PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 9 Participatory livelihood monitoring in Southern Sudan

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 9 Participatory livelihood monitoring in Southern Sudan Aidan Timlin of sources including contact farmers, key Introduction informants and direct observation. A common problem among relief agencies This Livelihood Monitoring System, as it became known, set out to obtain general working in regions of chronic conflict is the baseline data which would serve the whole lack of reliable and up-to-date information on programme as well as inform emergency the socio-economic situation of communities and how this has been affected by war. The responses. It has attempted to do this by erosion of local civil service structures that encouraging local people to explore and analyse normally collect and provide such baseline data their own situation, as monitors or informants, means that agencies are frequently dependent using participatory methods as an alternative to the more extractive methods of rapid on pre-war records or isolated studies. To assessment by outsiders. supplement this they often need to conduct their own periodic surveys or devise more informal methods for gathering information. Livelihood is defined as the means of living people employ, that is, the activities they engage in to secure access to food, water, Oxfam faced such a challenge in ...