Dikgosi urged to promote indigenous knowledge

GOTHATAONE MOENG
Staff Writer | Friday October 28, 2011 00:00

Dikgosi have been urged to encourage  their merafe to share their indigenous knowledge and skills as this may be instrumental in economic diversification.

Addressing members of Ntlo ya Dikgosi yesterday, project leader of a University of Botswana team, Dr Mogodisheng Sekhwale said indigenous knowledge may be instrumental in economic diversification, if people are willing to come forward and share what they know.

'I had tswii when we were in the Ngami area, later [the team] examined it and we found that it contains a lot of calcium, which is very good for bones.  What is stopping [Botswana] from packaging it and exporting it to be used as a food supplement?' he asked.

It is distressing that non-Batswana have benefited from indigenous medicinal plants, Sekwale said. He cited hoodia (mokgwapha), devil's claw and wild melon (kgwengwe) as examples. Hoodia is a much sought-after hunger suppressant; while devil's claw is used in the treatment of arthritis, rheumatism, skin diseases and a host of other diseases.  Kgosi Phokontsi Seeletso of Tonota commended the team, but decried the fact that traditional knowledge has been relegated, from Christian missionaries teachings into witchcraft. 

'If we had had the foresight to record and document all these around independence, we would be better off. Right now, young people believe that traditional medicine is evil. They forget that Westerners take our plants and change them into the pills they prefer,' he said. Dikgosi were also concerned about how people with the indigenous knowledge would be protected, at which Sekhwale assured them that his team had intellectual property law specialists, who would ensure that they are protected.

The UB team falls within the auspices of the UB Centre for Scientific Research, Indigenous Knowledge and Innovation (CESRICI). It was tasked by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology to undertake a study that will result in the formulation of a policy and legislative framework for preserving indigenous knowledge.

The research started in February with the team expected to deliver their findings in June 2012. So far, the team has visited 30 dikgotla and held 15 workshops country-wide. The government has invested P6 million in the project.

The National Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) policy is expected to improve livelihood, enhance community belonging and  increase and diversify knowledge and skills.