Collaborative Research

Hello again,
Pena sent out an email on the applications of environmental anthropology today, I hope everyone got a chance to read it. The study was a collaborative study between him and Joe Gallegos who is a farmer and activist. This study focused on how (TEK) or traditional knowledge can in most cases be more accurate than that information from so called "experts" or scientist brought in to study something, such as the how mining was going to affect the watershed of acequia. This piece showed the importance of collaborative research between the researcher and the local people, and how it can benefit both parties when done right. When researchers come in and use the local knowledge wrong or in a way that upsets the native people this can cause conflict and reason for the native people to not want to share their knowledge with the outside world. The title of this study is called Local Knowlegde and Collaborative Environmental Action Research. Check it out!
Kassie McCann