How indigenous knowledge can help farmers survive water scarcity
This piece explores how indigenous knowledge systems can assist farmers in managing water scarcity. It advocates for a shift in perspective, moving from viewing water as an economic utility to recognizing its spiritual and cultural personhood.
Why it matters
Integrating traditional ecological knowledge with modern farming practices is increasingly seen as a vital strategy for climate change adaptation.
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<p><strong>Water is at the heart of livelihoods, farming, and food production. When it becomes scarce, the effects stretch far beyond dry taps and struggling crops; it also places human dignity, sanitation and health under severe pressure.</strong></p>
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<p>For Mzansi, the challenge is bigger than simply harvesting more water; it is about protecting the water we have and keeping it flowing. </p>
<p>Tauriq Jenkins, high commissioner of the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Traditional Indigenous Council and Save Our Sacred Lands, shared with <em>Food For Mzansi</em> what history can teach us about water, power, and survival.</p>
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<h4 id="h-vateka-halile-beyond-resource-management-what-shifts-when-we-assign-personhood-to-water-rather-than-treating-it-merely-as-an-economic-utility" class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Vateka Halile:</strong> <strong>Beyond resource management, what shifts when we assign ‘personhood’ to water rather than treating it merely as an economic utility?</strong></h4>
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