Bøger udgivet af Practical Action Publishing

Four case studies from ex-Soviet Union, Asia and Africa illustrate how development projects put their claim into practice.

Eminent development economists tackle the question of how to design, construct and administer an economic system that will function efficiently and assure improved living standards, while respecting individual freedoms and social justice.

Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa aims to contribute towards an improved understanding for more effective food security policy. This book brings together eleven substantial chapters on critical food security issues, and draws on a variety of disciplinary perspectives, from agricultural economics to nutrition.

Internationally, donors are increasing their emphasis on poverty-focused policies and on the notion of pro-poor growth. Attempts to reformulate policies and reshape practices so that they rework the balance between a focus on poverty and a focus on growth bring small and micro enterprises on to the center stage of development debates. Yet these enterprises are seen, variously, as engines of growth, as refuges for the poor, and as signs of economic failure.

The book provides a comprehensive background to key concepts and literature. Use of the manual will enable practitioners and policy makers to improve the poverty alleviation outcomes of restocking projects and programmes.

This book makes a particular contribution to achieving evidence-based pro-poor policy in the urban sector. It is based on eight country-based studies. It is ideal for policy makers, practitioners, donor agencies, NGOs, service providers, community groups, academics and students of development.

Community management has become the leading concept for implementing water supply systems in rural areas . In the light of two decades of experience, this book considers the opportunities and constraints of community management in providing a service to the millions of people who need it:

The book offers in-depth discussion about how the communication process works - or doesn't work. It questions and challenges: who are the stakeholders; what are the best vehicles for transferring knowledge; why are local networks and intermediaries so important; what can hinder the communication process; and how may these gaps be overcome?

This book provides a wide review of experience of donor agencies in designing and implementing business development services for small and medium enterprises (SME).They explore new and innovative approaches to achieving sustainable BDS services and ways of achieving greater cost-effectiveness in their delivery.

This handbook covers a whole range of issues relating to local seed supply systems, including participatory plant breeding, and both technical and practical information on seed production and variety maintenance. It suggests new approaches and methods to support on-farm seed production by small-scale farmers in developing countries.

This second collection of 32 short, highly-illustrated introductions to appropriate water and sanitation technologies and processes complements The Worth of Water. It covers a further range of subjects from water source selection and handpump maintenance to sanitary surveying, hygiene understanding and community management.

Water and Sanitation for All is a collection of selected papers from the 23rd WEDC Conference in Durban, South Africa on partnerships and innovations to assist in achieving water and sanitation for all.

This book presents cases of indigenous experimentation as well as the benefits in terms of rural development of new partnerships between farmers and formal research. Development workers, agricultural researchers concerned about rural poverty, agricultural sustainability and local resource management will find this book highly relevant.

Vocational training is essential to equip rural and urban people with the skills to find employment, and this study of an integrated training project in El Salvador offers field-tested approaches and procedures which can be applied to vocational training.

This book brings together up-to-date, undocumented information on the practices of labour-based road construction in low income countries around the world. It draws on the experiences of practitioners working in this field who describe tried and tested ideas, and also looks at failures and their causes.

A selection of papers from the 22nd WEDC conference, aiming to find ideas and techniques which will aid fieldworkers operating and maintaining water and sanitation to 'reach the unreached'; covering an extensive range of topics, including management, people and health, and emergency situations.

Case studies from around the world examine the introduction of improved packaging technology, and there are useful lists of manufacturers and organizations which can help small businesses.

This interdisciplinary selection of 12 essays explores topics central to the education of development professionals; in particular planners, urban designers, engineers, and architects.

This book describes the approaches and experiences of rural development workers in Senegal working with small-scale farmers. Its aim is to highlight successful methodological approaches adopted by this group in their attempt to help farmers revitalize the local environment in community lands, while building on the farmers' own experiences.

Little use has been made of solar energy to meet the needs of rural communities. This book investigates the potential for photovoltaic and, to a lesser extent, other solar energy technologies to meet these energy needs.

Written for those whose job it is to assist people to start their own businesses, or who are considering the merits of group as opposed to individual enterprise, this book looks at 13 case studies which all contain important lessons.