Gender-based
differences in the ethnoveterinary knowledge of Afghan
nomadic pastoralists
Diana K. Davis
The role of Afghan Pashtun nomad women is conventionally
described as having very little to
do with the family's livestock, except for milking the animals
and processing milk products. This implies
that women's knowledge of animal health care is limited, in
any case more limited than that of men.
However, recent ethnoveterinary research among Afghan Pashtun
nomads not only shows that the women
play a greater role in the care of livestock than previously
described, but suggests that they also know as
much, and sometimes more, about livestock health and disease
than the men.
Comments on
article by Pamela Fernandez
In her article 'Indigenous seed
practices for sustainable
agriculture', Pamela Fernandez wrote, 'When indigenous
practices are found to be useful, it is
everyone's moral duty to give credit where credit is due.
Researchers and development workers should not
immediately join in projects for the documentation of
indigenous knowledge, as this could eventually lead to
the disempowerment of local people.' Ardeshir B. Damania and
Marcel Viergever comment on this
statement. Each stresses another aspect of the issue.
Local knowledge of
dryland salinity in the Hunter Valley,
Australia
R.J. Fisher
Very little has been published about the local knowledge of
farmers involved in capital-intensive
agriculture in industrial societies. The few relatively
detailed studies of local agricultural knowledge in
countries such as Canada, the USA and Australia have tended to
focus on relatively distinct 'communities'
of farmers with specific traditions. This article presents a
brief account of a study of local knowledge of
dryland salinity among farmers in the Hunter Valley in
southeastern Australia.
KBS, GIS and
documenting indigenous
knowledge
Rhodora M. Gonzalez
As a result of the growing recognition of the role of
indigenous knowledge in sustainable
development, we are now faced with the huge task of
documenting and disseminating that knowledge, in the
same systematic way that Western knowledge is generated,
documented and disseminated. Rapid
modernization underscores the urgency of the task at hand. At
the same time, the present widespread use of
computers offers a range of tools which facilitate certain
aspects of the work. In some cases, this means
formalizing and incorporating non-quantitative or descriptive
local knowledge into a knowledge base. In
other cases, it involves transforming existing databases, in
order to approximate the world model of the
local inhabitants.
ITK suits
transported sandy soils
M. Manoharan
S. Kombairaju
In developing countries existing research systems are not
always able to generate the
technologies needed to solve the problems of minority farmers,
due to constraints on manpower and funds.
Such farmers are forced to develop their own technologies to
suit their particular conditions. Up to now, the
problem of farming on theri land has not received
much attention from researchers in India.
Moreover, farming to these farmers is an occupation which has
been passed down from one generation to
the next, and it would be useful to gain a better
understanding of the indigenous practices of these farmers.
Indigenous soil
classifications: complications and
considerations
David Niemeijer
Since the mid-eighties both social and technical scientists
have shown a growing interest in
indigenous soil classifications. More and more researchers
from a variety of disciplines are now working
with such classifications. But is it actually that easy to
capture an indigenous classification, and is there
perhaps a danger of overlooking certain complications? This
article examines some of the issues involved
and offers suggestions for further research.
Joint watershed
management: new evidence from the New
Horizons project
Jules N Pretty
Irene Guijt
Parmesh Shah
Fiona Hinchcliffe
Rural development policies and practice have traditionally
seen farmers as mismanagers of soil
and water. They have been advised, lectured at, paid and
forced to adopt new soil and water conservation
practices. Ironically, though, many of these programmes have
actually increased the amount of soil-eroding
farms. This article provides a list of beneficial and lasting
impacts that can be achieved as local people and
local knowledge are put at the core of programmes. It also
outlines the implications for future watershed
programmes if these successes are to be replicated.
SARCIK: A synthesis
in theory and practice
Hans Normann
SARCIK was established by the Institute for Indigenous Theory
and Practice as a logical and
appropriate extension of its work. The Institute's research
had focused on the activities of indigenous
helpers and indigenous workers. The goals set down by the
Management Committee of SARCIK were as
follows: Recovery of lost knowledge, documentation and
utilization of indigenous knowledge, increased
understanding and awareness of indigenous knowledge, improved
networking, coordination and
participation, and research focusing on existing resources and
interdisciplinary linkages.
Indigenous
knowledge and gender-differentiated health care
programmes in Kenya
Isaac Sindiga
This article argues that gender-specific projects which do not
recognize the traditional
organization of social and productive forces in a given
society are bound to fail. The Maasai Peoples'
project, which focused on primary health care, is presented
here as an example.