Participatory approach tries to engage local population in development project. Development projects will be more sustainable and successful if local population is engaged in the development process. Participatory approach has become an increasingly accepted method of development practice and is employed by a variety of organizations. It is often presented as an alternative to mainstream “top down” development.
Participatory methodologies that take as their starting point a commitment to social and economic justices, as well as empowerment, are control to meeting the challenges of peace building. People-centered or transformative participation focuses on issues of power and control. It is concerned about the nature of a community and not simply the technical and managerial aspects of organizations and participation in them from this perspective, participation is about power and particularly about an increase in the power of the disadvantaged. It requires a capacity to identify those who are weaker and disenfranchised within a community and to empower them through shared knowledge and experience.