CIKARD
The Student Society for Indigenous Knowledge and Development at Iowa State
University elected its new officers: Blythe Burkhardt, president; Jennifer
Pinkston, treasurer; Penny Rechkemmer, vice president; and Becky Wilson,
secretary. The Society is currently planning the annual CIKARD lectures
that will take place in March l996. CIKARD has received a grant from the
United States Information Agency (USIA) to explore indigenous African
approaches to conflict mediation. This grant has resulted in a West African
workshop, which was held at ARCIK in July, and an East African workshop,
which is scheduled for late October at KENRIK. The proceedings of the
USAID-funded workshop on indigenous Nigerian textiles, which was held at
the Ibadan Polytechnic, will soon be available. It contains abstracts of
papers presented on 13-15 July. Mike Warren will attend the USAID-funded
conference on the role of indigenous knowledge in educational policy, which
will be held at the University of Ibadan, 12-14 December.
CIKARD is currently completing the abstracts of more than 5000 documents,
and getting them processed for the CIKARD site on the World Wide Web.
CIKARD is also incorporating IK case studies into teaching modules focusing
on mathematics and science education.
CIRAN
It seems that the worldwide distribution of the Indigenous Knowledge and
Development Monitor continues to have an effect. During the last quarter of
1995, new activities were initiated in the field of indigenous knowledge
and sustainable development.
The great number of letters that we receive every day reflects the dynamics
of the international IK network. We are especially happy with the many
reactions from persons living in countries of Asia, Africa and Latin
America. This shows that the Monitor is an effective instrument for active
networking. We are told that the Monitor is a useful source of information
and, more importantly, it is used for training and research purposes, and
for development activities. We do appreciate your reactions, as they give
us a better idea of the information our readers are looking for. So please
keep in touch, and send your comments. We hope that the Monitor will grow
further into a full-fledged, active platform for debate on indigenous
knowledge and development.
The only way to give this debate substance is by assessing the contribution
that indigenous knowledge is actually making to improve specific
development activities. Time has come not only to learn from past
experiences but to start new initiatives to show the development
establishment why using more than one knowledge system should become
routine practice in development activities. The international IK network
has shown--for example, through the Monitor--that there is a huge potential
body of indigenous knowledge expertise in many countries and in a variety
of disciplines and policy sectors. This expertise should be capitalized on.
One of the possibilities for capitalizing on this enormous potential is to
establish links with development activities and with existing development
programmes and projects. The directors of CIRAN and ILEIA (Information
Centre for low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture, ETC, Leusden,
the Netherlands) are exploring ways by which indigenous knowledge experts
in the CIRAN-supported international IK network can participate in ILEIA's
research on sustainable agriculture. ILEIA is prepared to offer access to
its research sites. The two directors are working on a proposal to secure
funding for the incorporation of IK expertise. The results of the joint
exercise are considered to be extremely important; such funds would provide
needed input for the promotion of strategies for sustainable development.
The proposal will be drafted in cooperation with a number of active IK
resource centres. It will be a follow-up of the meetings held in The Hague
and Wageningen (July 1995) which were referred to in the previous issue of
the Monitor (August 1995). Other sites that have been offered by SANE
(UNDP, Sustainable Agriculture Network) and COMPAS (Comparing and
Supporting Indigenous Agricultural Systems), a programme of ETC Foundation
(the Netherlands) are under consideration.
Exchange of information through the Monitor has resulted in active
networking and in the initiatives mentioned above. The exchange of
information therefore should be continued. At the same time, information
must be made more easily accessible. Through CIRAN's efforts, the Monitor
is now available in an electronic version as well. This fully exploits the
publication's potential as an effective instrument for active networking.
The electronic version of the Monitor can be accessed through either World
Wide Web or Gopher. The Web site is http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm. The
Gopher address is: gopher.nuffic.nl All future issues will be made
available electronically as well as in print. We are now looking into
possibilities for bringing other information on indigenous knowledge on
line as well. Any suggestions, remarks or comments are welcome and greatly
appreciated by the editor.
LEAD
From 16 to 20 October 1995, the organizers of the LEAD Programme conducted
a workshop in the context of the joint project 'Indigenous knowledge
systems for sustainable agriculture in developing countries: Towards an
alternative approach for food shortage reduction in Kenya and Indonesia
(INDAKS)'. The main objective of the workshop was to discuss the results of
the pilot studies carried out in Kenya and Indonesia, and to prepare the
final plan for the main comparative anthropological/ethnoscientific and
agro-ecological research. Ms C.H.S. Kabuye and Mr P. Maundu from KENRIK
(Nairobi), Prof. K. Adimihardja and Dr Ing M. Kramadibrata from INRIK
(Bandung), Dr Himendra from Universitas Padjadjaran (Bandung) and Ms M.
Skoula from MAICH (Crete) visited Leiden University to participate in the
INDAKS workshop. From the University of Idaho (USA), Prof. D.E. Tyler and
Dr L. Putsche also took part in the workshop.
The delegates from KENRIK and INRIK presented the results of the two pilot
studies on indigenous agricultural knowledge systems that were carried out
from March to June 1995 in the Kitui District of Kenya and the Mount
Halimun area on Java in Indonesia. It became evident that important and
valuable qualitative data has already been collected in the two areas,
paving the way for comparative studies later on. During the workshop
several adaptations and extensions were made to the original research plan.
For example, special attention will be directed towards the plans for agro-
ecological investigations in the research area of Kitui. As such, the local
community's own cosmological model will also be systematically described.
At the moment the final plan for the main comparative research is being
prepared; the following phase of the project will be carried out over the
next six months.
Meanwhile, the LEAD Programme has published the first special issue of
Indigenous Knowledge Systems Research and Development Studies. It contains
INDAKS Project Report No. 1: A bibliography on indigenous agricultural
knowledge systems in developing countries, Leiden/Nairobi/Bandung/Chania,
1994 (ISBN 90-75642-01-6).
ARCIK
The latest output of ARCIK is a book entitled 'Indigenous knowledge systems and
practices--case studies from Nigeria', edited by Adedotun O. Phillips
and Tunji Titilola.
REPPIKA
Reppika coordinator Dr Evelyn Mathias participated in the NGO Forum in
Huairou (China) from 30 August to 8 September as a delegate of the World
Women's Veterinary Association. During the Forum, Dr Mathias met with
Consuelo Quiroz of VERSIK for informal talks about their centres and
IK-related activities.
Evelyn Mathias and IIRR staff member Gregory Ira conducted IK sessions as
part of IIRR's training courses on rural development management,
regenerative agriculture, and cage aquaculture.
An international workshop entitled 'Farmer-led approaches to agricultural
extension' was held from 17 to 22 July at IIRR.
CARIKS
The seminar 'Indigenous knowledge on forests', held 28-30 March
1995, was one of the outcomes of a research project on this topic conducted
jointly by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (SFIT) in Zurich and
German Technical Co-operation (GtZ) in Bonn, in collaboration with the
Council of Cultural Growth and Cultural Relations, Cuttack, Orissa.
The objective of the seminar was to present the findings of the project
'Man and forest' in an interdisciplinary way to an audience of researchers
and other professionals who are interested in traditional forest management
and in the possibilities that indigenous knowledge offers as forest
management faces the challenges of the 21st century. The seminar was
initiated by Mr G.B. Patnaik, research director of 'Man and Forest',
Cuttack; and Prof. Dr F. Schmithuesen, Chair of Forest Policy and Forest
Economics, SFIT, Zurich.
The papers presented at the seminar focused on the concept of indigenous
knowledge (IK), indigenous languages and indigenous peoples, mainly the
inhabitants of forests, and on indigenous knowledge and forest
management.
The position paper presented by Dr Klaus Seeland of the SFIT raised a
number of fundamental questions regarding:
CIKO
The Cameroon Indigenous Knowledge Organisation (CIKO) is still actively
preparing its international workshop/seminar on indigenous knowledge in
Cameroon, which is expected to be held in 1996. About 50 papers will be
presented on various aspects of indigenous knowledge in Cameroon and other
countries.
Two members of CIKO, Prof. C.N. Ngwasiri and Dr F.B. Nyamnjoh, respectively
sectoral coordinators for 'Institutional analysis' and 'Indigenous
communication', attended an international conference in Yaounde (Cameroon)
from 13 to 18 October 1995. The topic was 'Regional balance and national
integration in Cameroon'. Prof. Ngwasiri took part in the conference's
opening roundtable discussion, which reviewed the results of a decade of
scientific cooperation between Cameroon and the African Studies Centre of
Leiden University (the Netherlands). He proposed that the cooperating
parties should consider adding 'Institutional analysis' and 'Indigenous
knowledge' to their future research agenda. Dr Nyamnjoh was the 'rapporteur
géneral' of the conference.
Dr C.K. Wirmum, CIKO's sectoral coordinator for human health, attended an
international conference in Douala (Cameroon) from 23 to 27 October 1995.
The topic was 'The utilisation of tropical plants and conservation of
biodiversity'. Dr Wirmum presented a paper entitled 'Traditional wild
spices and aromatic plants of Cameroon'. The conference was organized by
the Cameroon branch of the Bioresources Development and Conservation
Programme. She expects to make another presentation ('The power in plants')
at an international symposium to be held in Yaounde from 22-26 November
1995.
CIKPREM
This newly established centre is intended to serve as a resource centre in
three areas of indigenous knowledge very vital to Nigeria:
GERCIK
GERCIK was established on the very day this issue of the Monitor was
printed. The next issue will contain more information.
ICIK
ICIK is the newly established inter-institutional consortium for indigenous
knowledge. In May 1995 a working group of faculty members and graduate
students from several institutions in Pennsylvania came together to discuss
the possibilities of establishing an IK resource centre. Professor D. Mike
Warren of CIKARD facilitated the discussions during this important event,
which planted the seed for ICIK at Pennsylvania State University (USA). The
institutions participating in the consortium include: Pennsylvania State
University, the University of Pennsylvania, Indiana University of
Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Regional Center for Science Teachers, Carnegie
Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. Subsequent meetings of
the working group were held between June and September to examine the
vision and mission statements of ICIK. Further negotiations with the
university authorities have resulted in the establishment of ICIK.
The working group has planned several seminars. Starting with the current
fall semester, these are to be held every month at the Penn State campus.
Seminar topics include: under-utilized food plants of the high Andes;
perspectives on indigenous African music in African societies; and local
farm systems and biodiversity.
ICIK will also conduct a workshop at the Ninth Annual Symposium of the
Pittsburgh Regional Center for Science Teachers, Carnegie Mellon
University, to be held 8-9 March 1996. The topics covered in the workshop
will include: indigenous knowledge: the process of discovery; using
indigenous knowledge in curriculum design; indigenous knowledge: decisions
for health; and the integration of contemporary and traditional ways of
knowing. Most of the participants are expected to be teachers.
ICIK is also hard at work planning an indigenous knowledge conference to be held
26-27 April 1996 at the Scanticon, located on the Pennsylvania State
University campus. The theme will be 'One world, many voices: in support of
indigenous knowledge and peoples.'
These activities have brought members of ICIK together to examine
their own politics, ideologies, and belief systems as they plan the themes
of these conferences. The overall raison d'être of ICIK is
to forge new forms of dialogue between contemporary and indigenous ways of
knowing and to critically examine challenges in the academic world and in
the classroom. To this end, ICIK will spearhead the study and practice of
indigenous knowledge through a book-series on indigenous knowledge now
being negotiated with Garland Publishing Inc.. The book-series will have
many objectives, including to encourage the global dissemination of
research and theory on indigenous knowledge by fostering a dialogue between
the producers and the owners of indigenous knowledge, and to bring about a
dialogue among the many disciplines which claim indigenous knowledge
systems as an area of inquiry.
RIDSCA
Since 1988, CEICADAR (Campus Puebla) has been promoting and organizing a
regional event that has become a tradition among farmers and institutions
working in rural areas. This is the Regional Show of Local Seeds. An
estimated 500 farmers and 150 technicians and officials attend this annual
event.
The show will take place this year in the community of San Lorenzo
Chiautzingo. For the first time it will be held in a rural community rather
than on the university campus. Another important change is the beginning of
a new process by which farmers will eventually promote and organize the
event themselves. Until now the show has been organized by faculty members
of CEICADAR (Campus Puebla) of the Colegio de Postgraduados en Ciencias
Agrícolas.
This year several shows have been held in different states of Mexico: in
the Comitán region of the State of Chiapas, in the Central Valley of
Oaxaca, in the Meseta Tarasca of the State of Michoacán, in Llanos
de Serdán and in the Tecamachalco-Quecholac regions of the State of
Puebla.
For more information on the seed show, contact M.C. Francisco Escobedo
Castillo at RIDSCA, Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Puebla, Apartado
Postal l-12, C.P. 72130, Col. La Libertad, Puebla, Pue., Mexico. Tel: +52-
22-851442/851448/851447. Fax: +52-22-851444.
Campus Tabasco is launching a project in ethnobotany and gender. In her
research, Elsa Chávez Garcia has found a close relationship between
ethnobotany and women. Most of the activities surrounding the use of plants
are conducted by women. They manage, process and market the local species
used for medicinal and other purposes. Ms Chávez Garcia has
conducted her studies in the States of Puebla and Veracruz, and is now
leading investigations in the State of Tabasco. For information, please
contact the researcher by telephone (+52-937-24099) or fax (+52-937-
22297).
The Colegio de Postgraduados this year published a two-volume book called
'La Milpa en Yucatán. Un Sistema de Producción
Agrícola Tradicional', edited by Efraim Hernández
Xolocotzin, Eduardo Bello Baltazar and Samuel Levy Tacher.
A seminar on indigenous knowledge documented by farmers has been scheduled
for 8-9 March 1996. Any information on experience gained with farmers
documenting their own knowledge is welcome.
The Women and Peasant Family Program continues its work with indigenous
groups in the communities of San Miguel Acuexcomatl and Los Angeles Tetela
in the State of Puebla. The Rabobank Foundation of the Netherlands is
supporting these projects. CILCA International and Colegio de Postgraduados
are coordinating the projects. The projects in Cuetzalan, Puebla, are still
progressing with the help and support from the American Jewish World
Service.
SLARCIK
SLARCIK coordinator Dr H. Ranasinghe has left for a sabbatical at Yale
University. Her tasks will be taken over by Dr Rathnasiri Arangala until
the return of Professor Ulluwishewa, which is planned for December
1995.
In the past year SLARCIK has held four council meetings. Under the name
'Sannasa', four programmes have been produced in cooperation with the SLBC
(Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) on agriculture, forestry, animal
health and food preservation technology. Dr Hemanthi Ranasinghe, Dr Hiran
Amarasekera, Dr Tissa Jayatilleke and Mr Luckshman Jayakody participated in
these programmes.
The following guest lectures have been given:
URURCIK
URURCIK has submitted a pre-proposal to the Netherlands-Israel Development
Research Programme (NIRP). This joint programme was established in 1992 by
the governments of the Netherlands and Israel. Its main objective is to
generate new knowledge and new ways of applying existing knowledge in areas
that have clear relevance for developing countries. The main objective of
the research proposed by URURCIK will be to evaluate a sample of recent
development projects in Uruguay, taking into account the IK
perspective.
In the coming period URURCIK will disseminate the Spanish translation of
'Using IK in agricultural development', World Bank Discussion Paper No 127,
written by Dr D.M. Warren.
VERSIK
Dr Pablo Eyzaguirre, an anthropologist from Chile currently working at
IPGRI (Rome), visited VERSIK in November. Several meetings were held to
discuss the possibilities of working together in areas such as indigenous
knowledge and traditional foods, the role of women in preserving
biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and biodiversity, and the homegarden
(conucos). Dr Eyzaguirre visited the farm of Mr Liberato, which is
known for its great diversity. In the coming period plans will be
elaborated and operationalized.
Please see for the addresses of the various centres: Addresses IK Resource centres.