In an earlier post, I promised to write about Jeff Bentley ’s guidelines for “hanging out” to get the most from farmers’ local knowledge. In 1999, Jeff presented these in a training course on ethnoscience techniques that we organized in Suphan Buri, Thailand. Here’s Bentley’s list for eliciting folk knowledge:

  • There is knowledge associated with each concept.
  • Do not ask leading questions; questions that suggest the answers.
  • Do not preach. Preaching is the number one cause of silence.
  • Share some information with local people, especially if they ask a direct question, of it is natural to slip in a comment.
  • Use interviews, group interviews preferred.
  • Listen to people without interrupting, just listen.
  • Do not make fun of people.
  • Hang out.
  • Have rapport and patience.
  • Use short questionnaires.

Sharing a meal with farmers in Central Java

To Bentley’s list, let me add these few tips to remember:

  • Keep an open mind and listen more. Do not push your own agenda (e.g. a special “tool” or concept you have developed which you think will solve farmers’ problems).
  • Make the farmers feel that you are truly interested in learning about what they think and do with regard to the topic at hand.
  • Be conversational. The field interview is some sort of directed story telling where you probe and pursue issues that come during the conversation.
  • Empathize – try to be on equal footing with farmers in order to establish rapport and build trust.
  • Although you may have more expertise, never engage the farmers in a debate nor pass judgment on their views or practices.
  • Always remember your objective in talking to the farmers – to learn what they are doing, find out their problems, identify the root cause, and perhaps explore how your “tool” could find a way into their crop management and decision-making.
  • Avoid questions that yield yes/no answers.

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