Indigenous knowledge systems – a rich appropriate technology resource

Ọsẹ Dúdú: Exploring the Benefits of Yoruba Indigenous Black Soap in Southwest, Nigeria

“…The interaction of Indigenous people with their lands, territories, and natural resources produces knowledge that is not only community-based but also capable of providing the social, cultural, and economic information necessary for growth and survival (Kalafatic, 2007;Tharakan, 2015). To a large extent, Indigenous Peoples also have collective rights recognized by international law, which include the right to retain their own languages and other cultural foundations such as their traditional forms of livelihood via biocultural rights 1 arrangements (Bavikatte & Bennett, 2015).…”

“…Based on the foregoing argument, it is not surprising that Western knowledge systems have been criticized for an inability to holistically address the socio-economic and cultural challenges in meeting basic human needs (Tharakan, 2015, Olutayo et al, 2017. This is because the solutions offered by foreign knowledge frameworks do not fit well into local knowledge systems, lack autonomy, and are inappropriately incorporated into development plans (Akanle et al, 2017).…”

“…This is because the solutions offered by foreign knowledge frameworks do not fit well into local knowledge systems, lack autonomy, and are inappropriately incorporated into development plans (Akanle et al, 2017). Several authors and experts have stressed that societal growth and development will be achieved if, and only if, the development plans of less-developed nations acknowledge the prevailing Indigenous knowledge systems in these societies (Aluko, 2018;Breidlid, 2009;Briggs, 2005;Hoppers, 2002;Kothari, 2007;Magni, 2016;Olutayo et al, 2017;Sillitoe, 2006;Rist et al, 2011;Tharakan, 2015).…”

Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Appropriate Technology Development

“…An approach to the integration of indigenous knowledge into the development paradigm, which has been suggested in other forms before [30], is diagrammed in Figure 1.…”

“…A number of earlier papers investigated the resource-potential of IKS to serve as a repertoire of appropriate technologies [29] as well as the ability to integrate IKS into the conceptualization, research and development of appropriate technologies [30,31]. These papers provided lessons that will facilitate the integration of best practices for appropriate technology conceptualization, research, development and implementation such as sets of integrated strategies for the management of various resources such as water.…”