Children's traditional ecological knowledge of wild food resources: a case study in a rural village in Northeast Thailand

Consuming wild foods is part of the food ways of people in many societies, including farming populations throughout the world. Knowledge of non-domesticated food resources is part of traditional and tacit ecological knowledge, and is largely transmitted through socialization within cultural and household contexts. The context of this study, a small village in Northeast Thailand, is one where the community has experienced changes due to the migration of the parental generation, with the children being left behind in the village to be raised by their grandparents

Enhancing The Status Of Indigenous Vegetables Through Use Of Kraal Manure Substitutes And Intercropping

This study was conducted at Richards Bay in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa during the 1997-1998 and 2001-2002 cropping seasons. It was motivated by the observation that indigenous food crops, including vegetables, seem to be suffering from low acceptability status in contemporary society in rural northern KwaZulu-Natal. The study was an attempt to contribute towards alleviation of the problem through increasing yields of the indigenous crops without extraordinary efforts. It used a participatory approach between researchers and rural women. A field investigation was carried out to study the impact of organic manure in agricultural systems yielding cassava, maize, beans and amaranthus (morogo). Manure application substantially increased crop yield. There was a significant reduction in seed yield of both maize and bean plants that were inter-cropped with cassava. Cassava intercropped with beans recorded a higher tuber yield than that of isolated cassava monocultures during the year 2002. There was a significant reduction in tuber yield of cassava due to intercropping with maize. These results suggest that indigenous vegetables should be cultivated on a large scale in order to solve the problem of the low acceptability status of indigenous foods.. Keywords: Amaranthus, bean, cassava, intercropping, maize, manure, indigenous crops and vegetable.Indilinga Vol. 7 (2) 2008: pp. 211-22

Impacts of cattle on ecological restoration of coastal forests in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Livestock from communities bordered by dune mining, urban areas and commercial forestry in northern KwaZulu-Natal spend substantial time foraging in the coastal forest that the mining company is obliged to restore. A survey of livestock owners and an experimental study of impacts of cattle on restoration processes were conducted to develop better knowledge of the perceptions of livestock owners neighbouring the mine, and the impacts of their cattle on rehabilitating coastal dune forest. Shortages of grazing and livestock diseases were perceived to be the major constraints on livestock operations. Mitigation included grazing cattle in the rehabilitating forest and treating livestock diseases with available medicinal plant species. An exclosure experiment in one of the older stands undergoing restoration showed that cattle grazing reduced grass biomass and Acacia kosiensis seedling recruitment. A study of seeds collected from cattle dung showed that Psidium guajava, an important invasive alien woody species, was dispersed by cattle into the rehabilitating forest, but passage through cattle did not enhance germination of the invasive species. The study concluded that: (1) the proximity of livestock owners to large-scale commercial land uses influenced their perceptions and their resources, and (2) grazing and trampling by cattle in the rehabilitating dune forest may hinder the ecological restoration process. Keywords: Acacia karroo; communal grazing; dune mining; Psidium guajava; seed dispersalAfrican Journal of Range & Forage Science 2009, 26(1): 1–

Threats To Ronga Custodianship Of A Sacred Grove In Southern Mozambique

Licuáti Forest Reserve in southern Mozambique safeguards a dry, tropical forest with many rare and endemic plant species, but it is also a sacred grove that holds the graves of the Santaca family who long served as the local traditional authority. Interviews with male elders of the tribe serve as the main source of information regarding local cultural beliefs and practices concerning the forest. Feedback contends that taboos and other local practices have been more important than state-based regulations in protecting the forest, particularly from charcoal production. The capacity of local measures to protect the sacred grove is limited, given the socio-economic and political status in the country. This has led to the involvement of government through conservation policy and law enforcement. However, such formal conservation measures are not sufficient, nor effective and a workable scheme based on the local indigenous knowledge system is proposed as a means to ensure the sustainable use of the forest in collaboration with governmental institutions. Keywords: Biodiversity, conservation, ethnobotany, indigenous knowledge, Licuáti, Sand Forest, taboo, tribal authority.Indilinga Vol. 7 (2) 2008: pp. 182-19