Practices are not Without Concepts: Reflections on the Use of Indigenous Knowledge in Artisanal and Agricultural Projects in India

Jan Brouwer · 2000 · Journal of Social Sciences

Summary. This paper argues that development projects using indigenous knowledge in India fail because they focus on practices without understanding the concepts behind them. The author defines indigenous knowledge, indigenous knowledge systems, and indigenous technological knowledge, distinguishing these from tradition and invented tradition. Two case studies—one on artisans and one on bamboo—demonstrate that sustainability requires considering both practices and their underlying concepts in project design.

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@article{brouwer-2000-practices-not-concepts-reflections-use,
  title   = {Practices are not Without Concepts: Reflections on the Use of Indigenous Knowledge in Artisanal and Agricultural Projects in India},
  author  = {Jan Brouwer},
  journal = {Journal of Social Sciences},
  year    = {2000},
  doi     = {10.1080/09718923.2000.11892249},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2000.11892249}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Practices are not Without Concepts: Reflections on the Use of Indigenous Knowledge in Artisanal and Agricultural Projects in India
AU  - Jan Brouwer
JO  - Journal of Social Sciences
PY  - 2000
DO  - 10.1080/09718923.2000.11892249
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2000.11892249
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1080/09718923.2000.11892249

Countries

India

Regions

Asia

Categories

indigenous-innovation, innovation-theory

Added

2026-04-28