Indigenous ways of knowing for disaster preparedness in Indonesia

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the role of design in facilitating the integration of local, traditional, and indigenous ways of knowing and practices into the disaster preparedness framework and strategy in Indonesia. The communities residing on the slopes of Mount Merapi, an active volcano on the island of Java, provide the focus for the research context. The research questions explore how indigenous knowledge has been sustained over the centuries within the community and how indigenous ways of knowing and practices can inform disaster preparedness programs.

Qualitative data was collected through mixed methods such as semi-structured interviews, visual ethnography, and thematic analysis. The data are supported by two rounds of literature review - the first to understand the problem space and identify the gap in implementing indigenous knowledge into disaster preparedness frameworks. The second round reviewed contextual literature on the people, the place, and their preparedness practices. The unique sub-culture of disaster and risk among the Merapi people was discovered to be worthy of study.

The key findings highlight the presence of indigenous ways of thinking among the people of the Merapi community. Using indigenous research paradigm, analysis reveals how indigenous knowledge is deeply rooted and informs community perspectives on disaster preparedness. The significance of this research lies in its empirical validation of the 5 Minds - conceptual thinking tools developed by Indigenous scholar Tyson Yunkaporta (2009; 2019) to provide a cultural interface (Nakata, 2007) between indigenous ways of knowing and Western science, particularly the discipline of disaster science and social volcanology (Donovan, 2009; Donovan et al., 2010).

Thereby, the thesis contributes to the field of design and disaster preparedness. It provides valuable insights for designers and researchers seeking to engage with indigenous knowledge in their projects, offering potential protocols and sensitizing tools for disaster risk reduction (DRR). Furthermore, this research has implications for interdisciplinary collaboration, encouraging researchers from various disciplines to approach the topic of indigenous knowledge and disaster preparedness from a more holistic perspective.