IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsoctx/v13y2022i1p1-d1009725.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Documenting Local Food Knowledge at Hindukush: Challenges and Opportunities

Author

Listed:
  • Muhammad Abdul Aziz

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venezia, Italy
    University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 9, 12042 Bra, Italy)

Abstract

Local knowledge on food heritage is an important asset of communities in Hindkush Mountains of Pakistan. Literature is scarce on recording local food knowledge (LFK) and the associated challenges; therefore, to partially fill this gap of knowledge, the current research study presents an overview of some of the prominent challenges that curb documenting local knowledge on food heritage among various communities in the region. Qualitative data were gathered through direct observations during ethnobotanical research work across the region. The current research reveals that the complex sociocultural and political circumstances, in one way or another, might be impacting the recording of the LFK in the study areas. For instance, I have found that the fragile security circumstances in the western belt of the country is one of the obstacles that do not fully allow researchers to get access to the local communities. The lack of educational understanding among the local communities, especially those who are living in rural areas, has been creating a gap of communication between researchers and the communities. It is worth mentioning that globalization and social change have also changed the perception of the people regarding the local food resources and attached local knowledge. In addition, the policy issues linked to social science research in the country also have an indirect effect on community-based research, which does not encourage researchers to explore meaningful research findings. Hence, to deal with all these challenges, in this article, I propose some possible solutions to protect the local food heritage and practically revitalize the local/traditional knowledge through future development programs, as this knowledge is very important for combating future food insecurity.

Suggested Citation

  • Muhammad Abdul Aziz, 2022. "Documenting Local Food Knowledge at Hindukush: Challenges and Opportunities," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:13:y:2022:i:1:p:1-:d:1009725
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/13/1/1/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/13/1/1/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Muhammad Abdul Aziz & Zahid Ullah & Andrea Pieroni, 2020. "Wild Food Plant Gathering among Kalasha, Yidgha, Nuristani and Khowar Speakers in Chitral, NW Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-23, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eduardo Estrada-Castillón & José Ángel Villarreal-Quintanilla & Luis Gerardo Cuéllar-Rodríguez & Martí March-Salas & Juan Antonio Encina-Domínguez & Wibke Himmeslbach & María Magdalena Salinas-Rodrígu, 2022. "Ethnobotany in Iturbide, Nuevo León: The Traditional Knowledge on Plants Used in the Semiarid Mountains of Northeastern Mexico," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-43, October.
    2. Simon Høegmark & Tonny Elmose Andersen & Patrik Grahn & Anna Mejldal & Kirsten K. Roessler, 2021. "The Wildman Programme—Rehabilitation and Reconnection with Nature for Men with Mental or Physical Health Problems—A Matched-Control Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Muhammad Ibrahim & Naveed Akhtar & Abdul Wahab & Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei & Mikhlid H. Almutairi, 2023. "Exploring Wild Edible Plants in Malakand, Pakistan: Ethnobotanical and Nutritional Insights," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:13:y:2022:i:1:p:1-:d:1009725. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.