Community-to-Community Community-to-Community Exchanges of Indigenous Exchanges of Indigenous

Knowledge PracticesKnowledge PracticesNoel OettléNoel Oettlé

Environmental Monitoring GroupEnvironmental Monitoring Group

South AfricaSouth Africa

Knowledge is the keyKnowledge is the key

• Globally and locally, knowledge is our most valuable asset

• To act, we must believe that we possess sufficient knowledge (the more we feel we know, the less we feel at risk)

• For collective action, shared knowledge is a pre-condition for shared ownership of the action and its results

What is a community of practice?What is a community of practice?

• By definition, a community shares things in common (resources, beliefs, practices, etc.)

• Common knowledge, resources, beliefs, values and/or practices provide a basis for collective action

• Communities of practice are often rooted in a locality (e.g. farming communities or churches)

• Some communities of practice are more scattered, such as traditional healers, birth attendants or water diviners.

Why knowledge exchanges?Why knowledge exchanges?

• When communities of practice share what they know……Knowledge is mobilised and released Communities are able to address developmental

problems in new and creative ways

• By supporting exchanges, development agencies can stimulate and catalyze community-driven developmental processes

• Linking knowledge seekers to knowledge providers is cost effective and dynamic

Some of the basics for successful Some of the basics for successful knowledge exchange processesknowledge exchange processes

• Knowledge exchanges are learning process, and should be designed in terms of an understanding of how adults learn so that participating IK practitioners are able to expand their knowledge base

• As knowledge exchanges are part of a broader developmental process, self-responsibility and self-reliance on the past of the IK practitioners should be fundamental to the design

• Facilitation by skilled people who are not inhibited by, yet understand the local social dynamic, is essential if the process is to succeed

The basics (continued)The basics (continued)• Ensure that all community members have a real

opportunity to participate, and that the process is not hijacked by narrow interests

• The process should be an empowering one that mobilises energy and imagination

• Establishing & maintaining a relationship of trust between facilitators & IK practitioners is essential

• Knowledge exchanges should engage scientists, politicians and IK practitioners on an equal footing

Steps along the waySteps along the way

• Visioning for development

• Developing the exchange concept

• The preparatory stage

• The implementation stage: conducting the knowledge exchange visit

• Feedback and initial planning

• Planning the way ahead

Visioning for developmentVisioning for development

• A shared vision for development is an important starting place: developing and articulating this will usually have to be facilitated

• In terms of the vision, explore with community members what development initiatives will enable them to realise their vision

• Identify the necessary knowledge, capacities and other resources that will be necessary to achieve the vision

Developing the exchange Developing the exchange conceptconcept

• Identify the opportunities and resources that are needed to conduct exchange visits

• Consult potential facilitation team members• Establish learning objectives with IK practitioners• Identify communities that could be visited• Identify the necessary resources for the

exchange visit within the community of the IK practitioners, and agree about commitment of these resources to the process

• If resources are needed from outside the community, write and submit a funding proposal

The preparatory stageThe preparatory stage

• Hold a preparatory workshop for the facilitation team to develop necessary capacities, and to plan for the process

• Facilitate preparatory and planning workshop/s with the wider community

• Facilitate a process for the wider community to select the delegates, and develop a team contract

• Finalise logistics and plans

Conducting the knowledge Conducting the knowledge exchange visitexchange visit

The visit itself requires careful facilitation, sound logistics and flexibility

• Maximise the responsibility of the participants for the process and interactions with hosts and record

• Share experiences along the way in workshops and focus groups

• Maximise experiential learning of participants• Reflect regularly with the group to deepen learnings and

address any tensions or needs• Things don’t always go according to plan: be open to

serendipity!

Feedback and initial planningFeedback and initial planning

• Report-back and planning workshops with the wider community will enable the travellers to share their knowledge, and will broaden ownership of the ideas and initiatives

• Audio-visual aids help to convey the experience graphically

• Interactive sessions bring the experiences to life• Participatory planning at this stage can help

fragile initiatives to take off

Planning Planning the way aheadthe way aheadFollowing the initial feedback & planning session,

agencies should be prepared to support emerging community-driven initiatives as they develop. Remember:

• It is not useful or even possible for “outsiders” to pre-determine which initiatives will emerge and succeed;

• Within each new initiative, a series of learning processes should be taking place that might require facilitation and expert input

• Input will probably be required into larger scale planning processes

• Improved access to existing support services might be essential to success

A case study: Rooibos tea A case study: Rooibos tea knowledge exchangeknowledge exchange

• The Suid Bokkeveld: an isolated and resource poor community in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa

• People wanted to improve their livelihoods, but did not know how to, even though “experts” made good suggestions

• A knowledge exchange was planned to a community with similar circumstances, but better market access.

What contributed to the success of What contributed to the success of the rooibos tea exchange?the rooibos tea exchange?

• Sound preparation meant that the visitors were clear about their purpose

• Similarly, the hosts understood what the visitors wanted to learn about

• Seeing is believing!• Farmers could discuss their specific constraints

and successes in an open and warm way• Most interaction was informal, allowing all to

share their questions, insights and knowledge• Effective feedback and planning back home

resulted in a broad-based community initiative

Results of the rooibos tea Results of the rooibos tea exchange visitexchange visit

• The visitors formed their own co-operative to cut processing costs and access better markets

• Within months they had all been certified as organic producers, and had secured an export contract worth $15,000

• The co-op participates in research on sustainable production and resource conservation

• Today the co-op exports rooibos to a value of $600,000 per annum

• The co-op earns profits of >10% on turnover per annum• The co-op uses knowledge exchanges to help its

members and other producer organizations to address production and marketing problems

A Zambian experience facilitated by A Zambian experience facilitated by the Green Living Movementthe Green Living Movement

• The Green Living Movement facilitated visits between the Kundalumwanshya, Nambo, Chibobo and Chilipamushi communities

• IK practitioners exchanged knowledge about organic farming and NRM practices used by farming communities to combat desertification

• Farmers learnt of traditional and innovative alternatives to chemical fertilizers such as the use of sunnhemp as a green manure to increase soil fertility to maximize crop production

Green Living Movement cont.Green Living Movement cont.

• Visits to farmers’ fields included an introduction to farmers’ experimentation, and comparison of the results of different treatments:

• Relaxed evening sessions were held around the fire to discuss experiences, successes and failures, and to critique practices

• Farmers have adopted low-cost, environmentally friendly methods that have resulted in improved yields and lower costs

• 1½ years later, it is clear that household food security has been improved

Women to the foreWomen to the fore

• Women and men farmers from the Shantumbu community visited Petauke in 2003 with support from the Zambia Alliance of Women (ZAW)

• The visit was planned and implemented by a facilitation team from ZAW & Soil Conservation and Agro-forestry Extension (SCAFE)

• Agricultural Information Services provided a video film team to record the process

• People shared knowledge of agriculture and food storage, and celebrated together with dance, song and drama

• Since the visit, local food security and consumption have greatly improved at Shantumbu

Women to the fore (cont.)Women to the fore (cont.)

• Farmers are successfully using organic methods of agriculture, and are far less dependent on purchased outputs

• Organically produced maize and bean seed is successfully stored for planting the following season

• Farmers at Shantumbu have planted at least 10 trees per household, as well as a large number of fruit trees

• People are very enthusiastic, and have moved from an attitude of “government must come and do things for us” to “if we have a vision, and get on with things, then we will probably also get any assistance that we need”

Lessons learned in implementationLessons learned in implementation

• Flexibility is necessary in the course of the exchange so as to be able to respond to unexpected challenges and opportunities

• Having the communities develop their own selection criteria for participation in the knowledge exchange visits was a sound approach: it minimised conflict and maximised ownership of the process.

• Selection processes are not always without conflict. These conflicts are important because they can help the development agency to positively

Advantages of the approach:Advantages of the approach:

• Knowledge exchanges are a very cost effective way of galvanising new developmental processes

• They can provide a valuable stimulus to larger, existing developmental processes

• They promote local ownership of initiatives

• Exchanges enhance local leadership

• They engender a sense of pride

Advantages (cont.)Advantages (cont.)

• Knowledge exchanges strengthen the capacities of service providers and community members

• They provide access to locally appropriate solutions, that use locally available resources

• Exchanges recognise local people as the “experts”, and recognise their knowledge

• They give people access to knowledge that is not available in written form or in the formal sector

• Exchanges enable people to learn in a way that is familiar to them

Limitations of the approachLimitations of the approach

• If the process takes place in isolation from larger processes and support structures, and adequate follow-up is not available, it might not lead to any tangible results;

• If the exchange partners, or the contexts in which they live are too different, the opportunities to learn will be limited

• The choice of the community/ies to be visited can limit the solutions available to the visitors, and may reflect the bias of the facilitators

• To design and implement a successful exchange, implementers need to have access to wide external networks (to identify suitable partner communities and to identify appropriate members of the facilitation team)

In conclusion……….In conclusion……….

Despite the limitations of the approach described above, community to community exchanges of indigenous knowledge practices provide a cost effective way of stimulating and maintaining community-based development processes by empowering local people to develop and implement their own initiatives