“Water Mills” : “Negotiation” in the Context of Political Ecology

Abstract

This research article aims to study local people’s adaptation of the water mills and to use them as negotiation tools in the context of political ecology. The study was conducted at Ban Namoumoon, located in the final part of the Man River Basin. Participant observation, in-depth interview, and focus group interview were data collection methods. It was found that local people’s adaptation of the water mills correlated significantly with the ecological change of the Man River. They, furthermore, applied the water mills as social negotiations in the following aspects. In the aspect of kinship, the water mills were inherited by lineage, marriage, and the system of gathering to help at social work. In the community aspect, a group, built the water mills, negotiated with neighborhoods and a state. As for the social dimension, they set up the group of water mills and the conglomeration of social networks consisting of local people and other segments that established the knowledge center of water mills. This phenomenon finally generated learning of the ecosystem of the Man River Basin and the revitalization of the water mills.