Indigenous knowledge is an under-valued and largely ignored system of place-based information. The nature of indigenous knowledge places it at threat of disappearance, just as is the case with local languages, crafts and artisanship.

The Indigenous Knowledge Portal (IKP) was created by KTK-BELT and its Learning Grounds partners in 2016 to attempt to capture, display, celebrate and conserve the incredibly intricate array of local knowledge held by farmers from all walks of life in the KTK-BELT landscape.

It was also an attempt to portray the kinds of knowledge that have helped millions of farmers adapt to climate change and exist ‘off the grid’ without pharmaceutical medicines and without marketplace products for generations. It is the kind of locally produced and perpetuated knowledge system that represents true resilience.

With training support by Rajan Shrestha, local youth learned how to shoot videos, edit footage and compile the first 15 Indigenous Knowledge videos where local farmers discuss the myriad medicinal and other uses of local plants such as aloe vera and basil. The farmers also tell stories from their own personal histories and narratives about the role these plants have held in their own survival.