ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First, I would like to express my sincere thanks to sir Kamal Dawadi, Global
Educational Academy, Jhapa, Nepal for providing this golden opportunity and
special platform to do this wonderful project.
I am heartily thankful to all the respected lecturers, lab assistants and librarians
of Global Educational Academy for their constant support during our study period
and also like to my parents and friends who helped me a lot in finishing this
project within the limited time
Thank you to all who helped me.

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 Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 5
1.1 Background of the study .................................................................................................. 5
1.3 Objectives of the study..................................................................................................... 7
1.4 Limitations of the study ................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 2: MATERIALS AND METHODS ....................................................................... 8
2.1 Materials .......................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 Methods............................................................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER 3: RESULT AND FINDINGS ................................................................................ 9
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 10

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 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The constant obligation for both economic

and physical growth and survival has
proven to be a great motivating force for
technological advancements.
Understanding “indigenous technology”
begins with defining indigenous. The
possible definitions are many. The term is
used in reference to plants, animals, or
people that naturally belong to a particular
place. It can be defined as “native,” as in
something not introduced directly or
indirectly according to historical record or
scientific analysis into a particular land or
region or environment from the
outside. Indigenous is associated with
people originating or developing naturally
in a particular land, region, or
Figure 1: Pani Ghatta (Water Mill)
environment. Indigenous is a term
used to describe
people who are the original inhabitants of a particular geographical area.
Technology is the sum of any techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in
the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such
as scientific investigation. Technology can be the knowledge of techniques,
processes, and the like, or it can be embedded in machines to allow for operation
without detailed knowledge of their workings. Combined, indigenous technology
refers to the production of materials or goods by the people within a community.
It is the custom or homemade tools available in a society at a particular time
whose usage eases the workload of the inhabitants.
The indigenous technology in the state has brought forth the production of wine
locally, making paper, wood carving, water mill and mat making etc. No effective
indigenous technology program can exist without a good knowledge of sciences
in general and physics in particular. The application of physics and its principles
in the development of our indigenous technologies will help in the productions of
more valuable goods that conform to modern standards.

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1.2 Literature Review

Indigenous practices provide invaluable knowledge and aid in making best use of
natural resources in watershed management. In the modern days of technological
advancement, this knowledge is often forgotten or neglected. In Nepal some
efforts are undertaken in a systematic way to understand the scientific basis of
this knowledge. It is recommended that this documentation of Indigenous
Technical Knowledge (ITK) should be included in the curricula of environment
and sustainable development as a cross-cutting issue. Understanding of ITK, their
advantages and disadvantages, will help further strengthen the existing
knowledge of professionals in this field. In this paper ITK from Water Resource
Management, Soil fertility Management, Indigenous Knowledge on Biodiversity
and Forest Management, Indigenous Knowledge on Pest Management,
Biofencing, agricultural tools and implements, and traditional beliefs are
documented primarily from Kavre, Dhading, Kaski, Baglung and Syanga districts
of Nepal.

The Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSPs) have also been
proven to contribute to the sustainability and productivity of many ecosystems,
examples of which include the rice terraces and imuyung (private woodlot of the
Ifugao), the traditional biodiverse swidden of the Hanunuo, the fish conservation
practices of the Dumagat, and the traditional herbal medicines of many Filipino
ethnic communities. Undoubtedly, the indigenous people’s communities have
made courageous efforts to protect their IKSPs, but with the rapid development
around them and subsequent massive degradation of natural resources, those
efforts are not enough. Their local initiatives need to be recognized, enhanced and
supported by the government.

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1.3 Objectives of the study

• To study the application of laws and principle of physics in indigenous

technology.
• To determine the effect of physics in the development of indigenous
technology.
• To study the effect of physics in the production of water mill (pani
ghatta).
• To study the working principle of indigenous technology.
• To understand that physics is the foundation on which technology is built.

1.4 Limitations of the study

• Unable to do any practical study about the indigenous technologies.

• Information mainly based on internet sources.
• Site visit, like observing any indigenous tool, wasn't possible due to
COVID-19 pandemic.
• Quality of surveys is questionable because of different hypotheses about
origin, uses and working principle.
• Extinction of different indigenous technology limits our research on
different bases.

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 CHAPTER 2: MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Materials

I took the help from various internet sources. I went on my laptop and visited
various sites online and deeply studied the topics to prepare this report. I also read
various articles, books and journals. At the end of the day, the report was finally
completed and I am quite content with how it turned out.

2.2 Methods

This project needed a lot of focus and concentration because of the current
situation. I wasn’t able to do any field or practical study for this project. So, I had
to depend on the internet as my primary source. I also used journals and books as
my secondary source of data. Numerous reports were reviewed for data
generation. Similarly, the internet was used for data collection and trends of
declining use of these technologies.
I also consulted various scholars and professors online about how they used these
indigenous technologies. Created some online polls for people’s opinion. I
compiled all the collected data and finding and then finally prepared this report.

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 CHAPTER 3: RESULT AND FINDINGS

Through detailed study of some of the

indigenous technologies, I found out that there
is no efficient or effective use of laws of
physics in production of indigenous
technologies, though there is application of
laws and can be observed significantly. Pani
ghatta(water mill) which works on the
principle somewhat same like today's
hydropower plant where the turbine is rotated
by water which in turns rotates the bigger Figure 2: Pani Ghtta
wheel mounted on smaller wheel. A turbine
converts the kinetic energy of falling water into mechanical energy. Then a
generator converts the mechanical energy from the turbine into electrical energy .
This shows the relationship between today's hydropower plants and traditional
Pani ghattas.
• The working principle of traditional technologies like plough, jaanto and
dhiki don't encompass high standard physics. They are like simple
machines used for daily life.
• Indigenous people with their decades of personal experience combined
with vast knowledge of the environment have formulated today's modern
physics.
• Indigenous technology is simple and practical which links the people,
environment and science together.

Indigenous technologies are mother of today's complex physics which used

simple laws of modern physics to utilize resources in local region.

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 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION

Indigenous knowledge is the practice of doing some specific works traditionally

in any community, which is acquired over generation by communities. In
indigenous technology, communities utilize their local knowledge and resources.
Their modifications and improvements have made complex machineries possible
in decades. They must be preserved and protected as they are depicter of ancient
ways of scientific application. They have helped in the field of development and
also to utilize our time and effort.
Pani ghatta(water mill) is one of the important indigenous technologies in
Nepalese community. It is clean and applicable technology for grinding at local
level where there is no access to electricity. Nowadays, due to the surge in modern
technologies, traditional technologies like Ghattas are on the verge of extinction.
Countries like ours where there is no sufficient electricity, Ghattas can be of great
use, if upgrade them with improved technologies.

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 CHAPTER 5: REFRENCES

To prepare this project work, I have taken the references from the following as
listed:
1. Internet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_knowledge
2. Internet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology
3. Internet https://www.eionet.europa.eu/gemet/en/concept/4205
4. Internet
https://tribhuvan.academia.edu/Departments/Physics_and_Technology
5. Internet http://alumni.media.mit.edu/nepal/ghatta
6. Internet https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-
planetary-sciences/indigenous-knowledge
7. Jai Prakash Srivastav, Bijay Shankar Mishra, Khaga Raj Ghimire and
Mahendra Bahadur Thapa, 2019, Grade 10: Vidyarthi Science Book
8. Mr. Ramesh Acharya and Mr. Suman Maharjan (Lecturers of Physics)
9. Gumbo Mischak, 2014, Indigenous Technology,
https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-94-007-
6165-0_367-2?noAccess=true
10. Subodh Sharma, Roshan Man Bajracharya, and Bishal Sitaula,
Indigenous Technology in Nepal,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267956201_Indigenous_Tech
nology_Knowledge_in_Nepal_-_A_review
11. S. Sharma , R. M. Bajracharya , and B. Sitaula, Indigenous Technology
Knowledge (ITK) in Watershed Management,
http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/6260/1/IJTK%208(4)%2
0569-576.pdf

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