Strengthening ‘Folk Ecology’: Community-Based Learning for Integrated Soil Fertility Management, Western Kenya

International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 4(2): 154-168, 2006

15 Pages Posted: 9 Jul 2015

See all articles by Joshua Joseph Ramisch

Joshua Joseph Ramisch

University of Ottawa - School of International Development & Global Studies

Michael Misiko

International Maize And Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Isaac Ekise

CGIAR - Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical

John Mukalama

CGIAR - Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical

Date Written: April 1, 2006

Abstract

Farmers and researchers in western Kenya have used community-based learning approaches to jointly develop a ‘dynamic expertise’ of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM). This transformative learning approach builds on farmers’ ‘folk ecology’ and outsiders’ knowledge, taking action research on natural resource management beyond methods that are descriptive (ethnopedology) or curriculum driven (farmer field schools). The paper presents insights from a project’s experience of applying the strengthening ‘folk ecology’ approach in western Kenya, with emphasis on the community-based learning process, collective and individual experimentation, the power dynamics of farmer research groups, and learning from the farmer-researcher interface. Farmer groups have been empowered by this approach but diversification into non-soil activities highlights the limitations of experimentation and the challenges of scaling up participatory action research.

Keywords: Local knowledge, farmer experimentation, natural resource management, soils, Africa

Suggested Citation

Ramisch, Joshua Joseph and Misiko, Michael and Ekise, Isaac and Mukalama, John, Strengthening ‘Folk Ecology’: Community-Based Learning for Integrated Soil Fertility Management, Western Kenya (April 1, 2006). International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 4(2): 154-168, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2628327

Joshua Joseph Ramisch (Contact Author)

University of Ottawa - School of International Development & Global Studies ( email )

Faculty of Social Sciences, FSS 8023
120 University Priv.
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://https://joshuaramisch.wordpress.com/

Michael Misiko

International Maize And Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

Apdo. Postal 6-641
Texcoco, El Batan 06600
Mexico

Isaac Ekise

CGIAR - Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical

Km 17 recta Cali-Palmira
Cali, Valle del Cauca 00001
Colombia

John Mukalama

CGIAR - Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical

Km 17 recta Cali-Palmira
Cali, Valle del Cauca 00001
Colombia

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