Harnessing Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Climate Resilience: The Case of the Hwesa in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The beginning of the 21^st Century has witnessed massive climate change, which in turn negatively affect the livelihoods of many agrarian communities. A century after the adoption of Western methods in weather-related paraphernalia, contemporary African societies have come to realise that indigenous knowledge systems play a critical role in climate adaptation and mitigation, particularly in disaster and risk management initiatives. It is upon this background that this paper investigates the role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKSs) in enhancing climate resilience, for instance, among the Hwesa of Nyanga District in Manicaland Province, Zimbabwe. This study argues that despite centuries of colonial and postcolonial marginalisation of local epistemologies, Hwesa IKSs continue to play a vital role in climate adaptation and mitigation. It further argues that sole dependence of Western ideologies on climatic adaptation and mitigation is a misnomer, as IKSs has been filling that gap since time immemorial. This study is informed by the decolonial theory, which challenges the hegemony of Eurocentric knowledge by advocating for epistemic delinking, a process through which marginalised communities assert their right to produce knowledge on their own terms. Data were collected through qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis, with purposive and convenience sampling guiding participant selection. Findings reveal that Hwesa IKSs encompass indigenous farming practices, water management techniques, forest preservation, weather prediction, and communal resource sharing, all of which enhance resilience to climate change. The paper concludes that Hwesa IKSs, when recognised and integrated with Western scientific approaches, can contribute to sustainable and culturally grounded climate resilience strategies.