The Kerala Fisheries Project: Participatory action research in India using technology input

This dissertation presents a development project with American aid workers, traditional fishers and the Roman Catholic Church in South India, using participatory action research.;Several new fishing boats were collaboratively designed and built using modern epoxy construction methods. These craft were tested on the Arabian Sea.;The study has two primary thrusts. First, it explores the difficulties of attempting to increase the earnings of traditional fishers using new, ecologically less harmful craft designs in an overexploited fishery. Second, it examines some of the advantages and disadvantages of conducting research in a collaboration with representatives of a traditional village-based community under the purview of a religious organization.;Conclusions are that a variety of craft design and construction possibilities exist which can decrease ecologic harm to the fisheries of Alleppey District, although any economic benefits accrued may only exacerbate the overfishing problem. Additional findings relate to the hidden dangers of participatory action research being hijacked by covert political elements, or self-serving individuals.;Finally, this study calls for a ban on the sale of the normally aspirated two-stroke outboard motor, and also, the modern trawler. It also calls for the design of more resource-efficient craft, and the development of an integrated fisheries management plan.