Traditional Water Conservation Techniques in India

Water conservation is a practice needed for survival. In India, various techniques are used to save water, which are practical and climate-responsive. From the age of the Indus valley civilization, till today many practices are seen in different parts of India. The traditional practices used for conserving water and even cooling buildings in ancient times. Forts surrounded water bodies for protection from enemies. Indians continue to build structures to catch and store the monsoon rains. Some unique water conservation techniques are still practiced in India and are efficient. These are sometimes better than the presentday water-saving techniques. The paper summarizes the transformation over the years in the construction and advancements of water conservation practices in India. In dry regions, these practices have helped people survive tough times. Keywords: Rain water harvesting, Storage, Tanks, Traditional methods, Water conservation

A BOOK REVIEW ON SIRASEKKADI VIDHI: A GUIDE TO TRADITIONAL PRACTICES OF KERALA, INDIA

Sirasekkadi Vidhi is a handbook on principles and practice of Panchakarma procedure with Malayalam commentary Bhavaprobodhini by the author and English Annotations by the editor. This book does the basic treatment principles of Ayurveda, its explanation, and scientific analysis. To overcome the lack of proper guidelines (except some basic information) in classical texts about procedures, including Sirasseka, Kayaseka, Pinda Sveda, Annalepana, Shirolepana, Kalavidhi, Snehapana Vidhi are elaborated in this text.

Preventive and Promotional Effort for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus based on Local Resources

The people of Gendang Rejeng are potentially at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes due to their unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits linked to their traditional practices. There are efforts to identify the potential risk of type 2 diabetes and carry out preventive and promotive measures based on local potentials. The efforts include: 1) health check-ups; 2) diabetes screening; 3) health education; and 4) discussion with community leaders on adapting traditional practices to be more health-friendly. Through the study we discovered that out of 29 people of Gendang Rejeng that had been screened for diabetes, 62.1% had a low risk, 13.8% had a higher risk, and the remaining 24.1% had a moderate risk of diabetes. There is a need to study local potentials and traditional elements which can be incorporated into the efforts to reduce the risk of diabetes and prevent other health complication. Ginger is an example of one of the local potentials that can be utilized for consumption to improve the health of the people of Rejeng

Sympathetic science: analogism in Brazilian ethnobiological repertoires among quilombolas of the Atlantic forest and Amazonian ribeirinhos

Background Drawing on Phillipe Descola’s comparative analysis of ontological regimes across cultures, this article identifies analogism guiding ethnobiological repertories among two distinctive traditional tropical forest communities in Brazil. Methods We carried out participant observation, semi-structured interviews and informal dialog with 48 individuals, among quilombolas of the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil and ribeirinhos of the Amazon. Results We documented 60 traditional practices governed by analogical principles, comprising hunting, ethnomedical practices, food taboos, and other interactions with non-human entities. We also identify and classify the analogical principles reported in the field data. Based on this classification, we address the phenomenological dimension of the ethnobiological repertoires and discuss the epistemological and ontological foundations of this form of reasoning. We also hypothesize on the role of analogism shaping ethnobiological repertories more generally in Brazil. Conclusion The heuristic model we apply—articulating phenomenology, epistemology and ontology—could prove valuable in ethnobiology and the emerging field of “anthropology beyond the human.”

An integrated pest management program outperforms conventional practices for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in Cambodia

For several years, pest management in tomato production in Cambodia has generally focused on the use of synthetic pesticides. We compared conventional pest management (farmers’ traditional practices) with an IPM program on 12 farms in the northwestern part of Cambodia. The IPM program combined cultural, biological, and chemical practices. We found that IPM practices reduced aphid damage by 46% and diseases such as Fusarium wilt and damping-off were substantially reduced. Our results indicate that the IPM package increased tomato yield and income by an average of 23% and 34%, respectively, compared to conventional practices during both dry and rainy seasons.

Program Report: Nîsohkamâtowak—Helping Patients and Families Living With Kidney Disease in Northern Saskatchewan

Purpose of the Program: Nîsohkamâtowak, the Cree word for Helping Each Other, is an initiative to close gaps in kidney health care for First Nations and Métis patients, their families, and communities in northern Saskatchewan. Nîsohkamâtowak emerged from a collaboration between the Kidney Health Community Program and First Nations and Métis Health Services to find ways to deliver better care and education to First Nations and Métis people living with kidney disease while acknowledging Truth and Reconciliation and the Calls to Action. Sources of Information: This article describes how traditional Indigenous protocols and storytelling were woven into the Nîsohkamâtowak events, gathering of patient and family voices in writing and video format, and how this work led to a collaborative co-designed process that incorporates the Truth and Reconciliation: Calls to Action into kidney care and the benefits we have seen so far. The teachings of the 4 Rs—respect, reciprocity, responsibility, and relevance, were critical to ensuring that Nîsohkamâtowak reports and learning were shared with participants and the communities represented in this initiative. Methods: Group discussions and sharing circles were facilitated in several locations throughout northern and central Saskatchewan. Main topics of discussion were traditional medicines, residential schools impact, community and peer supports for kidney disease patients, and cultural safety education for health care providers. Key Findings: The general themes selected for improvement were education, support within the local community, traditional practices and cultural competency, and delivery of services. To address these gaps in kidney care, the following objectives were co-created with First Nations and Métis patients, families, and communities for Kidney Health to provide culturally appropriate education and resources, to ensure appropriate follow-up support to include strengthening connections to communities and other health authorities, to incorporate traditional practices into program design, and to ensure appropriate service delivery across the spectrum of care with a focus on screening and referral, which is strongly linked to coordination of care with local health centers. Implications: As a result of this work, the Kidney Health Community Program restructured the delivery of services and continues to work with Nîsohkamâtowak advisors on safety initiatives and chronic kidney disease awareness, prevention, and management in their respective communities. The Truth and Reconciliation and Calls to Action are honored to close the gaps in kidney care. Limitations: Nîsohkamâtowak is a local Kidney Health initiative that has the good fortune of having dedicated funding and staff to carry out this work. The findings may be unique to the First Nations and Métis communities and people who shared their stories. Truth and Reconciliation is an ongoing commitment that must be nurtured. Although not part of this publication, the effects of COVID-19 have made it difficult to further advance the Calls to Action, with more limited staff resources and the inability to meet in person as in the past.

Distribution of some important honey plants visited by honey bees for feeding purposes in Narman (Erzurum, Turkey) natural pasture vegetation

Narman district is located at Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Average altitude is 1650 m, annual total precipitation is about 420 mm. In study area main economic activity is animal husbandry and animal production has made traditional practices, based on rangelands. This study carried out to determine honey plants, frequently visited by honey bees in 20 different locations of Narman. Total 56 plant species were determined and half of these plant species determined as visited plant species by honey bees. Most of honey plant species, determined in locations were wide leafy forbs and some of them were legume species. To determine botanical composition of rangeland vegetation in different locations line intercept method was used. The percentage of all plant species was calculated and each individual honey plant species percentages were determined. Some Alfalfa, Sainfoin, Lotus, Melilotus, Coronilla and Trifolium species were determined in locations. Thymus, Stachys, Centaurea and Campanula species were determined common plant species visited by honey bees.

Documentation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) on Commonly Available Plants in Koira Range, Bonai Forest Division, Sundargarh, Odisha, India

Mining activities are an important source of revenue for the development of the nation. However, it creates lots of social and ecological imbalance. The major remarked problem is that the local communities of mining areas losses their Indigenous Traditional Practices. Keeping this in view, an attempt has been made to document the indigenous traditional knowledge on commonly available plants in Koira Range, a mining impacted areas of the Bonai Forest Division, Odisha, India. Twenty nine villages of 4 sections are selected for present survey works. The results revealed that about 63 plants are commonly used by the local communities for different purposes. The practices are documented through present study. The present work will provide a baseline data for conservation strategy and biological activities including value addition of available plant wealth.

Open Learning Experience Bingo

Definitions of openness and open education abound, but with so many, how can we use them effectively to explore the openness of assignments, activities, classes, or programs? Open Learning Experience Bingo is a game that a group of collaborators have created to give people a way to surface and discuss the many different ways that educational experiences can “open” beyond traditional practices. Each bingo card includes boxes containing possible “ingredients” in a learning experience, and radiating from the center of each box, “dimensions” of openness along which an ingredient might be opened. You “play” bingo by reading or hearing about a learning experience and marking areas on the bingo card that you think the experience opens. The game incorporates broad concepts of openness and seeks not to measure the openness of learning experiences, but to identify and spark discussion about areas in which experiences are opening — or might be opened further. As artifacts, completed bingo cards display a sort of “heat map” of openness that can be used to compare and contrast bingo evaluations of various learning experiences.

Relics and Historical Uses of Human Zootherapeutic Products in Contemporary Spanish Ethnoveterinary Medicine

(1) Background: this review documents the wide repertoire of practices and remedies based on the use of human-derived products in Spanish ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) from the early 20th century to the present. These practices are compared with historical data and those of other countries; (2) Methods: a search using advanced functions in the most important databases in the fields of ethnobiology, EVM, folklore, and ethnography was performed. Information was obtained from 29 documentary sources; (3) Results: from the search of the literature, 46 use-reports related to the veterinary use of human urine, menstrual fluid, saliva, breast milk, and faeces were recorded. These zootherapeutic resources are/were used to treat 20 animal diseases, in particular dermatological ailments. In addition, many practices of the magical–religious type are documented; (4) Conclusions: the veterinary uses described and analysed here are fundamental to the development of therapeutic tools and creating teaching and learning processes in new popular veterinary practices adapted to the users and those who demand them. The information collected could form a scientific foundation for future inventories of local veterinary knowledge (LVK) and research addressing the discovery of new drugs for livestock. This work contributes to the inventory of some uses, traditional practices, and rituals seriously threatened by the progressive loss of LVK in Europe.