Some of the issues raised by recent studies on local knowledge of alternative forest resources (AFRs - a new term which is preferred by the authors for resources usually designated by the terms minor forest products, non-timber forest products or non- wood forest products) are addressed, drawing attention to (1) the nature and utility of indigenous cultural knowledge of AFR management and extraction, and (2) exogenous technical knowledge on their marketing. The paper is in 2 main parts, which address these 2 aspects, both with reference to case studies in Nepal. Various conclusions are drawn and discussed. It is noted that local knowledge by rural villagers on forest resources extraction, production and marketing needs has increased focus in planning sustainable and gender-sensitive forest management internationally. Local villagers should be encouraged to express resource management alternatives and gain new technical knowledge to improve understanding and utilization of AFRs, and forestry workers and villagers involved in management and use of local forests should strive for increased appreciation of local AFR knowledge and enhanced knowledge of market conditions. Indigenous management technologies should be part of all forest planning activity. The Nepal research indicates patterns of forest use and local AFR knowledge, including a wealth of indigenous knowledge and understanding of traditional forest use, extraction and marketing of a variety of major and minor forest products. These are valuable findings for user group development, community forestry management and farm forestry products marketing. Villagers should be encouraged to share and use both indigenous knowledge and other relevant technical knowledge, which are missing elements in current forestry planning.