Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Eliciting indigenous knowledge on tree fodder among Maasai pastoralists via a multi-method sequencing approach

  • In the field
  • Published:
Agriculture and Human Values Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although the potential of indigenous knowledge in sustainable natural resource management has been recognized, methods of gathering and utilizing it effectively are still being developed and tested. This paper focuses on various methods used in gathering knowledge on the use and management of tree fodder resources among the Maasai community of Kenya. The methods used were (1) a household survey to collect socio-economic data and identify key topics and informants for the subsequent knowledge elicitation phase; (2) semi-structured interviews using key informants to gather in-depth information; (3) tree inventory to collect quantitative data on the ecological status of trees and shrubs on rangelands; and (4) group consensus method to countercheck information elicited from key informants. Study results obtained show that the use of multiple methods in an appropriate sequence is an effective way of building upon the information elicited from each stage. It also facilitates the collection of different types of data and knowledge allowing a measure of triangulation, which can be used to confirm the validity and consistency of indigenous knowledge. Multiple methods also allow the collection of more knowledge than can be obtained if only one method is used. Therefore, it is recommended that future studies on indigenous knowledge systems use multiple methods that combine both individual and group interviews in order to obtain more complete and accurate information.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ayatunde A. A., Williams T. O., Udo H. M. J., Fernadez-Rivera S., Hiernaux P., van Keulen H. (2000) Herders perceptions, practice, and problems of night grazing in the Sahel: Case studies from Niger. Human Ecology 28(1):109–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrow, E. C. G. (1988). Trees and Pastoralists: The Case of the Pokot and Turkana. Network Paper 6B. London, UK: Overseas Development Institute

  • Barrow E. C. G. (1990). Usufruct rights to trees: The role of Ekwar in dryland central Turkana, Kenya. Human Ecology 18(2):163–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrow E. C. G. (1991). Evaluating the effectiveness of participatory agroforestry extension programmes in a pastoral system, based on existing traditional values. A case study of the Turkana silvopastoral system. Agroforestry Systems 14(1):1–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bayer W. (1990). Use of browse by Fulani cattle in central Nigeria. Agroforestry Systems 12(3):217–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnke R. H., Scoones I. (1993). Rethinking range ecology: Implications for rangeland management in Africa In: Behnke R. H., Scoones I., Kevin C. (eds) Range Ecology at Disequilibrium. London, UK, Overseas Development Institute, pp. 1–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaikie P., Brown K., Stocking M., Tang L., Dixon P., Sillitoe P. (1997). Knowledge in action: Local knowledge as a development resource and barriers to its incorporation in natural resource research and development. Agricultural Systems 55(2):217–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bollig M., Schulte A. (1999). Environmental change and pastoral perceptions: Degradation and indigenous knowledge in two African pastoral communities. Human Ecology 27(3):493–514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers R. (1983). Putting the Last First: Rural Development. London, UK, Longman

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis A., Wagner J. R. (2003). Who knows? On the importance of identifying experts when researching local ecological knowledge. Human Ecology 31(3):463–489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Den Biggelaar C. (1991). Farming systems development: Synthesizing indigenous and scientific knowledge systems. Agriculture and Human Values 8(1):25–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Den Biggelaar C., Gold M. (1995). The use and value of multiple methods to capture the diversity of endogenous agroforestry knowledge: An example from Rwanda. Agroforestry Systems 30(2):263–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeWalt B. R. (1999). Combining indigenous and scientific knowledge to improve agricultural and natural resource management in Latin America. In: Pichon F. J., Uquillas J. E., Frechione J. (eds) Traditional and Modern Natural Resource Management in Latin America. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburg Press, pp. 101–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Ego, W. K., E. C. Kiptot, A. M. Mohammed, and D. Ochieng (1999). Community Action Plan for the Management of the Natural Rangelands in Kajiado and Makueni Districts. The Case of Mashuru, Kibwezi and Kanthonzweni Divisions. Research Report. Agroforestry Research for Integrated Development in Arid and Semi-arid lands of Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Forestry Research Institute

  • Fry, P. H. and J. T. McCabe (1986). A Comparison of Two Survey Methods on Pastoral Turkana Migration Patterns and the Implications for Development Planning. Network Paper 22b. London, UK: Overseas Development Institute

  • Glantz H. M. (1994). Drought, desertification and food production.” In: Glantz M. H. (ed) Drought Follows the Plow. New York, Cambridge University Press, pp. 9–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Grandin B. E. (1986). Land tenure, sub-division, and residential change on a Maasai group ranch. Development Anthropological Network 4(2):9–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Homewood K., Rogers W. A. (1987). Pastoralism, conservation and the overgrazing controversy.” In: Anderson D., Grove R. (eds) Conservation in Africa: People, Policies and Practice. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, pp. 11–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz M. H., Little P. D. (1986). African pastoralism and poverty: Some implications of drought and famine.” In: Glantz M. H. (ed) Drought and Hunger in Africa: Denying Famine a Future. Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, pp. 59–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Jinadasa, P. N. M. (1995). Indigenous Ecological Knowledge about Mother Plant Selection and Plant Siting in Kandy Homegardens of Sri Lanka. Masters thesis. Bangor, UK: University of Wales

  • KEFRI (Kenya Forestry Research Institute) (1987). Newsletter, No. 3. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Forestry Research Institute

  • Kimani K., Pickard J. (1998). Recent trends and implications of group ranch sub-division and fragmentation in Kajiado district, Kenya. The Geographical Journal 164(2):202–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiptot, E. C. (1996). An Investigation of Farmers’ Ecological Knowledge about Fruit Trees Grown on Farms in South Yatta, Kenya. Masters thesis. Bangor, UK: University of Wales

  • Kiptot, E. C. (2002). A Study of an Indigenous Knowledge System Underlying the Use and Management of Tree Fodder Resources by the Maasai Community of Kajiado District, Kenya. Third Progress Report. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Forestry Research Institute

  • Kiringe J. W., Okello M. M. (2005). Use and availability of tree and shrub resources on Maasai communal rangelands near Amboseli, Kenya. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 22(1):37–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, K. (1987). Rapid, Low Cost Data Collection Methods for AID. Program Design and Evaluation Methodology. Report No. 10. Washington DC: Agency for International Development

  • Kunene N., Wilson R. A. C., Myeni N. P. (2003). The use of trees, shrubs and herbs in livestock production by communal farmers in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 20(3):271–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone I. (1986). The common property problem and pastoralist economic behavior. Journal of Development Studies 22:6–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Mapinduzi A. L., Oba G., Weladji R. B., Colman J. E. (2003). Use of indigenous ecological knowledge of the Maasai pastoralists for assessing rangeland biodiversity in Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 41:329–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe J. T. (1987). Drought and recovery: Livestock dynamics among the Ngisonyoka Turkana of Kenya. Human Ecology 15(4):371–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCabe J. T. (1990). Turkana pastoralism: A case against the tragedy of the commons. Human Ecology 18(1):81–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MOARD (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) (2001). Kajiado District Annual Report. Nairobi, Kenya: MOARD

  • Morrison B. J., Gold M. A., Langtagne D. O. (1996). Incorporating indigenous knowledge of fodder trees into small-scale silvopastoral systems in Jamaica. Agroforestry Systems 34(2):101–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MPND (Ministry of Planning and National Development) (1997). Kajiado District Development Plan 1997–2001. Nairobi, Kenya: MPND

  • Neils B., Felt L. F., Haedrich R. L., Schneider D. C. (1999). An interdisciplinary method for collecting and integrating fishers’ ecological knowledge into resource management.” In: Newell D., Ommer R. E. (eds) Fishing Places, Fishing People: Traditions and Issues in Canadian Small-scale Fisheries. Toronto, Canada, University of Toronto Press, pp. 217–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Odundo, P. (1992). “The environmental effects of group ranch sub-division in Kajiado District.” In M. K. van Klinken (ed.), The Second Conference on the Future of Maasai Pastoralists in Kajiado District. Proceedings of a Conference Held at Olkejuado High School, Kajiado, Kenya, August 18–21, 1991. Arid and Semi-arid Lands Program, Kajiado, Kenya

  • Price L. L. (1997). Wild plant food in agricultural environments: A study of occurrence, management and gathering rights in Northeast Thailand. Human Organization 56(2):209–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Republic of Kenya (2001). 1999 Population and Housing Census. Counting Our People for Development. Central Bureau of Statistics. Volume 1. Nairobi, Kenya: Ministry of Finance and National Planning

  • Roothhaert R. L., Franzel S. (2001). Farmers’ preferences and use of local fodder trees and shrubs in Kenya. Agroforestry Systems 52(3):239–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ross A., Pickering K. (2002). The politics of reintegrating Australian Aboriginal and American Indian indigenous knowledge into resource management: The dynamics of resource appropriation and cultural revival. Human Ecology 30(2):187–214

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rusten E. P., Gold M. A. (1991). Understanding an indigenous knowledge system for tree fodder via a multi-method on-farm research approach. Agroforestry Systems 15(2):139 –165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scoones I., Thompson J. (1994). Introduction.” In: Scoones I., Thompson J. (eds) Beyond Farmers First: Rural people’s Knowledge, Agricultural Research and Extension Practice. London, UK, Intermediate Technology Publications, pp. 1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Seno S. K., Shaw W. W. (2002). Land tenure policies, Maasai traditions, and wildlife conservation in Kenya. Society and Natural Resources 15:79–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sillitoe P. (1998). The development of indigenous knowledge. Current Anthropology 39(2):223–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sindiga I. (1984). Inducing rural development in Kenya Maasailand. Journal of East African Research Development 14(1):62–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Southern, A. J. (1994). Acquisition of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge about Forest Gardens in Kandy District Sri Lanka. Masters thesis. Bangor, UK: University of Wales

  • Swift J. (1977). Sahelian pastoralists: Underdevelopment, desertification and famine. American Anthropologist 6:457–478

    Google Scholar 

  • Thapa B., Sinclair F. L., Walker D. H. (1995). Incorporation of indigenous knowledge and perspectives in agroforestry development: Case-study on the impact of explicit representation of farmers’ecological knowledge. Agroforestry Systems 30(2):249–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thapa B., Walker D. H., Sinclair F. L. (1997). Indigenous knowledge of the feeding value of tree fodder. Animal Feed Science and Technology 67(2):97–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorne P. J., Subba D. B., Walker D. H., Thapa B, Wood C. D., Sinclair F. L. (1999). The basis of indigenous knowledge of tree fodder quality and its implications for improving the use of tree fodder in developing countries. Animal Feed Science and Technology 81(1):119–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Willegen, J. and R. B. Dewalt (1985). Training Manual in Policy Ethnography. Special Publication of the American Anthropological Association, no. 19. Washington DC: American Anthropological Association

  • Walker D. H., Sinclair F. L., Thapa B. (1995). Incorporation of indigenous knowledge and perspectives in agroforestry development: Review of methods and application. Agroforestry Systems 30(2):235–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren D. M. (1999). Indigenous knowledge for agricultural development In: Pichon F. J., Uquillas J. E., Frechione J. (eds) Traditional and Modern Natural Resource Management in Latin America. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburg Press, pp. 197–211

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (1994). Land Use and Land Tenure in the Arid and Semi-arid Lands of Kenya. World Bank Arid and Semi-arid Lands Team. Working Paper 10. Nairobi, Kenya: World Bank

Download references

Acknowledgements

The Research Program on Sustainable use of Dryland Biodiversity (RPSUD), National Museums of Kenya is gratefully acknowledged for providing financial support. Special thanks also go to the Kenya Forestry Research Institute for providing technical and logistical support, Paul Kibera and Stanly Mukishoe for their assistance in data collection. Two anonymous reviewers who provided useful comments on an earlier draft are also acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kenya Forestry Research Institute, P.O. Box 20412, 00200, Nairobi, Kenya

    Evelyne Kiptot

Authors
  1. Evelyne Kiptot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Evelyne Kiptot.

Additional information

Evelyne Kiptot, a research scientist with the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, is based at Muguga Regional Research Centre but is currently a PhD student in the Technology and Agrarian Development (TAD) chair group at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. Her current research activities focus on indigenous knowledge systems in pastoral areas, participatory approaches, and upscaling.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kiptot, E. Eliciting indigenous knowledge on tree fodder among Maasai pastoralists via a multi-method sequencing approach. Agric Hum Values 24, 231–243 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-006-9057-6

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-006-9057-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation