Documentation, Dissemination and Networking
Documentation, Dissemination and
Networking
We are trying to stem the knowledge erosion, a threat sometimes as serious, if not more, as resource erosion through documentation.
Collaborative efforts of Honey Bee network members during last eight years in carrying out the documentation of people’s knowledge systems have been pursued by following the principles;
(i) whatever is learnt from people must be shared with them in their language, and
(ii) all practices or innovations must be identified by the names and addresses of the individuals or communities who generated them so that the innovations are recognized as the intellectual property of the innovators.
Honey Bee signifies a philosophy of discourse which is authentic, accountable and fair and advocates people to people learning. We write in English language which connects us globally but alienates locally. We cannot reach the people from whom we have learnt. Thus while we grow in our careers and achieve wider recognition and professional rewards, the people suffer, often, silently. The ethics of knowledge extraction, its documentation, dissemination and abstraction into theories, institutions or technologies is thus our central concern.
Honey Bee encourages collaborators to initiate local language versions. With the help of regional collaborators we have six language versions in order to facilitate cross-cultural exchange of knowledge and mutual learning among communities. They are :
Gujarati (Loksarvani),
Other than these, SRISTI participates in agricultural fairs to reach farmers, conducts workshop of innovators, produces video films, multi-media packages as part of dissemination exercises.
Honey Bee network is now spread over 70 countries and continues to grow along with its regional versions. Regional versions have their own independent networks. More recently an International Conference on Creativity and Innovations at Grassroots (ICCIG) for sustainable Natural Resource Management was organised during January 11-14, 1997 by Centre for Management in Agriculture, IIM, Ahmedabad, with SRISTI as one of the co-sponsors.
Honey Bee Database on local innovations
It contains the innovations documented through Honey Bee network and its regional collaborators. As of November 1996, 5376 innovative practices (from about 3500 farmers and artisans of about 2300 villages) have been documented.
NAARM database: This database has been developed from the information collected by the young scientists on local knowledge and innovations during the course of their training at NAARM, Hyderabad. This database has more than 700 records. This has been developed in collaboration with Dr Gopalam at NAARM (National Academy of Agricultural Research Management).
Literature Databases
SRISTI has an extensive collection (about 20000 titles) of reprints, documents, books, reports, on subjects related to sustainable development and natural resource management, especially local and indigenous technologies and institutions. In addition, SRISTI receives more than 300 newsletters and journals on related subjects in exchange with Honey Bee or otherwise.
Indigenous Institutions for Management of Common Property Resources and Conservation of Biodiversity: A database of indigenous institutions from 20 countries based on literature review of case studies has been developed.
Databases acquired from other sources
NAPRALERT (Natural Products Alert) database provides state-of-the-art information on the research, primarily pharmaceutical, done on natural products derived from plants. The uniqueness of any grassroots innovation may be established by comparing the uses reported with the information available from NAPRALERT. SRISTI has access to this database through email.
Other databases used on a regular basis include, Wealth of India, which has 822 records on plants with potential for use as insecticide or pesticide; the TAPP database developed by Dr. H Thurston at Cornell University on alternative ways of controlling plant diseases; Patent databases from the US Patent and Trade Mark office on genetically engineered micro-organisms etc.
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