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.
E-mail: emile_dialla@yahoo.fr

The Burkina Faso Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BURCIK) reports that their work continues. Apart from BURCIK’s director, Dr Basga E. Dialla, the following contact persons are available. They are all researchers—either at INSS/BURCIK, at the University of Ouagadougou, or at the NGO known as International Plan. Their names (listed alphabetically) are:

• Dr Basga E. Dialla, rural sociologist, INSS/BURCIK;

• Dr Ludovic O. Kibora, anthropologist, INSS/BURCIK;

• Eric Mamboue, extension specialist, International Plan (NGO);

• Dr Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo, ethni-sociologist, INSS/BURCIK;

• Dr Evariste N. Poda, anthropologist, INSS/BURCIK;

• Dr Valère D. Some, anthropogist-economist, INSS/BURCIK;

• Dr Yamsékré Tiendrebeogo, economist and assistant professor, University of Ouagadougou.

All contact persons are individually involved in IK research in such fields as agriculture, environment, and human and animal health. In 2000 they will also form a BURCIK team that conducts research related to:

• indigenous soil taxonomies;

• natural resource management;

• traditional medicinal plants;

• indigenous techniques for potato conservation.

Research on the first two topics is being funded by local government; data were collected in April. Work on the last two topics awaits funding.

BURCIK’s most recent publication is a French version of the 17 cases of indigenous knowledge in Burkina Faso which were reported at the request of the World Bank for inclusion in the IK database on the Internet at http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/datab.htm.The printed French version is available from BURCIK.

Centre for Cosmovisions and Indigenous Knowledge
Dr David Millar, Director (Correspondent)
P.O. Box 607
Bolgatanga
Ghana
Tel. / fax: +233-72-235 00
E-mail: cecik@africaonline.com.gh

The Centre for Cosmovisions and Indigenous Knowledge (CECIK) would like to draw readers’ attention to the slight change in its address. (See above.) Dr David Millar, the director, points out that the ten issues of each Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor which CECIK receives are shared with his students at the University for Development Studies in Tamale, Ghana. A report on CECIK’s current research can be found in the Research Communications section..

Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr Rashid Aman, Director of Research and Scientific Affairs
Mr Patrick Maundu, Correspondent
The National Museums of Kenya
P.O. Box 40658, Nairobi
Kenya
Tel.: +254-2-742 131.
Fax: +254-2-741 424.
E-mail: raman@AfricaOnline.co.ke

The Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (KENRIK) would like to inform readers that there are now two contact persons for the centre. The first is Dr Rashid A. Aman, PhD, Director of Research and Scientific Affairs at the National Museums of Kenya. The second is Mr Patrick M. Maundu, Coordinator of Programmes, who will be KENRIK’s correspondent. For all correspondence please see the address above.

Madagascar

Observatoire Environnemental
Ms Marcelline Razafimbelo, President
Alexander von Hildebrand, Correspondent
P.O. Box 869
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
Tel. / fax: +261-20-224 1228.
E-mail: voarigtz@bow.dts.mg

Editor’s note:
The Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor has always listed MARCIK as the IK information and contact point in Madagascar, at the address of the Centre d’Information et de Documentation Scientifique et Technique (CIDST) and Ms Juliette Ratsimandrava as the correspondent. The recent call for updated information about all the IK resource centres revealed that Ms Ratsimandrava left CIDST two years ago. CIDST has suggested that instead of MARCIK, VOARISOA Observatoire Environnemental should be listed. This is a new local NGO headed by Ms Marcelline Razafimbelo, who also works at CIDST. The new IK correspondent for Madagascar is now Mr Alexander von Hildebrand. The following is a brief Introduction of VOARISOA and its activities.

Madagascar is one of the richest countries in the world from a biodiversity point of view. Almost 80 per cent of its flora and fauna are endemic but these species are increasingly under threat from various factors. One of the main ones is the poverty of the people, which makes it difficult for them to use natural resources wisely. Madagascar is one of the ten poorest countries in the world according to the human development index of the United Nations.

Besides the degradation directly linked with poverty, the presence of dangerous chemicals poses a serious threat to the environment and to the Madagascar populace. In agriculture as well as in local industries, toxic products are used that are not allowed elsewhere. Madagascar was one of the first countries in the southern hemisphere to draft an Environmental Action Plan based on the environmental charter (law 90-033) of 1990. Unfortunately, combatting chemical pollution plays only a secondary role in the five-year plans and programmes that make up the Action Plan.

One project did get underway, however: the Projet VOARISOA - l’Environnement et les produits toxiques. It runs from 1995 to 2000 and has already resulted in a list of alternatives to the use of toxic substances in agriculture. This is in line with one of the project’s objectives, which is to minimize the negative effects of pesticides on the environment.

VOARISOA found it important to organize a confrontation between the parties involved, whose perceptions of the situation differ: the farmers, the state, and the NGOs. In cooperation with ILO, a Madagascar NGO focusing on the development of the rural world, and the association EZAKA, VOARISOA held workshops to describe and validate local agricultural practices. The first workshop was held in Betafo Vakinankaratra, 17-18 October 1995, and resulted in the documentation of 22 practices. These were published in 1996 in a very practical, well organized, illustrated manual (Valorisation des pratiques paysannes. Tome 1.) Similar workshops were held at other locations. All in all, 101 practices were identified. A second volume was published in 1998, presenting yet another 21 practices. The manuals were distributed and used in various contexts by which they would reach local farmers.

Madagascar does not yet have effective consumer laws that would require informing the public about the dangers of certain chemicals, nor is there a national agency with responsibility in this area. When the VOARISOA project finishes in 2000, it is hoped that it will continue in the form of an NGO that will work to fill this gap. Efforts in this direction are well underway. The NGO will be known as VOARISOA Observatoire Environnemental. Its mission, among other things, will be to promote the regulation of chemicals viewed in the rest of the world as dangerous, and to encourage the use of alternatives to potentially toxic chemical substances.

In its activities, VOARISOA Observatoire Environnemental will rely heavily on its partners. The new NGO, through participatory action research and extension, will attempt to raise the awareness of all parties at national level. This year is occupied mainly with preparation. VOARISOA Observatoire Environnemental will be officially launched in January 2001. Monitor readers will be informed.

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.

Postal service and other communication with Sierra Leone are defective. For a contribution by Dr Dominic T. Ashley, director and correspondent of the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Fourah Bay College (CIKFAB), please see the feature ‘Focus on:’.

Maasai Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr Nathan Ole-Lengisugi, Director (Correspondent)
P.O. Box 14288, Total Building, India Road, Arusha
Tanzania
Tel. / fax: +255-57-4229/8559.
E-mail: multicho@habari.co.tz

MARECIK-tz submitted to the World Bank 25 case studies pertaining to indigenous knowledge. These have all been placed on the World Bank’s IK website (Examples of IK applications - Africa Region - The World Bank). Interested readers with Internet access might wish to take a look at http://www.worldbank.org/html/afr/ik/newdatab.htm

MARECIK-tz also submitted a best practice to Nuffic-CIRAN for inclusion in the UNESCO-MOST database. The practice is entitled ‘Rangelands utilization strategy: utilization of arid and semi-arid rangelands by African pastoralists’. It describes how the pastoralist Maasai move their herds throughout the year in order to make the best possible use of rangeland resources and to achieve maximum meat and milk yields. As a result of this carefully considered movement, the herds stay healthy and produce a reliable supply of milk and meat that meets the demands of polygamous pastoral households. The Tanzanian Maasai practice has been published as number BP.12 in Best practices on indigenous knowledge (1999), a joint publication of UNESCO’s MOST Programme and Nuffic-CIRAN. The printed version is no longer available but the publication can still be consulted online at http://www.unesco.org/most/bpikpub.htm The direct link to the practice submitted by MARECIK-TZ is http://www.unesco.org/most/bpik12.htm

Information about the Maasai pastoralists can also be found on the IK Pages at http://www.nuffic.nl/ik-pages Look first under ‘Resources’. From there several paths are possible:

• via ‘regions’: Africa - Tanzania

• via ‘type of resource’: best practices (the titles are in alphabetical order)

• via ‘search’: type ‘pastoralism’ in the white box at the bottom of the yellow box.

Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Sukanta Sen, Director (Correspondent)
3/7 Block D. Lalmatia, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh
Tel.: +880-2-913 2372.
Fax: +880-2-811 5548, and +880-2-912 5681.
E-mail: iard@bdonline.com

The Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) is pleased to announce the recent publication of Indigenous knowledge development in Bangladesh. Present and future. The book was edited by Paul Sillitoe and has been produced for the regional market by University Press Limited. In cooperation with Intermediate Technology Publications Limited, it also appears as a volume in the series IT Studies in Indigenous Knowledge and Development. (See ‘Preview: Important new books’ for the details.)

The 243-page book contains a good overview of the current status of IK in Bangladesh. It is the valuable result of the first national workshop on indigenous knowledge to be held in Bangladesh. This was organized by BARCIK and took place in 1998 under the title ‘The state of indigenous knowledge in Bangladesh’.

The second national workshop on IK was held in January of this year. (See the report under Conferences.) The focus this time was on the documentation and application of IK. At the end of the two-day workshop, BARCIK members reviewed the event. Workshop findings and shortcomings were discussed and suggestions and recommendations were made for improving future workshops and programmes. Key factors in the workshop’s success were found to be:

• active participation;

• the curiosity about indigenous knowledge that was generated;

• the cementing of BARCIK’s good relations with local NGOs, government representatives, and development workers.

The workshop was found to have had four main results:

• It created scope for organizing a campaign to publicize indigenous knowledge issues at local and national levels.

• It offered an opportunity for development workers, cultural activists, journalists, government officials, and representatives of professional groups to interact and express their opinions.

• The workshop raised awareness and created scope for further interventions.

• It reinforced personal and organizational commitment.

BARCIK members formulated the following five recommendations:

• Issue-based workshops and/or dialogues should be continued at local and national levels.

• Action research to document and disseminate indigenous knowledge and practices should be encouraged.

• Collection and documentation should be started at regional levels.

• Publications should be more field-based and practical.

• Regional focal points should be more active.

Please note that BARCIK now has two fax numbers: +880-2-811 5548 and +880-2-912 5681. The second one is new.

Centre for Advanced Research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Dr Jan Brouwer, Director
Ms S.L. Meenu, Correspondent
P.O. Box 1, Saraswathipuram
Mysore - 570 009
India
Tel.: +91-821-542 467.
Fax: +91-821-542 459.
E-mail: cariks@bgl.vsnl.net.in
http://iias.leidenuniv.nl/host/ccrss/cariks/htm

The Centre for Advanced Research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CARIKS) is pleased to announce that the postponed international workshop on oral traditions was rescheduled and is taking place on 12-14 July 2000 under the title Linguistic and interdisciplinary approaches as critical resources to development. The workshop has been organized jointly by CARIKS, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), and the Centre for Co-operative Research in Social Science (CCRSS) in Mysore, India.

Four major challenges will be addressed: how to ensure an interdisciplinary approach in the social sciences and humanities; how to attain social sustainability in development efforts; how to re-integrate research and action into development; and how to arrive at fruitful cooperation between social scientists and local people. For more information about the workshop, please see the announcement on the IK pages at http://www.nuffic.nl/ik-pages/viewarticle.asp?articleID=391&search=23&order=2

A report on the workshop will be published in the November issue of this journal.

CARIKS appreciates the reactions received from readers of the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor. The publication of each new issue brings new contacts and new requests for information. CARIKS director Dr Jan Brouwer would like to make it clear, however, that the centre is primarily a research centre and does not engage in research implementation. Also, the centre focusses on indigenous knowledge systems and not on agricultural indigenous knowledge. Each year, CARIKS can accommodate five master’s and/or PhD students from other parts of the world. For this year, all but one of the places have been taken up.

Centre for Indigenous Knowledge on Indian Bioresources
Dr S.K. Jain, Director (Correspondent)
Dr Ved Prakash, Assistant Director
C-58, Sector H, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226 024
India.
Tel.: +91-522-224 556.
Fax: +91-522-282 849.

The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge on Indian Bioresources (CIKIB) would like to inform readers that for CIKIB matters, the address particulars at the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) are no longer valid. The centre has moved to a new office not far from the NBRI (see above). Telephone, fax and e-mail still have to be installed. Readers who want to speak to CIKIB director Dr S.K. Jain might call him at his home phone: +91-522-224-556.

CIKIB director Dr S.K. Jain is also pleased to inform readers that Dr Ved Prakash has been appointed assistant director.

Centre for Indigenous Knowledge of Indian Herbal Resources
Dr N.C. Shah, Coordinator (Correspondent)
MS-78, Sector-D, Aliganj, Lucknow - 226 024
India
Tel. / fax: +91-522-326 489.
E-mail: ncshah@lwl.dot.net.in

The Centre for Indigenous Knowledge of Indian Herbal Resources (CIKIHR) would like to inform Monitor readers that Dr A.S. Bhaduria, the former correspondent, has left the centre following his shift to Bombay. CIKIHR coordinator Dr N.C. Shah will now act also as correspondent.

With funding from the Indian government’s Department of Science and Technology, Dr Shah is compiling the data collected by the approximately 35 NGOs working throughout India on projects related to plant-based healthcare. The projects have had various objectives, including the documentation of traditional medical practices and remedies in the different regions of India, the training of local people in the preparation of herbal medicines, and the cultivation of indigenous herbs. The systematic compilation of this data will include listing the endangered plant species of each region.

In April 2000, Dr Shah travelled to southern India to collect technical information for the compilation. He went to Thicanamcode, near Nagercoil in the Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu. There he visited several shops that sell fresh herbs collected from the nearby area. Entire plants are available in many varieties--intact and complete with leaves, stems and roots. The only herbs sold in a dried form are those brought in from other regions. Fresh herbs offer at least two advantages:

• The local health practioners who buy the plants can easily identify them from their gross morphology. This means there is less chance of adulteration.

• In green herbs the chemical ingredients are intact, whereas dried herbs have undergone decomposition and other chemical changes. In ancient times in India, only green herbs were used in the substances prepared by folk therapists or under the ayurveda and sidha systems of medicine.

Dr Shah then visited Manthanwadi in the state of Kerala, which is a small, hilly township situated 4500 feet above sea level, with lush vegetation consisting mainly of plantation-grown bananas, coconuts, tea, etc. Only a few hills still have their natural tropical vegetation. In this region ‘herbal water’ is used for drinking purposes. ‘Herbal water’ is prepared from dried herbal mixtures which are sold in packets under different brand names. One teaspoonful is boiled in about three liters of water. The decoction is then cooled, strained and stored in a drinking vessel for family use. In local language this is known as dhasamana, which means ‘quenching of thirst’. Various brands of dhasamana are sold. All have between 7 and 11 herbal ingredients, but the main ones are heartwood (Acacia catechu; khadira in Sanskrit), sandalwood (Santalum album; chandana), coriander (Coriandrum sativum; dhanyak), and three other species: Hemidesmus indicus (anantamool), Vetiveria zizanioides (ushira), and Caesalpinia sappan (patanga). Dhasamana is said to be a good appetizer. It also gives strength and vigour and acts as a prophylactic against diarrhoea, dysentery and other infections. Monitor readers who wish to know more about the indigenous herbs of India, or about the herbal shops and herbal water, may contact Dr Shah directly.

Dr Shah visited Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, in Faizabad, to take part in the successful oral defence of a PhD thesis. The candidate, Shri Ashok Srivastava, had done his research work under Dr Shah. His thesis is entitled Botanical and pharmacognostical studies of Curcuma amada L., Curcuma angustifolia Roxb. and Zingiber zerumbet (L.) Sm. of family Zingiberaceae.

Dr Shah attended an interesting Review meeting on medicinal plants organized by the BAIF Development Research Organization, which was set up to create opportunities by which rural families in disadvantaged areas can improve the quality of their lives. BAIF is active in seven states of the country in such fields as silk production, animal husbandry, social work, agro-forestry, and herbi-culture. Readers who wish to know more about BAIF may write or e-mail. The address is: BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune - 411 029, India. E-mail: baif@vsnl.com http:\\www.ngoindia.com\baif\default.htm

Indonesian Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledgehttp://
Prof. Kusnaka Adimihardja, M.A. Director (Correspondent)
Padjadjaran University
Room K-3, JI. Dipatiukur 35
Bandung 40132, West Java
Indonesia
Tel. / fax: +62-22-250 8592.
E-mail: inrik@melsa.net.id
http://www.melsa.net.id/~inrik

From 26 April to 2 May 2000, INRIK hosted a large travelling exhibit called ‘Rainforest for Health’ and conducted a conference on medicinal plants in Indonesia. The exhibit included panels from the Rainforest Medical Foundation in the Netherlands, and was supported by several international organizations. Other organizations that helped to make the event possible were the Ciung Wanara Foundation, the KEHATI Foundation, RIO TINTO, and P.T. Freeport Indonesia. The conference began with a keynote speech by Dr Moharso, a government expert in healthy technology. Other invited speakers came from goverment and non-goverment organizations, the academic world, and local communities.

Various activities accompanied the conference and rainforest exhibit. For example, there was also an exhibit of medicinal plants and products provided by a number of NGOs, including the POKLAN Foundation, LATIN, the Ciung Wanara Foundation, and Biology Unpad. An interactive dialogue took place where high school students could discuss the wisdom of traditional methods for managing medicinal plants of the forest. The Pusaka Sedjati Foundation and the Telapak Foundation showed a film on manajemen biodiversity and agroforestry; and INRIK-UNPAD, POKLAN-Ciranggem Sumedang and LATIN-Jember arranged for traditional Kasepuhan healers to give a demonstration of their medical practices. Elementary-school pupils from Bandung submitted drawings for a competition, and there was a book exchange with the help of many contributors.

INRIK is currently looking for funding for a project to study and document the local knowledge and agricultural technology of the Kisam people of South Sumatra. (See also the November 1998 issue of the Monitor Vol. 7 (3).)

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: +30-81-394 606
E-mail: lionis@med.uoc.gr

The Elliniko Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (ELLRIK) would like to inform readers that it has a new fax number and a new e-mail address. (See above.)

ELLRIK’s coordinator and correspondent Dr Christos Lionis has just returned to Crete after a six months’ sabbatical spent in Sweden.

Centre for International Research and Advisory Networks
Mr G.W. von Liebenstein, Director
Nuffic-CIRAN
P.O. Box 29777, 2502 LT The Hague
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31-70-4260 321.
Fax: +31-70-4260 329.
E-mail: ciran@nuffic.nl
            ikdm@nuffic.nl
http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/index.html

In each issue of the Monitor we are fortunately able to report that interest in indigenous knowledge continues to grow. This time the news comes from the Global Knowledge for Development Conference that was held by the Global Knowledge Partnership in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 7–10 March 2000. Already during the preparations for this so-called ‘GK II Conference’, it was apparent that indigenous knowledge would receive substantial attention. It was dealt with at the conference in connection with ‘empowerment’.

The World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), as members of the Global Knowledge Partnership, contributed to the indigenous knowledge track with plenary presentations, sessions, the presentation of cases by participants from developing countries, and booths at the GK II Knowledge Fair.

There were two ‘knowledge-sharing’ sessions. The first session, ‘The Kampala Declaration’, chaired by Mr Nicolas Gorjestani (World Bank), featured a presentation by Dr Zerubabel Nyiira, director of the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology. Dr Nyiira told how Uganda, with World Bank assistance, is developing a national policy aimed at integrating indigenous knowledge into the national development process. The second knowledge-sharing session was chaired by Nuffic-CIRAN director Mr Guus von Liebenstein. The speaker was Dr Fary Selate Ka from ARED, Senegal (Association for Research, Education and Development). Dr Ka described ARED’s work, which is related mainly to collecting and documenting IK and disseminating it in local languages.

In the ‘empowerment’ track of GK II, a panel chaired by IFAD addressed local knowledge issues. The panelists were Dr Anil Gupta, India, coordinator of SRISTI / Honey Bee network; Mr Adam Nayyar, Pakistan, director of research at the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage; Mr Reinhard Woytek, Africa Region, World Bank; and Mr Guus von Liebenstein, Nuffic-CIRAN. A fairly lively discussion took place around the issues of intellectual property rights, local languages, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), and gender.

The action plan drafted at the end of GK II includes a strong endorsement of the IK programme and specific calls for (1) the identification, development, and dissemination of local knowledge in various forms, including local languages; (2) support for attempts to develop strategies for incorporating IK into development efforts.

A Knowledge Fair was held at the conference site. As a partner in the World Bank’s Knowledge and Learning Centre, Africa Region, Nuffic-CIRAN had space in a booth from which it could inform visitors about the activities of the international IK Network and the role that Nuffic-CIRAN plays in fostering the exchange of information about indigenous knowledge. Many copies of the Monitor were passed out, together with information about the IK Pages on the Internet (http://www.nuffic.nl/ik-pages/). As readers of the Monitor know, the IK Pages are part of the newly established Indigenous Knowledge Information System. (See the report on this in the March 2000 issue.)

GK II will certainly accelerate the search for information. The most valuable sources of this information will be professional experts in the field of IK and the various indigenous knowledge resource centres all over the world. Anticipating this growth in demand for information, Nuffic-CIRAN began in May 1999 to update its data on the IK experts, and in April 2000, Mr Von Liebenstein and Monitor editor Ms Anna van Marrewijk sent a letter to the IK resource centres asking them to provide up-to-the-minute details. The first results have revealed that some centres are no longer functioning, others are carrying on as before, and yet others have undergone major changes.

In April, Mr Von Liebenstein took part in a meeting at UNESCO headquarters which had been organized by UNESCO-MOST for the purpose of exchanging information about activities related to traditional and indigenous knowledge. Possibilities for intersectoral cooperation were also discussed. Interest in this type of knowledge has grown within UNESCO as a result of the recommendation issued at the conclusion of the UNESCO/ICSU World Conference on Science (Budapest, June 1999), which urged that indigenous or traditional knowledge be integrated into the scientific enterprise. The internal meeting was an attempt to achieve coordination among the IK activities taking place under the various UNESCO programmes.

Nuffic-CIRAN will continue its cooperation with UNESCO, which began with the joint project to publish ‘best practices’ in the field of indigenous knowledge. At present Nuffic-CIRAN—in cooperation with UNESCO’s Information and Informatics Division—is exploring ways by which the Multipurpose Community Telecentres (MCTs) can expand their activities to include the collection, storage and dissemination of IK information. The initial focus of this effort is the Nakaseke MCT in Uganda. Another activity under consideration is the expansion of the MOST-CIRAN best-practices database to include best practices related to water management.

In May, Nuffic-CIRAN launched an international publicity campaign under the title ‘Local knowledge is of global importance’. The aim is to make organizations aware of the information and services it offers.

On 8 June, 16 researchers from Jalgaon in Maharashtra, India, visited Nuffic-CIRAN to talk about activities related to indigenous knowledge. The researchers were in the Netherlands to attend a course at the International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement (ILRI).

The two electronic mailing lists facilitated by Nuffic-CIRAN are very successful. The subscribers to each list—one on biodiversity and IK in Africa (Africadiv) and one on ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM)—reached the limit of 200. With the help of a grant from the World Bank, we are now able to expand the lists’ capacity to 500 subscribers.

Leiden Ethnosystems And Development Programme
Professor L. Jan Slikkerveer, Director
Ms Diana Bosch, MA, Correspondent
Institute of Cultural and Social Studies
Leiden University
P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB Leiden
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31-71-527 3469 / 3403.
Fax: +31-71-527 3619.
E-mail: bosch@fsw.leidenUniv.nl

Mrs Martha Tilaar of the Martha Tilaar Foundation was honoured by the National Herbarium in Leiden. A new and rare species of orchid has been named after her: the Coelogyne Marthe. In her speech Mrs Tilaar explained how valuable the use of local and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants has been to her in her personal life.

In May 2000, the first intensive one-week course on Economic Botany and Ethno-botanical Knowledge Systems (EKS) given by Professor Slikkerveer was attended by an international and interdisciplinary group of students. Mrs Alfreda Ibui and Mr Wai’l Abdalla of the LEAD programme also attended this first international course, and were among the 12 people to receive certificates on 7 June.

Mrs Ibui completed her studies at the Faculty of Museology at the Reinwardt Academy in Amsterdam and has joined the Leiden Ethnosystems and Development (LEAD) programme at Leiden University. As partial fulfilment of the requirements for her MA course, she prepared a thesis in the form of the Kenya Fossil Plants Web Site (KFPW). Information about it can be obtained through her e-mail address: palaeo@swiftkenya.com. On 7 June 2000, Mrs Ibui received her Master of Arts Degree in Museology during a colourful graduation ceremony held at the LEAD programme room at Leiden University.

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

Dr Antonio Macías-López, coordinator of RIDSCA, the Mexican Research, Teaching and Service Network on Indigenous Knowledge at the Colegio de Postgraduos, informs us that a process of restructuring is going on at the postgraduate college. One of the expected outcomes will be an integration of the various lines of research related to indigenous knowledge, traditional agriculture, ethnobotany, and rural and peasant studies. A single unit will be responsible for research, teaching and development on these topics. Dr Macías-López will send more information when the time comes.

Uruguayan Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge
Pedro de Hegedüs, Coordinator (Correspondent)
CEDESUR
Casilla de Correo 20.201
Codigo Postal 12.900, Montevideo
Uruguay
Tel. / fax: +5-982-308 1603.
E-mail: phegedus@adinet.com.uy

The Uruaguayan Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (URURCIK) asks readers to please take note of its new, simpler address. (See above.)

URURCIK’s coordinator, Mr Pedro de Hegedüs, further reports that the centre’s main activity is to disseminate information on indigenous knowledge to libraries, colleges and NGOs, and that he appreciates the information URURCIK receives from Nuffic-CIRAN and other organizations.

Dr Consuelo Quiroz of VERSIK reports that in March, while Dr Hegedüs was doing some consulting work in Venezuela, he had visited the Venezuelan centre. (See VERSIK.)

Venezuelan Resource Secretariat for Indigenous Knowledge
Dr Consuelo Quiroz, 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. / fax: +58-72-360 467.
Mobile tel.: +58-0166 721152..
E-mail: consuelo@cantv.net

Dr Consuelo Quiroz, coordinator of the Venezuelan Resource Secretariat of Indigenous Knowledge (VERSIK), informs us that she has a new mobile telephone number: +58-0166-721152.

Work on the projects mentioned in earlier issues of the Monitor continues through both CATADI (the centre) and FUNDATADI (the foundation). VERSIK continues to urge postgraduate students from anywhere in the world to come and do thesis research as part of these projects. Students are invited to contact Dr Quiroz for more information, but they must be proficient in Spanish.

In March 2000, Dr Pedro de Hegedüs, director of the IK Center in Uruguay, paid a visit to VERSIK and CATADI. He was doing some consulting work in Venezuela and decided to visit his colleague. Dr Quiroz reports that they had a very interesting exchange of information and are now trying to start up some collaborative work for the coming year. ‘We were very pleased to meet him,’ she wrote. ‘Although we had communicated only through e-mail, we felt like we knew each other already.’

In April, VERSIK received visitors from Cuba, Guatemala and Colombia who were also taking part in the international study of home gardens (conucos) and their role in the in situ conservation of resources for systems of agricultural production. This research project is coordinated by IPGRI, Rome (Italy), and is being carried out simultaneously in five countries: Venezuela, Guatemala, Cuba, Vietnam and Ghana. The visit took place in conjunction with the second workshop of the Latin American project members, which was held in Trujillo and hosted by FUNDATADI. One of the project components is a study of the local knowledge related to the plants grown in the conucos.

Dr Quiroz was invited to participate in the International Week of Local Development, which was held in Barcelona (Spain) on 31 May-2 June 2000. More information about this event and its outcomes will be published in the November issue of the Monitor.

Rural Research Centre Iran
Dr Mohammed H. Emadi, Deputy Head
Mr Esfandiar Abbassi, Correspondent
Ministry of Jihad
P.O. Box 14155-6197
Teheran, Iran
Tel.: +98-21-889 7197.
Fax: +98-21-889 1942.
E-mail: rrciri@neda.net

The Rural Research Centre (RRC) would like to draw readers’ attention to its new fax number (see above) and its new contact person. Mr Esfandiar Abbassi has succeeded Mr Seyed Babak Moosavi as correspondent.

The first issue of Indigenous Knowledge and Development was published in January 2000. This bilingual (Persian/English) newsletter is a product of the RRC-sponsored Rural Station for Indigenous Studies (RSIS) at Khorhe (Markazi Province, Iran). The full title of the newsletter is Indigenous Knowledge and Development. The networking publication of Rural Station for Indigenous Studies / RSIS. It is full of news and reports on activities.

With the growing demand for appropriate technologies for sustainable development around the world, Iran’s RRC has made a serious attempt to collect and disseminate indigenous knowledge (IK) relevant to meeting the country’s current needs. As sponsor of a national project for this purpose, RRC has chosen the action approach to IK research (as opposed to the extractive approach). The aim is to elicit as much popular support and cooperation as possible in all phases of local development. The establishment of the Rural Station for Indigenous Studies (RSIS) in the ancient village of Khorhe (Posht-e-goder region, Markazi Province) is the social, scientific and physical outcome of this empowerment-oriented approach.

RSIS is a grassroots research and development organization founded and managed with the help of substantial financial and technical contributions from Khorhe’s local and expatriate communities. RSIS research priorities are determined primarily by the life priorities of the local population. So far, RSIS has helped to set up a number of informal cooperatives aimed at making rural production (of meat, poultry, handicrafts, rugs and kilims) more productive, profitable, environmentally sustainable and entrepreneurial.

In addition to facilitating local development through local IK research in Posht-e-godar, RSIS has become a national processing centre for IK research conducted across the country by village youths. These are the participants in the ‘Great national IK collection contest’ announced over a year ago by RRC. A full-text database of these reports has been designed to make them electronically searchable for purposes of further study and scientific inquiry. As an added feature of the IK database, researchers will be able to search for the names of local experts in fields such as water, water harvesting, veterinary medicine, and herbal medicine. A demonstation version of the database is now available. Large-scale data entry will begin as soon as more financial resources are available.

In the first issue of Indigenous Knowledge and Development, a notice on the front cover states that the publication is meant to serve as a tool for networking among government professionals, academic researchers and local people. In line with this purpose, the rest of the newsletter is in Persian. The table of contents is in English, however. From it we learn that the publication contains news, reports on local research and national policy-making, a column by a local expert, and advertisements. The notice also says that in order to facilitate networking and cooperation with international development and research organizations, an English summary of the key research findings, processes and events will be included. Full reports of all research activities are also available, upon request, in either Persian or English.

To obtain a copy of this publication, please contact the RRC or write to: Indigenous Knowledge and Development, RSIS, P.O. Box 37815/36, Mahallat, Markazi Province, I.R. Iran.
Fax: +98-889 25-38.