Concepts

Indigenous knowledge (IK) is closely related to the environment that the people live in and is a living knowledge that will change over time in the same way that crops adapt to their changing environment. Other factors modifying the knowledge are changes in social structure and values plus interactions with other communities. The close interactions between plant genetic resources, the environment and the farmers, generate the basic sources of IK in the community in the area of plant genetic resources conservation. IK is hence a valuable source of knowledge in the in situ conservation of plant genetic resources and in situ conservation in turn will help to maintain that living knowledge.

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Approaches

An IK Journal concept was developed and under this approach, farmers can document their knowledge on a specific topic on audio tape or any media, in their own language which can then be listed in the scientific journals. Any scientist accessing these tapes can cite the source in their paper. Information given in such papers are deemed to be the interpretations of the tapes content. Multiple interpretations can be performed on the content and each being that of the scientist. On the farmers side such audio tapes will be kept in the community’s library and easily accessed. It is also possible to track the usage of the knowledge as the tapes are cited. Equipment needed for capture and replay are simple and enable such knowledge to be passed down using their own language. The approach is to empower the knowledge holders and to recognize their contribution at the national and scientific level.

Activities

In APO, work on IK was initiated in 1995. Further discussions with NPs indicated that there is the need to address the issue of farmers’ rights and the ability of the community to re-use the knowledge. This was addressed by the suggestion that farmers’ rights could be run as a parallel system to the scientific knowledge system already present. To understand this further, a study on IK documentation was initiated with the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences in December 1996. Follow-up on the results of the study is the publication of the IK Journal. 

An IK Journal in Yunnan, China is part of an existing scientific journal. The farmer is the first author and scientist assists in developing abstracts for publication of the farmer's paper.

Chinese IK Journal

IPGRI's contact for this activity: Zhang Zongwen (z.zhang@cgiar.org)

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In 2001 another activity on IK documentation was initiated in Kitui, Kenya by the Kyanika Adult Women Group. They worked on documentation of Indigenous Knowledge, awareness creation and conservation of cultural and biological diversity: The case of the Gourd (Calabash) in Kitui District. in Kenya. The group is putting up a proposal to disseminate the documentation method to other groups around the district.

Picture on left shows a member of the Kyanika Adult Women Group (Kitui, Kenya) explaining the uses of the kitete to scientist visiting their village.

IPGRI's contact for this activity: Paul Quek (p.quek@cgiar.org)

Impacts

IK documentation empowers IK holders to participate in the Knowledge-economy. The use of the IK Journal approach is a sign that action is being taken to address the knowledge holders rights. With rights being recognized, the equitable sharing of profits will follow in same manner as scientific knowledge and the possible unity of knowledge systems. The documented knowledge will allow communities to build on their knowledge. 

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