Indigenous knowledge transfer: the case of traditional medicine and agricultural practices

Abstract

Indigenous knowledge is a natural resource and heritage which need to be documented and transferred from one generation to another. It is embedded with the everyday life of people who produced it so that it is a way of their living and being. It is also a social capital and social asset to solve local problems. It consists of both tacit (implicit) and explicit knowledge. The paper defines indigenous knowledge as a system of knowledge that emanated from the socio-cultural milieu of people and knowledge transfer. The transfer of knowledge and skill from experts to other members of the community is believed to be used. However, knowledge is not transferred as it stands, instead, new knowledge is added to the previous one in each step of transfer, that entails indigenous knowledge is not fixed but dynamic. The purpose of this paper is to explain how indigenous knowledge transfer occurs based on empirical data. The study employed qualitative case study. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, informal discussions, and field notes. The voices of respondents were video recorded that were later transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was used for the study. This includes both conceptual and relational thematic analysis to make codes and categories. As a result, categories such as apprenticeship learning and learning by doing were developed. Out of these categories a theme of experiential learning emerged. This indicated the conclusion that indigenous knowledge transfer can contribute to the pedagogy of science education if it is integrated and applied in schools.