IK Notes

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Indigenous Knowledge Local Pathways to Global DevelopmentBook: Marking Five Years of the World Bank Indigenous Knowledge for Development Program. This publication features IK Notes 1 - 60. Available in English(1.1 MB),Français (1.2 MB), and Swahili (937 KB).

Guidelines for Contributing an IK Note

Please follow our guidelines when contributing an IK Note. Authors are encouraged to provide a summary of their IK Note (maximum of 250 words) which will be included in the IK Database: The structure of IK Database entries should follow thesequestions.

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IK Notes is a monthly publication that documents development issues that can be effectively dealt with through the application of indigenous knowledge and practices. These are published electronically and in print in three languages, reaching over 25,000 readers. Each IK Note explores in some detail key aspects of the development challenge in a specific local context, and describes locally-driven solutions which have led to substantive results in improving livelihoods of the target communities. The lessons of experience from these cases could serve to inform development practitioners in adapting the successful practices to other contexts with a view to scaling them up.

Sound bytes (audio summaries) marked with are available for some IK Notes. You will need Real Player to listen to these.

2006 IK Notes
No. 99	Jan. 2007	Using traditional knowledge in economic development: The impact of raised field irrigation on agricultural production in Puno, Peru (html version)
No. 98	Nov. 2006	Transferring an Indigenous Practice for Soil Improvement: Cattle Manure with Groundnut Shells (html version)
No. 97	Oct. 2006	IK Notes Survey Results (html version)
No. 96	Sept. 2006	Endogenous and Modern Innovations: Differing Perspectives (html version)
No. 95	Aug 2006	Cultural Heritage and Collective Intellectual Property Rights (html version)
No. 94	July 2006	Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania: Priority Fruit Species and Products for Tree Domestication and Commercialisation (html version)
No. 93	June 2006	Conservation of Medicinal Plants in Central America and the Caribbean (html version)
No. 92	May 2006	Biodiversity and Health Symposium Conclusions and Recommendations (html version)
No. 91	April 2006	Traditional Medicine Programmes in Madagascar (html version)
No. 90	March 2006	IK Notes Reader Survey
No. 89	Feb 2006	Grandmothers Promote Maternal and Child Health: the Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems’ Managers (html version)
No. 88	Jan 2006	Linking Agricultural Innovations to Knowledge Sharing in Africa(html version)

2005 IK Notes
No. 87	Dec 2005	Education: Building on Indigenous Knowledge(html version)
No. 86	Nov 2005	Nugormesese: An Indigenous Basis of Social Capital in a West African Community (html version)
No. 85	Oct 2005	Innovation Support Funds for farmer-led research and development (html version)
No. 84	Sept 2005	Indigenous Knowledge- Cross Regional Distance Learning Course- India, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Tanzania (html version)
No. 83	Aug 2005	Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Indigenous Systems of Medicine(html version)
No. 82	July 2005	Agriculture, trees and HIV/AIDS (html version)
No. 81	June 2005	Integrating the indigenous knowledge of Borana pastoralists into rangeland management strategies in southern Ethiopia(html version)
No. 80	May 2005	Burkina Faso: the Zaï technique and enhanced agricultural productivity(html version)
No. 79	April 2005	Local Innovations using Traditional Vegetables to Improve Soil Quality(html version)
No. 78	March 2005	A Smallholders Innovative Approach to Producing and Exporting Fruit(html version)
No. 77	Feb 2005	Burkina Faso Indigenous Innovation in Farmer-to-Farmer Extension(html version)
No. 76	Jan 2005	Promoting Local Innovation: Enhancing IK Dynamics and Links with Scientific Knowledge(html version)
2004 IK Notes
No. 75	Dec 2004	South-South Learning Exchange for Client Capacity Enhancement(html version)
No. 74	Nov 2004	Building Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships to Promote Farmer Experimentation and Innovation in Ghana
No. 73	Oct 2004	Building on Traditional Medicinal Plant Knowledge and Home-based Health Care Efforts in Rural Malawi
No. 72	Sept 2004	Regional Radio in Tunisia: Linking Indigenous Innovation and Formal Research and Development
No. 71	Aug 2004	Participatory Video: Rural People Document their Knowledge and Innovations
No. 70	May 2004	Ethiopia: A Woman Innovator Speaks
No. 69	May 2004	Farmers as Partners in Knowledge Development
No. 68	May 2004	Traditional and Modern Medicine in the Context of Globablization
No. 67	Apr 2004	Traditional Medecine in Uganda: Historical Perspective, Challenges and Advances
No. 66	March 2004	Medicinal Plants: Conservation and Sustainable Use in Sri Lanka
No. 65	Feb 2004	Conditions for Effective Collaboration between Modern and Traditional Medicine
No. 64	January 2004	Malawi: Institutionalizing Traditional Community-based Natural Resource Management
2003 IK Notes
No.63	Dec 2003	Women & Indigenous Knowledge: a South-South Perspective
No. 62	Nov 2003	Traditional Knowledge and the Reduction of Maternal and Infant Mortality
No. 61	Oct 2003	Nurturing Traditional Knowledge Systems for Development
No. 60	Sept 2003	Institutional Constraints in Promoting IK: Community Access to Social and Formal Institutions
No. 59	Aug 2003	Adzina: An Indigenous System of Trial by Jury on the Ghana-Togo Border
No. 58	July 2003	Grassroots Women’s Approach to Capacity Building
No. 57	June 2003	Cultural Rights for Zimbabwe
No. 56	May 2003	Ghana: Kanye Ndu Bowi - An Indigenous Philosophical Context for Conflict Management
No. 55	Apr 2003	Indigenous Knowledge: the East Africa-South Asia Learning Exchange - An example of South-South Cooperation
No. 54	March 2003	Traditional Medicine Practice in Contemporary Uganda
No. 53	Feb 2003	The Economics of African Indigenous Knowledge
No. 52	Jan 2003	Ethiopia: A Qualitative Understanding of Local Traditional Knowledge and Medicinal Plant Use
2002 IK Notes
No. 51	Dec 2002	Traditional Medicine in Tanga Today - The Ancient and Modern Worlds Meet
No. 50	Nov 2002	Eritrea: Collective Responsibility for War Orphans
No. 49	Oct 2002	Farmer Experimenters: Self-developed Technology
No. 48	Sept 2002	Ethiopia: Potential of Traditional Social Insurance for Supporting Health Care
No. 47	Aug 2002	Using the Indigenous Knowledge of Jatropha: The use of Jatropha curcas oil as raw material and fuel
No. 46	July 2002	Managing Natural Resources along the Mozambican Shoreline: The Role of Myths and Rites
No. 45	June 2002	Using Indigenous Knowledge to Raise Agricultural Productivity: An example from India
No. 44	May 2002	Uganda: The Contribution Of Indigenous Vegetables to Household Food Security
No. 43	April 2002	Rural Seed Fairs Southern Tanzania - Why southern zone rural seed fairs?
No. 42	March 2002	Developing Indigenous Knowledge in Francophone Africa - A Four-Nation Overvi
No. 41	Feb 2002	Eritrea: Eliminating a Harmful Traditional Practice
No. 40	Jan 2002	Maternal Health Care in Rural Uganda: Leveraging Traditional and Modern Knowledge Systems

2001 IK Notes
No. 39	Dec 2001	Burkina Faso: Integrating Indigenous and Scientific Rainfall Forecasting
No. 38	Nov 2001	Senegal: Indigenous Language and Literature as a Non-profit Business - The ARED Story
No. 37	Oct 2001	HIV/AIDS: Traditional Healers, Community Self-assessment, and Empowerment
No. 36	Sept 2001	Eritrea: The Process of Capturing Indigenous Knowledge
No. 35	Aug 2001	Ethiopia: Traditional Medicine and the Bridge to Better Health
No. 34	July 2001	Tanzania: Communicating Local Farming Knowledge
No. 33	June 2001	Mozambique: Repairing the Ravages of War: Initiation Societies and Community Schooling
No. 32	May 2001	African Traditional Healers: The Economics of Healing
No. 31	March 2001	Malicounda-Bambara: The Sequel, The Journey of a Local Revolution
No. 30	March 2001	Indigenous Knowledge and HIV/AIDS: Ghana and Zambia
No. 29	Feb 2001	West Africa Languages: Medium and Message
No. 28	Jan 2001	Indigenous Knowledge and Local Power: Negotiating Change in West Africa

2000 IK Notes
No. 27	Dec 2000	Uganda: Information Technology and Rural Development
No. 26	Nov 2000	Traditional Medicine and AIDS
No. 25	Oct 2000	Mali: Indigenous Knowledge - Blending the New and the Old
No. 24	Sept 2000	Strengthening Traditional Technical Knowledge: The Sugar Cane Wine Example
No. 23	Aug 2000	Seeds of Life: Women and Agricultural Biodiversity in Africa
No. 22	July 2000	Indigenous Knowledge Goes to School. Potentials and Perils of Community Education in the Western Sahel
No. 21	June 2000	Indigenous Knowledge for Development : Two Years Down the Road
No. 20	May 2000	Reinventing Apprenticeship and Rites of Passage: An Entry into the Urban Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa
No. 19	April 2000	Indigenous Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights
No. 18	March 2000	Participatory Management and Local Culture: Proverbs and Paradigms
No. 17	Feb 2000	Regional Planning, Local Visions: Participatory futuring in West Africa
No. 16	Jan 2000	Senegal: Grassroots Democracy in Action

1999IK Notes
No. 15	Dec 1999	Health: Indigenous Knowledge, Equitable Benefits
No. 14	Nov 1999	Grassroots Dissemination of Research in Africa: Collecting and Connecting
No. 13	Oct 1999	Sahelian Languages, Indigenous Knowledge and Self-Management
No. 12	Sept 1999	Cultural Resources and Maternal Health in Mali
No. 11	Aug 1999	Education and Koranic Literacy in West Africa
No. 10	July 1999	Indigenous Healing of War–Affected Children in Africa
No. 9	June 1999	The Development of an Agricultural Union in Mali: Increasing Levels of Local Empowerment
No. 8	May 1999	Nurturing the Environment on Senegal
No. 7	April 1999	Literacy and Local Governance in a Rural Community: The Experience of Nwodua, Ghana
No. 6	March 1999	Village bankers: The experience of Fandène (Senegal)
No. 5	Feb 1999	Burkina Faso: "Literacy for the Little Ones" in Nomgana
No. 4	Jan 1999	From "Sacrilege" to Sustainability: Reforestation and Organic Farming in Forikrom, Ghana

1998 IK Notes
No. 3	Dec 98	Senegalese Women Remake their Culture
No. 2	Nov 98	Sustainable Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Agriculture in Zimbabwe
No. 1	Oct 1998	Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Overview

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