Approaches in documenting ethnoveterinary practices

Abstract

The paper explores some of the relevant approaches for documenting ethno veterinary practices followed by livestock owners, ethnoveterinarians, traditional healers, <i style="">Vaids</i>, etc. in Indian livestock production system. Case study method, focus group approach, participant observation, survey, key informants, field observation, preference ranking and inventory of farmer’s indicators, conducting village level workshops/meeting and group discussion, use of media for communication and networking in ethno-knowledge, in different agroclimatic, socio-cultural zones, publication of newsletter in English, Hindi &amp; other local languages to link farmers of different states, touring in interior regions/tribal areas and remote villages, gender-based participatory discussion in small homogenous groups separately with males and females,<i style=""> </i>etc. are some of the suitable techniques and guidelines have been discussed for eliciting and documenting the knowledge from people.

The study also discusses some of the methods of short listing the documented practices for ultimate scientific validation in order to develop a sustainable, economically viable and ecofriendly system of animal treatment. This paper attempts to draw attention to the research, development and the extension workers to take due cognizance of the knowledge possessed by them their contribution and potential, competencies and capabilities to explore fully for deriving real benefits for the animal sector.