coming:
National Symposium on Indigenous
Knowledge and Sustainable Development
Colombo (Sri Lanka), 23-24 October, 1993.
The themes of the symposium will cover indigenous knowledge
systems in such areas as agriculture, fishing, environment and
natural resource management, human health, animal health, non-
agricultural technologies including household activities,
education and local organizations, and gender in relation to
indigenous knowledge.
The objectives of the symposium are:
Beyond Farmers First: Witch's first?! Ethno-sciences
and Cognitive Processes in Agricultural Development and Land
Use.
Sussex (Great Britain), 13-20 August, 1993.
The purpose of this workshop is to explore scientific
methodologies other than the ones developed by western
scientists and practised by research stations the world over.
The aim is to learn and experience other ways of knowing,
other epistemologies and other sciences, and especially the
sciences of indigenous and rural peoples, which have suffered
from a process of destruction, sub-estimation and
misunderstanding on the part of government and academia. From
dialogue with indigenous experts conclusions will be drawn
regarding the value of indigenous knowledge for the
reformulation of development policy and of our own ethics and
values. The goal is to establish new forms of alliance and
inter- cultural solidarity for tackling the world's
overwhelming problems.
The themes of the workshop are:
Moscow conference on the rights of indigenous
people
Moscow (Russia), 13-18 September, 1993.
The Supreme Soviet and the government of Russia are hosting
The Moscow Conference on the Rights of Indigenous People. In
this conference, Russia would like for representatives of
indigenous populations, state governments, and multilateral
and non- governmental organizations, as well as academic
experts, to meet and discuss problems of dispute resolution
without bringing individual disputes to the table. Many states
and native groups come into conflict, and ideally such
conflicts would be settled peacefully and fairly. This is
especially relevant to the CIS, which is attempting to form
stable political and economic systems that must incorporate
the many indigenous groups living in its territories. The
Russian government hopes that by encouraging wide
participation, an open and broad discussion of the issues
affecting indigenous people will take place. Not only may
indigenous groups, state representatives and NGOs meet on
equal footing to discuss rights claims, they will also have
the opportunity to review the advances made in the United
Nations' Year of the World's Indigenous People, and to
familiarize the many indigenous groups of the former Eastern
Bloc with the current international norms of indigenous rights
and the debates that surround them.
Paper presentations and panel discussions should be on one or
more of the following primary conference topics, but are not
limited to these categories. Interdisciplinary papers are
encouraged. The topics are:
Third International Symposium on
Sustainable Agriculture: Importance and
Contribution of Traditional Agriculture
Puebla (Mexico), 1-4 December, 1993
The symposium will analyze the experiences and findings of
farmers and researchers who use traditional knowledge and
practices as means for sustainable agriculture.
The objectives are:
past:
National Seminar on Indigenous Technologies and
sustainable agriculture
New Delhi, India, 23-25 March, 1993
Some 150 persons from all over India participated in the
seminar. The theme for the two days was clearly set by Dr.
Sinha, Head of the Extension Division at Indian Agriculture
Research Institute (IARI). He stressed the two main facts in
Indian development: a large and increasing population and
limited land and water resources. Nevertheless, India has made
substantial progress in its agriculture, both serving export-
oriented enterprise and providing food for India's people.
Agricultural strategies have been adapted several times since
India's independence. A next adaptation is needed in order to
further increase and sustain agricultural production. This
next step is closely associated with Indigenous
Technology.
Dr. Jayneth, chief guest at the seminar, pleaded for bio-
pesticides to replace chemicals, in order to reduce the costs
(foreign exchange) and to improve the sustainability of
agriculture.
The presentations and discussions concerned agricultural
reality in India. Apparently, the first efforts to obtain food
security after independence succeeded on the basis of
fertilizers, new strains and pest controls, further enhanced
by improved irrigation and infrastructural development. Water
played a significant role in increasing production, especially
for the larger holdings. From the 1970s to the 1980s, a marked
difference becomes statistically evident between the
development of large holdings and the development of small
holdings. Small holdings (< 2 ha) increased in number and
total area, while large holdings (> 10 ha) decreased in
number and total area. Middle-size holdings (2 to 10 ha)
remained about the same in number and total surface.
Irrigation increased from 15% to near 30% in the same period
but appears to have reached the limit of possibilities; it
must be accepted that two-thirds of agricultural land will be
rain- irrigated only. It is mainly the small holder that has
developed techniques and methods for dry agriculture. It is
among them that most of what is called Indigenous Knowledge
(or Indian Knowledge?) is found.
The seminar in New Delhi unveiled a wealth of examples of
farmer-originated innovations in such fields as mixed farming,
biological pest control, and seed improvement. Creative
solutions abound, e.g. 'trap crops' = pest control by offering
feed crops, improving soil moisture by reducing evaporation;
seed selection by observing planting results among neighbours;
grain storage at lowered oxygen levels.
From the vast wealth of indigenous knowledge only part is
registered--and only part of the indigenous knowledge
development process is well understood. Language plays an
important role in the innovation process, but learning to
speak English, for example, is not only to learn English but
also to learn what the English speak about! This both opens
and closes areas of discourse and reflection. Indigenous
Knowledge, as it appears, is embedded in the meeting of
traditional and modern understanding, and in the roots of
different cultures.
Indigenous innovators appear to be persons with an ability to
work across culturally imposed limits. They also appear to be
persons capable of converting understanding into practice--
combining creativity and leadership qualities. The seminar
presented several examples of such personalities and the work
they do in various parts of India. (Ben van Bronckhorst)
Workshop on indigenous upland
agroforestry
From 14 to 29 April, 1993, the International Institute of
Rural Reconstruction hosted the SEASEN Roving Workshop on
Indigenous Agroforestry with Ethnic Groups in Upland Areas.
Some 40 participants from six countries in Asia attended this
workshop, which was conducted by the Southeast Asian
Sustainable Agriculture Network (SEASEN), an informal network
of Asian NGOs and GOs interested in sustainable agriculture.
Several of the participants came from ethnic minorities. In
addition to four days of presentations by participants and
resource persons at IIRR, the workshop visited several ethnic
minority groups, including the Alangan Mangyan in Mindoro, the
Ayta in Zambales, the Igorot in Sagada, and the Ifugao in
Banaue. During the visits participants learned about and
discussed shifting cultivation, agroforestry and other
agricultural practices, land tenure and other issues. The
visits to the minorities were facilitated by local NGOs and
government projects. The discussions with the local NGOs
indicated that at this level the recognition and utilization
of IK is much more advanced than in large 'mainstream'
development organizations.
Workshop participants from Vietnam, i.e. Mr. Cu Hoa Van, Vice
Chairman of the Council of Ethnic Minorities and Member of
Parliament, and his three colleagues from Oxfam and CARE,
indicated that they plan to set up a national IK resource
centre in Vietnam.
Workshop results will be published in the next Sustainable
Agriculture Newsletter (SAN) and will also form the basis for
a resource book on upland agroforestry (to be published in
1994). Readers interested in receiving the SAN should write to
Philip Bontuyan, Rm 303 Concepcion Bldg, 15 West Avenue,
Quezon City, Philippines. (Dr. E. Mathias-Mundy)