Protecting and promoting indigenous knowledge

Environmental adult education and organic agriculture

Bibliographic Data

ID11476802
AuthorsJennifer Sumner (0000-0003-0157-6020, University of Toronto, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume40
Issue2
Pages207-223
Publication date2008-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in the Education of Adults (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0266-0830 • E-ISSN: 1478-9833
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02660830.2008.11661566
OpenAlexW133919485
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited14

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.Keywords: Environmental adult educationindigenous knowledgeHabermasorganic agriculturespiritual knowledgeUNESCO

Agriculture · Economics · Engineering ethics · Environmental education · Environmental ethics · Environmental resource management · Framing (construction · Geography · Indigenous · Knowledge management · Knowledge-based systems · Organic farming · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Sustainability · Sustainable agriculture · Traditional knowledge · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Engineering · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Religion, Ecology, and Ethics · Ecology

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