Penn State - Leveraging Indigenous Knowledge - Open 2011
Transcript of Penn State - Leveraging Indigenous Knowledge - Open 2011
Leveraging Indigenous Knowledge to Foster Developmental Entrepreneurship
Khanjan Mehta, Audrey Maretzki, Greg ZieglerThe Pennsylvania State University
Roadmap
• Introductions• What is Indigenous Knowledge?• Indigenous Knowledge & Entrepreneurship• Synergy between Indigenous & Academic
Knowledge: A social venture in Ethiopia• AcademIK Connections Video series
Intro: HESE @ Penn StateTeaching
• 13-credit ECE Certificate
• Fall semester:• Sensor and Controller System
Integration• Social Entrepreneurship
• Spring semester:• Projects in Community
Service Engineering• Design for Developing
Communities
Research• IJSLE: HESE
• eplum Assessment• Systems Thinking• Cultural Anthropology• Social networks, trust
and cellphones• Indigenous Knowledge
Systems and Sticky Info• Design Space Exploration• Changing the
Conversation• Global Jugaad Commons
Engagement• Mashavu• WishVast• Essential Design• iSPACES• HESE - India
• Invention 2 Venture Conference
• Milking the Rhino: ISS• Kochia Chronicles• AcademIK Connections• *K-12(Center for
Science in the Schools)
ICIK @ Penn State
• ICIK is the only global indigenous knowledge resource center in the US
• • INreach + OUTreach
• Four significant barriers to the use of indigenous knowledge by academics: – Geography– Rank– Discipline– Lack of Peer Support
Indigenous Knowledge
…is the accumulated experience, wisdom and know-how of a local environment that has been developed over many generations through careful observation, listening, experimentation and adaptation
Indigenous Knowledge
…is held by communities rather than individuals, and is embedded in community practices, rituals and relationships
Indigenous Knowledge
…is not frozen in time
Indigenous Knowledge
…is unique to a culture and based on the culture’s philosophic and cognitive system
Indigenous Knowledge
…is the basis for decision making pertaining to governance, food security, human and animal health, childhood development and education and natural resource management
Two little boys and their porridge
Indigenous Knowledge + Entrepreneurship
Farming Techniques
Fishing
Medicine
Honey as an antiseptic
Sticky Information
Info embodied in the people, places, structures
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Injera – the bread of Ethiopia
Greg ZieglerDepartment of Food Science341 Food Science Building
Geography
People/Culture
Injera
T’eff (Eragrostis tef (Zucc) Trotter)endemic, smallest cultivated grain, drought resistant.
Making Injera
Mix
Teff flour Water
Irsho
IrshoFerment 30-72 h @ RT 10% of fermented paste
Boil 2-5 min. (absit) 3X WaterFerment 1-2 h
Bake* 3-4 min. 1 side
*425-450ºF, 218-232ºC
Why remove the irsho, as it takes away a significant amount of protein and vitamins?
While protein content decreases and the profile of essential amino acids appears to worsen, the overall protein digestibility may be improved by the removal of antinutritional factors such as polyphenols and phytates.
Related projects
• Establish an entrepreneurial injera business in Ethiopia (currently using student teams).– Design of an injera making machine– Scale up and optimize fermentation process for
productivity and nutritional quality– Reformulate injera for cost and nutritional quality
• FD SC 497Z, Food Product and Process Design for African Markets
Bringing IK into the Classroom
www.youtube.com/hesepsu
AcademIK Connections 2.0
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Global Jugaad CommonsCross-pollinating concepts across cultures