshops and planning sessions would enable the project staff to facilitate the PRA process independently. However, due to other project commitments, project staff have been unable to benefit fully from this training plan and have yet to receive adequate training (both on-the-job and formal) in PRA facilitation.

The PRA team was fortunate to be accompanied by the Project Gender and Participation Consultant during the PRA in Ba Yang Hamlet. As a result of this consultant's participation, a number of recommendations were made to the PRA team on how to focus the exercise more fully on NRM issues and thus avoid raising the target group's expectations. Changes recommended included concentrating more fully on a livelihood analysis of the target community rather than covering a broader range of community development issues. It was felt that the previous PRAs in Sites 1 and 2 had followed a rural development approach and that as the project was in fact not a rural development project but rather a NRM project it would be important to the aims of the project to bring the focus of the target groups around to NRM. As a follow on to these recommendations, the PRA team agreed to trial this "reduced" PRA in Lac Dong Hamlet. (See 5. PRA Exercise in Site 3, Buon Lac Dong, Krong No Commune).

4.3. Findings

4.3.1. Village History

To enable the PRA sub-teams to gain an understanding of the recent history of the Ba Yang Hamlet community, both the men's and women's groups were asked to participate in a Time Line exercise. The findings presented here represent a combination of the information provided by both the men's and women's groups.

There are now 75 households (413 individuals including 221 women) settled in Ba Yang Hamlet. According to the women, they are satisfied with their new location and

1962: Prior to 1962, Ba Yang community and Lac Dong community were settled as one community in the original location of Lac Dong Hamlet (near Dak Hiu Bridge).

In 1962, followed the military and moved deep into the surrounding forest.

1967: The community is moved (along with Lac Dong Community and other ethnic group communities) by the former Saigon regime to Phi Di Ja area (a "Strategic Hamlet" during the Vietnam War).

1976: Following reunification, moved to the new Lac Dong Hamlet location (the present location, this area traditionally belonged to Clay Bang Hamlet).

1988: Approximately half of the community returns to the original location of Lac Dong Hamlet (near Dak Hiu bridge).

1991-1992: The GoV prohibits shifting cultivation around the original location of Lac Dong Hamlet (near Dak Hiu bridge). This community is split into three separate hamlets:

1. One hamlet resettled near Lak Mountain Pass.

� Second hamlet returned to the new Lac Dong Hamlet location (present location of Lac Dong Hamlet).

� Third hamlet resettled in Ba Yang area in 1991 with only 45 households, now known as Ba Yang Hamlet. (Previously no inhabitants in this area).

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do not wish to move again. Many households have established basic home gardens including fruit trees. However, according to both groups, the community still faces the pressure of agricultural land shortage (both uplands and paddy land) and this pressure has in the past been one of the decisive influences in the resettlement of the community.

The second tool used with both groups during the PRA was the Community Map. This exercise gave the PRA team the opportunity to visualise the basic layout of the community and the location of various resources upon which the community depends. (See Diagrams 4 and 5).

4.3.2. Natural Resource Management

Like the communities in Sites 1 and 2, the Ba Yang Hamlet community practices a form of rotational shifting cultivation. Traditionally, this involves cultivation of a field (approximately 0.5 - 1 ha per household depending on availability of labour) for a single season and then a fallow period of up to 20 - 25 years. However, as a result of increased competition for scarce natural resources along with a tightening of forest protection regulations enforced by various government agencies, this traditional fallow period has been reduced to 8 to 12 years and in some cases even less.

This reduction in fallow period has serious repercussions for the community including increased labour inputs for upland field preparation (due to weed invasion and secondary bamboo growth), decreased yields and a reduction in the availability of certain NTFPs normally available from fields managed under the longer rotation cycle.

Most forest land in Krong No Commune is managed by KNCPC. KNCPC has a Forestry Committee which is responsible for ensuring protection of the forest under it's management and the enforcement of forest management regulations.

According to the community, there was no primary forest remaining in the immediate vicinity of the hamlet. The nearest area was estimated to be at least 20 km away (possibly within Na Ka Nature Reserve). The main forest type surrounding the hamlet is dominated by bamboo and there is little chance for the succession process to continue to the emergence of secondary forest containing useful timber species due to the shortened fallow periods and the frequency of burning.

Diagram 4: Women's Focus Group

Community/Mobility Map, Ba Yang Hamlet, Krong No Co mmune, Lak District April 9.97

Diagram 5: Men's Focus Group Community/Mobility Map , Ba Yang Hamlet, Krong No Commune, Lak District Ap ril 9.97

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Edible NTFPs collected by the community in the surrounding forest include bamboo shoots, medicinal plants, wild potatoes and a variety of leaf vegetables (at least 3-4 species). These last two are particularly important sources of food for resource poor families during periods of food shortage. Food shortages may last from July through to December depending on the varieties of upland rice cultivated (early or late maturing varieties) and may last even longer for those households who lack sufficient labour to cultivate their fields. The harvesting of bamboo shoots during this period is a women's task and provides an important source of income for many households. Boiled bamboo shoots can be sold to or traded with local ethnic Kinh traders for 500 VND / kg.

According to the community's traditional midwives, the following medicinal plants and products are collected from the surrounding forest :

-Sap from Ro Sah used in the treatment of diarrhoea.

-Apang leaves used in the treatment of headaches.

-Sielet leaves used in the treatment of chest infections.

-Bark of Bang Lang, Ana Emau and Ana Egier used as disinfectant.

In addition to the NTFPs already mentioned, the secondary forests surrounding Ba Yang Hamlet are also an important source of Boi Loi (Litsea sp.) bark, used for the production of incense and sold or traded as raw material to ethnic Kinh traders for 500 VND / kg of fresh bark. Many of the households reported engaging in this activity and there was a general consensus that stocks were seriously depleted and people were resorting to harvesting saplings no more than 2cm in diameter.

Other NTFPs used for domestic consumption or sold and \ or traded to ethnic Kinh traders include bamboo poles (600 VND / pole) used for chopsticks production and rattan (1000 VND / kg). Both rattan and bamboo are generally harvested by the men.

The collection of fuelwood is the daily responsibility of the women and girls. The women may travel up to 7 km from the hamlet to collect up to 30 kg of fuelwood from their upland fields which they then carry back to their homes in baskets on their backs. The collection of fuelwood is often combined with other tasks such as field work and or NTFP harvesting. On average, 30 kg of fuelwood is sufficient to cover the family's cooking and heating needs over a 24 hour period during the cooler months and 15 - 20 kg during the warmer months. Excess fuelwood may be traded for basic goods such as salt, rice, dried fish etc. at the local store managed by ethnic Kinh traders.

The women are particular about suitable fuelwood species and selection is based on criteria such as density, resin content and smoke production as well as availability. Four suitable species were referred to :

1.Ana Engieng

2.Ana Ka

3.Ana Egier (also used for furniture and construction)

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4.Ana Truol

Housing in Ba Yang Hamlet is modeled on the traditional ground level M'Nong design. Thatched roofing is replaced every three years by grass cut around the hamlet. New housing construction is costly with the households expected to pay a natural resource tax to KNCPC of 1,000,000 VND / m3 of timber cut from the forest. Of course this cost is prohibitive for most households and illegal timber cutting is the preferred option.

Two perennial streams, Dak Lieng Sau and Dak Ro Sung, border Ba Yang Hamlet and it is from these two sources that the community obtains most of its water. Water collection is also seen as primarily the task of women and girls and must be carried out two to three times daily. The streams are approximately ten minutes walk from most households and water collection for drinking is carried out upstream of bathing and clothes washing activities. According to the women, water quality is affected during the wet season by upstream erosion.

In addition to the two streams, the hamlet also has a total of 18 wells, three of which were constructed with support through the UNICEF Fresh Water Programme. The three UNICEF wells were originally equipped with hand pumps, two of these have since fallen into disrepair. Of the 18 wells originally dug, none have concrete ring reinforcement and many (including two UNICEF wells) have collapsed due to the sandy soils in the area. Many of the wells still in use either lack water during the dry season or provide only limited amounts of poor quality water.

No one spoken to in BA Yang Hamlet had heard of the government sponsored 327 Programme for reafforestation and forest protection activities. In addition to this, none of the households had received any form of legal land use rights (temporary or permanent) from the government. According to the Provincial Land Management Department, a land survey has yet to be carried out in Krong No Commune. As this is the first step in the land allocation process, it seems likely that official land allocation in Ba Yang Hamlet is not something that will take place in the immediate future.

One government sponsored project aimed at supporting the community's transition from shifting to fixed agricultural production is the Rubber Plantation Project facilitated by the Service Division of the Provincial Youth Union (PYU).

In 1996, PYU cleared between 62 - 70 ha of secondary bamboo forest approximately four kilometres from the hamlet. PYU then used tractors to plough the area and this land was then allocated on a verbal basis to individual households (approximately 1 hectare per household) with no demarcation in the field and no land use certificates or contracts issued. Not all households have received an allocation.

Each household then received the following additional support under the project :

*Delivery of 550 rubber seedlings per ha and 50,000 VND / ha planting fee

*Delivery of 150 kg of fertilisers / ha (including Urea and NPK)

*20,000 VND / ha additional planting fee

*150,000 VND / ha for first maintenance *

*130,000 VND / ha for second maintenance

(* this refers literally to first and second maintenance and does not refer to first and second year. Some households carried out both within one year and received their payment accordingly.)

The participating households were informed by PYU that after seven to ten years they would be able to commence rubber tapping and that a certain percentage of their profits would be used to repay the original investment made by PYU. The households are unsure of the exact terms of the benefit sharing agreement and are still awaiting land use certificates or at least some form of contract for these allotments.

After planting in 1996, some households intercropped corn and other agricultural crops with the young trees. It appears that this year very few households plan to intercrop in the plantation due to weed competition (namely Imperata cylindrica). Many households claim that labour requirements to clear upland fields by slashing and burning are much less than the labour requirements to manually clear Imperata cylindrica grasslands. Some people spoken to claimed that the clearing and site preparation carried out by PYU prior to land allocation was inadequate and is a major reason for Imperata cylindrica infestation in the plantation.

One other government programme active in the area is the Fixed Cultivation and Sedentarisation Programme sponsored by both the Provincial and District authorities. This programme is aimed at those households in the hamlet who do not have land (such as newly married couples) and encourages them to move on to land along the roadside. According to the residents of Ba Yang Hamlet, there is no financial assistance available through this programme. Some 40 households have either moved or will be encouraged to move over the next few years. Those households who have already moved under this programme are also still awaiting issue of land use certificates.

4.3.3. Land Use Systems

Upland Fields :

As with Sites 1 and 2, the cultivation of upland fields is both a major source of food and income for the households in Ba Yang Hamlet. These fields are located from one to seven kilometres from the hamlet and are cultivated according to traditional shifting cultivation methods of rotational slash and burn. (For more details on fallow periods see 3.3.2 Natural Resource Management)

Initial land preparation begins in late January to early February with slashing of all vegetation. This is then piled into heaps and left to dry before being burned in March - April. Sowing of seed (stored from the previous season) commences with the first rains. Diversity in the upland fields is quite high and may include several varieties of upland rice as well as corn (probably the second most important upland crop), pumpkin, eggplant, chili, tobacco, cucumber and squash etc. No fertilisers or pesticides are applied on the upland fields however weeding is an important activity which is usually carried out two to three times per season.

Upland rice yields are quite low (approximately 600 - 800 kg / ha) yet are an extremely important contribution to the household's annual food supply. Vegetables produced in the upland fields provide the main food source for the wet season and excess may be sold or traded.

Wetland Rice :

The total area of wetland rice in Ba Yang Hamlet is 14 ha owned by 40 families. Of these 14 hectares, only half (owned by 20 families) are suitable for double cropping with the remaining seven hectares only producing one crop per year due to a lack of irrigation facilities. Low inputs (none of the farmers spoken to use any fertiliser or pesticides) and the use of local rice varieties result in low yields (less than 1 ton / ha in most cases). Despite the low yields and prevalent food shortages, rice remains a readily tradable commodity which is often relied on in times of need.

According to the women's group, soil acidity is a limiting factor affecting the community's wetland rice production. The women identified the problem via the appearance of "yellowish" surface water in the rice fields, reduced yields and also from the experiences of Ede farmers in the area. The women claimed that they were traditionally shifting cultivators who lacked the necessary experience to successfully cultivate wetland rice and felt particularly powerless to do anything about the declining rice yields experienced by the community. None of the women spoken to had heard of rice varieties suitable for acid soils and the group as a whole expressed a real interest in receiving appropriate extension and assistance with regards to this.

According to both groups, the establishment of additional paddy fields is a high priority for the community. Simply raising the productivity of the existing fields will alone not solve the community's food shortages. Without sufficient paddy fields then the community has little choice other than to continue practicing shifting cultivation. The expansion of the existing paddy fields is limited by a lack of water during the dry season and insufficient irrigation facilities.

Home Gardens :

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Most households in Ba Yang Hamlet have a small area of 0.1 - 0.2 ha surrounding the home which has been used for the establishment of a home garden. Some households have planted coffee on a small scale (despite the fact that the area seems quite unsuitable for coffee cultivation due to the sandy soils) intercropped with cassava. Most of the coffee bushes observed appeared to be suffering from a lack of both water and nutrients. Some households had applied cattle manure as a fertiliser to the young coffee plants, however, manure is scarce and what little their is , is usually collected by children and sold to the ethnic Kinh traders (one fertiliser bag of manure could be sold for 2,000 - 3,000 VND).

Other households have established a number of fruit trees, including bananas, papaya and mangoes, around their homes but in general, home garden establishment remains poorly developed. Those few households who had tried small scale vegetable growing in the home garden blamed their failure on a lack of soil fertility.

There is certainly potential for the project to become involved in home garden development activities as a means to increase both household food security and income generation. These activities could be carried out through the Commune Women's Union in collaboration with agricultural extension workers and also successful local key farmers from neighbouring communes with expertise in home garden production and development.

Animal Husbandry :

As with home gardens, animal husbandry activities in Ba Yang Hamlet are also quite underdeveloped. Most families raise a number of chickens which act as a form of savings to be utilised in times of illness or other needs.

There are 10 households currently raising pigs. In 1996, many more families were involved in this activity but lost their pigs due to an epidemic which swept the community. In addition to this, 10 households raise a total of 14 cattle and three households have young buffalo.

According to the women, dogs are a source of income during times of need when they can be sold to ethnic Kinh traders who then resell them to the restaurant trade.

4.3.4. Cash Income

While the upland fields supply the bulk of the community's annual food needs, hiring out of manual labour is the main source of cash income for the community. Households experiencing food shortages tend to hire out their labour more than those more resource adequate households. Most households hire out some labour during the year to earn cash to buy clothes and consumer goods.

Labourers are hired by ethnic Kinh households to carry out land preparation, weeding and general maintenance of coffee fields. Payment may be in cash or in kind, the equivalent of 15,000 VND / day for men and 10,000 - 12,000 VND / day for women.

4.3.5. Health

The health situation in Ba Yang Hamlet is similar to that found in Sites 1 and 2. In general, the community suffers from a lack of access to health services due to both a lack of availability and an inability to pay for those services.

The Commune Health Station is located approximately nine kilometres from Ba Yang Hamlet in the Commune centre and people spoken to said they rarely visited the health centre due to the distance and the cost of services. There is one resident M'Nong health worker based in the hamlet but his resources are extremely limited.

Ba Yang Hamlet has four traditional midwives who attend to all births in the community. None of the women have ever given birth in the Commune Health Station.

According to the women, the Commune Health Station had carried out two vaccination programmes for their children over the previous 12 month period. This is a government service provided free of charge where the health workers travel to the hamlets to carry out the vaccinations. The women do not keep records of their children's vaccinations, these are maintained by the Commune health workers who notify the hamlet headman of upcoming programmes. Each household benefiting from the programme is expected to contribute one can of rice (approximately 250 g) to prepare a communal meal for the health workers (often households are unable to make such a contribution).

According to the women, the main health problems faced by the community include fevers, diarrhoea (many babies have died as a result) and respiratory tract infections. Since the beginning of 1997, three children and two adults had died of disease in the community. In fact, a 10 month old baby had died of fever and diarrhoea early in the morning before the PRA. According to the men, a total of 20 people had died as a result of disease since the community had settled there in 1991. A common treatment for fever cited was to take a pinch of soil from a grave site and rub it between the eyes.

4.3.6. Agricultural Extension

Being a remote community, Ba Yang Hamlet has received little benefit from government sponsored agricultural extension programmes. For two years, from 1995-1996, a provincial government agricultural advisor was based in the hamlet. According to the women, however, this advisor provided very little in the way of practical demonstrations, concentrating more on agricultural production theory. No production models were established during this period and there was no introduction of improved crop varieties. The advisor prepared a nursery to produce coffee seedlings to sell to the community (1,000 VND \ seedling), despite the fact that the area is not suitable for coffee cultivation.

4.3.7. Credit

The community as a whole possesses very little knowledge regarding available government credit schemes. One woman spoken to said she had borrowed 1.6 million VND from a government bank (possibly the Bank for the Poor) in 1996 with an interest rate of 1.2 % / month. According to the woman, she and nine other households applied in a group and up until now only some of the households have been able to repay their loans.

The community had no knowledge of any other official government credit schemes such as the 120 Programme, the National 327 Programme or the Hunger Eradication and Poverty Alleviation Programme.

The project could play a role in educating the community about these various programmes and the application procedures.

A traditional support system exists within the Ba Yang Hamlet community whereby households in need can receive support in kind from other households and family members. Labour exchange groups also exist based on familial ties.

According to the women, there is no informal loan service provided by the local ethnic Kinh traders as they view the community as too high a risk group for repayments to be fully met.

5. Priority Areas as Perceived by the Target Group (B uon Ba Yang)

Through discussions with the community during the course of the initial PRA, a number of constraints to achieving subsistence were identified by both groups.

The PRA sub-team working with the men's group used two main tools : Problems, Causes and Opportunities Table and Problem Ranking Matrix, to analyse the major constraints identified by the group. ( See Tables 8 and 9). Using the Problems, Causes and Opportunities Table, the men's group was asked to identify their main problems, the causes of these problems and possible opportunities to overcome the problems identified.

As can be seen from the table, the men's analysis of their perceived problems is quite simple and demonstrates a strong dependence on outside assistance (e.g. opportunities cited for lack of credit, food security and health).

Using the Problem Ranking Matrix, both groups were asked to rank each identified problem against one another to establish an order of priority. Each time a problem is ranked as being of more importance than the compared problem, it is given a point. The number of points awarded to a problem reflects it's importance to the group. The higher the number of points, the higher the priority.

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According to the men's group, food security (3 points) is their number one concern followed by health (2 points), credit (1 point) and then lack of fresh water (0 points).

The sub-team working with the women's group used the Problem Ranking Matrix to try to identify the priority areas as perceived by the women. ( See Table 10). According to the women, health (6 points) ranked as the most important problem facing their community. This was followed, in order of priority, by lack of credit, irrigation and food security (4 points each), crop losses due to pests and diseases (3 points), acid soil (2 points) and poor condition of the school (0 points).

Table 8: Problems, Causes and Opportunities in Ba Y ang Hamlet. ( Men's Focus Group ) - April 1997

Table 9 : Problem Ranking in Ba Yang Hamlet (Men's Focus Group) - April 1997

Ranking:

1. Food Security (3) 2. Health (2) 3. Credit (1) 4. Lack of Fresh Water (0)

Table 10: Problem Ranking in Ba Yang Hamlet ( Women's Focus Group ) - April 1997

Ranking:

1. Health (6) 2. Credit (4) 3. Lack of Irrigation (4) 4. Food Security (4) 5. Crop Losses Due to Pests & Diseases (3) 6. Acid Soil (2) 7. Poor Condition of School (0)

6. PRA Exercise in Site 3, Buon Lac Dong, Krong No Commune

Problems Causes Opportunities

Lack of Credit - Poverty

- Short Repayment Period

- Extension of Repayment Period to 1 year

Food Security - Lack of Agricultural Extension. - Loans in kind (seed, fert. etc.).

- Practical Agricultural Extension Techniques.

Lack of Fresh Water - Sandy soil. -Concrete Reinforcement Rings for Wells.

Health - Poverty.

- Lack of health station in hamlet

- Annual Government Support of Free Medication.

Food Security Health Credit Lack of Fresh Water

Food Security - Food Security Food Security Food Security

Health - - Health Health

Credit - - - Credit

Lack of Fresh Water -

Food Security

Health Credit Poor Condition of School

Lack of Irrigation

Acid Soil Crop Losses Due to Pests & Diseases

Food Security

Health Food Security Food Security Both Lack of Irrigation & Food Security

Both Acid Soil & Food Security

Crop Losses Due to Pests & Diseases

Health - Health Health Health Health Health

Credit - - Credit Credit Credit Credit

Poor Condition of School

- - - - Lack of Irrigation

Acid Soil Crop Losses Due to Pests & Diseases

Lack of Irrigation - - - - Lack of

Irrigation Lack of Irrigation

Acid Soil - - - - - Crop Losses Due to Pests & Diseases

Crop Losses Due to Pests & Diseases

- - - - - -

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6.1. Methods and Tools

As discussed above (see 3.2 - Reflection on Methodology), the PRA team agreed to trial a "reduced" PRA based on the Gender and Participation Consultant's recommendations in Lac Dong Hamlet. The aim of this "reduced" PRA was to focus the exercise more fully on NRM and thus avoid placing the Project in a rural development context. The PRA in Lac Dong Hamlet was carried out over a period of one and a half days.

Tools recommended for use by the consultant included the following:

1. Timeline 2. Community Map (including Mobility information) 3. Agricultural Calendar 4. Transect Walk 5. Resource Map 6. NRM Historical Comparison Maps

In addition to the information gained through the above tools, the consultant recommended that the team utilise semi-structured interviewing to concentrate on the following areas :

7. Livelihood Analysis - including :

a. Forest

b. Upland Fields

c. Wetland Rice

d. Lowland Fields

e. Livestock

f. Hiring out of Labour

g. Household Gardens

h. Other

8. Historical Comparison of Upland Fields & Productivity 9. Major Constraints / Bottlenecks to Achieving Subsistence

Of the tools listed above, the teams did not have sufficient time to utilise 6. NRM Historical Comparison Maps. This information was however obtained through semi-structured interviewing techniques.

Tools utilised during the previous PRAs in Sites 1 and 2 and in Ba Yang Hamlet such as the Problems, Causes and Opportunities Table, Problem Ranking Matrix and Venn Diagrams were not included in this PRA.

6.2. Reflection on Methodology

Unfortunately, due to other work commitments, only one member of the project field staff were available to participate in the first day of "reduced" PRA trial and none on the second day. Ideally, full project field staff involvement would have enabled a more thorough evaluation of the trial to take place.

The CARE PRA team feels that the "reduced" PRA did in fact allow them to concentrate more thoroughly on NRM issues while at the same time helping to avoid raising the community's expectations. However, the CARE team also believes that in order to fully understand the constraints facing resource inadequate communities, it is important to gain basic information regarding health and education issues.

It is interesting to note that while the PRA team did not directly raise the issue of health, the women's group cited health as one of the major constraints to achieving subsistence currently faced by the community.

6.3. Findings

6.3.1. Village History

As with the PRAs carried out in Sites 1,2 and Ba Yang Hamlet, the Timeline exercise was used by the PRA team to gain an insight into the recent history of the hamlet. In this instance only the men's group participated in this exercise.

1966: Prior to 1966, the original Lac Dong community (which at this time included Ba Yang community) was settled near Dak Hiu Bridge and nearby areas. During the war, the community followed the liberation forces and moved deep into the forest. Prior to 1977 the community was then resettled by the former Saigon regime in the Phi Di Ja area.

1977: Moved to land belonging to Clay Bang Hamlet (site of present Lac Dong Hamlet), joining with 5 - 6 Clay Bang Hamlet households to form Lac Dong Hamlet. Total number of households - 40.

1980 - 1981: Malaria Epidemic causes the death of 15 people

1988: Population of Lac Dong Hamlet increased to over 100 households. No longer enough forest land available for all households to carry out shifting cultivation. As a result, approximately 50 households split off to establish Ba Yang Hamlet, 50 households return to their former settlement near Dak Hiu Bridge and 15 households remain in current location.

1992: Government constructs an irrigation dam for 10 ha of wetland rice in Lac Dong Hamlet (present site) to encourage those households settled near Dak Hiu Bridge to move back to Lac Dong Hamlet. This dam replaced one which the community itself had constructed and repaired by hand annually.

1993: Government clears 50 ha of low grade forest land (bulldozing and ploughing) to allocate to individual households in Lac Dong Hamlet. Some households from Dak Hiu Bridge returned to Lac Dong Hamlet, some moved to Ba Yang Hamlet and others moved to Plang Pai Bi Pass. At this time there were 58 M'Nong households and one ethnic Kinh household (trading) settled in Lac Dong Hamlet.

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Diagram 6: community Map - Men's Focus Group

Lac Dong Hamlet - Krong No commune - Lak District - Dak Lak Province April 23, 1997

Diagram 7: community Map - Women's Focus Group

Lac Dong Hamlet - Krong No commune - Lak District - Dak Lak Province April 23, 1997

1995 -1996: Approximately 5 - 6 households moved to another commune to find land suitable for shifting cultivation.

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6.3.2. Livelihood Analysis :

Forest:

Lac Dong Hamlet community is dependent on the surrounding forest (managed by KNCPC) for a range of NTFPs which may be sold and/or used for home consumption. The community is also dependent on the surrounding forest as in reality this secondary forest is the fallow of the shifting cultivation cycle practiced by the community. This cycle is similar to that described for Ba Yang Hamlet (see 3.3.2).

According to the community, there is no remaining primary forest immediately surrounding the hamlet. Forested areas surrounding Lac Dong represent fallows at various stages of succession, with most areas dominated by secondary bamboo growth.

Prior to 1991, the Pinus sp. plantation next to Lac Dong Hamlet was under the management of Krong No Forest Enterprise. With the collapse of the Enterprise in 1991, the management of this area was awarded to Phi Di Ja Hamlet.

On the other side of Lac Dong Hamlet, an area of forest land (the size of the area requires confirmation - reports range from 40 ha to 400 ha) has been allocated to the Provincial Police Department for the purpose of establishing an Acacia sp. plantation.

Aside from the government assistance provided to establish cashew plantations (see Lowland Fields), Lac Dong community has not participated in any other activities under the National 327 Programme. There has been no forest land allocation programme carried out in either Lac Dong or Ba Yang Hamlets.

NTFPs harvested from the surrounding forest (beyond the upland fields) include :

Many of the respondents claimed that these NTFPs were becoming harder to find near the hamlet and people usually had to spend a whole day traveling to and from

NTFP Uses

Rattan Sale of raw material (1,000 VND/kg) and basket weaving

Bamboo Poles Sale (600 VND/5m pole) and construction

Bamboo Shoots Sale (500 VND/kg boiled, 800 VND/kg dried)

Fruit and Vegetables Home consumption during dry season

Litsea Bark Sale for incense production (500 VND/kg)

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the forest and often had to stay overnight due to longer distances.

Resource poor households are highly dependent on forest fruit and vegetables as a staple food supply during the dry season. According to the women, a plentiful supply of these fruit and vegetables is as far away as 20 km (possibly within Nam Ka Nature Reserve), an 11 - 12 hour round trip.

As with the other hamlets involved in the PRAs, fuelwood consumption in Lac Dong Hamlet is high (15 - 20 kg/day) and its collection is the responsibility of women and girls. According to the women, fuelwood is an important trading item for them and they often collect twice a day. One basket is kept for household consumption and the other used to trade for basic necessities such as rice, oil, fish etc. at the local store. One basket of fuelwood (25kg) can be exchanged for 500g of rice.

Upland Fields:

According to the women's group, for the majority of households in Lac Dong Hamlet, the upland fields are their most important means of achieving subsistence. These fields enable the community to produce a wide range of crops including two to three varieties of upland rice, corn, squash, pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon, legumes, chili, tobacco, and a variety of green leaf vegetables which provide a ready supply of food during the wet season. Those households unable to cultivate their upland fields due to a shortage of labour (e.g. newly married couples with young children) are the ones most likely to suffer food shortages.

Most of the produce from the upland fields is used for home consumption and small amounts may be traded for basic necessities at the local store. According to the men's group, upland rice yields (500 - 800 kg/ha) are often higher than wetland rice yields (as low as 300 kg/ha).

As with the other communities involved in the PRAs, the fields are cultivated for a single season and left to fallow for up to 12 years. It is during this fallow period that the fields revert to secondary bamboo forest which supply the community with a range of NTFPs.

Wetland Rice:

Those households who have paddy fields to cultivate rarely have sufficient labour to cultivate both wetland and upland rice. Due to the lesser labour demands of wetland rice cultivation, many of these households have chosen to concentrate their labour on wetland rice production. For these households, their paddy fields are their most important means of achieving subsistence.

Lac Dong community began cultivating wetland rice in the current location in 1990. At that time, the community had constructed their own dam by hand and 5 ha of paddy belonged to 18 households. In 1992, the community received government assistance in the form of construction of a small dam along with an additional 5 ha of paddy. The community now has 10 ha of paddy belonging to 33 households. This 10 ha can be used to cultivate two rice crops per year.

According to the men's group, in addition to this 10 ha currently being cultivated by the community, a number of households have identified an additional two to three hectares of land next to the stream which would be suitable for wetland rice cultivation.

First crop-January, February to June

Second crop-July, August to December

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Table 11: Agricultural Calendar - Men's Focus Group - April 1997

Lac Dong Hamlet - Krong No Commune - Lak District - Dak Lak Province

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug. Sept Oct. Nov. Dec.

Activities

1. Upland fields

Clear vegetation

Burn fields

Sowing

Weeding

Harvesting

2. Wetland Rice (1st crop)

Sowing

Transplanting

Weeding

Soil preparation

3. Wetland Rice (2nd crop)

Soil preparation

Sowing

Transplanting

Weeding

Harvesting

4. Corn

Soil preparation

Sowing

Weeding

Harvesting

5. Cassava (Home garden)

Soil preparation

Planting

Harvesting

6. Hiring out labour

7. Harvest Bamboo Shoots

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Table 12: Agricultural Calendar - Women's Focus Gro up - April 1997 Lac Dong Hamlet - Krong No Commune - Lak District - Dak Lak Province

According to the women's group, rice production in Lac Dong Hamlet is also adversely affected by soil acidity. Yields are low (some people claim as low as 300 kg/ha) and no fertiliser or pesticide is applied. According to the men's group, yields are steadily declining. Where previously the paddy fields were producing 500 kg/ha now only 300 kg/ha is harvested.

According to the women's group, prior to 1993, when there were only approximately 15 households in Lac Dong Hamlet, none of these households practiced shifting cultivation. These households were able to meet their subsistence needs through wetland rice cultivation and thus had no need to depend on upland fields. Even today, these particular households continue to concentrate on their paddy fields and do not practice shifting cultivation. The women feel that if the community as a whole had sufficient paddy land then there would be no need to continue shifting cultivation.

Lowland Fields :

In 1993, under the National 327 Programme, the government cleared 50 ha of lowland fields for Lac Dong community to establish cashew plantations. Not all households benefited from this programme and those who did received between 0.5 - 1 ha of land per household. According to the men's group, those households who received paddy land were not eligible to receive land under this new allocation scheme. None of these households have received land use certificates in relation to these allocations.

Both of these government schemes were aimed at assisting the community to adapt to fixed cultivation and also to encourage the return of those members of the community who had moved back to Dak Hiu Bridge.

During the first year after clearing, the beneficiaries planted rice, during the second year they planted corn and during the third year they planted cashew seedlings. According to the men's group, a total of 19 ha of cashews belonging to 37 households had been established. Government assistance included land preparation, supply of seedlings and money for planting and maintenance (these amounts require confirmation from Lak District ARDO).

A quick survey of the area revealed that most of the plantation was overgrown with grass and had seemingly been abandoned. According to both groups, initial land preparation had not been thorough enough and thus weed competition was so fierce. The community lack the appropriate tools and buffalo to carry out weeding and maintenance and have thus abandoned the area and returned to upland field cultivation.

According to both groups, the preparation of upland fields for planting require much less labour than that required for lowland fields. The burning of slashed upland fields is much less demanding than the manual weeding of a plantation. According to calculations made by the men's group, a buffalo is capable of weeding 0.2 ha of

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug. Sept Oct. Nov. Dec.

Activities

1. Upland fields

Clear vegetation

Burn fields

Sowing

Weeding

Harvesting

2. Wetland Rice (1st crop)

Sowing

Transplanting

Weeding

Harvesting

Soil preparation

3. Wetland Rice (2nd crop)

Soil preparation

Sowing

Transplanting

Weeding

Harvesting

4. Corn

Soil preparation and sowing

Weeding

Harvesting

5. Cassava (Home garden)

Soil preparation

Planting

Harvesting

6. Hiring out labour

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lowland fields per day while a single labourer is only able to weed 0.025 - 0.03 ha per day.

Diagram 8: Resource Map - Men's Focus Group

Lac Dong Hamlet - Krong No commune - Lak District - Dak Lak Province April 23, 1997

Diagram 9: Transect Walk in Lech Dong Hamlet, Krong Commune, Lak District, Dak Lak Province - April 19 97

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According to both groups, the community still suffers from a shortage of lowland fields for cultivation. However, if such land were to be made available, appropriate technical assistance must be provided to assist the community to control weed infestation.

Livestock:

Despite the fact that animal husbandry remains largely underdeveloped in Lac Dong Hamlet, according to the women's group, it rates as the third most important means of achieving subsistence for many of the households in the community.

The following figures on animal husbandry were provided by the men's group :

Cattle and buffalo are bred primarily for sale and not for agricultural work as the profit from sale is much higher. The current price of one head of cattle used for ploughing is 4 million VND.

According to the women's group, outbreaks of disease amongst livestock is a major constraint to expanding the community's animal husbandry production. Epidemics are common, especially those affecting pigs and chickens. One woman reported losing over 100 chickens during a disease outbreak last year.

Hiring out of Labour:

Hiring out of labour is common amongst both resource poor and resource adequate households. For poorer households it provides a means of survival i.e. money to buy rice. For better off households it provides money to purchase basic necessities such as clothing etc.

Community members travel to the neighbouring province of Lam Dong where they are hired by ethnic Kinh households to carry out land preparation, weeding and maintenance in coffee plantations. On average, one labourer can earn 7,000 - 15,000 VND per day which makes it a very inviting prospect for many households.

Home Gardens:

According to the men's group, in 1992, the Commune authorities prepared a land allocation plan for Lac Dong Village allocating approximately 0.25 ha to each household for residential and home garden areas. The households are yet to receive land use certificates in any form from the government.

Home garden utilisation remains largely underdeveloped. Many households have planted cashew and other fruit trees intercropped with coffee, however these receive little attention and no fertiliser. Some households plant agricultural crops such as peanuts, mung beans and corn in their home gardens during the wet season.

Other:

According to the men's group, in 1996, 20 households formed several groups to borrow money from a government bank (possibly BFP). The loans carried an interest rate of 1.2%/month and a repayment period of six months. At the end of the repayment period none of the households were able to repay their loans. Various reasons cited include poor investment planning, low prices for produce and crop losses. Those households who were unable to repay their loans are now no longer eligible to borrow from BFP and most of the other households in the community are afraid of being caught in the same situation and thus do not dare to take out loans.

According to the women's group, children can earn money for the household by collecting manure which is then sold or traded to the local ethnic Kinh traders. One large fertiliser bag of manure can be sold for 2,000 - 3,000 VND.

6.3.3. Historical Comparison of Upland Fields & Pro ductivity

According to both groups, the community began to experience real difficulty achieving subsistence after 1993 when they concentrated in this new location. Prior to this, the community had access to sufficient forest land to enable them to produce enough food on their upland fields. Now, due to an increase in the community's population, pressure on scarce natural resources and increased government controls on forest management this area of available forest has reduced significantly. Hand in hand with the reduction of available forest area is the reduction in fallow periods (from 25 years down to only 8 and even less in some cases). This then leads to reduced soil fertility and lower yields.

According to the women's group, upland rice yields under a 20 year fallow period could be as high as 2.4 ton/ha. Current yields under 8 to 10 year fallows are as low as 500 - 800 kg/ha.

Another example of the loss of soil fertility in the community's upland fields was given by the men's group who stated that 10 years ago, an upland field could be cultivated for three years running with little appreciable lowering of yields. Today, it is essential to fallow upland fields after a single season as yields from the second season would be far too low. While then men's group stated that this continuous cultivation was previously possible and that some households already feeling the pressure of reduced availability of forest land were practicing this, they also stated that 10 years ago there was little need for most households to cultivate continuously as there was still ample forest land available.

6.3.4. Major Constraints / Bottlenecks to Achieving Subsistence

According to the women's group, the community's major constraints to achieving subsistence can be set out in order of priority as follows :

During a very informal discussion with some of the women at a later stage, several of the women expressed the view that the most major constraint to achieving subsistence facing the women was their lack of control over their own fertility.

According to the men's group, the community's major constraints to achieving subsistence begins with their inability to produce sufficient rice (both upland and wetland) to feed their families.

Pigs - 20 animals owned by 9 households

Cattle - 24 animals owned by 11 households

Buffalo - 10 animals owned by 4 households

Chickens - Most households raise a small number

1 Shortage of land for agricultural production (notably wetland rice).

2 Lack of irrigation facilities to enable cultivation of second rice crop on existing paddy land.

3 Lack of inputs :

i) Investment / Credit

ii)Technology / Agricultural Extension

4 Shortage of labour (large families with many children).

5 Health related problems which lead directly to a shortage of labour.

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1. The area of paddy land available is insufficient and does not belong to all households in the community. Many households have no paddy land at all. 2. Lack of investment to enable the community to practice fixed cultivation on lowlands (including cashew cultivation). 3. Fear of and lack of information regarding access to formal credit schemes.

7. Recommendations from the PRAs in Ba Yang and Lac Dong Hamlets, Krong No Commune

7.1. Proposed Strategies

Strategies proposed to ensure a process facilitating participatory and gender sensitive developments in natural resource management in Ba Yang and Lac Dong Hamlets, Krong No Commune are the same as those proposed for Dak Phoi Commune (see 3.2 Proposed Strategies).

7.2. Follow on PRA Steps (Concentrating on Agreed Priority Sectors)

Based on the above listed priority sectors (see 5. Priority Areas as Perceived by the Target Group [Buon Ba Yang] and 6.3.4 Major Constraints / Bottlenecks to Achieving Subsistence [Buon Lac Dong]) as perceived by the target group as well as some "spark interventions" as identified by the PRA team, follow-on PRA steps are recommended as follows :

7.2.1. Formation of a Community Development Group i n Ba Yang Hamlet to be responsible for the formulat ion of Community Development Plans, oversee implementation and participate in monitoring and ev aluation.

As per recommendations for Sites 1 and 2 (see 3.3.5), the formation of a CDG in Ba Yang Hamlet is aimed at encouraging the community to participate in all stages of project activities in Ba Yang Hamlet and to take control of their own development process. However, it is not enough to simply facilitate the group's formation. To enable it to function effectively, the group will require initial needs assessment and ongoing support and training from project staff.

7.2.2. Identify existing interest groups in Lac Don g Hamlet who have the potential to join as partners in various project activities. Strengthen the capa city of these partner groups to design, implement, monit or and evaluate project activities.

To assist the project to identify the most appropriate method of working together with the target communities, the approach facilitating community participation in Lac Dong Hamlet should differ slightly to that in the other target hamlets. Here the project should seek to identify existing interest groups such as paddy farmers, families practising animal husbandry etc. And encourage them to participate as partners in various project activities. As with the CDGs, these groups may require initial needs assessment and ongoing support and training from project staff.

The development of the CDG in Ba Yang Hamlet and the interest groups in Lac Dong Hamlet and their role in facilitation of project activities should be closely monitored by the project to allow an assessment of appropriate methodologies suitable for extension to other areas.

7.2.3. Facilitation of Community Development Plans (CDPs) by CDG in Ba Yang Hamlet and interest groups in Lac Dong Hamlet.

The facilitation of CDPs by the CDG in Ba Yang Hamlet and the interest groups in Lac Dong Hamlet is the next step in the process to strengthen the capacity of these groups to identify their community's development needs and opportunities.

The process was facilitated by project staff in Sites 1 and 2 and requires a significant input of support from the project as part of the capacity building process.

7.2.4. Strengthen the capacity of Krong No Women's Union to enable them to work effectively as a proje ct partner organisation.

The Women's Union in Krong No Commune (KNCWU) has been identified by project staff as a suitable project partner organisation for project activities in this commune. KNCWU has considerable experience in loan management and agricultural extension and would give the project an opportunity of working more closely with the women in both communities.

Once again this organisation will also require initial needs assessment and ongoing support and training from project staff to enable it to function effectively as a project partner.

7.2.5. Analyse the potential of introducing the Imp roved Woodstove Programme in both hamlets based on the outcome of the programme in Dak Phoi Commune.

Fuelwood consumption in both Ba Yang and Lac Dong Hamlets is as high as that estimated in the other seven target hamlets (approximately 15 - 20 kg/day). As with the women's focus groups in Sites 1 and 2, the women in Ba Yang and Lac Dong Hamlets described the task of fuelwood collection as a burden on both their time and energy.

Based on the outcome of the Improved Woodstove Programme in Sites 1 and 2, it may be possible to extend the programme to Site 3 taking into account any adjustments required. This would be a "spark intervention" for the project and act as a confidence building measure between the project and target communities.

7.2.6. Commencement of preliminary "spark" agricult ural extension activities.

As with the Hybrid Corn Programme in Sites 1 and 2, the project should initiate some preliminary "spark" agricultural extension activities which would serve as a confidence building measure between the project and target communities.

Based on the priority areas as perceived by the target group in Krong No Commune (see 5. And 6.3.4) and the time of year (June), assistance with wetland rice production would be an appropriate "spark intervention" in these communities.

Facilitating this would involve :

1. Identification of a certain number of volunteer households (to be determined according to available project resources) with available paddy fields able to participate in the programme.

2. Identification of agricultural extension officer/s and local partner organisation (possibly KNCWU) able to facilitate the programme. Preparation of appropriate contractual arrangements.

3. Facilitation of CDPs with CDG in Ba Yang Hamlet and interest group/s in Lac Dong Hamlet. 4. Initiation of detailed participatory analysis of physical conditions and agricultural extension requirements. 5. Design of associated credit scheme (e.g. Project supported credit in kind as used in Dak Phoi Commune). 6. Design and implementation of agricultural extension programme. 7. Purchase of necessary materials and/or equipment and disbursement. 8. Preparation of appropriate contractual arrangements. 9. Monitoring and evaluation

7.2.7. Commencement of long term agricultural exten sion activities.

Based on the priority areas as perceived by the target group, this may include extension programmes in the fields of animal husbandry, home garden production and other fixed cultivation systems. These programmes could follow a similar plan to that set out above (7.2.6) for wetland rice extension.

Lac Dong community has identified several hectares of potential paddy land surrounding the hamlet which they wish to exploit but are unable to do so due to financial constraints. There may be potential for the project to provide financial assistance for the development of this area based on equitable distribution amongst resource inadequate households.

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7.2.8. Initiate dialogue with the Youth Union Servi ce Company who are responsible for the rubber plant ation project with Ba Yang Hamlet.

At the time of conducting the PRAs, participants were yet to receive any official documentation of their land allocation entitlements under this programme. This lack of official documentation was cited as a major reason for the community being reluctant to continue cultivation and maintenance of existing plantations on this land. It would be useful for the project to have a clearer understanding of this programme, including the rights and benefits of the target community.

7.2.9. Analyse the project's potential to assist wi th the land allocation process in Krong No Commune .

No land use certificates, temporary or permanent, have been issued to any members of the two target hamlets in Krong No Commune. This is due to the fact that a landuse survey is yet to be carried out in this commune. The project may be able to assist with this survey and should analyse this potential.

Table 13.Training Programme Proposal

All training is gender sensitive and focuses on participatory methodologies and Training of Trainers (ToT) to facilitate replicability and to help to ensure sustainability of interventions.

Training Needs

Training Content Trainees Plan of Operation Financial Estimate

Gender Analysis

Sex & Gender

Gender Roles

Gender Needs & Interests

Gender Issues in Dev. Projects

Gender Analysis

Steps to Empowerment

Research Methods

Gender & the Planning Cycle

Gender Action Plan

Evaluation

1) Project Staff (3 persons)

2) Provincial Women's Union (2

persons)

3) District Women's Union (2 persons)

4) District Agriculture and Rural

Development Office (2 persons)

5) District Agricultural Extension

Station (3 persons)

6) Dak Phoi Commune People's

Committee (2 persons)

Timing - Total of 8 1\2 days :

2 days preparation + travel

3 days for initial workshop

1\2 day for field trip

1\2 day for participants to report back and discuss outcomes.

1 day report preparation and presentation

1\2 day travel

1 day follow up monitoring

Consultants fees :

8 1\2 days x 2 persons @ 350 USD \ day = 2,975 USD

Operational costs :

2 Return tickets HCMC - BMT

130 USD + 50 USD = 180 USD

Services : Secretarial services, photocopying, workshop materials preparation, translation = 300 USD

Total : 3,455 USD

Participatory Appraisal

Methodologies

What is Participatory Appraisal ?

Benefits of Participatory Appraisal

Steps to Participatory Appraisal

Introducing Strategies & Tools

1) Project Staff (3 persons)

2) District Agriculture and Rural

Development Office (2 persons)

3) District Agricultural Extension

Station (3 persons)

4) Dak Phoi Commune People's

Committee (2 persons)

Timing - Total of 7 1\2 days :

2 days preparation + travel

2 days for workshop

1\2 day for field trip

1\2 day for participants to report back and discuss outcomes.

1 day report preparation and presentation

1\2 day travel

1 day follow up monitoring

Consultants fees :

7 1\2 days x 2 persons @ 350 USD \ day = 2,625 USD

Operational costs :

2 Return tickets HCMC - BMT

130 USD + 50 USD = 180 USD

Services : Secretarial services, photocopying, workshop materials preparation, translation = 300 USD

Total : 3,105 USD Participatory Planning Methodologies

Why Projects Fail

Role of Community Participation in Planning & Design

Importance of Secondary Data

Planning Frameworks

Goals & Indicators

Planning for Evaluation

Community Development Groups

Community Development Plans

1) Project Staff (3 persons)

2) District Agriculture and Rural

Development Office (2 persons)

3) District Agricultural Extension

Station (3 persons)

4) Dak Phoi Commune People's

Committee (2 persons)

Timing - Total of 6 1\2 days :

1 day for preparation

1\2 day travel

2 days for workshop

1\2 day for field trip

1\2 day for participants to report back and discuss outcomes.

1\2 day for report preparation and presentation

1\2 day travel

1 day for follow up monitoring

Consultants fees :

6 1\2 days x 2 persons @ 350 USD \ day = 2,275 USD

Operational costs :

2 Return tickets HCMC - BMT

130 USD + 50 USD = 180 USD

Services : Secretarial services, photocopying, workshop materials preparation, translation = 200 USD

Total : 2,655 USD Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation

What is Participatory M & E ?

Benefits of Participatory M & E

Monitoring People's Participation

Steps to Participatory M & E

1) Project Staff (3 persons)

2) District Agriculture and Rural

Development Office (2 persons)

3) District Agricultural Extension

Station (3 persons)

Timing - Total of 7 1\2 days :

2 days preparation + travel

2 days for workshop

1\2 day for field trip

1\2 day for participants to report back and discuss outcomes.

1 day report preparation and

Consultants fees :

7 1\2 days x 2 persons @ 350 USD \ day = 2,625 USD

Operational costs :

2 Return tickets HCMC - BMT

130 USD + 50 USD = 180

Page 33 of 40

8. Proposal for Future Cooperation between CARE and t he Project

It is proposed that for the remainder of Phase I of the Project, CARE consultants continue to assist the Project, in a coaching / backstopper role, with implementation of the follow on PRA steps outlined in these recommendations. CARE should also be involved in the overall continued development, monitoring and evaluation of these activities.

In addition to this, CARE consultants would also implement the training programme as defined under Table 13. Training Programme Proposal. During implementation, additional training needs may be identified. CARE would be available to assist with design and implementation of any additional training programmes.

It is also proposed that CARE's expertise in research and integrated participatory conservation and development programmes be utilised by the project for an ongoing research programme which would cover such topics as traditional natural resource management systems (including NTFP utilisation), cultural profile, potentials for off-farm income generation and gender analysis.

It is proposed that CARE International in Vietnam be involved in the planning process for Phase II of the Project and that cooperation between CARE and the Project continue during this phase according to an agreed plan of operation.

References

Basri I, Garrity D P, Lai C K, Neely C (1993) Summary Report of the International Training Course on Sustainable Land Use Systems and Agroforestry research for the Humid Tropics of Asia, ICRAF - Southeast Asia report 93-1, Asia Pacific Agroforestry network Report No. 9

Davis Case, D J (1990) The Community's Toolbox : The Idea, Methods and Tools for Participatory Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation in Community Forestry,Community Forestry Field Manual 2, FAO Regional Wood Energy Development Programme in Asia, Bangkok, Thailand

Esser A L, Mutua E, Polestico R, Thomas-Slayter B, Taylor O (1995) A Manual for Socio-Economic and Gender Analysis : Responding to the Development Challenge.Ecology, Community Organisation. Clark University.

Lammerink M P, Wolffers I (1994) Some Selected Examples of Participatory Research, DGIS-Funded Research Programmes For Development.

Oltheten T M P (1995) Participatory Approaches to Planning For Community Forestry, Results and Lessons From Case Studies Conducted in Asia, Africa and Latin America, A Synthesis Report, Working Paper No. 2, Forests, Trees and People Programme, Forestry Department, FAO

Appendix 1 - Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference for CARE International (amended April 1997)

The organization Care will, through its technical staff, assist the project in its selected pilot sites in Dak Lak province by organizing and conducting a Participatory situation and problem analysis in cooperation with the target group members, i.e. small holders of the Dak Phoi commune. In addition, CARE will elaborate a

4) Dak Phoi Commune People's

Committee (2 persons)

presentation

1\2 day travel

1 day follow up monitoring

USD

Services : Secretarial services, photocopying, workshop materials preparation, translation = 300 USD

Total : 3,105 USD Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Improved Woodstove Programmes (IWPs)

What is Monitoring & Evaluation ?

Planning & Managing IWP M&E

Participatory Data Collection, Analysis & Use

Training for Monitoring

1) Project Staff (3 persons)

2) District Agriculture and Rural

Development Office (2 persons)

3) District Agricultural Extension

Station (3 persons)

4) Dak Phoi Commune People's

Committee (2 persons)

Timing - Total of 6 days :

1 day preparation

1\2 day travel

2 days for workshop

1 day report preparation and presentation

1\2 day travel

1 day follow up monitoring

Consultants fees :

6 days x 2 persons @ 350 USD \ day = 2,100 USD

Operational costs :

2 Return tickets HCMC - BMT

130 USD + 50 USD = 180 USD

Services : Secretarial services, photocopying, workshop materials preparation, translation = 200 USD

Total : 2,480 USD Savings and Credit

(Hamlet level)

What is Credit ?

Savings & Role in a Credit Scheme

Savings Groups

Interest & Interest Rates

Business Plans

Application Procedures

Cash Flow

Credit Risk

Repayment Scheduling

Book Keeping

1) Commune Women's Union (2

persons)

2) Hamlet Women's Union

Representative (1 person per

hamlet)

3) Hamlet women's groups (numbers

not yet specified)

Timing - Total of 9 days :

1 days preparation

1/2 day travel

4 days (1 day \ site x 4 sites) for workshop

1 day report preparation and presentation

1/2 day travel

2 days follow up monitoring

Consultants fees :

9 days x 2 persons @ 350 USD \ day = 3,150 USD

Operational costs :

2 Return tickets HCMC - BMT

130 USD + 50 USD = 180 USD

Services : Secretarial services, photocopying, workshop materials preparation, translation = 300 USD

Total : 3,630 USD

Total : 24,190 USD

Page 34 of 40

preliminary concept Of the planned cooperation between the MRC/GTZ project and its team in the field of participatory natural resource management.

In this context CARE will concentrate on:

1. Participatory situation and problem analysis

� conduct participatory situation and problem analysis in all pilot hamlets in Dak Phoi and Krong No commune.

� jointly identify priority areas as perceived by the target group.

� Identify next PRA steps concentrating on agreed priority sectors

� propose strategies, methods and instruments to ensure a process facilitating participatory and gender sensitive developments in natural resource management.

� elaborate a preliminary analysis of the "organizational landscape" covering all direct actors of the Dak Phoi commune.

� identify jointly with TG confidence building measures and plan implementation.

2. Selection of appropriate participatory methods a nd toots to facilitate NRM

� analyze used participatory methods and instruments

� recommend adaptations and propose the most appropriate instruments (e.g. FAO forest, trees and people) for NRM

� test adaptations (focused participatory methods, reduced PRAs) in Krong No hamlets

� analyze evaluate process jointly with TG and document it

� prepare "product line" describing planning and implementation process for all pilot hamlets

� propose village resource management plans, discuss with TG and document it.

3. Identification and analysis of measures for awar eness creation and training of project staff, relev ant Government officers and participating members o f local organizations in gender issues and participat ory concepts, methods and relevant instruments.

� identify relevant trainees from project staff, Government officers, and members of local organizations

� identify awareness creation measures and training needs in PRA/gender specific issues related to project objectives.

� elaborate a plan of operation for CARE to carry out awareness creation, training events and on-the-job training in the field.

� Provide financial estimate (man month, operational costs, services, etc.)

4. Elaboration of a proposal for future cooperation with the project in Dak Lak province:

� coaching/backstopper function for project staff in gender issues, PRA methods and instruments.

� training in gender specific situation and problem analysis and PRA methods/instruments.

� conducting and coaching of project staff in participatory planning and M&E activities.

� analysis of traditional local natural resource management practices (information and decision making aspects) relevant to project objectives.

CARE will elaborate a detailed report covering all hamlets in the project area. The report will include a precise description of all work steps, results, and applied PRA methods and instruments. It will include a brief analysis of their appropriateness especially in the context of the socio-physical context of project area, TG response and focused applicability for NRM aspects. In addition, CARE will provide a proposal for future cooperation with the project in Dak Lak including a detailed proposal for the task of elaborating a paper on "best practices in NRM in Vietnam".

The draft report will be available by latest 15.5.1997 (one loose hardcopy and one soft copy in Word 6/7).

Appendix 2 - PRA Programme Appendix 2 - 1st PRA Programme, 26 January - 1 Febr uary 1997

Sunday 26 Jan: am Travel HCMC - Pleiku - Buon Me Thuot

p.m. Meeting with Mr. Bao Huy, Head of Forestry Department

Faculty of Ag. and Forestry, Tay Nguyen University

Meeting with Mr. Le Van Tai, Management Staff Nam Ka Nature Reserve

Monday 27 : am Meeting with SMRLMB Project Staff at Project office, Dak Lak DARD

p.m. Meeting with Mr. Truong Minh Quoc, Vice Chairperson of Lak District People's Committee at PC headquarters in Lien Son Town, Lak District

Tuesday 28: am Meeting with Dak Phoi Commune People's Committee at PC headquarters in Dak Phoi Commune

Begin PRA in Buon T'long A with target groups from Buon Dung and neighbouring hamlets Buon T'long A and Buon Nam

p.m. Continue meeting with Dak Phoi Commune People's Committee at PC headquarters in Dak Phoi Commune

Wednesday 29: am Continue PRA with target groups from Buon Dung and

Page 35 of 40

CARE International in Vietnam

Second PRA Programme - MRC\GTZ SMRLMB Project

20 - 26 February 1997

Actual Adjusted Working Programme for CARE's 3rd PR A trip

to SMRLMB Project pilot site and field office in Da k Lak

17 - 24 March 1997

2) Work with Michael & the Project team to discuss CARE's recommendations and CARE's future involvement in the project.

3) Preparation of presentations for Project Workshop 18 / 3 / 97

4) Discussion of planned activities

2) Afternoon - Workshop for Project staff on :

i) Feedback of PRA findings with target communities

ii) Facilitating formation of Community Development Groups

iii) Facilitation of Community Development Plans

3) Meeting with Maurits Servaas, Provincial Coordinator, Development Management, UNDP / Cemma

Project VIE / 96/ 010

2) Fax proposed Improved Woodstove working programme to Applied Technology Centre in Hanoi.

3) Preparation of draft contract for Applied Technology Centre

p.m. neighbouring hamlets Buon T'long A and Buon Nam in Buon Dung

Thursday 30: am Meeting with SMRLMB Technical Advisor (Michael Glueck) and Project Staff at Project office, Dak Lak DARD to review PRA activities over previous two days

p.m. Begin PRA in Buon Lieng Ke with target groups from Buon Lieng Ke and neighbouring hamlets Buon Du Mah and Buon Bu Yuk

Friday 31: am Continue PRA in Buon Lieng Ke with target groups from Buon Lieng Ke and neighbouring hamlets Buon Du Mah, Buon Jie Yuk and Buon Bu Yuk

Saturday 1 Feb: am Meeting with SMRLMB Technical Advisor (Michael Glueck) and Project Staff at Project office, Dak Lak DARD to review PRA activities over previous four days

Travel BMT - HCMC

Thursday 20 Feb : am Travel HCMC - BMT

p.m. Workshop at DARD office, BMT

"Presentation of PRA Findings"

Friday 21 Feb: am Meeting with Lak Forestry Enterprise.

p.m. Meeting with District Forestry Protection Dept. and District Agricultural Extension Station.

Saturday 22 Feb: am Meeting with Chairperson of the District Women's Union and Mr. Quoc (Vice- chairman of Lak PC)

p.m. Meeting with District Land Management office.

Sunday 23 Feb: am PRA\Household Survey Training Workshop

Monday 24 Feb: am Meeting with Provincial Agricultural Extension Centre and the Provincial Women's Union in BMT.

p.m. To Buon Dung Hamlet (Household surveys).

Tuesday 25 Feb: all day To Buon Dung Hamlet (Household surveys).

Wednesday 26 Feb.: am Workshop on Household Surveys Results.

p.m. Return to HCM City.

Mon. 17th - 1) Travel HCMC - BMT

Tues. 18th 1) Morning - Project Workshop with Provincial authorities.

Wed. 19th- 1) Preparation of a detailed work plan for CARE during April 1997.

Page 36 of 40

4) Continue Workshop for Project staff on :

i) Feedback of PRA findings with target communities

ii) Facilitating formation of Community Development Groups

iii) Facilitation of Community Development Plans

5) Detailed discussion of guidelines for Ag. Extension "Spark"

1) Feedback of PRA findings to representative groups from 2) Introduction of "Sparks" - Improved Woodstove and Ag. Extension Programmes

3) Introduction of Community Development Groups

4) Request for internal community meeting to

i)Select members of CDG

ii) Select participants for "Sparks"

iii)Inform 2 other hamlets in Group 1 of above and request that they also form CDGs and select "Sparks" participants

2) Adjustments to Draft of Recommendations

3) 11.40 am. Travel BMT - HCMC

4) Discussion of CARE's proposed working schedule for April 1997 with CARE ANR Advisor

5) Preparation of programme record from latest BMT PRA trip

6) Fax CARE's proposed working schedule for April 1997 to SMRLMB Project CTA, Head Office, Hanoi

2) Collate Information On Other CDGs Functioning In Vietnam

3) Obtain Information On Interpreters Course

4) Identify Vietnamese Foresters As Potential Candidates For Project Evaluation In August 1997. Obtain Cvs and send to Michael

5) Work with CARE accountants to prepare final invoice for CARE's first, second and third PRA trips.

Actual Adjusted Working Programme for CARE's 4th PR A trip

to SMRLMB Project pilot site and field office in Da k Lak

31 March - 12 April 1997

Thur. 20th am. Buon Dung & p.m.. Buon Lieng Ke

Frid. 21st - 1) Adjustments to CARE's proposed working schedule for April 1997

Mon. 24th 1) Meeting with Agricultural Science Institute in HCMC re. Ag. Extension and Action Research Strategies, Methods and Tools.

No. Date Activity CARE Personnel

1 Mon. 31 / 3 1.) 6.30am Travel HCMC - BMT Lindsay

Page 37 of 40

Actual Adjusted Working Programme for CARE's 5th PR A trip

to SMRLMB Project pilot site and field office in Da k Lak

21 April - 8 May 1997

2.) Travel to Pilot site.

am. Meeting with Dak Phoi commune PC

p.m.. Visit proposed 3rd site (Plang PaiBi Hamlet - Dak Nue commune). Visit Tay Ethnic Minority Hamlet, Dak Phoi Commune to survey Improved Woodstove

2 Tue. 1 / 4 am. Facilitate Formation Of CDGs And Facilitation Of CDPs In Buon Nam

p.m.. Facilitate Formation Of CDGs And Facilitation Of CDPs In Buon Lieng Ke

Lindsay

3 Wed. 2 / 4 am. Meeting with Field Staff, Michael and CARE

p.m.. Meeting with Head & vice head of Buon Du Mah to discuss CDGs, CDPs, "Sparks" & selection of additional participants for "Sparks"

Organise meeting with representatives from B. Du Mah, B. Bu Yuk & B. Jie Yuk for 3 / 4.

Lindsay

4 Thu. 3 / 4 Facilitation Of CDPs, Discussion of Formation Of CDGs & "Sparks" & selection of additional participants for "Sparks" in Buon Bu Yuk with representatives from B. Du Mah, B. Bu Yuk & B. Jie Yuk

Return to Field Office

Lindsay + 1 NSM

5 Fri. 4 / 4 Meet With Mr. Mai (agriculturalist for "Spark" Ag. Extension ) from ARDO In Lak District To Discuss His Planned Programme In Pilot Site.

Meeting with Chairman of Dak Phoi PC to discuss formation of CDGs & selection of additional participants for "Sparks"

Travel To Pilot Site With Mr. Mai To Introduce Him To Communities And To Survey Sites / Accompanied by Agronomist from TNU (Mr. Sanh) to assist with site and technical capacity assessment.

Lindsay + 1 NSM

6 Sat. 5 / 4 Planning for PRA in Krong No Commune

Preparation of adjusted workplans

Travel BMT - HCMC (Lindsay)

Lindsay + 1 NSM

7 Sun. 6 / 4 Day Off

8 Mon. 7 / 4 Travel HCMC - BMT (Lindsay)

Discussion with Rita re PRAs in Site 1 & 2

Introduction of PRA Tools for Site 3 for Project Field Staff

Lindsay + 1 NSM

9

Tue. 8 / 4 Travel to Krong No Commune

Meeting with Krong No commune People's Committee

Organisation for PRA In Hamlet 1, Krong No Commune - 9 / 4

Lindsay + 1 NSM

10 Wed. 9 / 4 Commence PRA In Hamlet 1, Krong No Commune Lindsay + 1 NSM

11

Thu. 10 / 4

am. Feedback For Project Staff on PRA In Hamlet 1, Krong No Commune

p.m.. 4.30pm. Travel BMT - HCMC (Lindsay & Khoi)

Lindsay + 1 NSM

12

13

Fri. 11 / 4

Mon. 12 / 4

Report Preparation In HCMC

" " " "

Lindsay + 1 NSM

N. Date Activity CARE Personnel

1 Mon. 21 / 4 1.) 6.30am Travel HCMC - BMT

Co-facilitation of Gender Workshop with Rita Gebert

Lindsay + 1 NSM

2 Tue. 22 / 4 2.)Travel to Pilot site Lindsay + 1

Page 38 of 40

Appendix 3 - PRA Team Members Appendix 3 - First PRA Team Members (Site 1 and 2)

Feedback & intro of "Sparks" & CDG in 1st Hamlet, 3rd site (Krong No Commune)

NSM

3 Wed. 23 / 4 Commence PRA in Lac Dong Hamlet, 3rd site, (Krong No Commune)

Lindsay + 1 NSM

4 Thu. 24 / 4 Attend Rural Finance and Gender & Participation Consultants presentations with field staff, Thomas, Michael & CARE

Lindsay + 1 NSM

5 Fri. 25 / 4 Roundtable with field staff, Thomas, Michael Helmut & CARE Lindsay + 1 NSM

6 Sat. 26 / 4 Continue PRA in Lac Dong Hamlet, 3rd site, (Krong No Commune) Lindsay + 1 NSM

7 Sun. 27 / 4 Day Off - BMT

8 Mon. 28 / 4 Continuation of Roundtable with field staff, Thomas, Michael Helmut & CARE Formation of CDG and facilitation of CDP in 1st Hamlet, 3rd site (Krong No Commune)

Lindsay + 1 NSM

9 Tue. 29 / 4 Documentation of maps & tools used during PRA in Lac Dong hamlet

Feedback & intro of "Sparks" & CDG in 2nd Hamlet, 3rd site, (Krong No Commune)

Travel BMT - HCMC

Lindsay + 1 NSM

10 Wed. 30 / 4 Public Holiday

11 Thu. 1 / 5 Public Holiday

12 Fri. 2 / 5 Report Writing in HCMC Lindsay + 1 NSM

13 Mon. 5 / 5 Travel HCMC - BMT

Thomas S. presentation, Michael, CARE & Project Team

Planning for field work Tuesday 6 / 5

Lindsay + 1 NSM

14 Tue. 6 / 5 Travel to Krong No Commune

Meeting with Krong No Commune PC to obtain secondary data on paddy ownership in 2 pilot hamlets & Women's Union to assess suitability as potential "Spark" partner

Lindsay + 1 NSM

15 Wed. 7 / 5 May - June Planning Session for CARE with Project team

Travel BMT - HCMC

Lindsay + 1 NSM

16 Thu. 8 / 5 Report Writing in HCMC Lindsay + 1 NSM

1. Nguyen Vu Khoi, ANR Project Officer

2. Lindsay Anne Ratcliffe, ANR Southern Projects Coordinator

CARE International in Vietnam

91 \ 35 Su Van Hanh (Noi Dai)

District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel : 8650232

Fax : 8626056

3. Tran Ngoc Thanh, Field Coordinator

4. YWel Ksor, Agroforestry Officer

5. Tran Huu Nghi, Assistant Coordinator

6. Dr. Ute Bartels, Agro-Economic Consultant

SMRLMB

45 Nguyen Chi Thanh

Dak Lak

Tel : 50 856286

Fax : 50 850091

Page 39 of 40

Appendix 3 - Second PRA Team Members (Ba Yang Hamle t, Site 3)

Appendix 3 - Third PRA Team Members (Lac Dong Hamle t, Site 3)

7. Ama Thom, Agricultural Technician, Cooperative Department, District DARD

8. Huynh Ngoc Mai, Agronomist, District DARD

Lak District People's Committee

Lien Son Town, Lak District

Dak Lak Province

1. Nguyen Vu Khoi, ANR Project Officer

2. Lindsay Anne Ratcliffe, ANR Southern Projects Coordinator

CARE International in Vietnam

91 \ 35 Su Van Hanh (Noi Dai)

District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel : 8650232

Fax : 8626056

3. Tran Ngoc Thanh, Field Coordinator

4. YWel Ksor, Agroforestry Officer

5. Dr Rita Gebert, Gender and Participation Consultant

6. Nina Ksor, Interpreter

SMRLMB

45 Nguyen Chi Thanh

Dak Lak

Tel : 50 856286

Fax : 50 850091

7. Ama Thom, Agricultural Technician, Cooperative Department, District DARD

Lak District People's Committee

Lien Son Town, Lak District

Dak Lak Province

1. Nguyen Vu Khoi, ANR Project Officer

2. Lindsay Anne Ratcliffe, ANR Southern Projects Coordinator

CARE International in Vietnam

91 \ 35 Su Van Hanh (Noi Dai)

District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Tel : 8650232

Fax : 8626056

3. YWel Ksor, Agroforestry Officer

SMRLMB

45 Nguyen Chi Thanh

Dak Lak

Tel : 50 856286

Fax : 50 850091

4. Ama Thom, Agricultural Technician, Cooperative Department, District DARD

Lak District People's Committee

Lien Son Town, Lak District

Dak Lak Province

Page 40 of 40