The concept of indigenous knowledge refers to the “know-how” and “do-how”. Knowledge includes formal and informal, modern and traditional “knowhow” and “do-how”.

Indigenous knowledge (IK ), or indigenous technical knowledge (ITK ) systems are facts to those who see them as ways of knowing or looking at the world. Some aspects of indigenous knowledge are facts as western scientists know and define fact. Some of it is belief as philosophers and theologians define belief. And a lot of it is folk wisdom or common sense. These systems are learned ways of knowing and looking at the world. They have evolved from very many years of experience and trial and error problem solving by groups of people working to meet the challenges they face in their local environments, drawing upon the resources they have at hand.

Indigenous knowledge systems or indigenous technical knowledge systems have been defined in various ways by a number of researchers over the years. For instance,

Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of a particular geographic location, who have a culture and belief system distinct from the international system of knowledge (e.g., the Tribal, Native, First, or Aboriginal people of an area). Some feel that such a definition is too narrow, in that it excludes peoples who may have lived in an area for a long period of time but are not the original inhabitants. This has led to widespread use of the term local knowledge, a broader concept which refers to the knowledge possessed by any group living off the land in a particular area for a long period of time.

ITK may be old, but it need not be outdated. In fact it can very well be compared with modern practices in a number of situations.

Possibilities to use ITK

1. The monsoon rains used to flow as surface runoff, from the project area to lower elevations. The waters were laden with soil, eroded from the hillsides. These events provided continuity in a pattern of land degradation that began in the middle of the 19th century