Expanding the reach: ethnobotanical knowledge and technological intensification in beekeeping among the Ogiek of the Mau Forest, Kenya

Abstract Background Initiatives for beekeeping intensification across the tropics can foster production and income, but the changes triggered by the introduction of modern beehives might permeate traditional knowledge and practices in multiple ways, and as such should be investigated and understood. We conducted an ethnobotanical study in the Eastern part of the Mau Forest among Ogiek beekeepers who customarily practice forest beekeeping and who are involved in a project aimed at the modernization of their beekeeping activities. We aimed to document the beekeeping-associated ethnobotanical knowledge, exploring the relationships and complementarity between modern and traditional knowledge and practices. Methods Field research was carried out through semi-structured interviews with 30 Ogiek beekeepers and 10 additional stakeholders. We collected ethnobotanical data about plants used for beekeeping purposes, and ethnographic information on traditional and modern beekeeping systems. Results We report 66 plant species, distributed across 36 botanical families representing 58 genera, important as melliferous, for the construction and placing of hives, attracting bees, and harvesting and storing honey. Dombeya torrida (J.F.Gmel.) Bamps, Juniperus procera Hochst. ex Endl., and Podocarpus latifolius (Thunb.) R.Br. ex Mirb. are the species with the most mentions and the highest number of uses. Our study reveals that the Ogiek possess a detailed knowledge of the forest’s flora, its importance and uses and that this knowledge underpins beekeeping practices. Under the influence of external actors, the Ogiek have progressively adopted modern versus traditional log hives and moved beekeeping out of the forest into open areas of pastures and crop fields. Beekeepers are also experimenting with combinations of practices borrowed from modern and traditional beekeeping systems, particularly in the field of hive construction and in the criteria to set up apiaries. Conclusions The study indicates a complementarity and an incipient hybridization of traditional and modern beekeeping, in a way that suggests that modern beehives are instrumental in expanding the reach of beekeeping into deforested and cultivated areas. The study also points to the existence of a rift in the effects of beekeeping intensification on the livelihoods of the Ogiek and on their relationship with the forest. We argue that this intensification might be improving the former but weakening the latter, carrying the associated risk of erosion of traditional forest-based ethnobotanical knowledge.

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Expanding the reach. Ethnobotanical knowledge and technological intensification in beekeeping among the Ogiek of the Mau Forest, Kenya

10.21203/rs.3.rs-31099/v2 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dauro Mattia Zocchi ◽

Gabriele Volpato ◽

Duncan Chalo ◽

Patrick Mutiso ◽

Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco

Keyword(s):

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Field Research ◽

Ethnobotanical Study ◽

Detailed Knowledge ◽

Ethnobotanical Knowledge ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Crop Fields ◽

Set Up ◽

External Actors ◽

The Tropics

Abstract Background Initiatives for beekeeping intensification across the tropics can foster production and income, but the changes triggered by the introduction of modern beehives might permeate traditional knowledge and practices in multiple ways, and as such should be investigated and understood. We conducted an ethnobotanical study in the Eastern part of the Mau Forest among Ogiek beekeepers who customarily practice forest beekeeping and who are involved in a project aimed at the modernization of their beekeeping activities. We aimed to document the beekeeping-associated ethnobotanical knowledge, exploring the relationships and complementarity between modern and traditional knowledge and practices. Methods Field research was carried out through semi-structured interviews with 30 Ogiek beekeepers and 10 additional stakeholders. We collected ethnobotanical data about plants used for beekeeping purposes, and ethnographic information on traditional and modern beekeeping systems. Results We report 66 plant species, distributed across 36 botanical families representing 58 genera, important as melliferous, for the construction and placing of hives, attracting bees, and harvesting and storing honey. Dombeya torrida (J.F.Gmel.) Bamps, Juniperus procera Hochst. ex Endl., and Podocarpus latifolius (Thunb.) R.Br. ex Mirb are the species with the most mentions and the highest number of uses. Our study reveals that the Ogiek possess a detailed knowledge of the forest’s flora, its importance and uses, and that this knowledge underpins beekeeping practices. Under the influence of external actors, the Ogiek have progressively adopted modern versus traditional log hives and moved beekeeping out of the forest into open areas of pastures and crop fields. Beekeepers are also experimenting with combinations of practices borrowed from modern and traditional beekeeping systems, particularly in the field of hive construction and in the criteria to set up apiaries. Conclusions The study indicates a complementarity and an incipient hybridization of traditional and modern beekeeping, in a way that suggests that modern beehives are instrumental in expanding the reach of beekeeping into deforested and cultivated areas. The study also points to the existence of a rift in the effects of beekeeping intensification on the livelihoods of the Ogiek and on their relationship with the forest. We argue that this intensification might be improving the former but weakening the latter, carrying the associated risk of erosion of traditional forest-based ethnobotanical knowledge.

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Ethnobotanical research in Cava de’ Tirreni area, Southern Italy

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine ◽

10.1186/s13002-019-0330-3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mattia Mautone ◽

Laura De Martino ◽

Vincenzo De Feo

Keyword(s):

Southern Italy ◽

Food Plants ◽

Ethnobotanical Study ◽

Ethnobotanical Knowledge ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Campania Region ◽

Plant Knowledge ◽

Italian Regions ◽

Traditional Ethnobotanical Knowledge ◽

Medicinal Food

Abstract Background To best of our knowledge, this is the first quantitative ethnobotanical study with the aim of documenting the local knowledge and practices of using plants for curing diseases in the Cava de’ Tirreni area, Salerno Province, Campania Region, Italy. The present ethnobotanical field study, carried out during 2016–2017, documents the local uses of 119 plant species for medicinal, food and domestic purposes. Methods Ethnobotanical data were documented from 70 informants: field data were collected and information on the uses of plants was gathered through semi-structured and structured interviews with persons who still retain traditional ethnobotanical knowledge. Documented data were evaluated using the quantitative ethnobotanical index of use value (UV). Results Overall, the informants native of the area were interviewed and 277 use-reports have been recorded. The scientific names, local names, plant part used, preparation and administration processes are reported and compared with practices in other Southern Italian regions. In total, 101 species are documented as medicinal, 36 as food or food aromatizer, 29 for domestic and handicraft uses, 10 in veterinary medicine. More or less 64% of all species have more uses and over half of the food plants (23 species) are also used for medicinal purposes. Conclusions The comparison of the documented species and their uses with ethnobotanical literature of other Italian regions reveals that the traditional plant knowledge in this area shows strong similarities with adjacent Southern Italian areas. Some of the recorded species and administration processes however seem to be unique for the zone.

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Medicinal plants used by "Passo da Ilha" rural community in the city of Pato Branco, southern Brazil

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências ◽

10.1590/s0001-37652009000400008 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 81 (4) ◽

pp. 691-700 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

José A. Marchese ◽

Lin C. Ming ◽

Lucia de Franceschi ◽

Rubia C. Camochena ◽

Greice D.R. Gomes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Rural Community ◽

Field Research ◽

State University ◽

Southern Brazil ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Cultural Erosion ◽

The City ◽

Made In

The scope of this work was to rescue and document the traditional knowledge regarding the medicinal plants used by Passo da Ilha rural community, in Pato Branco, Paraná State, Southern Brazil (26° 11' S, 52°36' W and 760 m high). Structured interviews were made in field research with 16 informants who had the traditional knowledge about medicinal plants. The research was carried out from October to December 2000. The plants were collected in the field, identified and their vouchers were housed at the Herbarium "Irina Delanova De Gemtchjnicov" (BOTU) of São Paulo State University, in Botucatu. A total of 47 botanical families and 114 species of medicinal plants were identified. These plants ere suitable for ore than 30 different edicinal uses. The residents are mainly of European descent, which justify the presence of many exotic plants. The knowledge on how to use medicinal plants properly is held mainly by the females, and decreases in the newer generations, denoting "cultural erosion" in progress.

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What Practices for a Better Democratization of School Aids?

Revista Romaneasca pentru Educatie Multidimensionala ◽

10.18662/rrem/106 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 195

Author(s):

Diallo Seykhou

Keyword(s):

Thematic Analysis ◽

Teaching Methods ◽

Teaching Assistants ◽

School Success ◽

School Dropout ◽

Teaching Profession ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Teachers College ◽

Set Up ◽

External Actors

A recent strong thesis questioned actors in the field (teachers, college principals, teaching assistants, students, senior education advisors) on the question of aid as a means of democratization of the school, success of more destitute. Four positions emerged with institutional, pedagogical and family recommendations. They all express practices whose aims are the fight against failure, school dropout and inequalities. The theoretical framework is part of the work of Bautier and Rochex, (1997), and Broccholichi (1995), Meirieu (2001). The methodology consists of thirty-nine semi-structured interviews and the treatment is a thematic analysis of content. The originality of the study is the reflection at better conditions for useful aids outside the classroom.Thus, through a deductive approach, we have drawn some conditions for the help to be useful to students outside the classroom: to improve the diagnosis of school difficulty; target aid; put coherence in the actions; promote student volunteering with complementary modules based on a skills framework; reform the tasks. The success of aids also depends on changes to be made outside the classroom; reorganize the personalized help; focus on fundamental learning and diversify teaching methods: set up complementary modules with a reference system of skills; avoid the multiplication of aids; change the structure of the aid; integrate help into the teaching profession; train the actors of the helpers; change school rhythms, really involve families; evaluate the aid Strengthen the partnership between the aid and external actors.

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Expanding the Reach. Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Technological Intensification in Beekeeping Among The Ogiek of Mau Forest, Kenya

10.21203/rs.3.rs-31099/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Dauro Mattia Zocchi ◽

Gabriele Volpato ◽

Duncan Chalo Mutiso ◽

Patrick Chalo Mutiso ◽

Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco

Keyword(s):

Participant Observation ◽

Traditional Practices ◽

Ecological Knowledge ◽

Detailed Knowledge ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Crop Fields ◽

Honey Production ◽

Modern Knowledge ◽

The Relationship ◽

Associated Knowledge

Abstract BackgroundInitiatives for the promotion and intensification of beekeeping through the introduction of modern beehives are taking place in East Africa and elsewhere where beekeeping has been a long-standing livelihood practice. When innovations are introduced into people’s livelihoods and culture, they can trigger multiple changes, aligned or not with the original intentions. We carried out fieldwork in the Eastern part of the Mau Forest Complex, focusing on beekeeping activities among Ogiek beekeepers involved in a project aimed at promoting honey production through the modernization of the apiculture sector. The main aim of the study was to explore the relationships, tensions and complementarity of traditional and modern knowledge and practices and the ways in which they are employed in beekeeping strategies among the Ogiek, as well as to reflect on the changes that this intensification process triggers in the livelihoods of the Ogiek and in their relationship with Mau ForestMethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews and free listing exercises with 30 Ogiek beekeepers. Other methods included guided field walks in apiaries and participant observation. We collected ethnobotanical data about the flora used in beekeeping and ethnographic information on traditional practices of apiary management and honey harvesting and storing.Results We report 66 species that are important for beekeeping purposes in 6 main use categories, namely melliferous species, and species used for making hives, placing hives, attracting bees, harvesting and storing honey. Our study reveals that the Ogiek still possess detailed knowledge of the forest’s flora and its importance and uses. At the same time, they have moved beekeeping out of the forest into open areas of pasture and crop fields, adopting modern beekeeping techniques. The two beekeeping systems have complementary roles in the livelihoods of the Ogiek and rely on different paths of knowledge transmission and on different plant species. We highlight that modern and traditional beekeeping respond to the challenges and requirements of different ecological settings.ConclusionsOur study indicates a complementarity of traditional and modern beekeeping and associated knowledge and practices within the livelihoods of the Ogiek, but it also suggests that the process of honey production intensification, by decoupling beekeeping from the forest, may weaken the relationship between the Ogiek and the forest, thus impairing the Ogiek’s role as guardians of the forest, and eroding beekeeping-associated TEK. Further studies should target the promotion of forest beekeeping via the intensification of log hive production and valorisation of forest honey and associated TEK as well as floristic diversity.

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Traditional Uses of Plants in the Tolfa–Cerite–Manziate Area (Central Italy)

Ethnobiology Letters ◽

10.14237/ebl.6.1.2015.288 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 119-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paolo Maria Guarrera ◽

Valentina Savo ◽

Giulia Caneva

Keyword(s):

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Betula Pendula ◽

Central Italy ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Ethnobotanical Knowledge ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Plant Uses ◽

Local Plant ◽

Local Plants ◽

Celtis Australis

Traditional knowledge of local plant uses is rapidly fading away, especially in rural Mediterranean areas. We carried out ethnobotanical research in 2010-2011 in order to investigate the local knowledge of wild plants in the Tolfa–Cerite–Manziate area of Italy (Latium, district of Rome). We carried out a total of 45 semi-structured interviews with farmers, herders, and fishers. Here, a simple diachronic comparison is made between the current study and a previous one conducted in some of the villages of the study area to highlight potential losses of traditional knowledge of local plants. We documented a total of 102 plant species, belonging to 48 families, along with their uses (excluding food uses). We also reported some non-plant based remedies that were primarily used in veterinary medicine. Some plant uses, especially for making handicrafts, have not been reported previously (e.g., those of Celtis australis L. Cannabaceae, Betula pendula Roth Betulaceae). Many plant uses are no longer remembered in the area, which indicates a loss of local ethnobotanical knowledge.

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Ethnobotanical study on medicinal plants used by Li people in Ledong, Hainan Island, China

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae ◽

10.5586/asbp.3485 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 85 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Weijuan Huang ◽

Ping Li ◽

Yujing Liu ◽

Wen Huang ◽

Yan Ju ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Medicinal Plants ◽

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Hainan Island ◽

Descriptive Statistics ◽

Gastrointestinal Disorders ◽

Ethnobotanical Study ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Traditional Medicinal Plants ◽

Key Informant ◽

Plant Families

The paper documents on the uses of traditional medicinal plants used for treating human ailments in three villages of Ledong, a county inhabited by Li ethnic group in the southwest of Hainan Province, China. Semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews and participatory observations were used to collect ethnobotanical data from February to March 2012 and in July 2013. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Thirty native knowledgeable people were interviewed. The Li community uses 50 plant species in 36 families for medicinal purposes. The most common medicinal plant families were Leguminosae (14%), Compositae (6%), and Euphorbiaceae (6%), and the most common preparations methods were decoction (84%), crushing (38%), and poultice (34%). The traditional medicinal plants were mainly used for hemostasis (12.9%), body pains (11.4%), gastrointestinal disorders (11.4%), and trauma (10%). Twenty-four species of medicinal plants (48%) have never been reported in the literature of Li medicines. In addition, 22 species (44%) have already been studied by researchers and their extracts or compounds were good bio-actives. However, the rapid socio-economic development in the county is the main threat to the conservation of Li medicine and has resulted in the decrease in the abundance and use of medicinal plants and associated traditional knowledge. Other factors accounting for a decrease in the use of Li medicinal plants like loss of plant diversity, change of land use, and threatened traditional knowledge were equally discussed.

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Informed consent: Towards improved lay-friendliness of patient information sheets

Communication & Medicine ◽

10.1558/cam.v10i3.201 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 201-211

Author(s):

Morten Pilegaard ◽

Hanne Berg Ravn

Keyword(s):

Informed Consent ◽

Information Structure ◽

Language Use ◽

Ethical Standards ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Explorative Study ◽

Microsoft Word ◽

Text Production ◽

Linguistic Intervention ◽

Set Up

Regional research ethics committee (REC) members have voiced a need for the linguistic improvement of informed consent documents to ensure duly informed consent and to ease committee deliberation. We have little knowledge of what elements of language use hamper comprehension, or of the extent of medical researchers’ appreciation of this problem and their willingness to accept intervention. This qualitative, explorative study proposes an intervention design and tests its feasibility and acceptability. Semi-structured interviews with potential REC applicants informed a linguistic intervention benchmarked against existing guidelines, mandated locally and nationally, and then evaluated quantitatively in a semi-controlled set-up and qualitatively via questionnaires. Potential applicants professed the psychological acceptability of linguistic intervention. The intervention comprised a downloadable Microsoft Word template outlining information structure, a detailed guideline offering advice for each move and self-selected linguistic screening. It was used by 14 applicants and had a measurable effect on REC deliberation time and approval rates. The intervention instruments overall made it easier for applicants to produce informed consent documents meeting prescribed ethical standards concerning lay-friendliness. In conclusion, it was found that linguistic intervention is relevant, feasible and psychologically acceptable to REC applicants; it aids their text production process and seems to enhance the lay-friendliness of these texts.

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AVALIAÇÃO DO CONHECIMENTO TRADICIONAL DOS PESCADORES DA RDSM APLICADO À IDENTIFICAÇÃO DO SEXO DE PIRARUCUS

Scientific Magazine UAKARI ◽

10.31420/uakari.v5i2.67 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 59-66

Author(s):

Kelven Lopes ◽

Helder Lima de Queiroz

Keyword(s):

Sex Determination ◽

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Sustainable Fisheries ◽

Arapaima Gigas ◽

Males And Females

This study examined the traditional knowledge of fishermen at Mamirauá Reserve about sex determination of pirarucus, Arapaima gigas Schinz 1822. We evaluated the criteria used for by fishermen in the sector Jarauá at Mamirauá Reserve for this determination, during the fisheries season, from October to November 2004. We analyzed responses of a group of about 15 fishermen collected in structured interviews regarding 109 individual pirarucus, 65 males and 44 females. From this sample, only 64 fish have their sex correctly predicted by the fishermen. Although the traditional knowledge of local fishermen is a key component of the sustainable fisheries of this species, this knowledge is not functional in all ranges and aspects, as in sex distinction. We found that the local fishermen evaluated are not able to recognize the sex of pirarucus, although some criteria applied for this purpose are consistent with their biology. The rates of correct forecasts for recognition of males and females were similar to those obtained by chance, even when the criteria applied were consistent, as the criterion “coloration”, which was significantly consistent for identification of males. Yet the group of fishermen interviewed in this study apparently did not apply this criterion correctly.

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TOURISM MOBILITY AT THE SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES RIO 2016

Event Management ◽

10.3727/152599519x15506259856624 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amanda Cabral ◽

Carolin Lusby ◽

Ricardo Uvinha

Keyword(s):

Olympic Games ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Field Research ◽

Bus Rapid Transit ◽

Rapid Transit ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Tourist Attractions ◽

Official Sources ◽

The Relationship ◽

The City

Sports Tourism as a segment is growing exponentially in Brazil. The sports mega-events that occurred in the period from 2007 to 2016 helped strengthen this sector significantly. This article examined tourism mobility during the Summer Olympic Games Rio 2016, hosted by the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This study expands the understanding of the relationship between tourism and city infrastructure, therefore being relevant to academics, professionals of the area and to the whole society due to its multidisciplinary field. The existence of a relationship between means of transportation and the Olympic regions as well as tourist attractions for a possible legacy was observed. Data were collected from official sources, field research and through participant-observation and semi structured interviews. Data were coded and analyzed. The results indicate that the city was overall successful in its execution of sufficient mobility. New means of transportation were added and others updated. BRT's (Bus Rapid Transit) were the main use of mass transport to Olympic sites. However, a lack of public transport access was observed for the touristic sites.

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