for information:
Indigenous agricultural knowledge systems
LEAD (see section Communications-IK Resource centres)
has a new three-year project entitled 'Indigenous knowledge systems for sustainable agriculture in
developing countries: towards an alternative approach to food shortage reduction in Kenya and Indonesia'.
The purpose of the project is to document and analyze indigenous agricultural knowledge systems in the
tropics and subtropics in terms of local perceptions, practices, skills, and technologies; and to revitalize
those systems by incorporating them into systems for agricultural decision-making. Readers are kindly
requested to send information that is relevant to this rapidly expanding field. Information can be in the
form of research data, recordings, papers, or chapters, for example. Please send it to:
Dr. L. Jan Slikkerveer, Director LEAD Programme, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB Leiden,
The Netherlands.
Education
Ms. Ineke Puls, participant in the MSc course 'Management of agricultural knowledge systems' (MAKS)
at Wageningen Agricultural University, intends to do a study on the possibilities and problems of
incorporating indigenous agricultural knowledge into formal curricula. Any information on successful or
unsuccessful attempts in this area will be greatly appreciated. Please send contributions to:
Drs. I. Puls/Dr. J. White, Department of Agricultural Education, Hollandseweg 1, 6706 KN Wageningen,
The Netherlands. Fax: +31-8370-84763. E-mail: Jill.White@Alg.A.O.WAU.NL
Multimedia
K.S. Meenakshi Sundaram, PhD student in the Division of Agricultural Extension, would like to receive
information on the use of indigenous communication methods for agricultural development. He is
particularly interested in papers, articles, text references, and case studies related to the integration of
popular forms of communication into mass media for purposes of development. He is also interested in
multi-media approaches. Information can be sent to:
K.S. Meenakshi Sundaram, PhD Scholar, Division of Agricultural Extension, Annamalai University,
Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram 608002, India.
Slash/mulch systems
Dr. Thurston is compiling information and writing a book on the little-known slash/mulch systems of the
tropics. Such systems are still being used in some local communities. Although there is extensive
literature on the various slash and burn systems used throughout the tropics, few references can be found
to slash/mulch systems even though they are probably far more important in the hot, humid tropics than
most authorities realize. Professor Thurston believes that slash/mulch systems have often been
overlooked, or perhaps mistaken for slash and burn systems. If anyone has materials on such systems or
can offer names of colleagues who might have information on slash/mulch systems as used in the tropics,
please write to:
H. David Thurston, Professor of International Agriculture and Plant Pathology, Cornell University, Ithaca,
NY 14853, USA. Tel: +1-607-255 7835. Fax: +1-607-255 4471. E-mail: hdt1@Cornell.edu
Indigenous technical knowledge
William Loker is seeking bibliographic references to works on indigenous technical knowledge (ITK). He
is especially interested in attempts to communicate ITK to Western scientists (especially agricultural
scientists) in order to transfer ITK from one group or region to another. Any references or names of
persons engaged in such pursuits would be greatly appreciated.
William Loker, Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work, PO Drawer C, Mississippi
State University, MS 39762, USA. Tel: +1-601-325 1663. Fax: +1-601-325 8690. E-mail:
wloker@ra.msstate.edu
Indigenous audio-visual project