Natural Sciences and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Rural Development

This book takes a closer look at the triplet challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and social inequality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which is officially regarded as one of the poorest of the nine provinces of the country. The book traces the origins of these challenges back to the onset of the colonial conquest period of the Region by the European settlers towards the end of the 18th century. A total of 9 wars of land dispossession over a period of 100 years were fought between the indigenous population and the colonial settlers in the Region. Further alienation and marginalisation of the indigenous population from the land by the Apartheid South African State of the 20th century resulted in the 3 socio-economic indicators stated above. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, the text recommends rural development strategies based on commercial and indigenous Agricultural crop production to address the prevailing food crisis and health issues using the natural resources at the disposal of the poor rural communities.