The rural development situation of Kabras and Mwingi areas.

Abstract

The Participatory Action Research (PAR) project was undertaken at the University of Nairobi, Kenya during 1989. Diagnostic studies of research areas were a requirement of the PAR project. Their main aim was to provide background information about ecological, socioeconomic, socio-cultural and historical conditions including the state of development in the study areas. The chapter examines the ecological conditions of the study areas of Kabras and Mwingi, and provides a detailed discussion of the research methodology employed in choosing respondents and in collecting data. This is followed by a detailed discussion of the results of the study starting with the state of development services and followed with data gathered from villagers about their socioeconomic attributes, exposure to development services and the modern practices they have adopted in their efforts to improve their living conditions. Lessons of the studies are briefly presented.