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We all agree that knowledge is key to our quality of life as well as our future survival. But lately there appear to be serious knowledge transfer breakdowns, by lack of a better term, that may not only jeopardize our future survival in the long run, but simply diminish quality of life.
Knowledge breakdowns impede the necessary understanding between tiers of government, between government and civil society, between resources users, and even between child and parent.
One example where it is important to capture indigenous knowledge, for instance, is the Richtersveld which lies on the border of South Africa and Namibia. People have lived here for at least two thousand years, their livestock grazing these lands in a way that apparently caused little damage. Somehow humans achieved some equilibrium with nature that spanned millennia.
But now there are clear signs of land degradation. According to the old people land degradation is a relatively new phenomenon, meaning the last few decades. So what knowledge has gone missing that now endangers the ecology and the very basis of life for the people who live there? It appears that people use the land in a very particular way, called transhumance that followed the rhythms of Nature very closely.
So unique is this transhumant way of life, that it forms the basis of the recent inscription of the Richtersveld as a World Heritage Site. But this knowledge, as well as other knowledge in the Richtersveld, must be passed on. Fortunately the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) has made funding available for a book about the Richtersveld, to be written BY the Richtersvelders, with some technical assistance. It is hoped that this attempt, to which DLIST will also contribute, will lead to valuable lessons learned on how indigenous and local knowledge can be captured and shared so it can be available to present and future generations.
Fortunately knowledge as a resource is being taken increasingly seriously. Perhaps other DLIST registered users can think of other examples where it may be worthwhile to capture local knowledge to bridge knowledge gaps.
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Hi, Francois
I couldn't agree more with what you write. However, I believe the kind of
knowledge that has gone missing is not so much the knowledge of the head as
the knowledge of the heart.
In an article called "Knowledge and insight" the famous quantum physicist
David Bohm wrote: "We are faced with a breakdown of general social order and
human values that threatens stability throughout the world. Existing
knowledge cannot meet this challenge. Something much deeper is needed, a
completely new approach. I am suggesting that the very means by which we try
to solve our problems is the problem. The source of our problems is within
the structure of thought itself."
Non-western indigenous people generally regarded themselves as part of
nature and operated with a respect for nature and others that has
disappeared with the advent of "western civilisation". I believe that what
is needed, in addition to writing down indigenous knowledge, is a general
revival of a sense of inherent worth, value and trust in indigenous
communities.
Again I would like to quote Malidoma Somé's foreword (whose book "The
Healing Wisdom of Africa" I can strongly recommend):
"The indigenous people who have, since time immemorial, held the view that
all decisions should be made in consideration of how they would affect the
seventh generation did so, not out of a rather arrogant stance of needing to
'save the earth'; rather, it was their humble recognition that the earth
would save itself, no matter what, that prompted a respectful stance in
relationship with the earth and the hope that the earth would continue to
welcome human interaction seven generations from the present. It is only a
modern mindset, blind to its own folly in disregarding right relationship
with the natural world and spiritual realm, that feels it must take on the
task of 'saving' that which it has treated with utter disrespect and
continues to abuse with lack of conscience."
Regards,
Douwe
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"What happened to the Knowledge" - you raise a universally important matter, Francois. Thanks. I think it is really more than just knowledge being lost in the Richtersveld. What is being lost is essentially a way of life, a set of values and a relationship with nature (losing a particular knowledge of deriving 'ecosystem services' from the land through grazing transhumance). Same in Switzerland where dairy farmers also practice transhumance on mountain slopes that are impacted by tourists who go there on the ski holidays. In summer, cows are grazed on upper, sun-facing slopes, and in winter, they’re brought downslope. Show me a young person in Europe who wants to be a farmer! Yet another striking example of lost knowledge, back in Africa, and in an urban area, can be found in my area, on the Cape Flats in Cape Town. The grandparent generation recall the day-to-day use and appreciation of plant material and nature (1950s, 1960s). Three generations down the line, and their grandchildren living in the townships in dire poverty and hopelessness have, very sadly, no notion of nature. To me, the Cape Flats epitomises ‘lost knowledge’ in an urban area which was shaped by South Africa’s globally unique political climate.
I recently went to a talk by long-time Nobel Prize Winner, Wole Soyinka from Nigeria. He spoke very poignantly about the link between civilisation, and cultural and natural heritage. His take-home message was, that by going to great lengths to preserve cultural and natural heritage, we preserve civilization and everything it means to be human. Therefore, from an environmental point of view, the predicted land degradation in the Richtersveld as a result of lost knowledge is difficult to come to terms with.
(i) The question is how can lost knowledge be supplemented in the Richtersveld? If it can’t be stopped, how can it be added to? Afterall, knowledge can be lost but new knowledge can be gained (recall Newton's Law on Energy which says that E can’t be created or destroyed, it can only change form). (ii) The drivers of knowledge change in the Richtersveld should be examined. What are the causal factors? Is it due to external forces (e.g. good advice NGO/State values filtering in); macro-changes in nature that have forced people to adapt landuse patterns? (e.g. climate change); demographics? (e.g. young people migrating to cities). Once we understand these drivers that influence rates of knowledge loss, then we can begin to do something about it. ‘Lost knowledge’ examples abound in Africa – development translated into urban values, farming technology and machinery.
Francois, I wonder if you can comment a bit more on it? I’m particularly interested in urban/city examples where knowledge loss is accelerated (Luanda, Windhoek, Cape Town). I think that the matter is not just about knowledge loss per se, its as extreme as young people forgetting even how to recognise nature, unable to tell a blade of grass from a insect so-to-say. This, I would say, is the most worrying aspect about lost knowledge. And, it is absolutely a good thing that knowledge is shared and documented in order to preserve our quality of life. We should be doing so much more about it.
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Is there any example of a people where the rapid loss of indigenous knowledge has been halted and recouped successfully? If there is, there exists somewhere a process from which lessons can be learned and applied elsewhere.
If not, we have to look at the direction the world is moving in and the effect this has on indigenous knowledge systems. The world has an overriding message of economic growth and all its perceived benefits and the youth of today, moves with it. What do they want? Do they want to stay in the communal lands and live by the old ways? Are they willing to go to the old people, the holders of the last shreds of indigenous knowledge, accumulate that knowledge and apply it? Or will it be an academic exercise, where they accumulate the knowledge. Can they apply this knowledge in a way that generates a livelihood for them? What do they say?
How long has the process been going on that has corroded the indigenous knowledge systems and what are the chances of bringing it back? Stock farming, for example, has been practised in Namaqualand for thousands of years, herders moving with their fat-tailed sheep from pasture to pasture. We assume that these people knew when to leave this pasture to move to the next, being sensitive and knowledgeable to the needs of the vegetation. But they had no fences stopping their movements - now there are fences and privately owned land. The hunter-gatherers, with their unrivaled knowledge of the land, has literally been hunted to near-extinction and lives on the periphery, with a few cases of these peoples obtaining a tenuous foothold in "getting back" their ancestral lands. With the lost of their lands and the effects of colonization almost a 100% or their knowledge was lost.
Its not only the remaining indigenous peoples that are estranged from knowledge of the earth, it is a global phenomenon. Yet all over you find groups and individuals concerned over the fate of the planet, concerned about the immense pressures consumerism is placing on it. Many of these people have worked hard and thought long on how we could live in a manner that will reduced our pressures on the earth and many of these methods are old knowledge modernised. Using the wind, sun and water as means to raise energy, recycling, living simpler, looking towards plants as medicine, natural building methods. We have the bonus of information and education to spread the knowledge of these methods today. If we cannot find a practical way to bring back the old knowledge in its original forms, can we not practise and promote the "new" methods and thereby reduce our pressure on the land? Combined with education on how natural systems work, the application of environmentally friendly technologies and livelihood methods could be a powerful mechanism to start swinging things in the righ direction. |
I can only concur with your views on the essence of knowledge transfer. Indigenous knowledge breakdowns have permeated our society and the danger is that it might become entrenched.
If you ask an inhabitant of Luderitz – fondly known as ‘Bucthers’ – about the history of Shark Island, it very likely that he/she might not know. This reality underscores limited understanding of – which in turn implies limited information on - the town’s rich history.
It is widely known that our coastal town, Luderitz possesses wealth of history that warrants to be collated and documented for preservation. For example, the town features prominently in Namibia history with Shark Island as a concentration camp used by the Germans during the Nama-German war (1904-1908). The Luderitz Town Council, in cooperation with the Museum Association of Namibia and the National Heritage Council, among others, is vigorously working towards collating, documenting and disseminating information and material relating to the town’s heritage. At a consultative meeting with relevant stakeholders at the Nest Hotel about a month ago, it was resolved that what will become known as the Ludetitz Heritage Committee be established – with the core goal to actively drive heritage development processes. Perhaps, this provides an excellent opportunity for resource-sharing – or knowledge transfer - with entities/ countries that is/was engaged in similar exercises elsewhere. Even better, one can possibly find a way how the Swiss (SDC) funding can become useful in the preservation of indigenous knowledge in the Karas region, Namibia – where heritage patterns are virtually identical to the Richterveld’s settings.
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Talking about Luderitz, Karas Region, relations to the Richter's veld....
Does anyone know if the (extensive & impressive) Nama knowledge re plants,
potions & rubs are documented (in detail) somewhere? I've been looking all
over - it is mentioned a lot (used as tourist info) but I can't see that
anyone has actually made it a study or have taken it serious enough to
document it intensively for the future. Same goes for this knowledge as
well; the old(er) people who knows about it are dying out and the younger
generation are either not sensitised enough to be interested or don't think
it's important, there are after all doctors and pharmacies to go to...
By the way Douwe & Francois & JS Golding, excellent discussion - makes for
good & interesting reading & reflection.
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there has been a process going on in the Amazon for the past 15 years or so
that has managed to halt the loss of culture and indigenous knowledge as
well as build strong indigenous leadership that has huge clout with local
government. the focus has been on sacred sites as these are great
repositories of biodiversity and indigenous practice. reviving ritual around
these sacred sites has revived community respect for the value of indigenous
practices and the huge effect they have in maintaining biodiversity and
reknitting community solidarity and pride. It has also effectively linked
youth with elders and youth have greater respect for the knowledge of their
elders, even though they may be uneducated in the western paradigm.
a concurrent process has been to map territories with communities, looking
at boundaries, sacred sites, land use management, ecological calenders and
much more. During the process communities also collect and draw "stories of
origin". these maps and drawings are quite something to see and the process
builds community solidarity and analysis. Furthermore, they are used as
powerful lobbying and advocacy tools in land claim issues as well as
lobbying government for services or keeping developers out of their
territory. communities have been trained in advocacy and are well aware of
local and international laws that support their cases. They have organised
school terms to fit into their ecological calendars so that children are
available during key festivals or harvest etc. Communities even decided what
kind of knowledge they want their children to learn at school and their
curriculum is based on indigenous knowledge (of course they receive training
in maths etc. too)
this is a very complex process put into a very simplistic nutshell! The term
"territory" is used rather than land as it implies land plus cultural values
and language that is embedded in land, e.g. burial sites etc. The African
Biodiversity Network is piloting similar projects in Africa, particularly in
Kenya and Ethiopia as well as South Africa.
http://www.gaiafoundation.org/partners/amazonas.php
Haidee
SAFeAGE
PO Box 358
Woodstock, 7915
http://www.safeage.org <http://www.safeage.org>
+21-447-8445
072-450-8229
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Sure there are people who has done research on and gathered knowledge of indigenous knowledge of plants and their medicinal uses. Mostly these are scientists who have sold that knowledge to the big pharmaceuticals and you can now buy your hoodia, Sutherlandia or devil's claw of the shelf or order your kougoed (even from America!) The rights to a number of indigenous flowering plants have been sold to overseas companies. Although there is a model law for the rights to indigenous plant knowledge, South Africa unfortunately has not adopted it. Therefor indigenous people are open to abuse if they share their knowledge on medicinal plants. I would imagine that by now they would be wary, rightfully so, of whom they share this knowledge with and on what terms.
To see what happened to indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants visit this website:
http://www.africandrugs.com |
In our discussion, I see that we are tempted to compare the indigenous knowledge with the western knowledge which from mainly the city. These both “sciences” are not the same by their approach and especially by their sources. I don’t really know about the Richtersveld area and its people but I think that it is not very different compared to the reality in Madagascar. The two way of thinking (indigenous and western) are progressively working together since couple years, in some places.
Recently, after long journey in the modern hospital in France no success, a doctor attempted by the Cancer is treated successfully by a traditional medicine user, staying around 35km from Antananarivo, the capital city. That French hospital is actually supporting the traditional medicine using in the country. I think, it is one way of acknowledgements.
The life is relatively short for us in Africa because of the “generalized poverty” but the eldest persons in many African countries are in the small village, far from the city and still living in very close to the nature and mainly no modern medicine. They are still using the indigenous “sciences” to survival.
In 2006, the University of Tuléar Madagascar – The French University of the Réunion Island – and the UNESCO published the “Traditional Pharmacopoeia in the Islands of the Western Indian Ocean”. That book contains 18 interesting papers about the roles and the places of the plants in the traditional knowledge. ISBN: 2-916533-09-5 Interesting to read. (in French). My contribution there is focused on the comparative between the modern and the traditional use of the plant in the oldest traditional forest practices people around the Antongil Bay Madagascar. Sometimes, the traditional can have a little bit more than the modern because of the spiritual and affectingly dimension inside.
In many countries, the modern science is trying to integrate the indigenous knowledge in different sectors of the society such as the Environmental Conservation, the Medical Science and in the development issues etc. I think the indigenous knowledge is progressively recognized as a real “knowledge” by the SCIENCE.
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The issue of knowledge, particularly indigenous knowledge is closely
linked to the issue of genetic engineering and patents, intellectual
property and more relevant to this list perhaps, the alienation and loss
of indigenous knowledge and rights.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation has started to move to
recognise indigenous knowledge or traditional knowledge as a result of
pressure brought to bear by developing nations a few years ago. However
the WTO and the global patenting regime wish to see indigenous/
traditional knowledge excluded from any patent rights as this would
preclude many important claims on patents on not only knowledge of
traditional medicines and foods but also on the very genetic information
of various genetically unique and disparate groups. The way the rules
are presently written all rights accrue to private ownership and not to
collective ownership, although as i say there are some moves to change
this. All of this is well covered in a book i edited titled "A patented
world? The privatisation of life and knowledge" published by Jacana in
South Africa (2006).
However as others point out there is significant danger that much
indigenous knowledge is being lost by modernisation, age attrition, lack
of proper recording of what may seem insignificant local information and
perhaps most importantly, a lack of funding for such information to be
saved for posterities' sake.
If we leave it to the market to save such knowledge as is deemed
commercially valuable we will not only be doing ourselves and global
society a disservice but we will be shortchanging our collective progeny
for there is certainly little doubt that much of this knowledge, if
recorded, will prove valuable to us in time in more than shallow
commercial terms.
Accordingly i plead with all associated with this list to do everything
they can to preserve whatever aspects of traditional knowledge that they
are able to and to lobby and encourage our various governments, research
institutes and any other organisations to fund and support the recording
of as much of 'the knowledge' as possible.
We have certainly lost an incalculable amount already. We do not even
know how Khoi/San people painted their wonderful art - what a loss!
To lose more is inexcusable given what we now know and given the reach
of modern means of communication. Were it not for historical recorders
like the Bleeks, western insight on the San and Khoi would have been far
poorer. I am sure there are other 'Bleeks' out there and its up to them
to record and archive as much of the knowledge as possible before it is
gone forever.
I would suggest sabbaticals in remote towns like Khubus, Witputs, Aus
etc etc, with intense interviews with elder citizens of these regions to
capture as much knowledge as possible. The West coast region of Southern
Africa is potentially a rich sources of useful and I am sure,
fascinating, knowledge. I also suggest that any such knowledge should be
stored and archived in such a way that the results of its acquisition
are unable to be utilised for corporate or individual gain, only for the
benefit of humanity as a whole. However, teasing out this dichotomy may
prove to be more difficult than is the writing of it! A precautionary
approach would however be well-advised.
be well
glenn
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I like your sabbatical idea, it makes sense that someone already (maybe)
already involved with the topic doing it. I'm sure funding will be a
concern.
I found the following on the Net:
_____
Oahera Centre Maltahohe
Dear Partners,
Oahera Centre is an "activities centre" situated in Maltahohe, in the Hardap
region, it is the nearest village to the Namib Desert, being situated about
200km east.
The Oahera Centre has many interesting facilities for guests passing through
the area, but it also offers several unique activities which are initiatives
setup by local inhabitants of Maltahohe and coordinated and promoted by
Oahera Centre, here is a list with descriptions and rates of the different
aspects and activities offered at Oahera Centre:
1/OAHERA CENTRE:
* Red Stone Restaurant & Cafeteria: which consists of an outside section
which is covered with netting and surrounded by a natural rock wall, it's a
pleasant & different setup for having a meal, a snack or simply an ice cream
or a drink, in summer it's an ideal stop in a peaceful & quiet area. There
are also 3 inside rooms for cold or rainy weather. After a long drive the
restaurant is an appropriate place to start the visit of the Oahera Centre
and enjoy any Maltahohe activities through the afternoon.
The restaurant has several set menus for groups (menus & rates on request)
which are prepared beforehand and served when guests arrive, lunches for
more than 4 people have to be booked before arrival.
*African Art & Craft shop: on the premises of the center, the shop displays
a wide variety of products and creations from Namibia & Southern Africa, it
is also the outlet where are sold any products manufactured at the centre,
with materials such as wood, metal, paintings, stone, baskets, cloth and
others, visitors can purchase any gifts or souvenirs which they might find
attractive.
*Internet & Telephone : there is a public phone & a computer with internet
access for any guests willing to give news or get any from relatives or from
work. Internet rates are N$12.50 per slot of 15 minutes.
*The botanical Walk: an interesting circuit with many types of local plants
as well as from Southern Africa, mainly aloe, stapelia, euphorbia, haworthia
species, the circuit is still in development and currently has about 60
plants, it will host about 120 different plants when completed.. The
botanical circuit is free and accessible to all.
2/ ACTIVITIES WITH LOCAL PEOPLE IN COOPERATION WITH OAHERA CENTRE:
*Daweb Cultural Group: Is the local school choir made up of about 20
children between 8Y & 17Y, the standard is high as the children put in a lot
of training, discipline & hard work. The show describes in dancing & singing
different aspects of the Nama & Tswana traditions, such as how a young man
should ask for a ladies hand, how girls up to some mischief try to take the
boys along etc...
The show lasts about 1h00 and the children who are dressed in special
costumes and have traditional make up will "run the show" with creative
choreographies and with a happy & exuberant spirit!
The show is organized at the school hall as it is a school project and the
rate is N$400.00 per show, to be divided between participants, any extra
donation is left to the discretion of the audience. The show can only be
organized after 13h30 due to school hours.
*Patrick Hanse's Donkey Cart rides: Patrick Hanse, a local inhabitant of
Maltahohe organizes donkey cart rides through Maltahohe for individuals and
also groups up to 21 people (possibly more on request), the rides last
between 40mn & 1h00, guests will see and learn more about one of the oldest
hotels in Namibia, discover the numerous churches in the village, the
cemetery with it's colonial history, the school and other aspects of
Maltahohe's activity. The donkey cart rides offer an interesting "real life"
tour where much can be learnt about the local people and it also guarantees
a lot of fun from up on the donkey cart point of view! Tours cost N$50.00
per person, donkey cart drivers do speak English.
*The Nama traditional plants project: We have initiated a project with Mrs
Hanna Vlees, an elderly Nama lady who has a wide knowledge of local plants,
guests can book a visit to her house and will be introduced to a whole set
of local plants with an explanation of the various medical uses of each one.
The Nama people have extensive knowledge about plants and curative effects,
a genuine experience into a different world of medical practices, visits
usually last 30mn (N$30.00/person).
*Sunday Mass in Andrewville (township next to Maltahohe): A very interesting
cultural and religious experience, "African Christianism" with it's
vitality, it's cheerfulness and unforgettable gospel singing, at all times a
lovely and genuine experience. As an option guests can also be driven to the
church and back by "donkey cart", the typical local transport system in the
south of Namibia (extra N$50.00)
Oahera Centre can easily be considered and introduced to clients as a lunch
- afternoon visit, the following suggested programme could work well and
make up a memorable experience for visitors:
- Guests (individual or groups) can arrive around 13h00, have lunch, then
relax or walk around & visit the center or use any facilities, 14h30 the
group would see a show of the Daweb Cultural Group and enjoy 1h00 of dancing
& happiness, then after returning to the Oahera Centre at 15h30 the group
could embark on Patrick Hanse's Donkey Cart rides through Maltahohe,
activities would end near 17h00 and the group could proceed to their planned
overnight accommodation.
Since the choir, medical plant, church mass and donkey cart rides need to be
booked in advance with a definite number of participants for the donkey
carts, we offer these activities as independent modules, the clients can
then book one or the other or both according to their wishes, this way it
does make the whole programme quite flexible.
We are planning several projects which will be completed throughout 2005,
which will enable more interaction with local people and ensure Oahera
Centre remains a growing place of interest, and I will definitely keep you
updated about their progress.
I hope you will find the above descriptions of much use and if you do have
any questions or if you would like more information about anything related
before then do not hesitate to contact me, I will help with pleasure.
Kind Regards
Brian Padwick
Oahera Art cc
CC/2003/1882
Tel / Fax: 063 293028 / 063 293508
Email: oaheraa@iway.na
_____
Would be interesting to know if anyone's been there and experienced it...
-----Original Message-----
From: ekogaia [mailto:ekogaia@iafrica.com]
Sent: 14 July 2007 08:19 AM
To: General Discussion
Subject: Re: [DLIST Discuss] What happened to the Knowledge?
The issue of knowledge, particularly indigenous knowledge is closely linked
to the issue of genetic engineering and patents, intellectual property and
more relevant to this list perhaps, the alienation and loss of indigenous
knowledge and rights.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation has started to move to
recognise indigenous knowledge or traditional knowledge as a result of
pressure brought to bear by developing nations a few years ago. However the
WTO and the global patenting regime wish to see indigenous/ traditional
knowledge excluded from any patent rights as this would preclude many
important claims on patents on not only knowledge of traditional medicines
and foods but also on the very genetic information of various genetically
unique and disparate groups. The way the rules are presently written all
rights accrue to private ownership and not to collective ownership, although
as i say there are some moves to change this. All of this is well covered in
a book i edited titled "A patented world? The privatisation of life and
knowledge" published by Jacana in South Africa (2006).
However as others point out there is significant danger that much indigenous
knowledge is being lost by modernisation, age attrition, lack of proper
recording of what may seem insignificant local information and perhaps most
importantly, a lack of funding for such information to be saved for
posterities' sake.
If we leave it to the market to save such knowledge as is deemed
commercially valuable we will not only be doing ourselves and global society
a disservice but we will be shortchanging our collective progeny for there
is certainly little doubt that much of this knowledge, if recorded, will
prove valuable to us in time in more than shallow commercial terms.
Accordingly i plead with all associated with this list to do everything they
can to preserve whatever aspects of traditional knowledge that they are able
to and to lobby and encourage our various governments, research institutes
and any other organisations to fund and support the recording of as much of
'the knowledge' as possible.
We have certainly lost an incalculable amount already. We do not even know
how Khoi/San people painted their wonderful art - what a loss!
To lose more is inexcusable given what we now know and given the reach of
modern means of communication. Were it not for historical recorders like the
Bleeks, western insight on the San and Khoi would have been far poorer. I am
sure there are other 'Bleeks' out there and its up to them to record and
archive as much of the knowledge as possible before it is gone forever.
I would suggest sabbaticals in remote towns like Khubus, Witputs, Aus etc
etc, with intense interviews with elder citizens of these regions to capture
as much knowledge as possible. The West coast region of Southern Africa is
potentially a rich sources of useful and I am sure, fascinating, knowledge.
I also suggest that any such knowledge should be stored and archived in such
a way that the results of its acquisition are unable to be utilised for
corporate or individual gain, only for the benefit of humanity as a whole.
However, teasing out this dichotomy may prove to be more difficult than is
the writing of it! A precautionary approach would however be well-advised.
be well
glenn
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Glenn's comment raises some interesting points regarding indigenous knowledge. One of them is the question of recording the knowledge another the matter of legislation pertaining to patent rights and yet another the concept of using the knowledge for the greater good of humanity.
Concerning recording the knowledge before it fades out of existence, it seems to me that it needs an informed champion that first and foremost have the rights of the holders of the knowledge at heart, that is preferably known to them and where a relationship of trust, proven over a period of time is needed. I know of several such people within the communities where indigenous knowledge resides, people with good links to other people that could obtain funding and expertise for the necessary recording and research to back it up. It would be great if such a champion could start the initiative from within the communities which holds the knowledge.
Having an informed champion initiating and driving such a process, in collaboration with ethical scientists and other experts could perceivably then take care of the other two issues right from the beginning, ensuring throughout such a venture that patent rights accrue to the real owners of the knowledge and, should that be their wish to apply this knowledge to the greater good of humanity, that the financial benefits accrue to them as well.
In the Richtersveld, especially, this is very do-able, with a number of empowered young people extremely well-connected and capacitated. The problem remain to find a funder with vision, as I know that such an effort was made earlier to a funder whose vision on the matter was not very, lets say "visionary".
It would be a great thing. I know that a village about 40 kilometres from where I live and did some chatting to the older people there, asking them to make an estimate, that about at least a third of their medicinal needs are supplied for through local knowledge of plants. It would be a sad day if that knowledge gets lost, whether by dying out or by being cheated out of the rights of their own knowledge.
Those champions are out there, I know that for sure, and the right people to work with them, highly ethical and principled, are out there too. If they come together, once again, on such a venture, it could go tzzzt! for the preservation of indigenous knowledge and its rights....
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This is an interesting topic to discuss,in as far as indigenous knowledge and its transfer is concerned.I remember when I was doing my thesis research on the Conservation of medicinal plants in Bulawayo Zimbabwe.I came across a traditional healer who was in his teens, to me and the rest of my class mates, that was weird or should I say "uncool",seeing someone your age who is still "backward" in terms of living the traditional way of life,while some of us were being westernised. With this I want to concur with Douwe, who brought an important point,of that besides writing down the indigenous knowledge,there is a need of a general revival of a sense of inherent worth,value and trust in indigenous communities.Basically,with people in the communal/rural areas there is a general feeling that those who uphold indigenous values are "backward",they are resisting modernisation.
IK becomes only important to people when there is money to be made from it, they dont see a need to preserve it, just for the sake of having it within the intergenerational knowledge system.Look at what is happening to the indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants.We now find some traditional healers being paid huge sums of money by pharmaceutical companies to share the knowledge they have with them.
With the new pop-culture around,it will become cool to have that indigenous knowledge transfer when some celebrities start showing an interest in having that happening. I dont know Richtersveld that much, but I am interested in knowing the type of transhumance that was practised by these people.Is it nomadic or fixed transhumance.Because if its nomadic,then we may realise that due to land defragmentation and fencing-off of some areas has led to the degradation of some areas,due to overgrazing.
Lets discuss this important issue. |
I found the debate on the topic ‘what happened to knowledge’ very insightful. I think there is general consensus that ‘indigenous knowledge’ remains a critical and hence indispensable link to development in society. My prognosis is that our limited indigenous knowledge base has been and still is constraint by inadequate transfer of information/ knowledge from its creators to its users – hence, the need to ‘mediate’ between the indigenous knowledge creators and the indigenous knowledge beneficiaries. This gap (linking indigenous knowledge to society), in my opinion, might pose not necessarily a communication but an education challenge to our society. |
Well, how's this for a idea; start up a medicinal plants tour of southern
Africa. I don't know how big the interest is/would be (flora/botany
tourism) but with advertising (and word of mouth) one can make anyone aware
of the rarity and uniqueness of this. Obviously this can only happen
if/when the affected communities (and that would mostly be rural) are
willing to part-take on their own terms and infrastructure exist to support
this. Maybe the 'rightful owners' can also make a buck or two from their
precious knowledge and the 'clients' get educated; a win-win maybe? Would
it be fair to commercialise something like this?
-----Original Message-----
From: Jacob Ntintin Orange [mailto:orange@iway.na]
Sent: 18 July 2007 02:12 PM
To: General Discussion
Subject: Re: [DLIST Discuss] What happened to the Knowledge?
I found the debate on the topic 'what happened to knowledge' very
insightful. I think there is general consensus that 'indigenous knowledge'
remains a critical and hence indispensable link to development in society..
My prognosis is that our limited indigenous knowledge base has been and
still is constraint by inadequate transfer of information/ knowledge from
its creators to its users - hence, the need to 'mediate' between the
indigenous knowledge creators and the indigenous knowledge beneficiaries.
This gap (linking indigenous knowledge to society), in my opinion, might
pose not necessarily a communication but an education challenge to our
society.
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I am an intern with the DLIST team, and I have been following the discussion on indigenous knowledge. If I am not wrong this is what the contributors, had to say during the discussion, on what is an important issue to me. We had Francois bringing to attention the loss of indigenous knowledge, with particular reference to the Richtersveld. I am sure there are more examples from other parts of the world, with similar problems. Hence the need to have this knowledge captured and shared for the benefit of the present and future generations.
Douwe, says besides the need for capturing indigenous knowledge, there is also a need for the general revival of inherent worth, value and trust in indigenous communities. What I will say is the Deprogramming and Restoration of Pride (DROP) to the indigenous people. Because it won’t make a difference, if we just capture the knowledge and there are no people willing to make use of the captured knowledge, especially the youths who have left the “homelands” rural areas and gone to towns. According to Janice, by preserving cultural and natural heritage, we preserve civilisation and everything it means to be human. My take from this is that, young people need to accept and appreciate their origins, and learn how their ancestors lived in harmony with nature, and get to apply the knowledge. Above all, indigenous cultures see a link between nature and humans.
Malinda highlights the risk of abuse that people may suffer if they share their knowledge on medicinal plants, especially by big pharmaceutical companies. She mentions the existence of privately owned land, and fences that stop the people from practising their transhumant way of life. Orange agrees to the motion that loss of indigenous knowledge is a serious problem, needing to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Tsiadino recognises the need to have IK recognised as a science and be incorporated into modern science.
My question is, will the creators (indigenous people) of the knowledge have final control over their knowledge that has been recorded and is being exchanged within all systems? I want to know from you out there, how the control should be implemented.
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Based on previous discussions on this topic, I should admit that there is a knowledge transfer breakdown. I however feel that this probably means there is an absence of a sharing mechanism; which is an important obstacle to sharing indigenous knowledge, particularly in the low-income group.
What about developing a knowledge sharing network?
It is likely that in a knowledge sharing network, indigenous innovators and adopters can quickly and easily relate to one another, contributing to collective learning and bringing willingness among innovators to connect.
After all, knowledge sharing will stimulate economic development through: facilitation of knowledge transfer, encouragement of further innovations, creation of new technologies and businesses, joining of ventures and other income generating activities.
It may be ideal, and may indeed sound easy to raise the need for a knowledge sharing network; however this has left me with a concern - how can a sharing network be created?
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I have been following this discussion and interesting comments have been brought forward. The idea that attention should be paid to indigenous knowledge and wisdom is not contended and is eminently sensible. It should be acknowledged that people at local level have their own effective “science” and resource use practice and that to assist them we need to understand something about their knowledge and management systems. If we aim to contribute to a long-term and sustainable positive change, promoting local appropriate adaptations acceptable to local people is the way to go; and beside, development initiatives that pay attention to local perceptions and ways are more likely to be relevant local people’s needs and to generate sustainable interventions. I’m sure there are lots of lessons learnt in different communities where the above scenario has been the case; please do share that with the DLIST community – something that can be replicated in other communities.
Effective development assistance should benefit from some understanding of local knowledge and practice, urging the development community to become more fully engaged in advancing such understanding. Someone puts it this way “ignoring local needs and opinion can lead to tension and resistance; and the likely fail of the expensively imposed interventions when the project withdraws or comes to an end”. Why should we head that way if we know there are alternatives which are beneficial to all of involved? There only question we should be asking ourselves perhaps is how can this be done? How can local communities, nations and donor communities to be linked so that useful knowledge is preserved and used and necessary externally inspired innovation introduce. What are the best mechanisms can we use in this regard? Mechanisms that will be accessible to all involved (local people and the development community)? Can you please share with the DLIST community what has worked for you- lessons learned from mechanisms you have adopted?
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Having been following the discussion on indigenous knowledge and the interesting comments raised by the different contributors (DLISters). We felt the need to put together all the information generated from this discussion, and come up with a Burning Issue.
Thank you Romie, surely there are some lessons learnt from other communities in as far as indigenous knowledge management is concerned. We have included examples like the !nara plant and the Topnaars in Namibia, traditional veterinary practises in Tanzania, grain storage without the use of chemicals, measures being applied to capture, store and exchange this vital knowledge system, and also a look at the issue of Who owns indigenous ( Intellectual Property Rights)?
You can read more on this issue of indigenous knowledge and contribute to this discussion, by visiting:
http://www.dlist-benguela.org/Burning_Issues/Indigenous_Knowledge/Indigenous_Knowledge%3A_Introduction/
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