LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND LOCAL KNOWING - AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF CONTESTED CULTURAL PRODUCTS IN THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT

This study shows systematically why local, knowledge (often called ind igenous knowledge) has a big developmental potential and why its utili zation for development is ambiguous. Local knowledge consists of factu al knowledge, skills, and capabilities, most of which have some empiri cal grounding. It is culturally situated and is best understood as a ' 'social product.'' The practical application in the development contex t is less of a technological but a theoretical and political problem, what is shown here generally and by referring to forest-related knowle dge. Local knowledge is instrumentalized and idealized by development experts as well as by their critics. But it does not necessarily prese nt itself as a comprehensive knowledge system and activities based on local knowledge are not necessarily sustainable or socially just. The use of local knowledge for development should not be restricted to the extraction of information or applied simply as a countermodel to West ern science.