Abstract
Purpose – To examine the potential of indigenous agricultural knowledge for sustainable development. Drawing upon fieldwork on the natural resource management practices of diversified farming systems in a mountainous community in southern Greece, the paper explores the potential of the traditional system for a sustainable food security system.
Design/methodology/approach – The need to better integrate environmental and social research methods both quantitative and qualitative in order to explore the stock of indigenous knowledge and information about land degradation assessment and management held by small-scale farming communities in Greece.
Findings – Small-scale mountainous farmers possess a range of ideas and concepts from experience related to land degradation. At another level the findings of the study suggest that farmers place overriding emphasis on the physical characteristics of their environment in judging the various stages of degradation. Until in a direct interview situation they were forced to confront the part played by human related factors

Λέξεις κλειδιά: Κρήτη, συγγένεια, οικονομία, κοινωνικός μετασχηματισμός, εκπαίδευση, ονοματοθεσία, γονιμότητα (γυναικεία, ανδρική), κτηνοτροφία, γεωργία.