Natives know best. Wisdom resides with the witch doctor. This is the starting
premise of The Cultural Dimension of Development (D. Michael Warren et al,
Intermediate Technology, £16.95, ISBN 1 85339 251 0). Its 26 case studies,
from Indonesian forest medicines to indigenous Liberian steel making, shout loud
that local knowledge is the foundation for development, not a barrier to it.
Outside knowledge and technologies should be on tap, but never on top.
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