Documenting Local Food Knowledge at Hindukush: Challenges and Opportunities

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.