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ERIC Number: EJ870199
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0266-0830
EISSN: N/A
Protecting and Promoting Indigenous Knowledge: Environmental Adult Education and Organic Agriculture
Sumner, Jennifer
Studies in the Education of Adults, v40 n2 p207-223 Aut 2008
Given today's pressing environmental issues, environmental adult educators can help us learn to live more sustainably. One of the models for more sustainable ways of life is organic agriculture, based in a knowledge system that works with nature, not against it. In order to understand this knowledge, we need to frame it in a way that captures all its intricate nuances. At first glance, organic farmers' knowledge seems to fit well within Habermas' three knowledge domains. However, their deep interest in spiritual knowledge sits uneasily within the Habermasian framework, opening up questions of a more adequate framing of their knowledge production. UNESCO's criteria for indigenous knowledge provide a better match, but elide the vital questions of critique and transformation. The work of an indigenous academic offers the opportunity for organic farmers' knowledge to be understood as a form of indigenous knowledge that both critiques and moves beyond colonisation by dominant interests. Environmental adult educators can respectfully link organic farmers' knowledge with indigenous knowledge to forge a chain of understanding from field to fork. This places the broader field of adult education at the forefront of global issues such as national food security and environmental sustainability. (Contains 1 note.)
National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. Renaissance House, 20 Princess Road West, Leicester, LE1 6TP, UK. Tel: +44-1162-044200; Fax: +44-1162-044262; e-mail: enquiries@niace.org.uk; Web site: http://www.niace.org.uk/Publications/Periodicals/Default.htm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A