Raymond E Zvavanyange_African Traditional Leadership Conference, November 14-15, 2014
Transcript of Raymond E Zvavanyange_African Traditional Leadership Conference, November 14-15, 2014
Perspectives on the role and use
of indigenous knowledge systems
in rural and agricultural
development
Raymond Erick Zvavanyange
Zimbabwe
Amabhubhesi Training Centre
Randburg, Johannesburg,South Africa
November 15, 2014
Is this one continent?
•Afrika vs. Africa
Young people are the traditional
leaders of today and tomorrow
“When a knowledgeable old person dies, a
whole library disappears
(An old African Proverb)
Outline
• Introduction
• Types and sources of knowledge
• Science and knowledge
• Indigenous knowledge
• Summary
• Implications
Introduction
• Many types of knowledge in use in every day
life.
• Knowledge enriches people’s experience,
development, and progress as a society.
• Knowledge exists at the point of action
(Rukuni, 2014)
What is Knowledge?
• “Knowledge is a familiarity with someone or something which can include information, facts, descriptions, and /or skills acquired through experience or education.
• theoretical or practical understanding of a subject”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge
Types of Knowledge
• Episteme (Scientific Knowledge) – explicit
• Techne (Skills and Craft Knowledge) – tacit
• Phronesis (Practical Wisdom) – high quality tacit
Sources of knowledge Books Media e.g. newspapers
Sources of knowledge [Cont]
Conferences and meetings Technology
Features of Knowledge
• Practical aspect.
• Person bound or not
• Normative structure
• Internal networked
• Dynamic
• Institutional context
• External networked
Science (and knowledge)
• Science is the ideas that humanity uses to
understand the world around it (Tsao, 2012)
• Science is the human social community in
which those ideas exist and which has, at
least, for the time being conquered earth
(Tsao, 2012)
Science (and knowledge)
Of new believers and
beliefs
Of influence of believers and
beliefs
By shrinkage of influence of
believers and beliefs
Birth Growth Death
Source: Engineering the Ultimate Dynamical Social System : what we know and don’t know about how scientists do science, Jeff Tsao, December 5, 2012 Sandian National Laboratory, USA
Science (and knowledge)
• The History of Science and Technology (2004) By Bryan Bunch with Alexander Hellemans
• Philosophy, as a precursor to Science in the Western World – Francis Bacon and the scientific method
• Discovery of the Deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA] by Francis Crick and James D. Watson in the 1950’s.
• The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962) by T.S. Kuhn– Paradigms
• [Agricultural] Modern Science – Reductionist and interdisciplinary science
– Science of science
– Team Science
Indigenous Knowledge
• Indigenous knowledge is knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society (Manyatsi, 2011).
• Indigenous knowledge systems are defined in the context of innovation, technical knowledge, associated social organization and decision making processes (Brokenshaet al., 1980; Kidd and PhillipsHoward,1992).
Variants of Indigenous Knowledge
• Traditional Ecological Knowledge
• Traditional Knowledge
• Local Ecological Knowledge
• Knowledge of Living
• Rural people’s knowledge
• Ethnobiology, ethnobotany, enthnozoology
• Ethno science, folk science, indigenous science
Features of Indigenous Knowledge
• Collective rights and interests held by traditional communities.
• Close in interdependence between knowledge, land, and other aspects of culture in traditional societies.
• Oral transmission of knowledge in accordance with well understood cultural principles.
• Rules regarding secrecy and sacredness that govern the management of knowledge.
Uses of Indigenous Knowledge
• To sustain the community.
• To facilitate communication among people coming from different backgrounds.
• To maintain, uphold and preserve culture.– Social capital
• To free the minds of people from stereotypes.– Independence
• To maintain genetic resources necessary for the continued survival of the community. – Succession – Sustainability
Application of Indigenous
Knowledge • Traditional medicines
• Animal and crop production
• Education
• Hydrological disaster management
• Combating desertification
• Coping with climate variability
• Forest conservation
• Integrated pest management
• Plant and genetic resources management
• Fisheries management
• Environment management
Summary
• Knowledge is generated anywhere (and rural areas are no exception).
• Indigenous knowledge has wide applications in rural and agriculture development.
• Indigenous knowledge helps people to conquer their environment.
Implications
• The concept of K* is important in the creation
of new knowledge.
• The indigenous entrepreneur can explore the
options of wealth creation from indigenous
products.
• In order to assist farmers and give them
resilience, it is important to invest in new
knowledge, skill and practices.
Last word
“If we observe two forms of knowledge latest
science tries to understand a whole from the
pieces while indigenous knowledge sees things
as wholes”
(Mohammad Saeed Lodhi and Imran Naseem,
2012)