Indigenous Knowledge and the Cultural Dimension of Development in Africa

Many Africans now recognize indigenous knowledge as “the single largest knowledge resource not yet mobilized in the development enterprise”. The global economic and environmental crises, and widening inequalities between and within countries have exposed flaws in the Western, model of development imposed from the top, and the need for an alternative model which emphasizes the cultural dimension of development. The challenge for Africa is how to engage and cope with globalization and other external influences in a way that is compatible with local cultures, values and priorities. The paper considers how indigenous knowledge and practice can be used to achieve sustainable development in governance, health care, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and so on. Indigenous knowledge offers a model for rethinking and redirecting the development process, and a way to involve, enable and empower local actors to take part in their own development. Researchers and donor agencies in Africa should try to learn from and tap into indigenous knowledge for locally appropriate ways to achieve endogenous development. The paper sees the indigenous knowledge movement as an appropriate local response to globalization and Western knowledge dominance, and a way to promote cultural identity and inter-cultural dialogue for African development