| Summary: | This thesis investigates the traditional knowledge of Banyankore (with référence to the Baganda) banana farmers in the village of Oruruko in the district of Bushenyi, Uganda. It explores the sociocultural, économie and political atmosphère and environment that thèse farmers dwell in and how the latter have an impact on their livelihood stratégies. Despite suffocating poverty, thèse people survive and prosper utilizing their own unique diverse knowledge of the banana plant. This thesis illustrâtes the multiple Banyankore cultural uses and beliefs of and about bananas, and how they and the banana plays a critical rôle in village society and the family. This work is also presented as a critique of development initiatives that undermine local Banyankore knowledge in favour of Western science as the only source of proper knowledge in orderthat greater poverty alleviation measures can be innovated. The Banyankore people, like ail other peoples, possess their own unique local knowledge that is highly specialized and critically important to their local area. Through this work, I have attempted to capture a glimpse of the wealth and importance of this knowledge banana farmers possess. Lastly, but most importantly, I have tried to understand and learn from Banyankore so that through my work, I would have the honour of telling at least a fragment of their story. Nevertheless, even after three years in Uganda, the more I learned, the less I learned I knew.
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