Robert Chambers (2)

The extremes of rural poverty in the Third World are an outrage'. Starting
with this uncompromising statement, the author challenges preconceptions
dominating rural development. The central theme of this book is that rural
poverty is often unseen or misperceived by outsiders, those who are not
themselves rural and poor.

There may be better books out there on workshop facilitation, but not better value books.

Participatory Workshops,which was published seven years ago, is described as a ’sourcebook’, and its organising conceit is that it is divided into 21 sets of ideas and activities, and within each set, in a suitably holonic fashion, there are 21 ideas or activities. Perhaps for this reason one review described it as being like a cookbook.

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The central theme of this book is that rural poverty is often unseen or misperceived by outsiders who are not themselves rural and poor. The book calls for fundamental reversals in learning, values and behavor, and proposes more realistic action for tackling rural poverty.