Revitalization and digital preservation of indigenous knowledge systems for sustainable development of indigenous communities in south africa

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Revitalization and Digital Preservation of

Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Development of Indigenous Communities in South Africa

Tlou Maggie Masenya

To cite this article: Tlou Maggie Masenya (17 Jan 2024): Revitalization and Digital Preservation

of Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Development of Indigenous Communities in South Africa, The Serials Librarian, DOI: 10.1080/0361526X.2023.2277962

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2023.2277962

Published online: 17 Jan 2024.

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Revitalization and Digital Preservation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Development of Indigenous Communities

in South Africa

Tlou Maggie Masenya

Department of Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Berea, South Africa

ABSTRACT

South Africa has been regarded as one of the African countries with rich in

culture and repository of knowledge referred to as indigenous knowledge

This knowledge is a significant resource which could contribute to the

sustainability development of rural communities and society at large Given

that this valuable knowledge is irreplaceable, its promotion and protection is

critical Digital preservation has become a popular method for revitalization

and safeguarding indigenous knowledge in recent years The purpose of this

study was to determine how digital preservation can be used in enhancing

long-term access to indigenous knowledge for sustainable development of

indigenous communities in South Africa This study used literature review to

investigate strategies being established in South Africa and different parts of

the world to revitalize and digitally preserve indigenous knowledge for the

benefits of indigenous communities This study established that indigenous

knowledge owners and their communities do not have mechanisms and

policy being put in place for effective digital preservation of their indigenous

knowledge The study thus recommends that anticolonial strategies and

policy in the protection of indigenous knowledge systems be implemented

and be the subject of a real training and awareness raising programme for

community members.

KEYWORDS

Digital preservation; indigenous knowledge systems; indigenous knowledge owners; indigenous communities; revitalization; sustainable development

Introduction

It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems, and that this can only be found in African unity Divided we are weak: united, Africa is the greatest force for good in the world - Kwame Nkrumah

Indigenous knowledge is a regarded as Africa's identity and it provides basis for problem-solving approach for communities.1 It is used by communities as a basis for making decisions pertaining to food security, human and animal health, education, natural resources management, and other vital activities.2 Govender further described indigenous knowledge as the traditional, cultural, local and community knowledge produced and owned by local people in their specific communities and passed

on from generation to generation, through practice and oral channels.3 It has been accorded in literature review that, in this digital era, a large portion of indigenous knowledge in South African indigenous communities are still in tacit form and are still relying mostly on traditional methods of knowledge sharing such as word of mouth and community of practice For example, the traditional medicinal knowledge resides and stored within owners’ heads, and it is normally practiced in secret, and only shared among chosen individuals such as parent or relative Most of this valuable knowledge may thus get lost when knowledge owners die and this poses a threat of indigenous knowledge

CONTACT Tlou Maggie Masenya TlouM@dut.ac.za Department of Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Ritson Campus 22 Winterton Walk B Block, 2nd floor, East Wingx, Berea, Durban, South Africa

Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

becoming extinct.4 Fear of loss of this vital resource underscores a need to transmit or share and ensure long-term preservation of this knowledge for the use of the upcoming generations Stevens concur that there is a growing need to preserve indigenous knowledge, as indigenous communities around the world face ongoing threats to the survival of their traditional languages and cultures.5 However, the successful transmission or sharing of indigenous knowledge is dependent on com-munity elder's capability to pass on the knowledge before it diminishes There is also a Pedi proverb that says “Rutang bana ditaola le se ye natso badimong” and it is loosely translated to “Elders need to teach their children about their culture and customs while they are still alive.” It is thus incumbent on indigenous knowledge owners that they share their knowledge and wisdom with younger generations and community members while they are still on earth However, some of younger generations in African indigenous communities, particularly in South Africa has embraced western knowledge and civilisation although this knowledge has been transmitted from one generation to the other, and they see no relevance in indigenous knowledge.6

Twarog and Kapoor-Vijay further noted that youth in African rural communities no longer feel proud of their indigenous knowledge and way of life, considering this knowledge to be old-fashioned, and thus lack interest in sharing this knowledge with elders.7 As a result, elders no longer pass this knowledge on to their children and grandchildren, and this has created a generational gap in indigenous communities.8 A concern over the loss of indigenous knowledge and control and rights over their knowledge due to westernization, colonization and globalization has thus raised a pressing need to share and preserve this knowledge in digital formats United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s charter on the preservation of digital heritage also stated the purpose of preserving the digital heritage as to ensure that it remains accessible to the public.9 Therefore, if cultural heritage institutions, governments, indigenous knowledge owners, communities, and all related stakeholders do not act now, South Africa will lose this valuable knowledge and our times will be a new dark age in history Digital preservation aims at ensuring that indigenous knowledge remains accessible to user communities for a long period of time and for future genera-tions Digital preservation can be seen as all those processes aimed at ensuring the continuity of digital heritage materials for as long as they are needed.10 The question thus arises How can digital preservation methods, technologies and strategies or techniques be used to promote and preserve indigenous knowledge for sustainable development of indigenous communities in South Africa, so as

it remains accessible to upcoming generations over a long period of time? This study thus looked at the methods, technologies and strategies or techniques and adopted in different parts of the world to promote and preserve indigenous knowledge systems for the sustainable development of indigenous communities and for future generations

Problem statement

It has been accorded in literature review that vast amount of indigenous knowledge in South African indigenous communities is still in tacit knowledge As stated by Sithole, indigenous knowledge needs to be decolonized and be shared in ways that benefit indigenous owners and their communities.11 But what should indigenous knowledge owners and their communities in South Africa be doing to ensure long-term access to their indigenous knowledge systems? Fear of loss of this vital knowledge has, however, created an increasing need for the best practices and strategies in ensuring long-term preservation of indigenous knowledge systems in South African indigenous communities and the world over Msuya also emphasized that indigenous knowledge benefits be returned to knowledge owners and suggested measures that can be taken to alleviate the challenges including developing appropriate indigenous knowledge policies and practices.12 However, as noted by Masenya, there are only a few digital preservation projects or studies that have been devoted to digital preservation and development of policy and strategies to ensure long- term accessibility of indigenous knowledge in Africa, particularly in South Africa.13 Unfortunately,

it seems as if there are no best practices or strategies for long-term solutions and therefore none is

more pressing than developing strategies for revitalization and digital preservation of indigenous knowledge systems for the sustainable development of indigenous communities in South Africa There have not been studies that are specifically targeted on developing a framework for digital preservation of indigenous knowledge applicable to indigenous communities in South Africa The time is now to make the efforts needed to upgrade and sustain indigenous communities through safeguarding their indigenous knowledge systems This study thus proposed a conceptual digital preservation framework that will serve as a useful guide to indigenous knowledge owners and their communities as well as cultural heritage institutions entrusted in managing and preserving indigenous knowledge systems in South Africa The research objectives formulated for this study are to:

● Determine how indigenous knowledge is documented and digitally preserved for sustainable development of indigenous communities in South Africa

● Determine the factors affecting effective indigenous knowledge sharing in indigenous commu-nities in South Africa

● Determine the anticolonial strategies for recovery and revitalization of indigenous knowledge among indigenous knowledge communities

● Proposed a conceptual framework for digital preservation of indigenous knowledge applicable to indigenous communities in South Africa

Conceptual framework

Imenda described a conceptual framework as an end result of bringing together a number of related concepts to explain or predict a given event, or give a broader understanding of the phenomenon of interest or simply of a research problem.14 However, many researchers, including heritage manage-ment professionals, find developing and using theoretical and conceptual frameworks challenging because there is limited guidance in the extant literature.15 This study thus adopted a conceptual framework as it considers understanding key concepts or elements of theories and models as vital for

a successful conceptual framework applicable to indigenous communities in South Africa Epistemic liberation model and ubuntu-based approach and Digital Preservation Capability Maturity (DPCM) model have been adopted to guide this study

Epistemic liberation model and ubuntu-based approach

As noted by Masaka epistemic liberation is imperative for Africans to reclaim their status and respect

as competent creators of knowledge and it can be used as a form of resistance and a key for self- determination and rebuilding of indigenous nations.16 Santos described epistemicide as a term invented by the exclusion or elimination of indigenous knowledge systems at the expense of the imperious, domineering and colonial knowledge systems.17 Therefore, in order to reframe, rename and reclaim the research processes, African indigenous philosophies such as indigenous worldviews, Ubuntu philosophy, indigenous research methodologies, indigenous research paradigms and indi-genous languages are required,18 so that indigenous people have ownership over what they see as cultural identities, emancipate voices concealed in the shadows, and accept indigenous realities.19 Ubuntu is integral to epistemic liberation model as it is a philosophy that is centred around humanness It expresses the African philosophy of humanness or humanity, that a person is

a person through other people20 and involves both a good disposition towards others and describes the significance of group solidarity and interdependence in African culture Ubuntu emphasises shared values, including deeds of kindness, compassion, caring, sharing, solidarity, sympathy and generosity towards others.21 Ubuntu principles are thus part of the structure of rural societies, and these include respect, communalism, interdependence, support, solidarity, collaboration, care for others, empathy, support for the environment and involvement in the common good.22 Ubuntu

also guides scientists to be obliged to the welfare of others which appeared, among others, through regard, communalism, reasoning, compassion, reliability, liberality considering others and considera-tion for the good thing of all.23

Ntihirageza and Ibrahima proposed Ubuntu-based model of education, composed of three major processes that integrate knowledge systems, approaches and multiple languages, namely: decoloniza-tion, revalorizadecoloniza-tion, revitalization and construction and creation of culturally relevant knowledge Ntihirageza and Ibrahima described decolonization as a process of challenging and eliminating colonial vestiges, while acknowledging and integrating indigenous knowledge and practices in the system of education.24 Revalorization involves reassigning merit or value to the indigenous knowledge systems, while revitalization affords them fresh vitality.25 Construction and creation of culturally relevant knowledge entails acknowledging and integrating cultural heritage, language, experience, and values into the education system in the African education.26

Digital preservation capability maturity (DPCM) model

The Digital Preservation Capability Maturity (DPCM) model was used in this study as a guide to identify the components of digital preservation programmes and its capabilities This model organizes the digital preservation requirements of the ISO Standards into 15 components with metrics to assess maturity and it is regarded as the best practices in operational digital preservation repositories It enables organizations to assess the maturity of their software development process and identify key practices necessary to improve the capability of those processes while also help to identify, protect and provide access to long‐term and permanent digital assets.27 Digital preservation elements consist of three interdependent domains: digital preservation infrastructure (that includes policies, strategies, governance, collaboration, and technical expertise and designated community), trustworthy digital preservation repositories and digital preservation services (that include electronic records survey, ingest, archival storage, media/device renewal, integrity, security, preservation metadata and access).28 The DPCMM model also includes records producers (or donors) and users who seek access to indigenous knowledge or the contents of the digital preservation repository This model thus helped

in establishing the requirements and necessary elements for the development of a conceptual frame-work applicable to indigenous communities in South Africa Figure 1 illustrates the Digital Preservation Capability Maturity (DPCM) model by Carnegie Mellon University.29

However, not all the elements from the DPCM model were applied in this study The study focused only on digital preservation infrastructure (that includes policies, strategies, governance,

Figure 1 Digital preservation capability maturity (DPCM) model (Carnegie Mellon University).

collaboration, and technical expertise and designated community), trustworthy digital preservation repository and digital preservation services (ingest, storage, integrity, security, media renewal, pre-servation metadata and access), records producers and users to guide in the development of digital preservation framework in indigenous communities

Digital preservation infrastructure

Digital preservation infrastructure consists of seven infrastructure components which include policy, strategy, governance, collaboration, technical expertise, Open Standard Technology Neutral (OSTN), formats and designated community that are essential to ensure a sustained commitment.30 These components focus on what an indigenous knowledge communities and relevant stakeholders need to

do to enable a preservation repository to execute the appropriate digital preservation services or how

a trusted preservation repository executes services within the constraints of the organization's digital preservation infrastructure.31 Preservation repositories require the integration of people, processes and technologies while the most complete preservation environment is based on models and perfor-mance criteria which include ISO 16363, ISO 14721 etc.32 Digital preservation services consist of eight key business process areas needed for continuous monitoring of external and internal environments in order to plan and take actions to sustain the integrity, security, usability and accessibility of indigenous knowledge stored digitally in trustworthy preservation repositories.33 All these digital preservation services focus on a range of actions required to ingest and sustain long-term access to indigenous knowledge.34

Relevance of the digital preservation capability maturity (DPCM) model to this study

The following are some of the key elements from the DPCM model and their relevance to this study, namely, governance, collaboration, technical expertise, designated community and security

Governance

Gartner defines governance as the specification of decision rights and an accountability framework to encourage desirable behavior in the valuation, creation, storage, use, archival and deletion of information.35 An organization or indigenous community with a digital preservation mandate should have a formal decision‐making process aligned to its enterprise information governance framework that assigns accountability and authority for digital preservation of indigenous knowledge with permanent value, and articulates approaches and practices for preservation repositories sufficient to meet stakeholder needs.36 Governance framework includes the processes, roles, standards and metrics that ensure the effective and efficient use of indigenous knowledge in enabling indigenous commu-nities to achieve their goals It enables compliance of the preservation repository with applicable laws, regulations and standards

Collaboration

As mentioned by Dollar and Ashley, an organization with a mandate to preserve digital records is well served by maintaining and promoting collaboration among its many stakeholders.37 Memory institu-tions (Library, Archives and Museum) (LAM), indigenous communities and other relevant stake-holders needs to build collaboration and partnerships with other organizations or communities to advance digital preservation work and take advantage of resources in the larger organizations or communities with necessary expertise Council of Canadian Academies further noted collaboration may allow other institutions and organizations to become involved in exciting activities that enhance their visibility and to undertake large projects that they could not otherwise resource on their own.38 The collaborative initiative thus helps to leverage financial, human and technical resources, promote

stewardship and sharing of indigenous knowledge Council of Canadian Academies’ framework also identified the external opportunities for realizing the digital age as participatory opportunities and collaborative opportunities.39 The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) also encourages communities to collaborate with other cultural and scientific heritage institutions to provide rich and diverse digital resources that support education and research, tourism and the creative industries.40 Collaboration initiatives are thus essential as they will provide an opportunity for indigenous communities to increase their exposure by promoting their indigenous knowledge and also assist in developing and maintaining relationships between these communities and various institutions

Technical expertise

Digital preservation is an evolving field that requires a great deal of knowledge and technical expertise For an efficient digital preservation practices, indigenous communities and relevant stakeholders should have competent knowledge professionals or managers that have knowledge, skills and technical expertise in digital preservation Anunobi and Okoye also noted that resources today occur in hybridized form (print and electronic) and therefore services provided and skills possessed by professionals in knowledge organizations should reflect this trend.41 A viable digital preservation capability also requires organizations to have sufficient technical expertise in knowledge management and digital preservation to support all of the infrastructure and requisite key processes However, technical expertise may exist within internal or may be provided by external service providers.42 The Society of American Archivists (SAA) identified core competencies that knowledge professionals or managers should have including the ability to formulate the strategies needed to best organize and preserve digital collections or records, and to integrate technologies, tools, and systems for preserving and providing access to digital collections or records.43

Designated community

The organization that has responsibility for preservation and access to permanent electronic records is well served through proactive outreach and engagement with its designated community of records producers and users.44 For proper implementation of effective digital preservation programmes, academic institutions should thus engage with designated communities and users who will assist in understanding their needs and implement the programmes according to these needs As observed by the Council of Canadian Academies, LAM institutions are working to establish meaningful relation-ships with a diverse set of designated communities by encouraging a participatory culture, contribu-tions from the public range from simple tagging activities to sharing of historical or indigenous knowledge as well as to design of software by expert volunteers.45

Security

Although digital or institutional repositories and archives containing digital records are useful to institutions and user communities, however they can pose a threat if proper security protections are not put in place As observed by Dollar and Ashley, digital preservation requires processes that restrict access to the physical repository where digital content is stored, ensure the security of digital records through techniques that block unauthorized access, protect the confidentiality and privacy of digital records and intellectual property rights, support periodic backup of digital records that are stored at offsite storage repositories, and support disaster recovery and business continuity.46 An effective digital preservation system should thus include and apply controls on access to ensure that the integrity of records is not compromised Copyright issues should be well managed, and therefore indigenous communities, memory institutions and cultural heritage institutions must identify all

content that is part of the digital preservation project and the content that may need copyrights permission

Research methodology

The article critically reviewed literature in order to investigate the promotion and preservation of indigenous knowledge systems in indigenous communities in South Africa, with a view to propose

a framework for digital preservation of indigenous knowledge applicable to these communities This study thus employed the qualitative research approach grounded on document analysis of literature Document analysis has also been used as a stand-alone research method although it has served mostly

as a complement to other research methods and there are some specialised forms of qualitative research that rely solely on content analysis.47 Document analysis was used in analysing various qualitative data such as those collected during unstructured or semi-structured interviews or web- based documentary research This implies that the study relied on the secondary sources in drawing the conclusions and providing recommendations to the study

For this current study, document analysis was thus introduced and applied for reviewing literature following the guidelines of 5-stage scoping review framework.48 Stage 1 includes the identification of the key elements that are the focus of the topic or research objectives under investigation Therefore, each source and literature item were selected based on fulfilling the following search criteria: “digital preservation AND indigenous knowledge systems,” “promotion of indigenous knowledge,” “antic-olonial strategies AND indigenous knowledge,” indigenous knowledge OR indigenous knowledge systems,” “documentation of indigenous knowledge initiatives.”

In stage 2, the retrieved articles were screened for the study selection according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria whereby the first round was focusing on titles and abstracts and in the second round the full text of the selected articles was screened to determine if they met the outlined criteria and to delete duplicates Literature review on promotion and digital preservation of indigenous knowledge in major databases such as EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect, Springer, Sage and Google Scholar were con-ducted to ensure inclusion of all relevant studies in the content analysis Databases such as EBSCOhost allow the use of complex search strings and filters which makes it easy to apply complex selection criteria and it is, therefore, considered a suitable choice for systematic literature reviews.49 Stage 3 involves the identification and selection of documents on the basis of their usefulness and relevance to the study However, the study made a more focused search on digital preservation of indigenous knowledge as it is regarded as popular modern method to ensure long-term access to this vital knowledge, in this digital era characterized by globalization and digital knowledge economy In stage 4, the researcher firstly, read the title and the abstract of generated articles and removed all the duplicates, which considerably reduced the sample size and the full-text articles that met the inclusion criteria were further reviewed in second round, using the thematic analysis technique to systematically analyse the qualitative data or text extracted directly from previous studies.50 This method involves examining, synthesizing and interpreting the data by sorting the extracted data according to the key research objectives on the topic under investigation In Stage 5, collected and extracted data from included articles was summarized, charted and reported to provide and develop contextual meaningful understanding of issues under investigation The coding process was research objectives driven and all codes were reviewed and collated to generate potential themes relevant to the research objectives The findings were organized into two broad themes: the factors affecting the effective sharing and digital preservation of indigenous knowledge systems in indigenous commu-nities and anticolonial strategies for recovery and promotion of indigenous knowledge systems

Inclusion/exclusion criteria

The inclusion criteria aim to identify studies that provide direct evidence about the research question.51 The types of studies considered for inclusion in the scoping review included all qualitative,

quantitative and mixed method studies relevant to the study and only journal articles were included in the literature review, and the editorials and book reviews were excluded from the current study as they

do not include original research Peer-reviewed journal articles represent a major mode of commu-nication among researchers and they are therefore taken as unit of analysis The selection criteria include empirical studies, published in a peer-reviewed journal and focused on promotion and digital preservation of indigenous knowledge systems Although many articles related to the study were retrieved, however some of the articles were removed after thorough reading of all the articles, mainly due to lack of quality or because of their irrelevance to the topic of interest and research objectives

Findings from literature review

The findings are presented under the following themes, based on research objectives of the study: documentation and digital preservation of indigenous knowledge for sustainable development of indigenous communities; factors affecting effective indigenous knowledge sharing in indigenous communities and anticolonial strategies for recovery and promotion of indigenous knowledge in indigenous communities

Documentation and digital preservation of indigenous knowledge for sustainable development of indigenous communities

Indigenous knowledge was developed over centuries by our forefathers, and it is passed orally from generation to generation Utilization of indigenous knowledge thus helps in the sustainability devel-opment of indigenous communities, and its integration process provides for mutual learning and adaptation which in turn contributes to the empowerment of indigenous communities Sustainability refers to a process of using natural resources that aims to meet the need of future generation as well as the present, establishing an acceptable balance between socioeconomic development and environ-mental protection.52 The notion of sustainability involves rethinking development to integrate envir-onmental, economic, social and cultural goals.53 This includes economic empowerment through integration, social transformation, wealth generation for indigenous knowledge owners and health benefits for the broader societies Sustainable development must thus foster protection and rehabilita-tion of ecological systems, improve economic efficiency and enhance the well-being and cultural diversity of the population

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) also aimed at strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage made by organizations in the private sector and public authorities at local and national levels.54 As noted by Segger and Phillips the indigenous knowledge-based applications ensure the sustainable use and management of natural resources, protection of the natural environment and strengthen the resilience of local people even in changed and complex circumstances.55 Therefore, in order to achieve sustainability, leaders of a community or society must create and foster knowledge sharing platforms and communities of practice.56 However, indigenous knowledge or traditional wisdom is disappearing rapidly due to the pressure of indus-trialization, modernization and cultural homogenization, dominated by the Western-Euro-centric worldview As noted by Magni, this homogenization threatens the lifestyles, practices and cultures of indigenous communities, and they are thus facing challenges to maintain their rights and traditions.57 Although indigenous knowledge was proven to be a perfect scaffold to sustainable development connecting the past, the present and the future, however, vast amount of this vital knowledge is still found in a tacit form and it is passed down from one generation to another usually by word of mouth and cultural rituals Indigenous knowledge owners and their communities around the world are still struggling with how to preserve this tacit knowledge due to lack of knowledge sharing and digital preservation strategies in place.58 It is also at escalating rate of deterioration due to continuing lack of interest in knowledge sharing among young people in African countries, particularly in South Africa This irreplaceable knowledge is thus at risk of being extinct for future generations as most of

indigenous communities in Africa, particularly South Africa had no means of preserving and doc-umenting it Cultural heritage institutions, decision makers and other relevant stakeholders also neglect this source of knowledge that can be the basis for developing innovative, practical and action- oriented approaches to sustainable development of indigenous communities Indigenous knowledge thus needs to be protected, leveraged with modern technologies and digitally preserved for the benefits

of indigenous communities and to ensure long-term access Digital preservation and valorisation of cultural heritage have thus become a powerful instrument in the economic and territorial development

of a community while also contributes to strengthening the local populations’ pride, dignity and feeling of belonging, not to mention the job creation and revenue-making opportunities it offers them.59 Academics and indigenous researchers worldwide have also advocated for digital preservation

of indigenous knowledge as important for recovery, safeguarding and sustainable development of indigenous communities

The development of policy and support programmes provided by government in the protection of indigenous knowledge systems are also important in the protection of indigenous knowledge system and they need to be well understood by indigenous communities.60 A review of literature on indigenous knowledge practices also shows that there is no specific agreed model or framework on digital preservation of indigenous knowledge systems applicable to South African indigenous com-munities Masenya further noted that there are also no preservation standard identifies explicit performance metrics to assess the current digital preservation capabilities of indigenous knowledge repositories in cultural heritage institutions or memory institutions (Libraries, Archives and Museums) in South Africa.61 Therefore, new models, framework and policies are needed to cope with the challenges associated with safeguarding indigenous knowledge systems

Factors affecting effective indigenous knowledge sharing among indigenous

communities

Although tacit knowledge can be shared and transferred to other people, however, indigenous knowl-edge owners are not always willing to share it with people from outside their communities.62 One of the major reasons why indigenous knowledge has become threatened lie embedded in the crux of the colonial infrastructure This infrastructure will continue to undermine efforts to strengthen indigen-ous knowledge systems and to harm the agenda of decolonization and self-determination, unless it is properly dismantled and accounted for.63 The common ways of sharing knowledge (i.e oral traditions, storytelling, etc.) from the sender to the recipient are also based on an old-fashioned transmission model Knowledge sharing also fails in indigenous communities because they tend to change their cultures to suit Western worldviews Nadason, et al identified individual and organizational barriers

to knowledge sharing.64

● Individual barriers: include fear, lack of time, low level of awareness, selfishness, lack of

interpersonal skills and poor communication

● Organizational barriers: include lack of rewards, organizational culture, inadequate

infrastruc-ture, insufficient funding, lack of organizational resources, lack of training on the use of knowl-edge management systems and lack of technical support

Other challenges to effective knowledge sharing include conflicts within families, complexity of ownership protocols, some of the indigenous knowledge owners share it with close family members before they die or perish or are requiring payment to share their knowledge and unreliability of technology due to constantly changing software and hardware.65 The traditional medicinal knowledge

is practiced in secrecy and any attempts made towards invasion of this secrecy was fined to prevent efforts to stealing this knowledge This knowledge is only shared by traditional medicinal knowledge owners with many years of experience in verbal form, whereby they stay with trainees until the duration of their training.66 The owners of this knowledge are reluctant to share their drug sources,