Catalysing innovation in culturally conservative communities

People who work with shifting cultivators are often struck by their dedication to traditional ways. This cultural conservatism often expresses itself as resistance to technological change, even when the old ways of swidden livelihood are no longer sustainable and some kind of adaptive change is necessary. The nature of this resistance must be understood if these communities are to be helped. Anthropologists see cultural conservatism as a community's way of defending itself against disruptive change. They do this to preserve the core values of their cultural identity and avoid the risks they believe change brings. External factors such as uncertainty about the right to use resources, hostile government policies, feelings of cultural inferiority or military oppression can undermine self-confidence and make people less open to change. Development catalysts not only facilitate local access to potentially useful information from within and outside a local system, they can also help get information across the barriers presented by automatic defense mechanisms and ensure that the local community is able to assess it in a fair and well-informed way. Overcoming cultural conservatism takes time. This may partially explain why shifting cultivators continue with often contra-productive farming practices. However, once the process of cultural adaptation has gone through the first cycle of innovation, the innovation process may become much easier. The ultimate value of this approach is not what is learned about any specific innovation. It is rather that the community is exposed to the experience of learning how to deal with new information and to innovate within their land use system so they can survive in a rapidly changing world.