Based on research in rural villages of north-central Vietnam, this article examines the value of local and indigenous knowledge in adaptation to weather and climate-induced disasters. Diverse forms of knowledge were found to thrive and interact with the modern knowledge complex. The article argues that local knowledge has the potential to enhance human capital and contribute to local participation and mobilization around disaster risk reduction and sustainable rural development, but political adjustments must provide new avenues for rural participation beyond conventional state institutions as well as a greater space for civil society development.

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