Rural Women’s Awareness on Indigenous Technical Knowledge: Case of Northern Bangladesh

Abstract

The central attention of the research is to examine rural women’s awareness on Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) and the reasons behind its use. Along with eight focus group discussions, 150 rural women were randomly interviewed. About seventy percent of the respondents were familiar with selected ITKs. The poor farm women were using ITKs as easy and low-cost options. Though many of them are not aware about sustainable agriculture, they use ITKs to make the best utilization of their resources and capabilities. Age, education, annual family income, cosmopolitanism, organizational participation and knowledge on ITKs revealed important determinants of awareness. The paper recommends revision of the current education policy with special focus on rural needs. To have greater impact on sustainable development, modern technologies should be developed around the ITK-based knowledge. Agricultural extension and mass media can play vital roles to channelize the importance of ITKs.