Systematic Unlocking of Tacit Inventive Knowledge from Indigenous Communities
Main Article Content
Abstract
Indigenous communities possess extensive tacit inventive knowledge embedded in story-mapping traditions, symbolic visual communication and ecological practices. Much of this knowledge remains undocumented and vulnerable to loss. This study proposes a systematic six-stage codification framework for identifying, documenting and codifying Indigenous inventive knowledge through the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). The case study focuses on the Penan community of Long Lamai, Sarawak. Participatory engagement, interviews and community workshops produced a corpus of 44 documented Oroo’ signs. The findings indicate that many traditional practices embody problem-solving principles analogous to established TRIZ inventive principles. These practices reveal sophisticated Indigenous approaches to environmental adaptation and symbolic visual communication, including the Oroo’ sign system through which ecological knowledge is communicated and transmitted across generations. The proposed framework provides a pathway for documenting tacit community knowledge as structured records of inventive practices while supporting cultural preservation, Indigenous data sovereignty and intergenerational knowledge transfer. The study contributes a methodology for bringing Indigenous knowledge systems into dialogue with TRIZ-based innovation analysis and approaches from other disciplines.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Alkunte, S., Mali, A., Khan, A. U., More, N., Ingle, N., Nalawade, S. P., Sinha, N., Gupta, M., Shingare, K. B., Liao, K., & Fidan, I. (2025). Porosity in additive manufacturing: purposeful design, applications, and characterization methods — a review. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 140, 1127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-025-16427-5
Allred, S. B., Harris, R. W., Zaman, T., Kulathuramaiyer, N., & Jengan, G. (2022). Cultural Resilience in the Face of globalization: Lessons from the Penan of Borneo. Human Ecology, 50(3), 447.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-022-00319-3
Altshuller, G. S. (1999). The innovation algorithm: TRIZ, systematic innovation and technical creativity. Technical Innovation Center, Inc.
Ayala, A. B., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., Torres-Torres, A. M., Rozas-Vásquez, D., & Lam, D. P. M. (2020). Indigenous and local knowledge in environmental management for human-nature connectedness: a leverage points perspective. Ecosystems and People, 16(1), 290. https://doi.org/10.1080/26395916.2020.1817152
Bi, S., Yuan, X., & Ni, W. (2025). Building Sustainable and Trustworthy Indigenous Knowledge Preservation Ecosystem. arXiv (Cornell University). https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2504.17281
Bukamal, H. (2022). Deconstructing insider–outsider researcher positionality. British Journal of Special Education, 49(3), 327–349. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8578.12426
Carroll, S. R., Garba, I., Figueroa-Rodríguez, O. L., Holbrook, J., Lovett, R., Materechera, S., Parsons, M., Raseroka, K., Rodriguez-Lonebear, D., Rowe, R., Sara, R., Walker, J. D., Anderson, J., & Hudson, M. (2020). The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance. Data Science Journal, 19(1), 43.
https://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2020-043
Chen, Y., Chen, M., Lyu, J., Zhong, S., & Wang, Z. (2020). Creative product design of intangible cultural heritage of Yi Nationality based on QFD-TRIZ. E3S Web of Conferences, 179, 02012.
https://doi.org/10.1051/E3SCONF/202017902012
Cortés-Robles, G., Negny, S., & Lann, J. M. L. (2008). Case-based reasoning and TRIZ: A coupling for innovative conception in Chemical Engineering. Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification, 48(1), 239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2008.03.016
Dunaway, M., Allred, S. B., Somchanhmavong, A. K., & Zaman, T. (2022). A pragmatic approach to ethical research collaboration with Indigenous communities: A case study with the Penan people of Long Lamai, Malaysia. Environment and Planning F, 2, 77. https://doi.org/10.1177/26349825221132560
Dunkley, R., Baker, S., Constant, N., & Bellamy, A. S. (2018). Enabling the IPBES conceptual framework to work across knowledge boundaries. International Environmental Agreements Politics Law and Economics, 18(6), 779. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-018-9415-z
Eaton, S. E. (2024). Decolonizing academic integrity: knowledge caretaking as ethical practice. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49(7), 962. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2312918
Egusquiza, A., Zubiaga, M., Gandini, A., De Luca, C., & Tondelli, S. (2021). Systemic innovation areas for heritage-led rural regeneration: A multilevel repository of best practices. Sustainability, 13(9), 5069. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095069
Fernández‐Llamazares, Á., Lepofsky, D., Lertzman, K., Armstrong, C. G., Brondízio, E. S., Gavin, M. C., Lyver, P. O., Nicholas, G., Pascua, P., Reo, N. J., Reyes-García, V., Turner, N. J., Yletyinen, J., Anderson, E. N., Balée, W., Cariño, J., David-Chavez, D., Dunn, C., Garnett, S. C., … Vaughan, M. B. (2021). Scientists’ Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems. Journal of Ethnobiology, 41(2), 144. https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-41.2.144
Flores, W., Flores, K., Panama, R. M., & Alta, K. (2025). BioKulture systems design: A Kara-Kichwa design framework for research, development, and innovation governance. Cambridge Open Engage.
https://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2025-10nq8
George, F., Kulathuramaiyer, N., & Bala, P. (2020, December). FOSTERING A TRIZ-BASED GRASSROOTS INNOVATION AMONG PENANS. In MyTRIZ Conference (Vol. 6, No. 7, p. 185).
Goh, C. H., & Kulathuramaiyer, N. (2022). Inventive design solutions for the complex socio-technical problems in preserving Indigenous symbolic visual communication. In IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17288-5_7
Gratani, M., Butler, J., Royee, F., Valentine, P., Burrows, D., Canendo, W. I., & Anderson, A. (2011). Is Validation of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge a Disrespectful Process? A Case Study of Traditional Fishing Poisons and Invasive Fish Management from the Wet Tropics, Australia. Ecology and Society, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.5751/es-04249-160325
Ibrahim, M. S. N., Johari, S., Assim, M. I. S. A., Afandi, S. H. M., Khan, W. R., & Hassan, S. (2023). Community well-being dimensions in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01737-4
Ijatuyi, E. J., Lamm, A., Yessoufou, K., Suinyuy, T. N., & Patrick, H. O. (2025). Integration of Indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge: A systematic review [Review of Integration of Indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge: A systematic review]. Environmental Science & Policy, 170, 104119. Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2025.104119
Ilevbare, I., Probert, D., & Phaal, R. (2013). A review of TRIZ, and its benefits and challenges in practice. Technovation, 33, 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2012.11.003
Johnson, J. T., Howitt, R., Cajete, G., Berkes, F., Louis, R. P., & Kliskey, A. (2015). Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods. Sustainability Science, 11(1), 1.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-015-0349-x
Kulathuramaiyer, N., Mintu, T. G., & Tan, E. (2020, December). PROMOTING INNOVATION
THROUGH TRIZ BASED INVENTIVE TRIGGER CARDS. In MyTRIZ Conference (p. 135).
Kulathuramaiyer, N., & Mintu, T. G. (2022). TRIZ-Based approach in co-creating virtual story-maps. In IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology (pp. 50–60). Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17288-5_5
Liu, C.-W., & Wu, C. W. (2019). An invention of multifunction washing ball. IOP Conference Series Materials Science and Engineering, 658(1), 12019. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899x/658/1/012019
Livotov, P. (2023). ENHANCING ENGINEERING CREATIVITY WITH AUTOMATED
FORMULATION OF ELEMENTARY SOLUTION PRINCIPLES. Proceedings of the Design Society, 3,
1645. https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2023.165
Livotov, P., Sekaran, A. P. C., Mas’udah, M., Law, R., Reay, D., Sarsenova, A., & Sayyareh, S. (2018). Eco-innovation in process engineering: Contradictions, inventive principles and methods. Thermal Science and Engineering Progress, 9, 52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsep.2018.10.012
Mambo, W. N. (2020). Designing Per-Poor system of innovation proverbs. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 12(2), 212–229.
Miard, P., Nekaris, K. A. I., & Ramlee, H. (2017). Hiding in the dark: Local ecological knowledge about slow loris in Sarawak sheds light on relationships between human populations and wild animals. Human Ecology, 45(6), 823. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9954-x
Mintu, T. G., Kulathuramaiyer, N., George, F., & Leong, J. P. C. (2022). TRIZ-Based Approach in Capturing and Managing Indigenous Innovation and Knowledge. In IFIP advances in information and communication technology (p. 220). Springer Science+Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17288-5_20
Mohan. (2024). Wisdom of the ancestors: Harnessing Indigenous knowledge for contemporary challenges. International Journal of Applied Research, 10(3), 112.
https://doi.org/10.22271/allresearch.2024.v10.i3b.11591
Ni, X. (2021). Inventive solutions retrieval from patent documents via natural language processing. HAL (Le Centre Pour La Communication Scientifique Directe). https://theses.hal.science/tel-03693309
Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford University Press.
Nutton, J., Lucero, N., & Ives, N. (2020). Relationality as a response to challenges of participatory action research in indigenous contexts: reflections from the field. Educational Action Research, 28(1), 100–111.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2019.1699132
Notario, B., Pinto, J., & Rodríguez‐Pérez, M. Á. (2016). Nanoporous polymeric materials: A new class of materials with enhanced properties. Progress in Materials Science, 93.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmatsci.2016.02.002
Owuor, J. (2008). Integrating African Indigenous Knowledge in Kenya’s Formal Education System: The Potential for Sustainable Development. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 2(2).
https://doi.org/10.20355/c5z594
Pariyar, A., Kulathuramaiyer, N., Bala, P., & Man, C. K. (2020). TRIZ for shaping life-long learning. In Proceedings of the IEEE R10 Humanitarian Technology Conference (R10-HTC).
https://doi.org/10.1109/R10-HTC49770.2020.9357045
Puri, R. K. (2013). Transmitting Penan basketry knowledge and practice. In Kent Academic Repository (University of Kent). University of Kent.
Reano, D. (2020). Using Indigenous Research Frameworks in the Multiple Contexts of Research, Teaching, Mentoring, and Leading. The Qualitative Report. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4317
Sellato, B. (2023). Tropical Rainforests, Traditional Societies, and Dynamic Continuums. Toward a Regional History of Ethnicity in Borneo. Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan, 9(1), 50.
https://doi.org/10.33736/jbk.5798.2023
Shahrin, S., Rahman, K., Che Me, R., & Kamarudin, K. M. (2025). UDP-TRIZ for inclusive SDG innovation: A quadruple helix approach. Advanced and Sustainable Technologies, 4(2), 443–458. https://doi.org/10.58915/aset.v4i2.2713
Lim, I. S. S. (2010). Eco-efficient product design using theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) principles. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 7(6), 852–858
. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajassp.2010.852.858
Snively, G., & Corsiglia, J. (2000). Discovering Indigenous science: Implications for science education. Science Education, 85(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-237x(200101)85:1<6::aid-sce3>3.0.co;2-r
Steelman, T. A., Andrews, E. J., Baines, S., Bharadwaj, L., Bjornson, E. R., Bradford, L., Cardinal, K., Carrière, G., Fresque-Baxter, J., Jardine, T. D., MacColl, I., Macmillan, S., Marten, J., Orosz, C., Reed, M. G., Rose, I., Shmon, K., Shantz, S., Staples, K., … Voyageur, M. (2018). Identifying transformational space for transdisciplinarity: using art to access the hidden third. Sustainability Science, 14(3), 771.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0644-4
Sudhakar, P. (2019). Inclusive Engagement of Indigenous Communities in Scientific Research: Opportunities and Challenges. European Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 4(2).
https://doi.org/10.29333/ejosdr/6438
Suryana, A., Pajriah, S., Nurholis, E., & Budiman, A. (2023). Nilai-Nilai Kearifan Lokal Masyarakat Kampung Dokdak Desa Baregbeg Kecamatan Baregbeg Kabupaten Ciamis Berbasis Budaya Galuh. Jurnal Artefak, 10(1), 105. https://doi.org/10.25157/ja.v10i1.10166
Tharakan, J. (2017). Indigenous Knowledge Systems for Appropriate Technology Development. In InTech eBooks. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.69889
Usher, P. J. (2000). Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Environmental Assessment and Management. ARCTIC, 53(2). https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic849
Varghese, J., & Crawford, S. S. (2020). A cultural framework for Indigenous, Local, and Science knowledge systems in ecology and natural resource management. Ecological Monographs, 91(1).
https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1431
Wu, K., & Duan, Y. (2024). DIKWP-TRIZ: A revolution on traditional TRIZ towards invention for artificial consciousness. Applied Sciences, 14(23), 10865. https://doi.org/10.3390/app142310865
Yanou, M. P., Ros-Tonen, M., Reed, J., Moombe, K., & Sunderland, T. (2023). Integrating local and scientific knowledge: The need for decolonising knowledge for conservation and natural resource management. Heliyon, 9(11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21785
Zhang, B.-Y., Ma, M., & Wang, Z. (2023). Promoting active aging through assistive product design innovation: a preference-based integrated design framework. Frontiers in Public Health, 11.