Knowledge and people's powers: lessons with peasants in Nicaragua,Mexico and Colombia

The present study of "Knowledge and People's Power" was conceived within the framework of the Participatory Organisations of the Rural Poor (PORP) Programme of the International Labour Office, the purpose of which is to contribute to a better under standing of the peasant classes and the furthering of their participation in the development processes through self-reliant forms of organisation. Two of the main components of this programme concern the need for participatory research and technical CO operation with national agencies to stimulate and promote this type of initiative.

The subject of the present study is pertinent in relation to two ILO instruments. The Rural Workers' Organisation Convention, 1975 (No. 141), and Recommendation, 1975 (No. 149). Both emphasise the need for access to first hand information on the obstacles confronting the establishment of people's organisations and the opportunities for their development. This time, the processes are examined in the light of the knowledge-making efforts and methodology known as participatory-action research (PAR), which is opening up encouraging perspectives. The World Employment Programme has already sponsored work in this field, especially in Asia, and various books and papers have appeared on the subject. Now we have this monograph on Latin America in which the PAR methodology has acquired greater maturity through the development of systematic procedures for working with peasant communities whilst respecting their autonomy and creative capacities.