China's innovations offer lessons to Kenya

As Kenya seeks to harness its rich indigenous knowledge and convert it into market-ready innovations, the country could borrow experiences from China, experts say.

Mary Gikungu, director-general of the National Museums of Kenya, said China places a strong emphasis on preserving indigenous knowledge.

"When you visit their tourism sites, you see how passionate they are about their heritage, and this attracts both domestic and international visitors," Gikungu said.

China also actively promotes indigenous culture, such as cuisine, including serving local foods at airports — an opportunity Kenya has yet to fully exploit, she said.

"We are losing out by concealing our culture," she said, adding that strategic partnerships could help build capacity and infrastructure to support cultural preservation.

Echoing the remarks, Evans Taracha, national coordinator for Kenya's Natural Products Industry program, and a researcher at the National Museums of Kenya, said China offers valuable lessons for his country.

China, alongside India and Brazil, has established policies, legal frameworks and structural programs to guide indigenous knowledge toward market applications, Taracha said. He cited traditional Chinese medicine as a key example, which has been integrated into major health facilities.

"The artemisinin used today to treat malaria originates from Chinese traditional health practices, where Artemisia annua has been used for centuries in southern China," he said.

The Chinese government facilitated partnerships between traditional herbalists and scientific researchers, leading to discovery of artemisinin, he said.

Taracha further observed that Chinese cuisine is deeply embedded in the country's cultural identity — a model Kenya is only beginning to develop within its own culinary and cultural industries.

Gikungu said the Natural Products Industry program of the National Museums of Kenya is implementing a heritage-based enterprise agenda, aiming to unlock the potential of Kenya's natural products industry.

It leverages indigenous knowledge systems to drive market-oriented innovations, supported by scientific research and business expertise to create homegrown products.

Integrating knowledge

The approach integrates indigenous knowledge and technologies into the knowledge economy through documentation, protection and promotion as strategic national resources. The documentation and digitization of indigenous knowledge assets has so far been implemented in 13 of the 47 counties in Kenya, Gikungu said.

The National Museums of Kenya has adopted research and intellectual property policies to safeguard market-ready innovations derived from documented indigenous knowledge, she said.

Stephen Munania, deputy governor of Murang'a County, said Africa must begin valuing its indigenous knowledge and correcting misconceptions introduced during colonial rule, which branded African traditions as backward.

He emphasized the need to convert indigenous knowledge into investments, jobs and value chains, saying agriculture and food systems could be early beneficiaries.

Edwin Abonyo, board chair of the National Museums of Kenya, said Africa is rich in traditional medicines that should be developed and strengthened.

He called for greater recognition of culture, urging developed countries to invest heavily on cultural centers. "Culture should not be given a back seat. We should document and protect indigenous knowledge for the benefit of the communities," he said.

Benson Mburu, a principal science analyst at Kenya's National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, said much of today's global research builds on traditional community knowledge.

"Unfortunately, during colonization we were told that our knowledge was inferior, yet we had skilled surgeons in our communities," Mburu said.

Much of African indigenous knowledge was documented and archived in foreign institutions, particularly in the United Kingdom, he said.

Kenya's Science, Technology and Innovation Act 2013 recognizes traditional technologies as part of science and provides regulatory protection for cultural knowledge in Kenya, he said.

Atunga Nyachieo, director of research and product development at the Kenya Institute of Primate Research, said the institution is committed to adding value to indigenous herbal remedies through scientific evaluation.

"Instead of importing everything, we should be exporting some of our products," he said. "We are committed to ensuring local herbal medicines meet international safety, dosage and efficacy standards."

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn