Local WisdomIC Local Wisdom

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LOCALWISDOM FOREARLYWARNINGSYSTEM
ON THE ERUPTIONOF MOUNTMERAPIDISASTER

Poerwanti Hadi Pratiwil

Abstract
Local wisdom about the volcano disaster preparednesshas been practrced from
generation to generation by Kinahrejo community living on the slopes of Mount Merapi,
Sleman, Yogyakarta.Some examplesof local knowledgepossessedamong other things, the
ability to obserue,anticipatq adapt to, and communicateabout the symptoms that arise
when Mount Merapi would erupt. Based on the examplesobtained, showing that most
people develop a lot of practice and local wisdom about the eruption of Mount Merapi,
preparedness,and this knowledgeacts save lives and reduceproperty loss. However,local
wisdomis often underestimatedonly by externalparties, both nationallyand internationally,
which tend to only pay attention to scientifrcknowledgefrom outside,
Waythat can be doneso that local knowledgecan be effectivelyutilized to document
the local wisdomis that a systematicbasis.Documentingsteps include: (1) Basicinformation
gathering, (2) verificationof the strengthsand weaknesses,(3) review of the possibilityof its
application in varrous contexts (physrcal, socral, cultural, and economic), and (4)
classificationtechnologymay be appliedbasedon specificcriteria
Keywords:Local Wisdom,Disasters,Mount Merapi

A. Introduction

Thesestudiesin the fieldof development
showsthat the success
and sustainability
of development
effortsat the communityleveldependson severalfactors.Thesefactors
include:the existenceof culture,knowledgeand practicesof indigenouscommunities
that can be harmonized
with new ideasto createinnovation,
Knowledge
and practicesof
indigenouscommunities
not only contributeto the successof development
efforts,but
moreon the sustainability
of theseeffortsin the longterm.
In recentyears many peoplewere interestedto study the relationshipbetween
localknowledge
and naturaldisasters.
Recentdiscussions
in this regardfocuseson the

potentialof localwisdomin improvingthe policiesof disasterrisk reductionthroughthe
integrationof localwisdomin disastereducationand earlywarningsystems.In the realm
of literatureon disasterrisk reduction,there are four basicargumentsthat supportthe
importanceof localwisdom.First,variousspecificstrategiesand practicesof indigenous
peoplescontainedin the localwisdom,whichhas provenvery valuablein dealingwith
1The lectureof Yogyakarta
StateUniversity,Facultyof Socialand Economic
Science,
Departmentof
Sociology
of Education
StudiesProgram.
E-mailaddress:pratiwi65@qmail.com
.HistoryEducation,