Agroforestry is essentially a practical subject. It is important that you give your participants as much opportunity to practise skills and techniques as possible.
Practical activities can include the following:
— Working on a farm or garden, establishing a nursery, growing or planting trees, growing crops or rearing animals;
— Making and using simple machines and equipment;
— Carrying out experiments in a classroom, laboratory or field;
— Doing management tasks like keeping records, accounts, etc.;
— Working or meeting with local community members.
Tips for trainers
— As with demonstrations, practical activities should be well planned and well organized.
— Give support and advice to your participants as they carry out the activity.
— If you have a large number of participants on your course, you will almost certainly need to divide them up into groups.
— Any practical activity should be carried out in relation to the classroom teaching. Often, it is hard for participants to relate practical activities to theory. In fact, the two should be linked together very closely. It is very important also to link the theory sessions to the practical experiences of the participants.
— Just as with theory lessons, you should have clear aims and objectives for practical classes. Your participants should have a very clear idea about why they are doing the activity, and what they are supposed to achieve.
— If possible, encourage participants to keep a record of what they have done, in a practical notebook or diary; this provides an opportunity for structured reflection.
— Observe your participants closely, offer advice where necessary, and encourage them to ask questions. If they are having difficulties, you should give them more chance to practise.
One difficulty with doing practical activities is that they are time and materials consuming. You need time to move to the practical area, to organize and allocate equipment, to carry out the activity and to bring all the equipment and materials back again. For this reason it is important to be organized and to allocate a realistic amount of time. Try to make sure that sessions have sufficient time for practical activities to be carried out and for cleaning up afterwards, whether the activity takes place in the classroom, laboratory or field. Encourage your participants to have a responsible attitude to materials, equipment and time, so that you do not have to run around yourself at the end of every session, clearing up after your participants have left.