Knowledge management and sustainability are closely linked: How we perceive nature and what we know about it has a significant impact on people's ecological footprint. However, it is often overlooked that knowledge about ecological relationships and sustainability is not the sole preserve of modern knowledge systems. For example, the circular economy is often seen as a modern concept, while linear economic activity is described as the opposite model and as “traditional”.
Vanessa Robertson, a doctoral student at HNU's Africa Institute, shows that this assessment falls short of the mark in an edited volume that she wrote together with international colleagues. Under the title “Indigenous Knowledge and Circular Agro-Economy: Universities as Co-creation Partners for Sustainable Agriculture in Rwanda”, she highlights the knowledge of Rwandan smallholder farmers and natural healers about the processes and functioning of the circular economy and shows to what extent this expertise should not be marginalized, but rather promoted. The article proposes a new perspective on the role of smallholder farmers and naturopaths - namely as cooperation partners in the joint creation of knowledge.
The researchers come to the conclusion that no single knowledge system can serve as a panacea. Rather, they argue for a harmonious integration of scientific and traditional knowledge to enable a successful transition to a circular and sustainable economy. As an example of how this could be implemented at universities, the Master's degree program in Circular Agro-Economy, which was recently introduced at the University of Rwanda as part of a joint project, is used to deliberately bridge the gap between academic and traditional knowledge.
To the article
Taremwa, N.K., Robertson, V., Chiwona-Karltun, L., Ijumba, N. (2024). Indigenous Knowledge and Circular Agro-Economy: Universities as Co-creation Partners for Sustainable Agriculture in Rwanda. In: Leal Filho, W., Sima, M., Lange Salvia, A., Kovaleva, M., Manolas, E. (eds) University Initiatives on Climate Change Education and Research. Springer, Cham. Online at: https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-031-25960-9_101-1#citeas.
The contribution to the anthology was produced with funding from the German Academic Exchange Service with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as part of a cooperation project between HNU and the University of Rwanda.
