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Casual Articles - Green Revolution in Africa: Merging of Indigenous Knowledge and Other Knowledge Systems Through User
I actually have two separate online businesses -1. Selling wellness products and2. Selling digital information products (eBooks)Because I can look at things from both perspectives, I often tend to compare the two businesses from the point of view of the "better" opportunity.But if I were asked to recommend a single business as the best way to make a living online, the Wellness Business would win hands down.And no, I didn't choose it because its easy. On the contrary, selling health supplements, vitamins and related products online is NOT easy.Not only is there tremendous competition, but it simply can't be done by working two hours a day, as is the common perception.If you sell wellness products, you have to deal with REAL people. People with human needs and problems.You must be available in person, or by phone, or at least by email, to clarify doubts, a
Although many types of co-operatives can be established like agricultural co-operatives, housing co-operatives, marketing and supply co-operatives and consumer co-operatives each having its own set of objectives, all share the same features described by the Government Gazette (2005) namely:
“ A co-operative means an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democra
Commercial promotion of services, ideas, companies and goods is known as advertising, which plays a very prominent role in business. Advertising is carried out through various media.“Word of mouth” used to be the common form of advertising in ancient times. During the fifteenth and sixteenth century, when the printing industry was properly developed, handbills were included as a medium of advertising. In England, during the seventeenth century, newspapers started carrying advertisement for products.The medicines for diseased Europe and the increasing numbers of affordable books were the two products extensively advertised during this period. The content regulation for advertisements came into vogue due the problem of “quacks” using the new marketing method. For more info visit www.advertisingresourceonline.infoDuring the nineteenth century, classified advertisements become very popular in
At the Africa Leadership Awards Ceremony held in South Africa the former president of Zambia, dr. Kenneth Kaunda pleaded for a Green Revolution in Africa in order to meet hunger and poverty by working together as a people of one continent. This plea was made in the belief that “in unity there is strength” (Eze, 2006). This amongst other, demands a rethinking of how synergism can be established between the knowledge systems available in the global village and the available indigenous knowledge systems in Africa to develop appropriate knowledge and processes to address the particular problems and opportunities of this rich endowed continent. Too date, little interact has happen between indigenous knowledge production in Africa and global knowledge production.
Neglecting proper integration of these two important knowledge systems may over the long term have a detrimental effect on the development efforts of Africa. In this regard Hart (2006) remarked that both forms of knowledge are evidence of dynamic processes of observation, investigation and experimentation, that both can include and adapt external innovations and should therefore be treated as equal to contributing to scientific knowledge and only differs with regard to resources at its disposal.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to indicate that the establishment of sector specific user co-operatives in Africa that source on the knowledge systems of both the global village and the indigenous knowledge systems may support and facilitate a Green Revolution in Africa to defeat hunger and stimulate development. Pursuing this objective will ensure that proposed improvements and development plans account for the specific and particular cultural foundations - on which the behaviour and values of each society on the content is based - in all development initiatives. The result of this could certainly lead to better contextualised innovations and development approaches. An integrated approach could ensure in the words of Albrow (1999) that change in society “… does not occur independent of particular types of society”.
Establishing indigenous –scientific knowledge co-operative movements to merge knowledge systems
It can thus be deducted that the integration of scientific knowledge with indigenous knowledge (In this article indigenous knowledge refers to the knowledge created by a particular community at a particular location on the African continent that was not influenced by the global knowledge system.) would enable societies to develop according to the needs, aspirations, particularities and heritage of specific types of societies. An instrument available to society to facilitate such a process is through the establishment of co-operative movements in specific sectors of community life.
At the highest level, a tertiary co-operative should be established whose objective should be to advocate and engage organs of state, the private sector and stakeholders on behalf of its members to merge, harness and grow the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge in order to develop societies in a contextualised manner. The principle aim of this co-operative should be to understand what contributions indigenous knowledge has contributed to the present state and how it can be used in conjunction with scientific knowledge for innovation purposes and to make new knowledge useful within a specific social environment.
Although many types of co-operatives can be established like agricultural co-operatives, housing co-operatives, marketing and supply co-operatives and consumer co-operatives each having its own set of objectives, all share the same features described by the Government Gazette (2005) namely:
“ A co-operative means an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democrat
Almost every entrepreneur has a start-up financing horror story, how the banker giggled while reviewing the business plan. Because of experiences like these, entrepreneurs often assume that lenders and investors lack either money or good business sense to know a good deal when they see one. But the real reason that most entrepreneurs cannot get financing for their new business is they are just not ready for the money. In other words, if they received the money today, most entrepreneurs would spend it without any long term positive results. Being ready for start-up financing means having a plan for spending the money wisely and being able to prove to others that they will follow it. failing to convince potential lenders and investors that they can add value to their business using these peoples money is a surefire way to be rejected. Here are some of the reasons why entrepreneurs fail to get start-up money:p>
Neglecting proper integration of these two important knowledge systems may over the long term have a detrimental effect on the development efforts of Africa. In this regard Hart (2006) remarked that both forms of knowledge are evidence of dynamic processes of observation, investigation and experimentation, that both can include and adapt external innovations and should therefore be treated as equal to contributing to scientific knowledge and only differs with regard to resources at its disposal.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to indicate that the establishment of sector specific user co-operatives in Africa that source on the knowledge systems of both the global village and the indigenous knowledge systems may support and facilitate a Green Revolution in Africa to defeat hunger and stimulate development. Pursuing this objective will ensure that proposed improvements and development plans account for the specific and particular cultural foundations - on which the behaviour and values of each society on the content is based - in all development initiatives. The result of this could certainly lead to better contextualised innovations and development approaches. An integrated approach could ensure in the words of Albrow (1999) that change in society “… does not occur independent of particular types of society”.
Establishing indigenous –scientific knowledge co-operative movements to merge knowledge systems
It can thus be deducted that the integration of scientific knowledge with indigenous knowledge (In this article indigenous knowledge refers to the knowledge created by a particular community at a particular location on the African continent that was not influenced by the global knowledge system.) would enable societies to develop according to the needs, aspirations, particularities and heritage of specific types of societies. An instrument available to society to facilitate such a process is through the establishment of co-operative movements in specific sectors of community life.
At the highest level, a tertiary co-operative should be established whose objective should be to advocate and engage organs of state, the private sector and stakeholders on behalf of its members to merge, harness and grow the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge in order to develop societies in a contextualised manner. The principle aim of this co-operative should be to understand what contributions indigenous knowledge has contributed to the present state and how it can be used in conjunction with scientific knowledge for innovation purposes and to make new knowledge useful within a specific social environment.
Although many types of co-operatives can be established like agricultural co-operatives, housing co-operatives, marketing and supply co-operatives and consumer co-operatives each having its own set of objectives, all share the same features described by the Government Gazette (2005) namely:
“ A co-operative means an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democra
Technology provides often a source for change. But also, technology is responsible for the fact that changes do not happen as swiftly as possible. And one main ingredient in this dilemma is that existing technology is still suitable. Like the pair of shoes that are still valuable to use, they are only out of fashion.When thinking about introducing a change and when elaborating a vision about one, you are facing a similar dilemma that is to do with the first step you have to take. Basically there are two options: one is where you bridge from a current situation to a new one, the other is where you do not take the current technology is a starting point. The first option is focused on what you have now and reusability, the second option is focused on a new technology and where the bridge to current usability will be thought of later.Internet telephony is a clear example that is struggling with this
Establishing indigenous –scientific knowledge co-operative movements to merge knowledge systems
It can thus be deducted that the integration of scientific knowledge with indigenous knowledge (In this article indigenous knowledge refers to the knowledge created by a particular community at a particular location on the African continent that was not influenced by the global knowledge system.) would enable societies to develop according to the needs, aspirations, particularities and heritage of specific types of societies. An instrument available to society to facilitate such a process is through the establishment of co-operative movements in specific sectors of community life.
At the highest level, a tertiary co-operative should be established whose objective should be to advocate and engage organs of state, the private sector and stakeholders on behalf of its members to merge, harness and grow the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge in order to develop societies in a contextualised manner. The principle aim of this co-operative should be to understand what contributions indigenous knowledge has contributed to the present state and how it can be used in conjunction with scientific knowledge for innovation purposes and to make new knowledge useful within a specific social environment.
Although many types of co-operatives can be established like agricultural co-operatives, housing co-operatives, marketing and supply co-operatives and consumer co-operatives each having its own set of objectives, all share the same features described by the Government Gazette (2005) namely:
“ A co-operative means an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democra
Every customer looks for 3 special benefits when they do business with you. They may not specifically ask for these benefits. But you're losing sales if you don't automatically provide all 3.1. Fast ResultsProspective customers may take a long time deciding whether or not they will buy from you. But once they decide to buy, they expect instant results. When people buy a car they want to drive it home today. When they sign up with a health club they expect to look and feel better by the end of the week.Look for ways you can reduce the time your customers have to wait after a transaction before they can start enjoying the results of their decision to buy. Try to deliver your product at the point of sale. When that's not possible, look for creative ways to provide a benefit your customer can start enjoying immediately.For example, a publisher I know recently created a spec
At the highest level, a tertiary co-operative should be established whose objective should be to advocate and engage organs of state, the private sector and stakeholders on behalf of its members to merge, harness and grow the integration of indigenous and scientific knowledge in order to develop societies in a contextualised manner. The principle aim of this co-operative should be to understand what contributions indigenous knowledge has contributed to the present state and how it can be used in conjunction with scientific knowledge for innovation purposes and to make new knowledge useful within a specific social environment.
Although many types of co-operatives can be established like agricultural co-operatives, housing co-operatives, marketing and supply co-operatives and consumer co-operatives each having its own set of objectives, all share the same features described by the Government Gazette (2005) namely:
“ A co-operative means an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democra
Followings are 5 common mistakes you’ll see in a below-average resume, or… a rather poorly constructed resume.1. Over elaborate.A typical resume ranges between 2-4 pages; it could be more if you’re already in a senior position. Make sure your resume is compact and concise, with all key information to be conveyed to the reader is there. Never elaborate too much on your job descriptions, and don’t make it too wordy. As a rule of thumb, use 6-8 bullet points to describe your position responsibilities.2. Tells the reader how much you’re earning now.This is a major mistake. Worse is to list down all the benefits you’re getting (Yes, we have this type of candidates). Your key objective of letting your resume being read is to excite the interviewer and to show that you have the skills, qualifications and background to take up new position in their company.3. Tells the reader how mu
Although many types of co-operatives can be established like agricultural co-operatives, housing co-operatives, marketing and supply co-operatives and consumer co-operatives each having its own set of objectives, all share the same features described by the Government Gazette (2005) namely:
“ A co-operative means an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic and social needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise organized and operated on co-operative principles”
The specific type of co-operation of interest is labeled the user co-operative. Philip (2003) defines a user co-operative as a co-operative in which the members are users of the services of the co-operation, without any necessary employment relationship with the enterprise. This type of co-operation is in contrast to the worker co-operation, in which workers in an enterprise own and control the enterprise. The user co-operative model is preferred as a model to merge indigenous knowledge systems with scientific knowledge systems as it carries with it the ability to mobilize wide participation from local communities and from researchers operating in the scientific domain creating huge potential for innovative but context specific discoveries across many spectrums of life. By following such an approach a development strategy and competitive advantage can be formulated suitable to the particularities of a specific environment.
In order to synergised meaningful participation between the scientific community and people possessing indigenous knowledge it is imperative that the functioning of the user co-operatives are founded on sound principles. Ximiya (2004) identified the following universal principles and values on which and co-operative should be founded:
· Membership should be open and voluntarily; · Democratic member control should be established; · Members should be able to accept the responsibilities of membership; · Member economic participation and equity; · Autonomy and independence; · The co-operative shouldt provides education and training to its members and employees”; and · The co-operative should behave in a social responsible manner.
However, to bridge the big gap that exists between the creators of the two knowledge systems interventions like drawing in other role players like financial institutions, governments and development agencies may be required to overcome mental model bottlenecks between those involved, to map out a way forward in overcoming these bottlenecks and to ensure productive and fruitful participation by all. By so doing the user co-operative chooses to be an integral part of the social sector in which it operates with distinct legal and development values with the primary aim of fulfilling the needs of their members coming from different knowledge systems and the particular community.
Conclusion
Through the development of a strong user-co-operative movement, embedded in indigenous and scientific knowledge systems, the energies, resources and skills of all people in communities can be mobilized and harnessed to contribute to the development and organisation of Africa.
Bibliography
Albrow, M. 1999. Sciology: The basics. London: Routledge. De Beer, F. & Swanepoel, H. 2000. Introduction to development studies. Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Eze, M.A. 2006. Kick poverty out of Africa – Kaunda. AU Magazine. 1(6). 18-19. Hart, T. 2005. Returning to African Tradition the way forward for small farmers? HSRC Review. 3(2). 10-11. Philip, K. 2003
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