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Recognising, Respecting and Rewarding Grassroots Innovations and Knowledge System: A proposal for establishing a laboratory to add value to Biological Diversity and related Knowledge System

Proponents: Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI), Ahmedabad for a proposed laboratory tentatively called Society For Harnessing and Sharing benefits of Values Added local Technologies (SHASHVAT)

Preamble

Erosion of people's knowledge is perhaps an even greater threat to sustainability than the erosion of the resource base itself. One reason why knowledge erosion (both traditional as well as contemporary) takes place is because of the low value attached to this knowledge. Most healers and herbalists share their knowledge generously within and outside their communities. And it is as if their superior ethics become responsible for their continued poverty. Younger people around these herbalist may admire the spirit and the knowledge systems but they seldom want to pursue the path of gaining and perfecting it. One of the many reasons for their lack of interest lies in the lack of any assurance about a worthwhile future professional opportunity which could ensure a higher standard of living. With rising aspirations in life, most young people would expectedly like to have some assurance of higher quality of life. One way to ensure this would be to add value to this knowledge base, to generate commercial as well as non-commercial returns and to ensure that people have a reasonable stake and share in the income so generated. Unless some value addition takes place locally, the trickle down of the benefits is generally low. Also if the providers of knowledge and conservators of resources do not have a stake in the institutions which add value to their knowledge and creativity, it is unlikely that their gains will be durable and substantial.

One way to make sure that this happens is to establish a laboratory which is dedicated to add value to local knowledge, resources, and institutional structures. Hence the rationale for setting up a laboratory which will convert local knowledge and resources into value added products with simultaneous development of processing facilities in the rural region where resources exist.

Background of the Executing Agency

The Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI) is a grassroots NGO working primarily in arid and semi-arid areas of Gujarat. SRISTI has developed a national network of NGOs, local communities, local government, scientists, State Administration and Forest Department working towards conservation of biological diversity and indigenous knowledge. SRISTI has initiated a global network of grassroots organisations and individuals via the "Honey Bee Network" which is operational in 71 countries to date. Through the Internet as well as otherwise, member organisations and individuals have contributed to the database on indigenous knowledge and provide information on developing resource management strategies, techniques for value addition and marketing etc. SRISTI believes that adding value to indigenous knowledge will help local communities co-exist with biodiversity resources by reducing primary extraction, generating long-term benefits, thus enhancing sustainable use.

Consequently, SRISTI has developed an rich database of information on biodiversity as well associated indigenous knowledge, innovations and common property resource institutions. The database on indigenous knowledge and innovations contains thousands of uses of plants by farmers, pastoralists and others for crop protection, medicinal use, and veterinary disease control, among others. In the past SRISTI has helped local herbalists in commercialising and successfully marketing three veterinary herbal products for livestock.

SRISTI has also developed a database in Gujarati on women ecological-technological knowledge containing more than a thousand practices based on 138 thesis pursued by the students of a Gandhian Women’s Institution.

The vision and foresight of SRISTI can be seen from a recently initiated project in the field of Microbial diversity in Gujarat. SRISTI along with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, MS University Baroda, Jai Research Foundation, Beedi and Tobacco Research Station, Gujarat Agriculture University and the Department of Microbiology at the Gujarat University has initiated a first of its kind project in the nation and possibly the first in the South and South east Asia on mapping the Microbial diversity of soils of agricultural as well as uncultivated fields in the eight agro-ecological zones of Gujarat. The preliminary results of this project are expected soon and shall be a template for many such research to take place in the country and elsewhere in the world.

Mission Statement

Developing Local Innovation and Knowledge into Products : Value addition and commercialisation by linking formal and informal knowledge systems based on their strengths and assets will spur innovations to build sustainable technologies of the future. Often simple characterisation of natural products adds value and creates demands or meets the exiting demand in more cost effective manner than existing mechanism. Therefore converting local innovations into marketable products through on-farm, organic and state of the art research will help address issues of value addition for local populace and develop meritocratic benefit sharing agreements for innovators and conservators of a vast genetic resource. Part of the surplus generated will be used to build a corpus so that the whole effort becomes self reliant in a reasonable period of time.

Goal

To stem the erosion of knowledge associated with biodiversity as well as the resource itself by generating incentives for communities and individuals conserving biodiversity through in-situ conservation value addition, benefit sharing and recognition and respect for ecological ethics.

Objectives:

Conservation

to conserve endemic and endangered medicinal plants and rare forest trees; assess, inventory and design conservation methods of threatened and rare plants, develop a tissue culture laboratory, farmer to farmer seed centre and seed exchange programme and develop protocols for sustainable extraction and field trial methods

to monitor soil microbial diversity to assess ecosystem health and screen microbes for developing new products and services and to develop a reference and standard for organic certification

Value Addition

to develop a laboratory to document, scientifically test and develop grassroots level innovations into potential commercialisable products

Ecological Ethics

to establish a mobile as well as a stationary (permanent) museum of grassroots innovations, science, technology and the history around it

to consolidate on-farm, on-station and laboratory research on sustainable technologies and natural products and add value and share benefits from the commercialisation of new products and technology with local innovators and communities and generate self reliance for SRISTI. Promote people to people seed and seedling exchange, catalogue of diversity, seed sources and knowledge systems in local languages, workshops of local healers and herbalists to promote lateral learning and recognising and respecting knowledgeable children (‘little genius’)

Special focus on Gender Issues

to develop a Women-Herbalists healers network that would encourage and help women in participating in knowledge and resource management issues and also mobilise the knowledge from one generation to another, both from mother to child ( vertical learning) and from woman to woman (lateral learning).

Goals of the Laboratory :

The Goals of the laboratory are:

On-farm and On-station Trials of Farmers’ Innovation :

Documentation of farmers innovations through the Honey Bee Network, during the last eight years has brought out the creativity of the Indian farmers in different spheres of agriculture, natural resource management, livestock management and traditional healing methods. In agriculture for example, innovative measures in different aspects like sowing, seed selection, harvesting, harvest storage, and farm implement design have been observed, documented, recognised and rewarded by the Honey Bee Network.

It is often assumed that farmers’ innovations diffuse automatically through word of mouth or through farmers’ networks. This may not always be true, as we learnt by a study on pest management which showed that innovations are at least half the number of innovators do not share their innovations because no one approached them for the same. Therefore, intervention of external agencies may be needed to diffuse such innovations through formal and informal channels. Formal extension agencies are reluctant to promote farmers’ innovations unless scientific validation under wide range of agro-ecological contexts is carried out. Formal research institutions have not shown much interest farmers’ innovations and therefore the same have not been validated for this reason. The Knowledge Network of healer, herbalists, scientists, policy makers will be one means to further this goal of scouting and dissemination.

2. Herbal Insecticides and Growth Regulators

The increasing realisation of hazards due to chemical pesticides intensified the search of compounds with lower toxicity. Farmers have relatively easier access to local plants. This makes botanical approach a considerably economical and practical one. The demand for herbal insecticides is growing in proportion to the growth in demand for organically produced food. Except for Neem based products the supply of herbal insecticides in the market is almost negligible. Bold time bound initiatives are needed to augment this supply.

3. Organic Certification : Towards Sustainable Organic Crop Production

The transition towards organic agriculture in high growth regions has not yet begun on any significant scale. This is primarily due to lack of (a) awareness (b) Non-chemical but efficient alternative for soil nutrition, disease, pest and weed, and (c) stable demand and market channels for organic products in the country and outside. Exceptions are in some plantation crops like tea and that too on a small scale. The situation is further compounded by the absence of a credible system of certification. Much of the production in drought areas, hill areas and tribal regions is organic already due to heterogeneous ecological conditions, poor demand for chemical inputs and weak market forces (thus erratic supply of input). These region represent a tremendous opportunity for generating an supply of organic produce through appropriate market intervention. Such as intervention would convert laggards of the green revolution into leaders of sustainable organic farming. It would also help improve their socio-economic status by giving them their due benefits. Additional income so generated will also help augment much needed soil and water conservation programme. Incidentally the drop out in primary education is highest in areas where high biodiversity exist in a region. The additional income may even encourage such small organic farmers to send their children to school.

In addition to this the findings of the research being pursued in various parts of the world on hazardous effects of the chemicals on soil-plant-human health will be communicated to people to increase the demand of green products.

 

4. Assessment of Pesticidal Residues and Microbial Diversity in Gujarat

Intensive use of chemical over extended period of time leads to non-sustainable development in two ways : one, it triggers the pesticide treadmill effect which leads to the decline of farm productivity in the long term, and two, it creates new health hazards for both the human and the natural environment.

 

Indigenous Veterinary Medicines

Human health system is already very weak. The indigenous animal health system is even more weak. Given SRISTI’s large data base on indigenous veterinary medicines, the proposed laboratory would also develop herbal veterinary kits, value addition products etc.

Activities and Goals of the Project

Goal	Objective of the Activity	Activities and Output
Conservation of medicinal plants	To assess, inventory and design conservation methods of threatened and rare medicinal plants	Develop a tissue culture laboratory, seed centre and seed exchange programme Develop protocols for sustainable extraction and field trial methods for understanding the synecology and autecology of medicinal plants
Herbal Insecticides and Growth Regulators	Assess the efficacy of farmers’ innovations under laboratory conditions so as to develop a future commercial product and promote the diffusion into market	Testing of crude herbal extracts to assess the effectiveness of different bio-active compounds for reported uses. Phytochemical screening of new combinations of bioactive compounds for new uses. Toxicity studies
On-farm and On-station Trials of Farmers’ Innovation	Validation and Value addition of farmers innovation in Gujarat region	Assessing methods of Value addition to develop cost effective approaches. Documenting farmer ways Validating their own innovations in different regions
Organic Certification	To add value through market intervention; to tap existing national and international demand for organic products and improving the income of communities that practice organic farming	Establishing a network of existing laboratories in different agro-ecological zones which can monitor pesticide and other residues in soil, crop, water and produce. Setting up a reference laboratory to develop protocols for certification and provide reference tests of samples for calibrating labs as well as generating confidence in the certification process Estimating the demand and supply of select organic products Conducting extensive sample surveys of consumer preferences and needs Promoting entrepreneurship for marketing organic produce Disseminating information through awareness camps, educating in schools and lectures in public forums Exploring the possibility of exports through various agencies in the long term
Assessment of Pesticidal Residues and Microbial Diversity in Gujarat	To develop methods for discriminating soils that are chemically treated and organic cultured To explore the possibility of developing a benchmark for monitoring soil ecosystem health and prepare a status report for the state, and ; To screen cultures identified for their unique properties for soil augmentation (like nitrogen fixing or element specific solubilisation etc.) as well as for pharmaceutical purpose	Developing methods and protocols of assessing microbial population, diversity and abundance would help monitor soil ecosystem health, screen diversity for potential value addition products. Develop a Status Report on the Quality of Soil health for policy planners and farmers’ awareness.     Develop a reference laboratory of the unique microbial soil flora and fauna benefit sharing, rights protection and rewards for innovators, conservators and local communities for conservation of the knowledge and the associated resources.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Projects

Short term goals like screening and sample collections will be done through the existing Honey Bee network of knowledge workers. The idea is that unless we reduce transaction costs of local communities and individuals in seeking partnership with modern science and technology, the full potential of each knowledge system (formal and informal) can not be harnessed. Further, if the sharing of benefits doesn’t take place so as to make livelihood strategies of healers and herbalists much better than now, young people will not be encouraged to acquire this knowledge. The erosion of knowledge will be stemmed by encouraging young people to become involved. Erosion of biodiversity will be checked by valorising the resources and making people conscious of the potential gains possible through sustainable use of biodiversity.

The scientific team, innovation scouts, individuals, herbalists etc. all have to develop appropriate stakes. Once Incentives, Institution and Innovation are aligned, a new model of augmenting livelihood support system and conservation will emerge. The ultimate aim is to link grassroots levels to global opportunities.

Work-plan and Strategy of the Project

SRISTI proposes to seek support from ecologically conscious funding organisations and government institutions concerned with the conservation of agricultural biodiversity and the biodiversity of the wild. It proposes to initiate discussions with funding agencies like the Swiss Development Corporation (SDC), IDRC, national banks like NABARD and charitable organisations like Sadbhav. SRISTI has interacted in past with the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Nutrition at McGill University, Henry Lickers at Akwasasne Community, Stuart Hill at MacDonald College .

In the long term, SRISTI intends to explore the possibilities of making this project a template for such projects to be replicated in the country and elsewhere in the developing world. The project aspires to become sustainable both economically and technically and generate technological innovations in screening, value addition and conservation methods that would help in the development of the local environment in particular and global environment in general. In the future, SRISTI will transfer its knowledge and experience that it has refined and perfected to other similar organisations and help establish a network of similar institutions.

Future programmes will include in-house training of meritorious student from local universities and colleges, publishing documents on new discoveries and innovations, organising seminars and workshops at both national and international levels and tying up with other state-of the-art institutions for collaborative research and exchange of ideas.

Governance Structure of the Lab

The lab would be governed by a Board comprising innovators, scientists, and some policy makers and other stakeholders. They will be an advisory committee which will include members from CIDA, outstanding scientists, concerned individuals and other stakeholders.

The result orientations of lab will be determined by its clear and primary accountability towards whose knowledge it builds upon and for whom it has to generate additional income. But the accountability towards nature and larger society will be pursued through an ethics committee.

The organisation is tentatively called Society For Harnessing and Sharing benefits of Values Added local Technologies (SHASHVAT) and it will be a subsidiary of SRISTI.

 

 The Advisory Board of SHASHVAT

 

 SHASHVAT

Natural Products Microbial Diversity Mobile Exhibitions

and organic certification based Technology

Major stakeholders

SRISTI, ICAR, BSI SRISTI, ICAR, IARI, NID,

Indian Institute of Management Sadbhav Sadbhav, IIM

Other stakeholders:

Government of Gujarat and its agencies, National and International agencies specialised in value addition and NGOs and Communities that have conserved and contributed to the development of resources.

CIDA will maintain its role as the major promoter and stakeholder in all the activities primarily because of its initiative and foresight in co-developing a unique project as this. SRISTIs role would be that of the taking the initiative of augmenting and value addition for local and traditional knowledge within the context of ethical and meritorious benefit sharing measures to local communities, innovators and individuals.

Timeplan

Year 1 2 3

Activity

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Identify board members and decide on mission statement, objectives and activities

x

x

x

Draw activity plan

x

x

x

Negotiate with possible collaborators

x

x

x

x

Raise finance to fund the venture

x

x

x

x

x

x

Seek technical collaboration from international and national centres of excellence

x

x

x

Assess site and infrastructure requirement

x

x

x

Recruit project manager and administrator and commence development of building

x

x

x

Recruit administrative staff

x

x

x

x

Hire alternative premise to commence work

x

x

x

Commence building operation

x

x

x

Refine research objectives and strategies

x

x

x

x

Identify research staff

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Acquire lab equipment

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Recruit research staff

x

x

x

Design projects and seek research grants

x

x

x

x

x

Consultation and final preparation of yearly budgets of following years

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Assembly and test run project facilities

x

x

x

x

Correct any mistakes if any test run

x

x

x

x

Incremental cost assessment

x

Commence work

x

x

Monitor and Evaluate - develop feedback mechanCIDAs

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Note: each segment represents a quarter of that year; each x represents the beginning and or continuation of an activity. Recurrence of x after a gap refers to revisiting or reassessing the activity or refining the course of the activity.

Possible Donors and Collaborators

SRISTI has been trying to mobilise funds and develop network with other state-of-the-art laboratories in India and abroad. We have established contact with Swiss Development Co-operation and other public sector and government institutions. Depending upon your response and commitment for the next five years, we will mobilise resources from other stakeholders. We plan to generate some income from the third or fourth year, and to make this endeavour self reliant within six to eight years.