Indigenous Knowledge and Local Level Development: The Participatory Approach

This well argued paper makes a case for harnessing the possibilities latent in indigenous knowledge in rural communities as the cheapest and most appropriate way to realise participatory development. It explores in detail the concepts of participatory development and indigenous knowledge of soils, vegetation, climate, pests, veterinary knowledge, agriculture, medicine, and engineering. It then discusses ways to build indigenous knowledge into the participatory agenda: resource inventory/mapping, environmental monitoring, and planning.