Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is a growing family of approaches and methods designed to enable local people to share, enhance, and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan, and to act. PRA has roots in activist participatory research, agroecosystem analysis, applied anthropology, field research on farming systems, and rapid rural appraisal (RRA). While RRA primarily involves outsiders eliciting information, PRA emphasizes sharing and ownership by local people. Participatory methods include mapping, modeling, transect walks, matrix scoring, seasonal calendars, trend and change analysis, well-being and wealth ranking, and analytical diagramming. PRA applications span natural resources management, agriculture, poverty and social programs, and health and food security. The shift from top-down to bottom-up approaches in rural development has led to a move away from extractive survey questionnaires toward more participatory methods. PRA emerged in the 1990s, building on the principles and methods of RRA. It has been influenced by activist participatory research, which empowers local communities through dialogue and action, and agroecosystem analysis, which combines systems thinking with pattern analysis. Applied anthropology has contributed insights into field learning and the validity of indigenous knowledge. Field research on farming systems has highlighted the complexity and rationality of farming practices, while RRA has evolved from biased rural development tourism and traditional questionnaire surveys to more cost-effective and timely methods. PRA has spread internationally through training workshops, publications, and South-South sharing. It has been adopted by various organizations, including NGOs, government agencies, and universities. PRA methods are used for participatory appraisal, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation in sectors such as natural resources management, agriculture, poverty reduction, and health. Despite challenges and resistance, PRA has gained traction in many countries and organizations, reflecting a growing recognition of the importance of local participation in development processes.Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is a growing family of approaches and methods designed to enable local people to share, enhance, and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, to plan, and to act. PRA has roots in activist participatory research, agroecosystem analysis, applied anthropology, field research on farming systems, and rapid rural appraisal (RRA). While RRA primarily involves outsiders eliciting information, PRA emphasizes sharing and ownership by local people. Participatory methods include mapping, modeling, transect walks, matrix scoring, seasonal calendars, trend and change analysis, well-being and wealth ranking, and analytical diagramming. PRA applications span natural resources management, agriculture, poverty and social programs, and health and food security. The shift from top-down to bottom-up approaches in rural development has led to a move away from extractive survey questionnaires toward more participatory methods. PRA emerged in the 1990s, building on the principles and methods of RRA. It has been influenced by activist participatory research, which empowers local communities through dialogue and action, and agroecosystem analysis, which combines systems thinking with pattern analysis. Applied anthropology has contributed insights into field learning and the validity of indigenous knowledge. Field research on farming systems has highlighted the complexity and rationality of farming practices, while RRA has evolved from biased rural development tourism and traditional questionnaire surveys to more cost-effective and timely methods. PRA has spread internationally through training workshops, publications, and South-South sharing. It has been adopted by various organizations, including NGOs, government agencies, and universities. PRA methods are used for participatory appraisal, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation in sectors such as natural resources management, agriculture, poverty reduction, and health. Despite challenges and resistance, PRA has gained traction in many countries and organizations, reflecting a growing recognition of the importance of local participation in development processes.