Problem Tree : usage

Short or long version options

We strongly recommend using the long version to achieve best results, both in terms of the quality of the activity and the quality of the collective awareness and solutions that can emerge from it.

Short version:

Duration: 30 to 45 minutes.
Material: None.
Description: Group discussion based on the image of a tree that can be drawn on a board or sheet of paper to better identify the causes, consequences, and solutions to poverty.

Long version:
Duration:  60 to 120 minutes.
Material: Coloured papers, pencils, erasers, board and/or large cardboard.
Description: Creating a tree based on participants' answers.

Facilitation tips

For the short version

• It is possible to make it only a discussion without taking notes. You can also write only the words on a board or large sheets of paper.
• People can name causes, consequences and solutions all together, in no particular order.
• As you go along, write down the identified items in three different columns .
• People can then be encouraged to focus on one category at a time.
• It can be pointed out to them that in some cases, something can be both a cause and a consequence. This represents a situation where there is a vicious circle of poverty.

For the long version

• Draw a tree on a board or large cardboard.
• Prepare rectangular strips of paper in advance with enough space to write words on.
• As a group, identify what you consider the causes and consequences of poverty, for example, by writing them on a board. Then, identify solutions to fight poverty.
• Each person chooses one or a few words and writes it on the papers. Then, each paper is pasted in its place on the tree, either as a root, a branch or a leaf.

Role of the facilitator

Their role is to facilitate discussion and appropriation of the tool. They facilitate individual expression, the collectivization of each person's points of view and life experiences. The facilitator participates in the workshop in the same way as the other people in the group since they do not know exactly where the discussion is going. They therefore do not have an expert position. They are not the one with all the answers. The facilitator participates in the collective construction process. During the discussion, the facilitator’s role is to initiate the analysis process by asking questions that will help to develop connections and critical analysis. In this sense, being a REFLECT facilitator means being both a trainer and a participant.

Basic facilitation questions

1. If we start by looking at the trunk, what problem are we going to talk about?
2. So, what are the roots of the tree? What do you think causes poverty?
3. Then let's talk about the branches of the tree. Can you name consequences and impacts of poverty on people's lives?
4. Finally, if we move on to the leaves of the tree, we are talking about solutions to fight poverty. What are some examples of solutions?

Additional questions: It is clear that a certain amount of improvisation is necessary in formulating questions to relaunch discussions, in identifying a word, a cause or a consequence in particular. It is interesting to invite participants to draw associations between two words or images that have been attached to the Problem Tree. The facilitator's mission is to enable people to take ownership of the problem, to discuss it among themselves, to better understand the problem collectively and to identify solutions.

Taking action

Following such an awareness-raising process within a group, it is to be expected that the people concerned will want to take action to improve their living conditions and uphold their rights. Later, at the end of the animation, or during a subsequent group activity, participants will be able to choose one or more collective actions to take.

Awareness-raising, advocacy, protests and demands for change are the usual means of social transformation. Changing people' lifestyles, speaking out publicly, taking charge of one's role as a citizen committed to one's community are other ways to foster social and political awareness. In short, this facilitation tool ultimately aims to promote individual and collective empowerment regarding a problematic situation, in a movement of social transformation.