Participatory Video: Rural People Document their Knowledge and Innovations NotesKI I ndigenous knowledge and local ini- All people in a community, whatever tiatives are usually documented and their formal level of education, can use disseminated by outsiders, who video to communicate their perspec- make their own interpretations in the tives. PV is a potentially strong process. Participatory Video (PV) pro- complement to existing farmer-to- vides an opportunity for rural people to farmer and community-to-community document their own knowledge and mechanisms for exchanging informa- experiences and to express their wants tion, such as story telling and local and hopes from their own perspectives. markets. The completed films can be http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/default.htm used to promote awareness and ex- change within the same community The process of PV and in other communities. PV provides The process of PV is, in essence, ex- a channel for farmers to communicate tremely simple, and the equipment re- their ideas, innovations, theories and quired is increasingly widely available decisions not only to each other but and affordable. This is the way the pro- also to formal researchers and develop- cess works: ment agents. The films can also be · The rural people rapidly learn how to used for lobbying and advocacy pur- No. 71 use video equipment through games August 2004 and exercises facilitated by outsiders; · The facilitators help local groups to IK Notes reports periodically on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives identify and analyze important issues in Sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally in their community and to plan how on such initiatives outside the Region. to show this on video; It is published by the Africa Region's Knowledge and Learning Center as · The video messages are directed and part of an evolving IK partnership filmed by the local groups; between the World Bank, communi- · The footage is shown to the wider ties, NGOs, development institutions and multilateral organizations. The community at daily screenings, set- views expressed in this article are those of the authors and should not be World Bank ting in motion a dynamic exchange attributed to the World Bank Group of ideas and perceptions. or its partners in this initiative. A webpage on IK is available at // www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/ default.htm 2 poses by showing them to policymakers at the local, national Babakuly's film or even international level. PV presents an "inside" view in a lively way. The films can Babakuly wanted to make a short film, involving be easily understood and stimulate the interest of people at neighbours, friends and relatives, to explore the benefits of using greenhouses to maximize production on small all levels. The video medium is easily transportable and eas- household plots. He started his film by interviewing his ily shared; in other words, it has a big "spread effect". uncle, the first in the region to build a greenhouse (30 years ago) and now successfully growing roses and cut flowers for the local market. The uncle explained the Example from Turkmenistan importance of sharing experiences since there was so much to learn. He also emphasized the need for the A recent example of PV is the Insight project carried out in farmers to access greater scientific understanding: "We 2003 in Turkmenistan, Central Asia, with support from the need to analyze the composition of our soils. If we knew how to do this, we could adjust the type and quantity of British Embassy and in association with the European Union fertilizer used and increase productivity by up to three Tacis program. Between 2001 and 2003, Tacis had set up five times!" Voluntary Farmers Associations (VFAs). The aim of the PV Babakuly then arranged a filmed discussion between activities was to help strengthen these fledgling community- him and a neighbour, in which they calculate that one fifth of the total yearly income from greenhouse-grown based organizations. The approach was to enable members products (which sell for five times the price of seasonal from two of the VFAs to communicate what was involved in vegetables) can cover all associated costs. setting up such an Association and what they regarded as the Babakuly ended his film by explaining that, despite ob- benefits. By explaining the aims and objectives of VFAs in a vious financial benefits, many farmers cannot use green- houses because of either lack of knowledge or lack of clear way to local and national policymakers, researchers and funds for building materials. He suggested that locally- international donors, the idea of farmer-led innovation was made videos could be used to convey information to the promoted and support for the VFA concept gained. This pro- farmers, and that small, short-term loans should be made cess also helped villagers to identify present challenges and available to help them start. opportunities for development and to explore ideas for the future. One of the main problems identified by the villagers was The members of the VFAs were quick to appreciate the that many of them had little knowledge of family farming. potential for video to record and disseminate the various For 70 years, a centralized state-farm system had prevailed, kinds of knowledge more widely and to give less experienced in which each person's task had been very specialized. With farmers the chance to learn from the village "experts", inno- the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the gradual vators and keepers of traditional knowledge. Within a very deconstruction of the state farms, the villagers now lease short time, they were already planning and shooting their land from the State and are responsible for every aspect of own short training films, showing tools they had developed, the farming process, including repairing irrigation systems explaining how they were made, giving tips and advice on and growing, harvesting and selling the produce in the how to care for particular plants, and so on. They also de- newly-emerged free market. cided to make a film with a local elder who was highly re- The villagers emphasized the need to learn from the more garded as an innovator and specialist in growing flowers to experienced local farmers and to re-discover traditional sell on the market (see box). methods of conserving water, storing produce, drying fruit During the process of making these short films, footage etc. This traditional knowledge still exists, but is held by was regularly shown to the wider community in evening only a small number of individuals. There are also some indi- screening sessions. The villagers were proud to see them- viduals in the villages who were highly trained in their given selves and their neighbours in the films and felt that their area during the Soviet period and who are now applying this knowledge and experience were being recognized and val- knowledge in their own household plots. ued. These community screenings also generated a local ex- 3 change of ideas and experience and encouraged others to ties where the films had been made. It was then used in become involved in the PV project. other villages as a tool to provoke self-evaluation and situa- tion analysis. The villagers could identify with the video messages made by people in the same situation as they were Working with women in. There was an approving murmur amongst the men in the In a Islamic country such as Turkmenistan, it is often a chal- audience when one farmer in the film displayed the tools he lenge to include women in the process of community action had developed for working in his greenhouses. Animated dis- research. The team that was facilitating the PV process in- cussions followed the part of the film when a woman de- cluded a female trainee, who came from Ashgabat, the capi- scribes to her husband behind the camera how they prevent tal city. Her assessment was that the PV methods were able flies from damaging stored grapes by smoking them with a to achieve results in situations where other methods of Par- special plant (it transpired that this method was not prac- ticipatory Rural Assessment (PRA) had failed. She gave, as an tised, or had perhaps been forgotten, in this other village). example, the first workshop which local women attended. Copies of the video were left with key people in the villages "The women didn't want to draw anything or discuss any is- and with local video-lending shops. Insight and Tacis staff will sues. They told us they were too busy and wanted to go continue to monitor and assess the impact of this work on home. We then started to use participatory video tools and the local level. they became very excited. We did the 'Name Game', where In Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, the PV facilitator each person has the chance to interview and film and speak arranged a screening of the completed film to 30 guests at into the camera. When we watched it together, they found it the British Ambassador's residence. These included high- funny and were proud of what they had achieved. It really broke the ice and they became more confident and inter- ested in our project. The next day they invited us to their IK Notes house and gathered more women." Local women were soon taking the video equipment would be of interest to: around the village and conducting interviews with other vil- lagers (generally women). They also produced short films. Name One of these focused on the mini milk processing plant in- Institution stalled by Tacis. Milk production and processing is an increas- ingly important means of income generation. Not all women know how to produce high-quality products and many are in- Address experienced in dealing with the needs and opportunities of a free market. Once again, video in the hands of local people was able to illustrate and share the ways in which old and new knowledge is equally important in post-soviet Turkmenistan. These and many other essential aspects of village life and Letters, comments, and requests for publications indigenous knowledge could not have been represented should be addressed to: without the full participation of local women. Editor: IK Notes Knowledge and Learning Center Africa Region, World Bank Using the videos as workshop tools 1818 H Street, N.W., Mailstop J8-811 Washington, D.C. 20433 Within a month, the facilitator of the PV process in E-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org Turkmenistan compiled an edited collection of the short vid- eos. This version was first shown to villagers in the communi- 4 level representatives from a number of international donor Major lessons learned agencies, embassies and local organizations active in the ag- ricultural sector. The reaction was unanimously positive, a · The project in Turkmenistan has shown that local people lively discussion followed and several donor agencies are quick to take control of the PV process and to recog- pledged to continue supporting the development of VFAs nize its potential as a tool for sharing experience and local throughout Turkmenistan. knowledge between different groups of farmers. The day after the film screening, the OSCE (Organization · PV can be used as a means of collecting, validating and dis- for Security and Cooperation in Europe) invited the PV fa- seminating farmer-developed technologies to audiences cilitator to take part in a discussion group where plans were across national boundaries, whether they are farmers, re- made to develop a micro-credit scheme in these and other searchers or policymakers. farming communities. This was largely motivated by · Having a woman in the PV facilitating team made it much Babakuly's film (see box). The film was also shown to two easier to work with women in a Islamic country and, thus, senior officials in the Turkmenistan Ministry of Agriculture. to bring women's perspectives into community analysis of They were very interested in the achievements of the Tacis the situation and possibilities. program and expressed their support for the continued · PV films about farmer innovation and experimentation can spread of the VFA model. help to bring farmers' own voices and images to the atten- tion of policymakers in agricultural research and develop- ment (ARD). It is one way of bringing farmers' perspectives The potential of PV in promoting local innovation into multi-stakeholder platforms on the subject, and can stimulate other stakeholders to open up these platforms PV is a medium based on visual and verbal communication. directly to farmer researchers. In this way, farmers can gain As such, it has great potential to enhance indigenous means greater influence in decision-making about the ARD of communication - also primarily visual and verbal. Clearly, agenda. special equipment is needed to make and show videos, but a growing number of NGOs and even community-based organi- zations now have their own video-players, and some also have video cameras. Video films can also be easily copied onto CD-ROMs and can then be viewed using a laptop computer or via the Web. In this way, PV can bring local experiences and knowledge into a global network, allowing all relevant actors to learn from each other. This article was written by Chris Lunch of Insight, which is a UK-based organization that uses Participatory Video as a powerful research and development tool. They have over 15 years' experience in facilitating projects at grassroots level, working with communities, NGOs and governmental organizations in Central Asia, Mali, Cuba, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Nepal and the UK. Participants have included refugees, users of mental health services, street children, pastoralists and farmers' cooperatives. For more information, contact: clunch@insightshare.org