Enriching indigenous knowledge: an alternative paradigm for empowerment

Abstract

In 1999, the World Conference on Science has emphasised the role to be played by local and indigenous knowledge (IK) in reconciling scientific, societal, and sustainable development goals. Meanwhile, some external experts believe the concept of IK has gone through a sort of development cycle, in which it was first considered useful and then subsequently seems to have been considered less useful. We should ask ourselves how we could prevent the concept of IK from going through the same cycle of critique and rejection as other concepts such as “sustainable development”, “community-based conservation”, and “participatory development”. What can social researchers do to prevent IK from going in and out of fashion? There is no doubt that IK is essential for the eradication of poverty, as well as the localization of development. However, to be hopeful we should enrich the quality of IK with some theories and methods to empower local individuals and communities by answering three questions: (1) How can one access...