Abstract:
A local social wisdom and identity, also known as a self-reliant community, uses the local
knowledge and wisdom for their own well-being, abundance and healthy living. It has shown how the peoples usages of their local culinary, either as food or medicine, are unique skills of each community; it can be called Grassroots Innovation with long history until the arrival of capitalism that come with knowledge, taste and relish of the city people who are materialists and modernized.
Consequentially, it makes them prefer convenience and modern innovation which have transformed the local ways of life into the same mode of city life ruled by capitalism.
These so-called civilizations come with price, however. The higher costs of living are
exceeding the local capability to earn the same quality of life as those who work and live in the city.
Therefore, it is necessary and urgent to restore the importance of Grassroots Innovation, which is the rural areas traditional ways of life as an alternative and survival option in order to create a balance to the capitalism. The rural areas can be developed to prosper while Grassroots Innovation still plays a big role and blends into the local ways of life for their well-being and a decent quality of living.
These local wisdom or Grassroots Innovation also supports the strength of community and prevents the deterioration and disappearance of local wisdom. It can also be passed on and continue as their intellectual heritage with pride in their local unique identities.
The purposes of this qualitative study were to explore the local wisdom in local food in the
upper-north area of Thailand, to find out whether these local knowledge and wisdom about food which can be dated back to the primeval period are the same as the knowledge that we called Grassroots Innovation, in order to solve problems and satisfied the need in local communities, it widely affected the social and better social development to help promote community development, and people at the grassroots level which is the base of many populations in Thailand. They could have a better living and reduce inequality in the social these are only defined Grassroots Innovation as a source of knowledge to be further developed, without looking back and examine the value of the original knowledge that already practical, this could leave Grassroots Innovation which is a long accumulated local wisdom to be depreciated and eventually disappear.
In summary, Grassroots Innovation can be extremely important to determine the economic, food security and the future of sustainable development.