Faridah Aini Muhammad is a Bioversity International gender research fellow and works at the Department of Agriculture, Malaysia. In her presentation for the 22nd European Seminar on Extension and Education she illustrates different participatory research tools she used while doing research in Malaysian villages. Bioversity International’s participatory research on gender and forest genetic resources focuses on women’s and men’s distinct and complementary sets of knowledge, skills, practices and preferences related to forest management and conservation, and on gendered rights to access and benefit from trees and their products. Learn more: http://bit.ly/1KjKkjX

1. Use and effectiveness of participatory research tools for
social inclusion
Faridah Aini Muhammad, Department of Agriculture, Malaysia
ESEE - 2015, Wageningen, 30 April 2015
International
Support
Group

2. What we learned
• Participatory tools help reveal
differences in knowledge
and facilitate social learning
and freedom of expression
• Communities perceive tools as
relatively easy to use and
understand
• The tools we used supported
and empowered women to
explore new market
opportunities.

3. The problem
• Researchers often pay little
attention to how forest-dependent
communities experience
Participatory Research Tools
• Need to improve the approach
and tools for research and
extension organisations to reach
out to local women and men of
different backgrounds.

4. Objectives
Bioversity InternationalB. VincetiBioversity InternationalA. Drucker
Assess using four participatory tools:
• Four-Cell Analysis
• Venn Diagrams
• Participatory Value Chain Mapping
• Participatory Rapid Market Appraisal.
Test the ease of use, effectiveness and usefulness of the tools.

5. Study sites in Sarawak, Malaysia
Kakeng village
• Bidayuh ethnicity
• Christian faith
• Mainly farmers
• Pepper, rice, fruit trees in
agro-forestry systems.
Bungai village
• Kedayan ethnicity
• Islamic faith
• Mainly farmers and fisher-folk
• Fruit trees in agro-forestry
systems.

6. Tools assessed and how
• Four Cell Analysis, Venn
Diagrams, Participatory Value
Chain Map, Participatory Rapid
Market Appraisal
• Groups divided by age
(< 40, > 40) and gender.

7. Work with community groups
• Participants were asked to
evaluate on scale of 1-5 for ease
of use of tools and importance of
information obtained from tools
• Over a period of nine months,
(July 2013 to March 2014) 3
session in each community.

8. THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS

9. Knowledge of native fruit trees
Status of
Variety
Older Men Older Women Younger Men Younger
Women
Common 2 3 3 3
Abundant 1 2 2 0
Threatened 2 5 1 1
Rare 6 3 2 7
TOTAL 11 13 8 11

10. 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 2 3
Marketchannels
Round
Older women
Older men
Market channels identified

11. PARTICIPATORY RAPID
MARKET APPRAISAL

12. Ease of use of tools
0
1
2
3
4
5
FCA Venn Diagrams PVCM PRMA
Score
Tool
Young women-Kakeng
Older women-Kakeng
Older men-Kakeng
Older women-Bungai
Older men-Bungai

13. Participatory assessment of the participatory and gender-
sensitive research approach according to different gender
and age groups in Kampung Kakeng and Kampung Bungai
Assessment
of tools
Younger
women
Older
women
Younger men Older men
Working within
gender and age
group
Freedom to
communicate,
share
knowledge
Share
information,
understanding
issues
Collaborating,
exchanging and
sharing ideas
Share knowledge,
new information,
fostering closer
relationship
Working across
gender and age
groups
Challenging,
different
opinions, shy,
nervous
Opportunity to
exchange ideas
Uncomfortable,
inferior feelings,
exchange ideas
Awkward, younger
people give
different ideas,
share knowledge
Overall
appreciation of
process
New experience,
learn new things
Information,
knowledge
sharing
new ideas,
strengthen
relationships
sharing of ideas
and information

14. FINDINGS
Participatory tools help to
reveal differences in
knowledge and
facilitate social
learning and freedom
of expression.

15. FINDINGS
Community group
members perceive
tools as relatively
easy to use and
understand

16. FINDINGS
The tools -
Participatory Value-
Chain Mapping and
Participatory Rapid
Market Appraisal
combined - supported
and empowered
women to explore
new market
opportunities.

17. THAT’S ALL FOLKS,
THANK YOU!