Papers by Ajmal K H A N Manduzai
Sustainability
The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an importa... more The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an important one in environmental studies, especially in order to understand how human societies rearrange their practices linked to nature and how they adapt to new socioecological systems. This paper addresses the complexity of Traditional/Local Environmental Knowledge (LEK) changes associated to wild vegetables and herbs across four different groups of Afghan refugees living in Mansehra District, NW Pakistan, since 1985. Via interviews with eighty study participants, forty-eight wild vegetables and herbs were recorded, representing both the past and present wild plant gastronomic heritage. The majority of the quoted wild plant ingredients were only remembered and no longer actively used, thus suggesting an important erosion of LEK. Moreover, the number of wild vegetables and herbs currently used by Afghan Pashtuns engaged in farming activities is much higher than those reported by the other gro...
Environment, Development and Sustainability
Current debate highlights that sustainable food systems can be fostered by the cautious and germa... more Current debate highlights that sustainable food systems can be fostered by the cautious and germane use of natural resources. Gathering, cooking, and consuming wild food plants that are widely available in a given environment are traditional practices that in many parts of the world have historically been crucial for effecting the food security and food sovereignty of local communities. In the current study, we analyzed the traditional foraging patterns of Armenians, Pontic Greeks, Molokans, and Yazidis living in a mountainous area of central Armenia; via 64 semi-structured interviews, 66 wild food folk taxa were recorded and identified. While Armenians and Greeks gather a remarkable number of wild food plants (36 and 31, respectively) and share approximately half of them, Molokans and, more remarkable, Yazidis gather less wild food plants (24 and 17, respectively) and share only a few plants with Armenians. This may be due not only to the fact that the latter ethno-religious groups have followed endogamic marriage patterns for centuries, which may have limited the exchange of plant knowledge and practices with their Armenian neighbors, but also to the difficult adaptation to a new environment that Yazidis experienced after moving from Eastern Anatolia and the Nineveh Plains to the study area around a century ago. The traditional practice of gathering wild plants for food is, however, still vividly alive among locals in central Armenia and at least a part of this bio-cultural heritage could represent one of the future pillars of local sustainable food systems and platforms.
Sustainability, Feb 1, 2021
The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an importa... more The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an important one in environmental studies, especially in order to understand how human societies rearrange their practices linked to nature and how they adapt to new socioecological systems. This paper addresses the complexity of Traditional/Local Environmental Knowledge (LEK) changes associated to wild vegetables and herbs across four different groups of Afghan refugees living in Mansehra District, NW Pakistan, since 1985. Via interviews with eighty study participants, forty eight wild vegetables and herbs were recorded, representing both the past and present wild plant gastronomic heritage. The majority of the quoted wild plant ingredients were only remembered and no longer actively used, thus suggesting an important erosion of LEK. Moreover, the number of wild vegetables and herbs currently used by Afghan Pashtuns engaged in farming activities is much higher than those reported by the other gro...
The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an importa... more The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an important one in environmental studies, especially in order to understand how human societies rearrange their practices linked to nature and how they adapt to new socioecological systems. This paper addresses the complexity of Traditional/Local Environmental Knowledge (LEK) changes associated to wild vegetables and herbs across four different groups of Afghan refugees living in Mansehra District, NW Pakistan, since 1985. Via interviews with eighty study participants, forty-eight wild vegetables and herbs were recorded, representing both the past and present wild plant gastronomic heritage. The majority of the quoted wild plant ingredients were only remembered and no longer actively used, thus suggesting an important erosion of LEK. Moreover, the number of wild vegetables and herbs currently used by Afghan Pashtuns engaged in farming activities is much higher than those reported by the other groups. The findings indicate that practiced LEK, i.e., knowledge that is continuously kept alive via constant contact with the natural environment, is essential for the resilience of the biocultural heritage, which is, however, also influenced by the rearrangement of social life adopted by refugees after relocation. Citation: Manduzai, A.K.; Abbasi, A.M.; Khan, S.M.; Abdullah, A.; Prakofjewa, J.; Amini, M.H.; Amjad, M.S.; Cianfaglione, K.; Fontefrancesco, M.F.; Soukand, R.; Pieroni, A. The Importance of Keeping Alive Sustainable Foraging Practices: Wild Vegetables and Herbs Gathered by Afghan Refugees Living in Mansehra District, Pakistan. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1500. https://doi.
Current debate highlights that sustainable food systems can be fostered by the cautious and germa... more Current debate highlights that sustainable food systems can be fostered by the cautious and germane use of natural resources. Gathering, cooking, and consuming wild food plants that are widely available in a given environment are traditional practices that in many parts of the world have historically been crucial for effecting the food security and food sovereignty of local communities. In the current study, we analyzed the traditional foraging patterns of Armenians, Pontic Greeks, Molokans, and Yazidis living in a mountainous area of central Armenia; via 64 semi-structured interviews, 66 wild food folk taxa were recorded and identified. While Armenians and Greeks gather a remarkable number of wild food plants (36 and 31, respectively) and share approximately half of them, Molokans and, more remarkable, Yazidis gather less wild food plants (24 and 17, respectively) and share only a few plants with Armenians. This may be due not only to the fact that the latter ethno-religious groups have followed endogamic marriage patterns for centuries, which may have limited the exchange of plant knowledge and practices with their Armenian neighbors, but also to the difficult adaptation to a new environment that Yazidis experienced after moving from Eastern Anatolia and the Nineveh Plains to the study area around a century ago. The traditional practice of gathering wild plants for food is, however, still vividly alive among locals in central Armenia and at least a part of this bio-cultural heritage could represent one of the future pillars of local sustainable food systems and platforms.
Articles by Ajmal K H A N Manduzai
Sustainability, 2021
The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an importa... more The issue of foraging for wild food plants among migrants and relocated communities is an important one in environmental studies, especially in order to understand how human societies rearrange their practices linked to nature and how they adapt to new socioecological systems. This paper addresses the complexity of Traditional/Local Environmental Knowledge (LEK) changes associated to wild vegetables and herbs across four different groups of Afghan refugees living in Mansehra District, NW Pakistan, since 1985. Via interviews with eighty study participants, forty-eight wild vegetables and herbs were recorded, representing both the past and present wild plant gastronomic heritage. The majority of the quoted wild plant ingredients were only remembered and no longer actively used, thus suggesting an important erosion of LEK. Moreover, the number of wild vegetables and herbs currently used by Afghan Pashtuns engaged in farming activities is much higher than those reported by the other groups. The findings indicate that practiced LEK, i.e., knowledge that is continuously kept alive via constant contact with the natural environment, is essential for the resilience of the biocultural heritage, which is, however, also influenced by the rearrangement of social life adopted by refugees after relocation.
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Papers by Ajmal K H A N Manduzai
Articles by Ajmal K H A N Manduzai