Starting with an inventory of an astounding 81 methods, Andean Change selected six, and induced 20 projects to try them in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. The results went beyond economics. The poor were given a chance not just to make more money, but to communicate, negotiate and innovate with the buyers and processors of their products. Smallholder communities were able to demand more responsibility from government and projects. Critics say that participatory methods only work on a small-scale, and that they are expensive. But Andean Change showed that with expert training, participatory methods produce consistent results in diverse projects at little additional cost.

Each of the cases is unique and presents a particular history and set of lessons. The descriptions are accompanied by country profiles that allow the reader to appreciate the agricultural and policy environment that determines the trajectory of these enterprises.

Their experience to date offers an exceptionally rich source of data and insights for understanding seed systems and appreciating the diversity of strategies and resources that have been used to create new seed enterprises.

The book gives a country-by-country summary of major species and has an extensive bibliography of case studies describing the value of harvests to poor communities and other related issues. For example, the book discusses concerns about how to manage forests and other natural resources to maintain production as well as the nutritional value of wild mushrooms.

Because the focus is on practical aspects based on improved insights of underlying ecological principles, the book will appeal to all those engaged in communicating agricultural science to farmers. All the topics covered are based on a huge amount of scientific knowledge and farmers' expertise.

While the subtitle may be 'Learning how to manage trees and forests' a significant proportion of Way out of the Woods focuses on gaining insights from communities, and assisting their own forest management. A short introduction on the need to understand the biological, social and cultural context of any particular forest is followed by case studies from Nepal, Kenya and Bolivia, which give a careful and honest account of the trials, errors and successes experienced in three participatory forest management projects. A concluding chapter highlights the most promising ways of developing management techniques, emphasising the integration of both scientific and local knowledge and the need for trust and openness. Important lessons which will help practitioners avoid repeating the same mistakes and point the way to more effective approaches to community participation.