Institutional Constraints in Promoting IK: Community Access to Social Networks and Formal Institutions NotesKI I n recent years, many international development agencies and non-government organizations have renewed their efforts to provide and promote indigenous knowledge orientation in development planning and practice. These efforts em- phasize local knowledge systems and practices as valuable resources in global development. The four distinct aspects of indigenous knowledge oriented devel- opment interventions frequently debated are: · Documentation: indigenous knowledge documentation, communication and adaptation; · Ownership: local ownership of specific knowledge practices; · Reward System: rewarding local knowledge innovations (through documenta- tion and dissemination, cross-region recognition, global application and value http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/default.htm addition); and · Access to Knowledge and Institutions: linking modern and indigenous institu- tions for sustainable development and enhancing local community access to mar- kets, government agencies, financial institutions, university based research cen- ters and international development publications. This study of local innovators in India reflects on the IK aspects outlined above, but emphasize the institutional access dimension in promoting innovative local approaches. Clearly, there are likely to be more similarities than differences be- No. 60 tween what is described here and the situation in other developing countries of September 2003 the South. IK Notes reports periodically on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives Indigenous Knowledge revival and in Sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally adaptation: Local community goals on such initiatives outside the Region. It is published by the Africa Region's Ongoing efforts to revive community Knowledge and Learning Center as part of an evolving IK partnership and region-specific agricultural, between the World Bank, communi- health, education and economic liveli- ties, NGOs, development institutions hood practices in global development and multilateral organizations. The World Bank views expressed in this article are efforts point to the value of local those of the authors and should not be knowledge initiatives in international attributed to the World Bank Group development. In a series of interviews or its partners in this initiative. A webpage on IK is available at // with local innovators conducted during www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/ default.htm 2 an IK research study, the sixteen community members across perimental agricultural plots on existing farm land, family two states in India outlined the goals of IK practice revival: members feel hesitant to invest years of hard work as well as (1) Addressing poverty and livelihood issues; forgo immediate income without a clear sense of the final (2) Cost and labor efficiency in agriculture production; outcome of crop innovations. Community members do not (3) Environmental sustainability and conservation; adapt innovative farming and natural agriculture practices (4) Managing seasonal externalities such as drought, floods, unless the benefits of mass-scale production are well-demon- labor shortages; strated in the short run and the innovative product is well- (5) Community self-reliance and preservation of values; established in the market. In many cases, poorer local farm- (6) Improved socio-economic status and employment gen- ers also do not have access to farm land for seed and technol- eration; ogy cultivation and knowledge of legal certification and ap- (7) Women's representation; and propriate marketing channels. (8) Community members' need to learn. (2) Seasonal constraints: The greatest local constraint in reviving and modifying innovative local knowledge systems While outlining the goals of indigenous knowledge revival is seasonal factors. A group of local farmers in Tamilnadu and and adaptation, the local community members also pointed Gujarat states pointed out that their investments in agricul- out a series of institutional constraints in adding value to lo- ture and herbal farm experiments have often failed due to cal knowledge innovations.1 poor monsoons and consequent droughts, lack of drinking (1) Family and community constraints: Many local inno- and irrigation water, loss of livestock and labor migration. vators face opposition from immediate family members and/ Another critical dimension is understanding the historical or broader community members. In some cases, such as ex- context within which a traditional practice was viable, for example the size of land, land-people ratio, food patterns. IK Notes Reviving certain traditions in contemporary times requires adaptation and modification in order to incorporate evolving context. would be of interest to: (3) Formal institutional constraints: The formal institu- tional constraints identified by community members reflect Name local people's lack of access to `new social networks' such as Institution agricultural technology and extension agencies, higher edu- cation and research institutions, financial institutions, politi- Address cal parties, NGOs and international organizations (as op- posed to the village based and community specific tradi- tional social networks.2 The following table summarizes the perceptions of local community members regarding institutional constraints in promoting local innovations and their efforts to overcome Letters, comments, and requests for publications specific constraints. It outlines a series of institutional con- should be addressed to: straints identified by local innovators and other community Editor: IK Notes members. These include their concerns pertaining to `nega- Knowledge and Learning Center tive social capital', i.e., the cost of maintaining access to and Africa Region, World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Mailstop J8-811 participating within social networks, the `exclusive' nature Washington, D.C. 20433 of certain dominant urban and rural networks and the burden E-mail: pmohan@worldbank.org of conforming to social networks (over-embeddedness, paro- chialism and rigidity). 3 Institutional Constraints in Adapting Local Knowledge Innovations Innovation Institutional/Sector Constraints Innovator Strategy Outcome [Maturation Stage]* Livestock Management Process · development planners and local communities' lack of faith in · establishment and demonstration of the *regional livelihoods transformation [Advanced] `rural women's knowledge' innovative practice to the village community · the female innovator's lack of access to rural and urban and outside institutions * the innovator's active participation in the institutional and social networks · educating the outside `experts' and various emerging grassroots knowledge network development agencies Energy Free/green Agricultural · lack of commercial investments in locally developed machinery · collaborative product development and · regional and national demand for the Technology , machinery · limited marketing and dissemination marketing efforts with SRISTI products and growing sales [Advanced] High-Yielding Organic Crop · poor agricultural drought management mechanisms ­ lack of · development of a range of innovative organic * rapid local dissemination of high- [New] water crops, seasonal innovations yielding and high returns organic seed · government encouragement of commercial farming inputs and varieties methods New Organic Crop Varieties · lack of agricultural and scientific community interest and · collaboration with an NGO network · recognition of new varieties [Advanced] support · collaborative efforts to set up an · politics of government managed `seed' quality verification experimental seed development process farm and private seed testing · lack of government sponsored and alternate employment agency during the drought seasons · · lack of laboratory facility to standardize livestock herbal · Collaboration with Society for Research and · plan to distribute standardized medication, need to experiment with diverse local medicines Innovations for Sustainable Technology and herbal medication packages and dosage combinations Institutions (SRISTI) herbal medicine · Allopathy medicine doctors' lack of faith in local herbal research laboratory treatment Herbal healer · Lack of certain processed organic/herbal dry raw * herbal treatment focus on young dalit (scheduled * the female innovator's lead role in [New] materials(reliance on a commercial supplier) caste) women's seasonal health problems organizing poor dalit women's savings Organic (Farm, Bio-Gas, Livestock) · long duration required to make a transition from commercial to · family involvement in the organic farm, · dissemination of organic farming Management organic agricultural practices livestock management and bio-gas methods [Advanced] · financial loses incurred due to the past reliance on `hybrid' goat enterprise · the local farmer's association to varieties and commercial farming methods · participation in local social networks support organic farming methods (farmer's association) and self financing mechanisms for · networking with the district collector's office, area farmers organic farming organizations and national agricultural research institutions Technology for De-husking · the growing urban demand for coconuts and limited seasonal · development of a single product to maintain * regular and consistent coconut product Coconuts labor available in the village consistent coconut supply and to overcome supply to urban companies [New] · timely management of coconut supply to the urban company labor shortages · lack of financial investment to develop the commercial products New Drought-resistant Paddy Crop Variety · lack of support from the government and ongoing conflict with · collaboration with the local NGOs to fight the · rapid and successful dissemination [Advanced] 'expert agricultural scientists' legal case of the `indigenous' and innovative · competition with new modern varieties introduced by · local demonstrations of the drought paddy seeds and cultivation agricultural scientists resistance, better quality and better tasting technique in the district · legal actions taken by government to challenge the Paddy variety dissemination of the `indigenous' variety in the market Organic Toy Die Making · lack of returns in agriculture, need to diversify · development of the prototype line of organic * ongoing research to ensure the supply [New] · lack of certain organic raw material (lacquer) in the state toys (the use of organic die) of `lacquer' from another state to develop · lack of access to government development agencies · collaboration with the local NGO and the the organic toy die marketing unit of SRISTI(GYAN) Farm Weed Cutter · lack of finance to develop the product prototype · desperate search for an investor and · the innovator is now a member of (New) · competition in the market ­ a similar product introduced in the ongoing collaboration with the local NGO the local innovators' network in national market by a multinational corporation based in Madurai city ­ Sustainable- Tamilnadu State Agriculture and Environmental Voluntary · partnership with local investors Action (SEVA) Organic approach to livestock · the hybrid livestock variety could not survive the tough · reliance on the indigenous livestock breed · NGO intervention and mediation in rearing mountain region conditions · conflict with the forest authority the conflict between the government · the government managed forests, local herders are struggling agencies and to find the fodder for the indigenous variety of the livestock * The financial aspects of local innovations were shared with the Researcher, the local innovators, however, requested that this information be kept confidential for personal and community specific reasons. 4 1 The local innovators identified a range of institutional constraints 2 The notion of social capital refers to the actual and potential that reflect their limited access or the lack of access to established resources individuals obtain from knowing others, being part of a formal and informal institutions and associated social networks. social network with them, or merely from being known to them and Institutions represent organizational structures, ideologies, having a good reputation. The two distinct aspects of social capital adherence to particular development approaches, internal and are: an individual's ability to access resources given his positioning external networks and explicit as well as tacit value set and beliefs. within a specific social network, and a communities' access to Also, institutions follow established rules and regulations and adopt multiple social networks. "Both Bourdieu and Coleman emphasize certain mechanisms to ensure the enforcement of rules. the intangible character of social capital relative to other forms. "Institution builders can be diverse--such as policy makers, Whereas economic capital is in people's bank accounts and human business people, or community members. Corporate, collateral, capital is inside their heads, social capital inheres in the structure of and bankruptcy laws are public institutions, as are the judiciary, their relationships. To possess social capital, a person must be tax collection agencies, and regulatory agencies. Banks, reciproc- related to others, and it is those others, not himself, who are the ity between community members, and land inheritance norms are actual source of his or her advantage. [ ......] the motivation of private institutions. Many private institutions exist under the others to make resources available on concessionary terms is not aegis of public institutions. Private banks, for example, operate uniform. At the broadest level, one may distinguish between within the framework of public law. Social norms exist within (or consummatory versus instrumental motivations to do so." without) formal laws." (World Development Report 2000, Box 1.2, p.6) This article is written by Preeti Shroff- Mehta and is based on her Ph.D. field research study conducted in India during 2000-2001. The research study documented personal narratives of sixteen local innovators and community members expe- riences in reviving and transforming Indigenous knowledge practices. The study was supervised by Prof. Anil Gupta at Society for Research and Innovations for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) and Mr. P. Vivekanandan at Sustainable-Agriculture and Environmental Voluntary Action (SEVA). Ms. Shroff-Mehta is affiliated with the University of Maryland and will teach Indigenous Learning and Global Action courses starting Spring 2004.