| Author Kamal Misra Department of Anthropology, University of Hyderabad, India Title Local Knowledge, Western Science and Development Imperatives Abstract |
| Although the role of local knowledge in the development of much of Western science and |
| technology has been long recognized, both these world views are not yet reconciled
and are being projected as mutually contradictory. While the Western science denigrates local knowledge as trivial and superstitious,indigenous communities reject Western scientific knowledge as alien and non-confirming to their tradition. Lack of integration between these two complementary systems of knowledge has put in jeopardy the developmental processes. This paper, therefore, examines the constraints in and possibilities of meaningfully integrating these two systems of knowledge and directing them towards development in less developed societies. |
| Following the failure of the top-down development strategy and the adoption of bottom-up |
| strategy in developing countries, indigenous knowledge has gained recognition as
a vital base for sustainable development. However, conventional research has unnecessarily continued to dominate empirical indigenous knowledge research. This research strategy treats indigenous people, the producers and custodians of indigenous knowledge, as objects of research- informants whose knowledge is "mined" for the understanding and perhaps benefit of others. Such research strategy is discriminative and exploitative often leaving the condition of indigenous people largely unchanged. |
| Assuming that indigenous knowledge is a critical resource, this paper attempts to |
| demonstrate the need for the use of Participatory Action-Research (PAR), to explore
critical questions in indigenous knowledge studies such as: who owns indigenous knowledge? who benefits from it? are indigenous people aware of the value of their knowledge? The paper argues that PAR ensures that indigenous knowledge benefit indigenous people as wells as others and empower them by firmly putting them in control of their indigenous knowledge resources. |
| Author Sarah Pink University of Derby, UK Title Transnational flows, local imaginations and diverse powers: migration and development in Guinea Bissau Abstract |
| In this paper I explore the relationship between indigenous knowledge, migration and |
| development in Guinea Bissau. I argue that in a transnational context where transnational
flows of a multiplicity of different types are channelled between 'developed' and 'developing' countries 'indigenous knowledge' is not drawn solely from things of local origin. Rather it also constitutes local people's appropriations of and imaginations about a range of other objects, discourses and narratives originating from 'outside'. These may be based on (for example) media representation, returned migrants' accounts or contact with Europeans (such as with development workers). More typically developers have appropriated 'indigenous knowledge' in order to integrate development objectives into local production strategies. I argue that given the centrality of migration to the everyday lives and strategies of Manjaco people in Guinea Bissau, knowledge about migration and development form a significant element of an indigenous knowledge. |
| Through a discussion of the migration 'system', the transnational imaginations of local |
| non- migrants, I explore the cultural discourses and experiences through which 'indigenous
knowledge' about migration and development are produced. In particular I focus on the production of local knowledge about migration and development, and the ways that local people situate power both geographically and in relation to individuals within their transnational imaginations. Finally I discuss the contemporary interface between 'indigenous knowledge' about migration and the crisis of development in the area and the potential of migration for development and transnational collaborations. |