Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, uly 1998

Contents IK Monitor 6(2) | IKDM Homepage | Suggestions to: ikdm@nuffic.nl | (c) copyright Nuffic-CIRAN and contributors 1998.

Reports of activities of Indigenous Knowledge Resource Centres

Africa
Asia
Europe
Latin America
Middle East
North America

Africa

BURCIK
Burkina Faso Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
(Centre Burkinabè de Recherche sur les Pratiques et Savoirs Paysans)
Dr Basga E. Dialla, Director (Correspondent)
INNS, B.P. 5154, Ouagadougou 02
Burkina Faso.
Tel.: +226-360 746.
Fax: +226-315 003.

Director Dr Basga E. Dialla of BURCIK regrets having to inform readers of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor that the centre does not have much to report in terms of activities over the last four months. INSS, the national institute which hosts BURCIK, has still not received its funding for 1998. Since BURCIK does not have its own budget, even the centre’s telephone has been disconnected now for over three months. BURCIK is thought of highly here, writes Dr Dialla, but financial support has never resulted from this, so it is very difficult to keep things going.

Cameroon

CIKO
Cameroon Indigenous Knowledge Organisation
Prof. C.N. Ngwasiri, Director (Correspondent)
P.O. Box 170, Buea, South West Province
Cameroon.
Tel.: +237-322 181. Fax: +237-430 813.
E-mail: ngwasiri@ciko.sdncmr.undp.org

Ethiopia

INRESC
Indigenous Resource Study Centre
Dr Tesema Ta’a, Director (Correspondent)
College of Social Sciences
Addis Ababa University
P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Tel./Fax: +251-1-550655.

Ghana

CECIK
Centre for Cosmovisions and Indigenous Knowledge
Dr David Millar, Director (Correspondent)
c/o T.A.A.P, P.O. Box 42
Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana.
Tel.: +233-71-22 000.
E-mail: aispcg@ncs.com.gh (attention Dr David Millar)

GHARCIK
Ghana Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr M. Bonsu, Interim Director (Correspondent)
School of Agriculture,
University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast
Ghana.
Tel.: +233-42-2240-9/2480-9.
Telex: +233-42-2552 UCC GH

Kenya

KENRIK
Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr Mohamed Isahakia, Director National Museums of Kenya (Correspondent)
The National Museums of Kenya
P.O. Box 40658, Nairobi, Kenya.
Tel.: +254-2-742 131. Fax: +254-2-741 424.
E-mail: nmk@AfricaOnline.co.ke

Please note that KENRIK has a new e-mail address: nmk@AfricaOnline.co.ke.
Mr Bernard Lavusa, who has been head of KENRIK since July 1997, has left the centre. During his tenure, KENRIK moved into its new offices within the museum. There is as yet no new head of KENRIK.
Dr Rashid Aman, who is director for research and scientific affairs at the National Museums of Kenya, is currently responsible for KENRIK’s affairs. There are two new members of staff at KENRIK: Mr Geoffrey Kilili and Mr Joseph Chirchir. They are running the day-to-day activities of KENRIK together with Ms Grace Wambui (an older member of staff) and volunteer Ms Emma Coombs.
The rapid loss of cultural and biological diversity is a cause for constant concern worldwide. There are very few places where the conservation of culture and the conservation of biodiversity go hand-in-hand. And yet a prime example of this is to be found in the traditional forest groves preserved by traditional peoples as places of sacrifice. These groves, which are found all over Africa, are not only a refuge for species fleeing from expanding agricultural activities, but also places of worship, or simply sites symbolic of the community’s traditional past. The sites range in size from a few square metres to several square kilometres; they might consist of a single huge tree (usually a fig), a cliff, or even an entire hill. At present many of them are under serious threat as a result of neglect, while each year hundreds of them are converted to agricultural land and other uses. Supported by UNESCO, KENRIK conducted a preliminary survey in Kenya during the first half of 1997. The report is now available. This survey focuses on the major cultural sites and forest groves in Kenya. The ultimate aim of the project is to empower local communities to look after the sites, with the backing of the National Museums of Kenya, and even to turn the more important ones into cultural or eco-tourism centres.
One problem which often surfaces in the discussion on conserving biodiversity is how to sensitize young people and people who live in rural areas to the importance of conserving culture and biodiversity. Early in 1997, KENRIK initiated a slide show and discussion programme for schools and members of the rural population, which focused on the importance of culture and IK in biodiversity conservation. By early 1998 the programme had been implemented in one university, four high schools, and over 15 organized village development groups (consisting mainly of women) throughout Kenya. The pioneer of the programme, Mr Yasuyuki Morimoto, who has been with KENRIK for the last three years, has now returned to his native Japan, and we wish him every success in his new endeavours. (Patrick Maundu)

Madagascar

MARCIK
Madagascar Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Ms Juliette Ratsimandrava (Correspondent)
c/o Centre d’Information et de Documentation Scientifique et Technique
B.P. 6224, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.
Fax: +261-2-32123/20422.

Nigeria

ARCIK
African Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Prof. Adedotun Phillips, Director (Correspondent)
Prof. S.O. Titilola, Research Coordinator
Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER)
PMB 5 – UI Post Office, Ibadan,
Nigeria.
Tel.: +234-22-400 500.
Fax: +234-22-416 129 or +234-1-614 397.
E-mail: arcik@niser.org.ng

Please note that ARCIK has a new e-mail address: arcik@niser.org.ng.
ARCIK is currently preparing several workshops and research proposals. We hope to find interested collaborators and funding agencies for these projects. The provisional titles of some of the proposals are:
- Settlement planning and development in pre-colonial Nigeria: a case study of Kano and Owerri settlements.
- Indigenous knowledge of castings and fabrication.
- Skill acquisition in African traditional medicine: a case study involving the setting of fractured bones in Nigeria.
- An assessment of pricing policy and effectiveness among indigenous organizations in the social sector in Nigeria.
- Child rearing practices in Nigeria.

The centre is drafting a proposal and looking for funds for a meeting at ARCIK to which the directors and coordinators of all of Africa’s IK resource centres will be invited.
ARCIK’s research coordinator, Professor S.O. Titilola, is planning to take part in the symposium organized by the Association for Farming Systems Research and Extension (ASFRE) in Pretoria (South Africa), 29 November-4 December 1998.
The paper he will present is entitled ‘Indigenous technical knowledge, sustainable agriculture and rural development in Africa: policy issues and strategies’.

CIKFIM
Centre for Indigenous Knowledge in Farm and Infrastructure Management
Dr G.B. Ayoola, Director (Correspondent)
Centre for Food and Agricultural Strategy
University of Agriculture
Private Mail Bag 2373, Makurdi, Nigeria.
Tel.: + 234-44-533 204.
Fax: +234-44-310 20 (box 5).

CIKPREM
Centre for Indigenous Knowledge on Population Resource and Environmental Management
Prof. D.S. Obikeze (Correspondent)
Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology
University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

NIRCIK
Nigerian Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr J.O. Olukosi, Coordinator (Correspondent)
Institute for Agricultural Research
Ahmadu Bello University
PMB 1044, Zaria, Nigeria.
Tel.: +234-69-50 571-4 Ext. 4322
Fax: +234-69-50 891/50 563.

YORCIK
Yoruba Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Prof. Layi Egunjobi, Coordinator
Dr Bolanle Wahab, Correspondent
Centre for Urban and Regional Planning
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
E-mail: egunjobi.wahab@ibadan.skannet.com

Please note YORCIK ’s new e-mail address: egunjobi.wahab@ibadan.skannet.com .
YORCIK has initiated a campaign to publicize the centre throughout Nigeria. These publicity efforts will focus on existing indigenous knowledge centres (IK centres), educational institutions, individuals, and the media. The centre is also drafting a membership form to be completed by interested parties, as a means of facilitating networking, one of the major objectives of YORCIK.
In April 1998 YORCIK coordinator Professor Layi Egunjobi attended a one-week trainers’ workshop organized by UNICEF in Ibadan, the subject of which was waste management in Ibadan. The discussions recognized the need to integrate local practices and to harness local resources to promote sustainable waste management.
‘A tribute to a chief’, a tribute to the late Dr D. Mike Warren by YORCIK co-coordinator Dr Bolanle Wahab, was featured in the April 1998 issue of Anthropological Newsletter, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp. 13-14.
In May 1998, YORCIK played host to Dr Al Brooks (a friend and colleague of the late Dr Warren) from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa (USA), who spent two weeks in Nigeria. While in the country, Dr Brooks was awarded chieftaincy titles at both Ojo and Ikunsin Towns (two of the three towns where Mike Warren had such titles), as a means of furthering the community development work of the late Mike Warren.
YORCIK is putting together a proposal for a one-year memorial programme for Dr Warren in Nigeria, scheduled to start later this year. The proposal will have input from IK centres/study groups in Nigeria, as well as individuals and groups outside Nigeria; when finalized, it will be widely publicized.
A number of YORCIK’s members are participating in a programme under the auspices of the Sustainable Ibadan Project; its aim is to develop a policy for the institutionalization of the environmental planning and management (EPM) process for sustainable urban management in the city of Ibadan. The emphasis will be on the active involvement of the populace in addressing environmental issues in Ibadan.
The IK Study Groups of the University of Ibadan and the Polytechnic, Ibadan are finalizing arrangements to publish annotated bibliographies of IK and IK-related materials in the libraries of these institutions. The lists, which are expected to become available by the end of July 1998, will be circulated to IK centres in Nigeria and to both individuals and IK centres outside the country.

Sierra Leone

CIKFAB
Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Fourah Bay College
Dr Dominic T. Ashley, Director (Correspondent)
Department of Sociology
Fourah Bay College
University of Sierra Leone, Freetown
Sierra Leone.
Tel.: +232-22-7387.

South Africa

SARCIK
South African Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Alwyn Dippenaar, Executive Director (Correspondent)
The Institute for Indigenous Theory and Practice
P.O. Box 2355, Somerset West
7129 South Africa.
Tel.: +27-21-854 3299.
E-mail: alwyn@aztec.co.za

Tanzania

MARECIK
Maasai Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr Nathan Ole Lengisugi (Correspondent)
Simanjiro Animal Husbandry Vocational Training Centre (AHVTC)
P.O. Box 3084, Arusha, Tanzania.
Fax: +255-57-8907.

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Asia

BARCIK
Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Sukanta Sen, Coordinator
Prof. M.I. Zuberi, Correspondent
3/7, Block D, Lalmatia, Dhaka - 1207
Bangladesh.
Tel.: +880-2-323 622. Fax: +880-2-815 548.
E-mail: iard@bdonline.com

Please note that BARCIK has moved to a new office (see above).
The national workshop The state of indigenous knowledge in Bangladesh, which was organized by BARCIK and supported by DFID-UK, was held on 6-7 May 1998 in Dhaka (Bangladesh). The workshop was a great success. A total of 65 participants from home and abroad and representing various disciplines discussed the 19 papers that were presented on the subject of indigenous knowledge in Bangladesh. BARCIK was pleased to welcome Professor Paul Sillitoe, Head of the Department of Anthropology, Durham University (UK), and Mr Peter Dixon, also from Durham University (UK), as well as Mr Julian Barr from the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University (UK), who actively participated in the workshop.
Researchers came from the Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh; Dhaka, Chittagong, Jahangirnagar, and Khulna universities; Gono Biswabidhyalay, Bangladesh Agricultural Institute; Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI); Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC); Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI); Department of Forestry, Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC); ICLARM; ITDG Bangladesh; and the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB). Five NGOs from the Khulna region, one from the Mymensingh region, two from the Bogra region and seven from the Dhaka region were also represented among the participants. Two analyses were made following the workshop: a stakeholder analysis, and an assessment of needs with respect to IK research. The first steps were also taken to establish a national network on indigenous knowledge. It was a very busy time and everyone at BARCIK was fully engaged in the workshop. The proceedings will be published in September.
The first issue of BARCIK’s journal, Grassroots Voice, was published at the end of May 1998.

India

CARIKS
Centre for Advanced Research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Dr Jan Brouwer, Director
Ms S.L. Meenu, Correspondent
P.O. Box 1, Saraswathipuram
Mysore 570009, India.
Tel.: +91-821-542 467. Fax: +91-821-542 459.

The CARIKS Services Unit provides support services to affiliated MA and PhD students, as well as to senior research fellows and retired university professors. The unit is headed by Mrs S.L. Meenu, Extension Officer for Training and Development at CARIKS. Recently two students from the Netherlands who were engaged in fieldwork used CARIKS as their base camp.
This culminated in a PhD for Dr Harry Mengers of the University of Nijmegen.
His thesis, entitled Urban development in the State of Karnataka: policies, actors and outcome, is published as Number 27 (1998) in the NICCOS series (Nijmegen Studies in Development and Cultural Change).
Mr Paul Vleugels was granted an MA in Anthropology at the Vrije Universieit, Amsterdam (the Netherlands) for his thesis entitled Ritual and concept of Mantra, with special reference to Tibetan culture in Karnataka. Copies of both dissertations are available from the CARIKS Reference Library.
At present, the CARIKS Services Unit is assisting Ms Deborah Sutton of the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) with her fieldwork, which will continue until the end of this year. Ms Sutton’s PhD is to be awarded by Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (India).
During the coming two years, the centre will be offering assistance to two more PhD students from Europe. Mr Alex Cisilin is to conduct a project on Land systems in Karnataka: continuity and transformations at the time of British colonization. His project for the University of Pisa (Italy) will commence in July 1998. Mr Gotz Hoeppe will conduct a research project on Discourses on nature and landscape in two fishing communities of Kerala for his PhD at the Free University of Berlin (Germany). His fieldwork in the Malappuram District of Kerala will start in October 1998.
The CARIKS Research Unit, headed by Professor Mrs R. Indira, is engaged in three research programmes. Of these, the study on The impact of the structural adjustment programme on women, conducted by Professor Rameshvari Varma is soon to be concluded with a seminar at the centre. Professor Indira recently started her project on Forest management strategies of Aboriginal groups in general and women in particular. The project is sponsored by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, with funding from the Canadian International Agency. It is a collaboration between CARIKS, the Arctic Institute of North America at Calgary (Canada) and the University of Mysore (India). And finally, the Indian National Science Academy at New Delhi has invited CARIKS director
Dr Jan Brouwer to prepare a paper on indigenous knowledge systems and cultural interactions, with special reference to Indo-Portuguese relations in Goa.

CIKIB
Centre for Indigenous Knowledge on Indian Bioresources
Dr S.K. Jain, Director (Correspondent)
c/o Institute of Ethnobiology
National Botanical Research Institute
P.O. Box 436, Lucknow 226001, India.
Tel.: +91-522-224 556. Fax: +91-522-282 849.

CIKIHR
Centre for Indigenous Knowledge of Indian Herbal Resources
Dr N.C. Shah, Coordinator
Dr A.S. Bhadauria, Correspondent
MS-768, Sector-D, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226 024, U.P., India.
Tel.: +91-522-326 489.
Fax: +91-522-387 711.
E-mail: iillko@lw1.vsnl.net.in

After the establishment of the centre (see IK&DM 5(3)), requests poured in for information about the activities of CIKIHR. The centre undertook to publicize its activities, in an effort to attract more participants.
On 9 March 1998, following the official business meeting of the Institute of Rural Management at Anand, Gujarat (India), a workshop was held during which CIKIHR coordinator Dr N.C. Shah apprised the participants of the establishment of the centre and outlined its aims. Dr Tarak Kate from Dharamitra, Wardha, Maharashtra, one of the participants, expressed a keen interest in the centre’s activities. He had done considerable work on indigenous knowledge, and his special areas of interest include organic farming and herbal pesticides. Thanks to Dr Tarak Kate, several intriging methods practiced by farmers in the Wardha region were added to the body of knowledge preserved and managed by CIKIHR. Farmers in the Wardha region successfully use extracts of garlic and chilly, prepared in kerosene oil and emulsified with soap, to control pests on cotton and pigeon pea. The centre is continuing its efforts to collect information on the herbal pesticides currently in use in India.
CIKIHR has gathered data on various aspects of turmeric or haldi (Curcuma longa), the most widely used indigenous medicine, condiment, cosmetic, and religious article in India. It was featured in an exhaustive article in the Journal of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, Vol. 19(4) pp. 948-954. The article examined the major medicinal uses in rural India; cosmetic and folk dyes; uses within folk culture; turmeric as folk condiment; folk chemistry interpreted by the chemist; turmeric in ancient literature, and the etymology and philology of the various Sanskrit names used as synonyms; and the pharmacodynamics and chemical composition of the rhizome. Readers of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor can obtain a copy of the article by contacting Dr Shah at CIKIHR.
The centre’s future plans include gathering information on the use of herbal plants in repelling mosquitoes, which have become a menace in both rural and urban areas.
CIKIHR is still seeking a funding agency or organization to support the activities in cash or kind (computer software).

Indonesia

INRIK
Indonesian Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge
Prof. Kusnaka Adimihardja, Director (Correspondent)
UPT Inrik-Unpad
Ruang K-3, JI. Dipati Ukur 35
Bandung 40132, West Java, Indonesia.
Tel./fax: +62-22-250 8592.
E-mail: inrik@melsa.net.id

Please note that INRIK has a new telephone/fax number: +62-22-250 8592.
INRIK proudly announces the opening of its site on the Internet. The URL is http://www.melsa.net.id/~inrik
The homepage offers:
- background, INRIK profile and aims
- specific objectives
- international professional network
- publications
- INRIK news, ‘stop press’
- articles about IK in Indonesia
- links

Readers of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor are asked please to visit the site and pass on any comments or suggestions to INRIK’s webmaster.
On 4-6 May 1998, a paper entitled ‘Biodiversity, biogeography and conservation of indigenous medicinal plants in Indonesia’ was presented at the Third Ethnobotany National Seminar in Denpasar, Bali. Its authors, who all attended the conference, are Professor Kusnaka Adimihardja (INRIK), Professor Walter R. Erdelen (Department of Biology, ITB), Dr H. Moesdarsono (Department of Pharmacy, ITB) and Professor Sidik (Laboratory of Pharmacognosy, UNPAD).
Also in May, an INRIK team conducted research in Serang Regency, West Java Province, under the title Community participation in development. This was done in cooperation with the Institute of Public Service (Lembaga Pengabdian Masyarakat), of Padjadjaran University.
INRIK has prepared a training programme for staff of NGOs and other organizations who are interested in investigating indigenous knowledge systems in Indonesia, especially in the eastern part of the archipelago.
INRIK recently began to approach all scientists conducting research in Indonesia and to ask them for any papers they have written on the subject of indigenous knowledge systems. These papers will published in a book entitled Indigenous agricultural systems in Indonesia. INRIK would welcome inquiries from any potential sponsors of the book’s publication. INRIK would also welcome enquiries from potential partners interested in working on a research project entitled Cultivation of ethnomedicine in the Mount Halimun area, West Java. (Budhi Bakti Kalangie)

Philippines

PHIRCSDIK
Philippine Resource Center for Sustainable Development and Indigenous Knowledge Dr Rogelio C. Serrano, National Coordinator (Correspondent)
Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD)
Paseo de Valmayor
P.O. Box 425, Los Banos, Laguna
The Philippines.
Tel.: +63-94-500 15 to 500 20
Fax: +63-94-536-0132/0016
E-mail: rserrano@ultra.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph

REPPIKA
Regional Program for the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge in Asia
International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR)
Silang, Cavite 4118
The Philippines.
Tel.: +63-969-9451 or +63-2-582659
Fax: +63-2-522 2494.
E-mail: iirr@phil.gn.apc.org

REPPIKA is housed within the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), Philippines. The IIRR does not only operate in Asia, but also has offices in Ethiopia, Quito and Nairobi. To the IIRR, indigenous knowledge (IK) is a theme that permeates all of its work; all IIRR offices now promote IK. The only problem at the moment is that the IIRR does not have enough resources to realize the regional outreach in the Philippines that REPPIKA envisages.
The IIRR is currently working on an information kit on indigenous knowledge in maternal and child health focusing on South East Asian countries. This is being done in collaboration with Plan International and UNICEF. A workshop is planned for 1999. Recently, IIRR’s Kenya office in collaboration with Kenyan-based organizations, put together a publication on ethnoveterinary practices in Kenya (see IK&DM 6(1), where this publication was signalled in Preview).
The IIRR’s Quito office has brought out a compilation of agricultural technologies from the Ecuadorian Andes. More than half the authors featured in this Spanish language publication are farmers. It can be obtained with IIRR in Quito (IIRR Regional Office for Latin America, Pasaje Muirriagui, Donoso 4451 y Av. America, Apartado Postal 17-08-8494, Quito, Ecuador, e-mail: daniel@iirr.ecuanex.net.ec).
In Bangladesh, the IIRR, in collaboration with CARE, BARRA and ICLARM produced a Bangla language kit on small scale aquaculture featuring experiences from that country. Topics go beyond what is normally found in a fish production manual and include topics such as indigenous fish species and relevance to human nutrition; conservation of native fish species; gender issues in aquaculture; etc. This publication is available in Bangladesh through BARRA (3/20 Humayun Road, Block B, Mohammadpur, Dhaka 1207 Bangladesh) and through CARE International Secretariat (Boulevard du Regent, 58/10 B-1000 Brussels, Belgium, e-mail: careci2@ibm.net).

Sri Lanka

SLARCIK
Sri Lanka Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Prof. R. Ulluwishewa, Director (Correspondent)
University of Sri Jayewardenapura
Forestry Building, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
Tel.: +94-1-852 028/865178.
Fax: +94-1-852 604.
E-mail: rohana@sjp.ac.lk

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Europe

GERCIK
Georgia Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge
D. Kirvalidze, Director/Coordinator
Dr D. Kikodze, Correspondent
Institute of Botany
Georgian Academy of Sciences
Kodjorl schosse #1, 380007 Tbilisi, Georgia.
Tel.: +995-32-222 969/988276.
Fax: +49-51-518 633.
E-mail: dato@botany.kheta.ge

Greece

ELLRIK
Elliniko Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr C. Lionis, Coordinator (Correspondent)
Medical School, Department of Social Medicine
University of Crete
P.O. Box 1393, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
Tel.: +30-81-394 621. Fax: +30-81-542 120.
E-mail: lionis@fortezza.cc.ucr.gr

Russia

RURCIK
Russian Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr Yevgeny Fetisov, Director (Correspondent)
EkoNiva
P.O. Box 1, Nemchinovka-1, Moscow Region
Russia 143013.
Tel.: +7-095-591-8487. Fax: +7-095-591-8275.
E-mail: 100630.157@compuserve.com

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Latin America

BRARCIK
Brazilian Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr A.J. Cancian, Director (Correspondent)
UNESP, Dept. Biologia
14870.000 Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.
Tel.: +55-163-232 500. Fax: +55-163-224 275.
E-mail: brarcik@jab000.uesp.ansp.br

Mexico

RIDSCA
Mexican Research, Teaching and Service Network on Indigenous Knowledge
(Red de Investigacion, Docencia y Servicio en Conocimientos Autoctonos)
Dr Antonio Macías-López, Coordinator (Correspondent)
Colegio de Postgraduados
Campus Puebla
Apartado Postal l-12, C.P. 72130
Col. La Libertad, Puebla, Pue., Mexico.
Tel.: +52-22-851 442/851 448/851 447.
Fax: +52-22-851 444.
E-mail: mantonio@colpos.colpos.mx

On 10 January 1998, the 10th regional show of Local Seeds (which local farmers call ‘the Seeds Fair’) took place in the mountainous District of Chignahuapan, in the State of Puebla (Mexico). The event, organized by the mayor of Chignahuapan and coordinated by the Rural Development District and the Colegio de Postgraduados-Campus Puebla, was attended by 756 people. Of these, 341 presented genetic resources–the seeds of various crops, including trees and forest products. RIDSCA has produced a video documenting the nine earlier seed shows.
Local rural organizations, Campus Puebla and RIDSCA are organizing a second Regional Knowledge and Survival Strategics Conference, to be held in September or October of this year. The proceedings of the first conference, held on 9-10 September 1997, have been recently published (in Spanish) under the name of the conference: Encuentro campesino, Conociementos regionales y estrategias de sobrevivencia. To obtain a copy of these proceedings, please contact RIDSCA coordinator Dr Antonio Macías López. Also available now (in Spanish) are the proceedings of the 10th National Forum on Teaching, Training and Extension , which was held on 22-24 October 1997.

Urugay

URURCIK
Uruguayan Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Pedro de Hegedüs, Coordinator (Correspondent)
CEDESUR
P.O. Box 20.201
Sayago, Montevideo 12.900, Uruguay.
Tel.: +5-982-350 634. Fax: +5-982-913 780.
E-mail: dgsa@chasque.apc.org

Venezuela

VERSIK
Venezuelan Resource Secretariat for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr Consuelo Quiroz, National Coordinator (Correspondent)
Centre for Tropical Alternative Agriculture and Sustainable Development (CATADI)
University of The Andes, Núcleo ‘Rafael Range’
Apartado Postal # 22
Trujillo 3102, Estado Trujillo, Venezuela.
Tel.: +58-72-721 672. Fax: +58-72-362 177.
E-mail: cquiroz@ing.ula.ve

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Middle East

Iran

RRC
Rural Research Centre Iran
Dr Mohammed H. Emadi, Deputy Head
Seyed Babak Moosavi, Correspondent
Ministry of Jihad
P.O. Box 14155-6197, Teheran, Iran
Tel.: +98-21-889 7197. Fax: +98-21-654 152.
E-mail: rrciri@neda.net

The Rural Research Centre (RRC) was established in 1984; its main purpose is to carry out studies that examine economic, social and physical issues affecting rural areas in Iran, and to disseminate the findings. The RRC operates under the direct jurisdiction of the Minister of Jihad. The Ministry of Jihad was born out of the Islamic revolution of 1979. Basing its principles on the ideal of struggling to achieve development, this ministry has been active mainly in the field of rural development. The RRC has the task of improving the quality and standards of research activities.
The most important RRC activity at the moment is the national project to gather indigenous knowledge from across the country and to place it in a database that will be accessible to researchers, students and practitioners alike. Practices of watershed management, for example, will be recorded separately for each province of Iran. The final result will provide a valuable source of background information for any initiative related to rural development issues and programmes. The project is managed jointly by the RRC’s deputy head, Dr M.H. Emadi, and Esfandyar Abbasi. Individuals and groups throughout the country are providing additional input, however. The project is therefore expected to result not only in the IK database itself, but also in the creation of a national network of people concerned with indigenous knowledge and development. This network will help to ensure that the database remains up-to-date and relevant to real issues and situations.
In April 1998, the RRC hosted a half-day seminar entitled The role and significance of indigenous knowledge in rural development planning. It was presented by Dr Emadi and Esfandyar Abbasi. In June, national theoreticians will get together for a symposium under the same title.
At present, the RCC is supervising three postgraduate students who have chosen to base their theses on IK. One is a PhD student and two are MSc students.
The translation and publication unit of the RCC has just sent to the printer a new book on indigenous knowledge in Iran. Another three books, which are edited translations, will examine philosophical, theoretical and conceptual issues related to indigenous knowledge. Also in preparation are several detailed case studies of experiences in other developing countries. The RRC seeks contact with other IK resource centres in the region in order to exchange information and learn from each other’s experiences.

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North America

CTK
Centre for Traditional Knowledge
Edmund Gus, Manager
Alan Emery, Correspondent
Box 3443, Stn ‘D’
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6P4.
Tel.: +1-613-566 4751. Fax: +1-613-566 4748.
E-mail: aemery@istar.ca

The Centre for Traditional Knowledge (CTK) has been working in several ways to raise awareness of traditional knowledge and its use in decision-making. Nearing completion is a publication based on the session at the 1997 Global Knowledge Conference (Toronto, 22-25 June 1997) which the CTK hosted together with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
Early in the year CTK manager Mr Edmund Gus travelled to Spain and to the USA (California) to help with the drafting of positions on the biodiversity issue. In New Zealand he presented a paper at the conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment. In February, CTK secretary-treasurer Mr Alan R. Emery gave a four-day workshop at the Banff Management Centre on the use of traditional knowledge in environmental assessments. Mr Emery hopes soon to begin field-testing the Guidelines for environmental assessment and traditional knowledge that he prepared last year (see IK&DM 6(1)). He has been looking for funding for this purpose.
Canada north of the 60th parallel is populated primarily by aboriginal people. The ancestors of these people signed treaties concerning rights to the land, but many of these treaties were ignored for decades while the region remained unexplored for minerals. Aboriginal people are now negotiating with government at several levels to determine who has title to the land. At stake are the people’s traditional rights to resources. The ambiguity of the situation has resulted in confusion over who has the right to accept or reject development projects that have biological, social and economic consequences for the environment. The CTK is pleased to announce that one of the federal departments (Indian and Northern Affairs Canada) has provided funds for a feasibility study to determine whether one part of this region–which is large, rich in natural resources (including recently discovered large deposits of diamonds), and populated primarily by the Deh Cho people–would make a good testing ground. If the result is positive, the testing of the guidelines could begin later this year.
Mr Gus and Mr Emery are very interested in hearing about similar projects to test any kind of guidelines for using traditional knowledge in environmental assessments, or in decision-making related to development projects that could have an impact on the environment.

United States of America

ICIK
Interinstitutional Consortium for Indigenous Knowledge
Ladi Semali, Director (Correspondent)
The Pennsylvania State University
254 Chambers Building
University Park, PA 16802, USA
Tel.: +1-814-865 6565.
Fax: +1-814-863 7602.
E-mail: lms11@psuvm.psu.edu

The overall purpose of ICIK is to forge new forms of dialogue between contemporary and indigenous ways of knowing, and to critically examine challenges in the academy and in the classroom.
On 1-3 March 1998, ICIK members Dr Audrey Maretzki and Ms Alison Harmon trained a group of 75 environmental educators–classroom teachers, Cooperative Extension Youth agents, and others–who will soon be working in Pennsylvania with a new K-12 curriculum called Food, land, and people. The hands-on training took place at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA.
In mid-March, Dr Anthea Taylor visited Penn State from Curtin University in Perth (Australia). She gave a talk entitled: ‘Democracy: assimilation or emancipation for Aboriginal Australians’ to a university-wide audience including members of ICIK. Her visit was a welcome exchange between Penn State and one of Australian institutions that is engaged in dialogue with its indigenous peoples.
ICIK continues to study the theory and practice of indigenous knowledge and its integration into the academy. Recently, ICIK members Professors Ladi Semali and Joe Kincheloe finished editing a 600-page manuscript entitled What is indigenous knowledge? Voices from the academy. The manuscript brings together contributions from scholars all over the world. Its detailed documentation represents many disciplines found at universities today; each chapter presents the response of one discipline to indigenous knowledge. The manuscript is the first of its kind to be published in the educational series of Garland (New York) since Garland joined the Taylor & Francis Group (which owns Falmer Press). It will be available in the fall of 1998. The book will also be the first in a series of publications which ICIK will coordinate under the title Indigenous knowledge and schooling. The aim of the ICIK series will be, among other things, to encourage the dissemination of information and ideas about indigenous knowledge throughout the world by fostering dialogue between the producers and owners of indigenous knowledge and the many disciplines which claim indigenous knowledge systems as an area of inquiry. Through the series, ICIK hopes to encourage its members to take a critical look at their own politics, ideologies, and belief systems as they engage in their research, teaching or other work.

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