Cultures of Cultures: Microbes, Fermentation and Custodianship in Assam, India

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Fermentation is more than food; it’s culture, science and politics. From chewing fermented areca nut to making rice brews with wild foraged herbs, this book traces how indigenous knowledge, healing systems and everyday practices intersect with microbiome science, intellectual property debates and land politics. By following fermentation across these domains, it shows how different communities know, value and claim microbes in fundamentally different ways. It asks who owns microbes and explores what it means to act as custodians of microbial life. Drawing on sustained fieldwork in Assam, India, this is an original contribution to our understanding of science and indigenous knowledge. It will interest readers in science and technology studies, anthropology, sociology and the environmental humanities.