Methods and issues in exploring local knowledge of soils

Abstract

There is a wide range of literature about the relevance of local knowledge, its use and the importance of integrating local knowledge into more formal research settings. Although it is widely recognised that the underlying principles of local and scientific knowledge differ, very little has actually been written about the process of exploring and integrating knowledge sources, particularly the implications of the choice and combination of methodologies and tools used. In this paper, we present our findings from a research project conducted in two villages in Tanzania and two villages in Uganda. The project's objective was to develop methodologies for comparing and integrating scientific and indigenous knowledge of soil and land resources, using Geographical Information System (GIS) as an integration domain. Our focus is on methods and issues in exploring local knowledge of soils. We first give a short overview of the process of exploring local knowledge of soils and the different methodologies used. We present some of the limitations and opportunities that we have encountered during the analysis, arising from the differences in methodologies used and the epistemological differences associated with each knowledge source. The paper highlights the risk that an uncritical approach to local knowledge may lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions that are not apparent until more detailed research is conducted.