Legends of Choar Mumtaz: Saleiha Chachi smiles (PLA 57)

The articles in Section 3 of PLA 57 are a collection of individual testimonies written by some of those who have taken part in immersions. JOHN SAMUEL carries out regular visits to communities in different parts of the world of his own accord. These visits are low-key, self-organised, and self-motivated. There is no facilitator, and sometimes no local organisation paving the way. These visits have become opportunities within one person's busy working life to take stock, to learn, and to be challenged. More than that, however, they challenge us as readers to reflect on the gulf that separates the 'experts' in development from those affected by the decisions they take. In this particular instance, although accompanied by the programme manager of a local partner of ActionAid, the journey was a personal one rather than being related to any specific project, and the author requested that his ActionAid identity be kept private.

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Guest editors: Izzy Birch, Raffaella Catani with Robert Chambers.

Participatory Learning and Action (PLA, formerly PLA Notes) is the world's leading series on participatory learning and action approaches and methods. PLA publishes articles on participation aimed at practitioners, researchers, academics and activists. All articles are peer-reviewed by an international editorial board. See: www.planotes.org