Medium resolution

8. Village
action plan
8.3
Some lessons from
Viengkham District
Preliminary lessons can be drawn from these first villages in
Viengkham District where the village action plans where collectively
designed.
An innovative way to respond
to villagers’ demands
The extension activities are collectively defined after a 5-day diagnostic
and planning process which allows extension staff to
better understand the local issues. Alternative scenarios are envisioned
by the local community to overcome the problems collectively
identified. Thus the extension staff are in a position to
accompany the local community along the development pathway
they have decided by themselves. This process avoids proposing
technical options that may be irrelevant to local circumstances.
Integration of Land Use Planning
and extension activities
Since the Village Action Plan is a demand-driven extension process
not all activities proposed can be addressed by a single
project. In each village, the facilitators systematically review
the activities proposed to define which are manageable by villagers
using their own resources, which can be addressed by
existing projects within a reasonable timeframe and finally,
which have to be postponed due to limited resources. The latter
activities can be reactivated at any time when a new project
comes to respond to the development issues identified by the
villagers themselves. Ideally, a consortium of development projects
would be coordinated by DAFO staff to tackle the issues
defined and prioritized by the villagers themselves.
Village Action Plan as catalyst
of a Land Use Plan
The Village Action Plan is an essential component of the PLUP
as the activities proposed are expected to engage local communities
in implementing their land use plan. It is therefore
important (i) to allocate sufficient time in order to formulate
the Village Action Plan and (ii) to involve the same group of
villagers who participated in the land use zoning process in the
follow-up extension activities. But in addition to the involvement
of the VLMC members it is important to provide time and
space for broader village consultations involving all the households
and relevant projects.
A Village Action Plan committing the village communities and
DAFO staff to go beyond individual projects can play a role in
integrating development activities with the multiple projects
that support DAFO. The impact of development interventions is
increased when village communities follow their own planned
development pathways in addressing the village priority issues.
It is important to involve both villagers and extension agents in
the monitoring of the land use plan (including Village Action
Plan) to ensure that the agreements made during the planning
sessions are effectively translated into concrete actions.
EXAMPLE
ture land use of their village during the PLUP process, discuss
concrete development In Nam activities Xoy village, that would the help villagers to implement wished
the land use plan to over grow the broom next ten grass years. in The an area facilitator they who had
is also a member planned of the DAFO for permanent extension crops staff review during each the
land use type and zoning the corresponding process. However plots on without the village fencing,
participants broom grass to propose may relevant be damaged activities by
3D
model, inviting the
to convert their land large use ruminants, plan into actions. and The bamboo technical fences staff
can also propose activities are not strong that may enough be unknown to prevent to villagers, these
provided that those animals activities from help destroying to overcome the the crops problems after
identified during the some Problem years Census (broom Session. grass is harvested
over a long period, i.e. more than 10
The facilitator’s role years). is to ease Therefore the discussions villagers between asked villagers
and district technical port from staff Agrisud and to mobilize to construct the knowledge stronger of
sup-
village issues gained fences through from the barbed diagnostic wire. phase to suggest
locally appropriate solutions. For each activity, possible support
- In Houay Kou village, one of the limiting
factors of agricultural intensification
from DAFO or other projects are discussed. At the end of the
session a common agreement is reached regarding the priority
is the water supply. The existing water
activities for the first years of the land use plan. Whenever necessary,
the facilitator may design certain participants to take
system is defective and there is not
enough water for gardening and for livestock.
In the present situation, the most
charge of follow-up activities.
urgent activity for the village would be to
improve the water supply system to unlock
other development activities.
HANDBOO K - Village action plan
Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) HANDBOOK
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