African Village Research Articles

Rethinking Communication Principles to Foster Internal Communities: A South African Retirement Village Case Study

Rethinking Communication Principles to Foster Internal Communities: A South African Retirement Village Case Study

South African village to host antenna key to NASA space communications

South African village to host antenna key to NASA space communications

Enriching systems practice with African perspectives

AbstractThis paper follows an autoethnographic approach that seeks to give a practitioner's reflection by exploring the intersection between African philosophies, particularly the concepts of Ubuntu and Ukama, and the practice of systems thinking. It raises concern about the absence of an African perspective in the discourse on mainstream systems thinking approaches. It argues that African philosophies, with their emphasis on relationality, community and humanness, can contribute to and enrich the discourse on developing systems thinking approaches. The main author's positionality, including his struggles with his identity as an African, his personal experiences growing up in a rural African village and being exposed to traditional African storytelling and community‐based practices, is used to illustrate the connections between African philosophies and systems thinking. As an example of this linkage and how an African perspective can enrich the practice of systems thinking, the paper applies an African worldview to Critical Systems Heuristics.

Socio-economic impacts of resource extraction on indigenous populations in Imbolo Mbue's: How beautiful we were

This paper undertakes a comprehensive analysis of Imbolo Mbue's novel "How Beautiful We Were," employing the novel as a case study to explore the interconnected phenomena of ecological and economic losses affecting the fictional African village of Kosawa. The narrative serves as a poignant lens through which the catastrophic impacts of environmental degradation by external corporate interests, specifically an American oil company, are examined. Drawing on methodologies such as Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and systemic-functional linguistics, the study illuminates how the novel’s language actively shapes perceptions of ecological destruction and social conflict. The analysis is anchored in a detailed examination of the socio-economic repercussions of environmental exploitation on indigenous communities, reflecting broader global issues of environmental injustice where marginalized populations bear the brunt of industrial activities. By integrating narrative analysis with socio-economic and ecological impact assessments, the paper aims to provide a holistic understanding of the compound crises faced by communities on the frontlines of environmental exploitation. This approach not only highlights the devastating effects on health and local economies but also emphasizes the role of literature as a form of resistance and a vehicle for advocating ecological and social justice. The findings contribute to ongoing discussions on sustainable development and advocate for more nuanced and inclusive approaches in literature and policy, reinforcing the critical role of narrative in shaping public discourse and policy on environmental justice.

Multidecadal Ethnoarchaeological Comparisons of Livelihoods and Wild Meat Availability and Consumption in a Central African Rainforest Foraging and Farming Community

We repurpose multidecadal ethnoarchaeological investigations of human hunting, prey availability, and socioeconomics in a rural Central African Republic village in the service of human ecology. Focusing on forest foragers in the village of Grima, initial 1999–2005 (Old Grima) data collection included documentation of hunting technology and offtakes, identification of wild meat bone assemblages, inventories of household material goods, and measurements of horticultural fields. Similar datasets were collected in 2021–2022 (New Grima) and longitudinal comparisons of prey remains and material wealth detected many significant differences. Old Grima house middens contained larger numbers of bones representing an array of wild meat taxa and inventories recorded diverse and abundant collections of material goods. The New Grima comparative data showed a reduction in the consumption of wild meat, increases in guns and especially metal cable snares, and marked declines in local wild meat (notably duiker) populations and forager material wealth paired with increases in debt. In 2022 the New Grima inhabitants were actively pursuing escargot for food and income and house middens were dominated by tortoise remains. All the data point to resource depression from overhunting and a community in jeopardy. The comparisons are also important because they include the transition from traditional nets and spears to more efficient metal cable snares and guns and provide information on the effects of hunting technology. The complexities of evaluating ecological perturbations and sustainability require multidisciplinary datasets and we propose ethnoarchaeology as a valuable tool to help identify subtleties in human food webs and biodiversity loss.

Indian and Chinese Origins of West African Village Chickens as Revealed by Mitochondrial DNA Partial D-Loop Regions

The study assessed the maternal genetic origins of West African village chickens using a 920-bp mtDNA D-loop region fragment of 127 samples from four populations (Gambia, Togo, Liberia and Nigeria). The mtDNA D-loop region was amplified following standard PCR protocols, using AV1F2: 5′-AGGACTACGGCTTGAAAAGC-3′ and 5′-TGCTTAAGGTTAATTACTGCTG-3′. as the forward and reverse primers respectively. Sequencing was done using Sanger’s dideoxy chain termination method. In addition, 268 sequence samples harvested from Genbank representing Gallus gallus from Africa, Mediterranean and different regions of Asia, were included in the analysis, bringing the total sample size to 395. 24 polymorphic sites and 13 West African chicken haplotypes (WAC1-13) were detected. The evolutionary relationships amongst studied populations and other African and global chicken populations were investigated using MEGA 7 and NETWORK 4.6 softwares. The results grouped 11 of the haplotypes including the dominant one (WAC1) with India, Pakistan and Egypt into haplogroup E, indicating an Indian sub-continental origin and Egypt as an entry point, while the other haplotypes (WAC8 and 10) clustered with haplogroup B widely believed to be of Chinese matrilineage and reported for the first time in West Africa by this study. Haplogroup B is thought to be a heritage of recent introgression of exotic alleles from commercial lines. The study shows that India and China were most likely geographic origins of the matriarchs of the West African village chickens.

Green Man You Owe Me: Surprises using puppetry with rural children in environmental education

Wakkerstroom, Mpumalanga, is a rural South African village, set against the backdrop of a wetland, grasslands and rolling hills (Mpumalanga Information Directory, nd). Sadly, children that live here appear to have little concept of the beauty that surrounds them, and do not care for the natural environment. The reasons for this are that they are not exposed to the natural environment other than for available resources, parents are absent due to work commitments or have passed away, and most children here cannot swim, meaning visiting the wetland is dangerous. There are also no parks where they can play. Th eir view of the environment is litter-infested roads and streams, and informal dumps. This article explores a single moment of clarity during an intervention using a puppet, that occurred during a programme in 2023 which aimed to reintroduce a group of 31 children between the ages of 11 to 15 from The Clay Educentre to the wonders of nature, using the arts, refl ective practice, and immersion into the natural environment. Here I argue that puppetry, in informal environmental education, with reflective practice, has the capacity to be more transformative than other art forms, such as drawing, drama and dance.Keywords: applied arts, reflexivity, stop moment, environmental education

The Family’s Medium

Must you follow cultural traditions to respect them? In this work philosophical short story fiction, the English educated narrator has returned to her African village to potentially fulfill the role of accepting Sekuru’s spirit and serving as the conduit to the tribe’s past, and advisor and protector of the community. The only problem is, she doesn’t want the role and doesn’t entirely believe in the rituals and ceremony. The tribal elders accus of her “acting white” and rebuffing their culture and traditions. She believes, however, that she can respect her culture, while rejecting the aspects of her culture she finds outdated. In the end, she decided to fake it, and go forward with the ceremony.

A methodology based on territorial metabolism analysis to assess the multi-criteria sustainability of African village terroirs with contrasted crop-livestock systems

CONTEXTAgricultural intensification to ensure food security and limit rural exodus is a major issue in sub-Saharan Africa. The potential of livestock farming to improve the sustainability of farming systems has been studied but rarely at the landscape level. However, because the herds move about in the landscape, thereby creating horizontal biomass and nutrient flows between plots and households, the landscape is the only level where all the interactions between the different components of the agro-ecosystem (animals, crops and trees) can be considered. OBJECTIVEOur objective was to develop a methodology that uses territorial metabolism for multicriteria assessment of sustainability to compare contrasted livestock systems. METHODSWe compare two neighboring village terroirs in the former groundnut basin of Senegal. One village (Diohine), has kept a “traditional extensive system” based on fallow, free grazing and night corralling, while the other (Barry) uses a “modern semi-intensive system” based on livestock fattening in which the livestock is stall-fed with feed concentrate and crop residues. During the survey, village households were asked to describe their practices and to quantify biomass and nitrogen (N) flows to enable us to calculate sustainability indicators (productivity, balance, efficiency, dependency, profitability) at plot, household and village terroir levels. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSAt village terroir level, introducing livestock fattening increased the livestock stocking rate (0.96 TLU ha-1 in Diohine and 2.31 TLU ha-1 in Barry) and spreading of solid manure on crop fields (respectively 337 and 482 kgDM ha-1). Fattening livestock requires large imports of feed concentrate, 23.67 kgN ha-1 in Barry versus 3.39 kgN ha-1 in Diohine. The improved livestock productivity of fattening (+217 kgLW ha-1) produces higher financial returns (+432€ household-1 year-1) that enable the use of more mineral fertilizers (6.28 kgN ha-1 in Barry versus 1.09 kgN ha-1 in Diohine). The additional N inputs in Barry enable increased yields of the main staple crop (millet) (+101 kgDM ha-1). The population density of Barry village is +78% higher (320 capita km-2 in Barry versus 180 capita km-2 in Diohine). The village nitrogen balance (24.88 kgN ha-1 in Barry versus 8.51 kgN ha-1 in Diohine) and N use efficiencies (respectively 0.64 and 0.15) demonstrate that nutrient cycling and soil fertility management are more sustainable in Barry. SIGNIFICANCEWe propose a methodology to rebuild territorial metabolism from surveys. Territorial metabolism is used to calculate a set of multi-criteria sustainability indicators. This methodology will be particularly useful in sub-Saharan Africa where data on agricultural systems are lacking.

Optimal deployment of energy services for economic upliftment of low-income communities: A South African case study

Low-income communities face a causality dilemma: A lack of energy services hampers income growth and insufficient income hampers energy service provision. Interventions delivering cost-effective energy services can address this dilemma, triggering a virtuous cycle of economic upliftment. While several studies have investigated cost-effective energy supply to low-income communities, a gap exists regarding holistic optimization of energy service deployment at different levels of economic development. Hence, a novel energy system model of a South African village is presented to optimize deployment and hourly dispatch of energy supply and energy services to recover time lost to poverty-related activities (e.g., gathering wood and water). Results showed that an optimized technology rollout can save each person over 1500 productive hours per year at an average cost below 0.2 $/hour. The model also identified the optimal order of technology deployment for driving economic development. Interestingly, an electrical grid connection was of minor importance because local mini-grids could economically supply the modest power demands of lighting, refrigeration, water pumping, and cleaning, while energy-intensive cooking and water heating can be economically performed using fuels and solar heaters. Detailed studies of individual low-income communities are recommended to outline optimal technology deployment strategies and reveal the low costs involved.

A Video Game to Help the Fight Against the Vicious Tapeworm in Africa

The pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, is the agent causing the most important parasitic infection worldwide due to its substantial economic and health impacts, disproportionally affecting low-income countries. Health education should form a core component in control efforts and sustain control strategies proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), such as human treatments. Traditional health education methods have shown to be less effective. Therefore, in the field of tropical medicine, new, engaging ways to teach affected populations are needed. Within the project ‘Gaming 4 Health’ we developed an educational video game aimed at instructing school-going children in low-income countries about the tapeworm and how to prevent it. Building on the principles of gamified learning and the self-determination theory, we created the educational video game the ‘Tapeworm game’. The game was developed by a multidisciplinary team, following the game design research cycle which included five steps: game planning, game design, prototyping, play testing and evaluation. The Tapeworm game is a multi-player video game set in an African village. The game’s objective is to educate players about the tapeworm and how to prevent the the spread of disease. Players create their own avatar and learn about disease prevention by exploring the village, engaging in minigames and preforming complementary actions, such as washing hands and visiting the toilet. Points are earned by playing the minigames and performing the actions correctly within a given time. The more points a player accumulates, the higher they climb on the leader boards. Rewards are unlocked based on performance and competence and displayed as stars, badges, and avatar customizations. This makes the game exiting and keeps children fully immersed, motivating them to learn, improve and continue playing the videogame. With this videogame our goal is to educate, raise awareness and advance the control of the pork tapeworm as part of the WHO’s 2030 goals for Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The Unfinished Business of Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South

The Unfinished Business of Unsettled Things: Art from an African American South

Pollution from cooking in rural and poor urban households of Africa: A methodological review

The article examines the effect of cooking food in kitchens on the health of women, as women and children are at a greater risk to indoor air pollution (IAP). It is important to study the cooking practices and prevalent behaviours among African women to understand the magnitude of the danger they face. The study suggests that a decline in the combustion of solid fuels and the use of clean energy can improve health among women and children, as well as sustainability goals. Proverbs 17:22 says, ‘A joyful heart is the health of the body, but a depressed spirit dries up the bones’. Bible verse Numbers 35:33–34 indicates, ‘You shall not pollute the land in which you live’. The cooking fuel analysis framework among rural women in Africa will guide forward the governments’ sustainability policies for communities to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being of women and children.Contribution: The article conducts a comprehensive analysis of the literature on African cooking practices. A combined search string is made with keywords. Thematic content analysis is conducted with NVivo (produced by QSR International). The article covers two themes, namely improved well-being and suggesting policies to combat climate change and its impacts. Policies and schemes at grassroots levels and better economic conditions in African countries can help to overcome challenges and change health-damaging cooking behaviours. The new advanced sustainability analysis framework has the potential to influence modern kitchen fuels and increase the adoption of new technologies in African villages.

Listening holistically: one village’s path to address child malnutrition in Mali

ABSTRACT This study chronicles a 14-year partnership between a Malian rural village and US academics to curb childhood malnutrition. Villagers described agricultural/nutritional traditions while expressing a desire for improved quality of life for the future. Through holistic observation and listening, student/faculty partners developed a trusting relationship, and documented the community’s fundamental knowledge-base. Collaborators studied children’s dietary intake to predict micronutrient deficiencies. Villagers ultimately chose to participate in the national lunch program and to additionally supplement children’s diets with eggs. The Expansive Collaborative Model described in this article, exemplifies a cross-cultural approach which could effectively mitigate malnutrition in remote African villages.

A community approach for pathogens and their arthropod vectors (ticks and fleas) in cats of sub-Saharan Africa

BackgroundArthropod-borne pathogens and their vectors are present throughout Africa. They have been well studied in livestock of sub-Saharan Africa, but poorly studied in companion animals. Given their socioeconomic importance, the African Small Companion Animal Network (AFSCAN), as part of the WSAVA Foundation, initiated a standardized multi-country surveillance study.MethodsIn six countries (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Namibia) in both rural and urban settings, 160 infested cats were sampled to assess their ectoparasite community (ticks and fleas), as well as the micro-parasite prevalence within those ectoparasites (60 and 118 pools of ticks and fleas, respectively) and blood (276 cats, including 116 non-infested).ResultsAlmost two thirds of all infested cats originated from Tanzania and Kenya. Despite the large macro-geographical variation, no consistent difference was found in ectoparasite diversity and numbers between East and West Africa. Far more flea-infested than tick-infested cats were found. The most dominant ectoparasite was Ctenocephalides felis. Among the ticks, the exophilic Haemaphysalis spp. were the commonest, including species that are not typically linked with companion animals (Haemaphysalis spinulosa and Haemaphysalis elliptica). The most prevalent pathogens found in the blood and fleas were Bartonella henselae and Mycoplasma haemofelis. In the ticks, the dog-associated Hepatozoon canis was most commonly found. A high degree of co-parasitism was found in all countries and habitats.ConclusionsOur continent-wide standardized field study highlights the cat’s potential to serve as a reservoir of pathogens that can be transmitted to humans or livestock, especially when cats are expected to become more commonly kept in African villages and towns.Graphical

Does it matter who is spreading monkeypox?

Recently, many cases of monkeypox were reported worldwide. Although most of these cases seem to be associated with the community of men who have sex with men (MSM), not all of them are.1 Cases with west and central African monkeypox virus clades have been rising in the past 20 years.2 The current spread, due to the less transmissible and less virulent west African clade, was unexpected because observations on earlier outbreaks, mostly in African villages,3 indicated that monkeypox outbreaks are self-limiting.

Soil Nutrient Contents in East African Climate-Smart Villages: Effects of Climate-Smart Agriculture Interventions

Short-term and plot-level trials mostly produce data on the advantages of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices on food security in a changing climate. Previous studies evaluated only one or a combination of a few CSA practices that improved soil nutrients, particularly in the landscapes of East Africa; hence, it is difficult to draw general conclusions. In this study, we evaluated the effect of CSA practices portfolio on soil macronutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) and micronutrient (manganese and zinc) levels in climate-smart villages (CSVs) in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania over a six-year period across different land uses such as agroforestry, cropland, grassland, forest, and control (without CSA practices). A total of 432 soil samples were collected at depths of 0–15, 15–45, and 45–100 cm, and analyzed for macro- and micronutrients. CSA practices increased total nitrogen (TN), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) regardless of land use type or soil depth. TN, P, and K were mainly stored in surface soil (0–15 cm), accounting for 50.8–52.5%, 47.0–79.5%, and 34.2–65.5% respectively. Concentrations of Mn and Zn were 1.5–3.6 and 5.1–15.6 times greater under CSA than those under the control, respectively, at all soil depths. Results suggest that CSA practices implemented using the landscape approach contributed to improved soil fertility, which is critical in developing more sustainable and resilient production systems among smallholder farmers.

Nasal carriage of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus among sympatric free-ranging domestic pigs and wild Chlorocebus pygerythrus in a rural African setting.

BackgroundMethicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage in domestic pigs and vervet monkeys is a risk factor for subsequent severe infections in domestic pigs and for dissemination to the human population. This study assessed nasal carriage of MRSA in domestic pigs and sympatric vervet monkeys in a rural African village during an outbreak of a virus hemorrhagic fever suspected to be contracted from wild primates.This study was conducted during the 2012 Ebola outbreak to determine nasal carriage of MRSA in free-ranging domestic pigs and sympatric freely roaming vervet monkeys using conventional methods. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolated from the anterior nares were tested for susceptibility to commonly used antibiotics and conventional PCR was used to confirm methicillin resistance. The MRSA strains were then genotyped using SCCmec typing.ResultsOverall, there was a high level of resistance to tetracycline [90% (63/70) in pigs and 67% (10/15) in vervet monkeys], trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole [90% (63/70) in pigs and 67% (10/15) in vervet monkeys], and penicillin [83% (58/70) in pigs and 67% (10/15) in vervet monkeys]. Most of the MRSA strains (91.6%, 11/12) were of the SCCmec type I [1B] genotype.ConclusionThe nasal carriage of drug resistant S. aureus in freely roaming domestic and wild animals presents a risk for widespread environmental spread of antimicrobial resistance thus presenting a risk for treatment failure in domestic animals, wild animals, and humans.

The City Makers of Nairobi: An African Urban History

The City Makers of Nairobi: An African Urban History

Measuring Soil Quality Indicators under Different Climate-Smart Land Uses across East African Climate-Smart Villages

The present study assessed soil physical-chemical characteristics as reliable soil health indicators in six climate-smart land use types; agroforestry, community forest, cropland with soil and water conservation (SWC), crop land without SWC, grassland and control across climate-smart villages (CSVs) in Lushoto (Tanzania), Hoima (Uganda), Wote and Nyando (Kenya). Soils were sampled at three depths; 0–15 cm, 15–45 cm and 45–100 cm and then analyzed for bulk density (BD), pH, exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K, Na), extractable Fe, Mn, Zn, exchangeable acidity (ExAc), Electrical conductivity (EC), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Land use types and sampling depths significantly affected soil properties (p < 0.05), High bulk density (BD) was measured at 45–100 cm depth in grassland (1.47 g/cm3) and crop land (1.50 g/cm3) in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively. BD in Ugandan grasslands was statistically lower (p < 0.05) than BD in other land use types at all depths. Soil pH of surface soil (0–15 cm) ranged from 6.67 ± 0.67 (agroforestry) to 6.27 ± 0.85 (grassland). Ex. bases (Ca, Mg, K and Na) and extractable Fe, Mn, Zn, ExAc, EC, TC, TN and CEC were significantly affected by land uses (p ≤ 0.05). Soil properties were significantly correlated, a positive correlation between silt % (p < 0.01) and pH, sand and Ca (p < 0.05). EC and pH, exchangeable Ca, exchangeable bases, exchangeable K and C: N ratio was observed. There was a negative correlation (p < 0.05) between pH and clay. The study has shown that improving soil properties using land use systems leads to an increase in soil nutrients.