124
65 Guri, Banuoko, Derbile, Hiemstra and Verschuuren
Box 2: Learning about worldviews
Worldviews and concepts of life: The relationship
of mankind to nature and the spiritual world:
creation myths, the divine beings; the role of
ancestors, sacred persons, animals, places and
objects; the concept of nature; and relationships of
cause and effect.
Indigenous institutions: How local institutions
regulate community decision-making, the
management of resources and experimentation
with new practices; understanding roles,
responsibilities and attitudes of indigenous
institutions in experimentation and innovation
processes.
Box 3: Assets identified by the Tanchara
community members
• Biological assets: threatened tree species, crop
and animal species, medicinal herbs.
• Natural assets: clay deposits, natural water
sources, raw materials for local crafts, natural sites
for water collection.
• Cultural assets: traditional architecture, local
crafts, traditional artefacts, indigenous technologies,
traditional medicine in the community.
• Social assets: festivals, health centres, educational
facilities, social centres, markets.
• Spiritual assets: shrines, sacred groves, forests,
tree, water points.
Indigenous practices and use of knowledge:
Important practices relating to the management of
natural resources, agriculture and health. What are
concepts and explanations for the practices used by
the local population? And how do they relate to
western explanations and concepts? How do people
learn, teach, experiment, innovate?
Interaction: How do local or indigenous knowledge
systems interact with outside sources of
knowledge? What is the focus of education,
research and extension, religion and health?
Changes in the worldviews of the local
communities: Identify changes that are the result of
external influences and changes that are a result of
internal adjustments to ecological, technological,
commercial, political or demographic change. To
what extent is experimentation and learning
influenced by, or mixed with, the western
worldview? What are the contradictions or tensions:
erosion of indigenous knowledge and indigenous
institutions, creative adaptation, conflicts or parallel
systems, underground knowledge?
Options that exist for endogenous development
of local communities: What is the vision of success
in terms of desired changes for ED? What are key
capacities for revitalised ED? What strategies, tools
and techniques can strengthen community capacity
for ED?
Source: Edited version of ‘Appreciating the
diversity of worldviews’, pp. 81-107, in: Learning
Endogenous Development, Practical Action (2007).
Online: www.compasnet.org
of the importance of biodiversity, the sacred
groves and the Tingandem who guard the
groves has also substantially increased. This
growing capacity and confidence of the
community in its ability to mobilise and
negotiate with external agents was to prove
vital when faced with the threat of gold
mining on its land.
The mining threat and the community’s
response
In 2000 the Ghanaian government
granted rights to prospect for gold in
Nawdoli, Lawra and Jirapa districts in
Upper West Ghana. The communities in
these areas were not informed or involved
in this decision. Nor were NGOs such as
CIKOD, who were working with the
communities. The rights that were granted
encouraged illegal gold prospecting from
2007, threatening the Tanchara’s sacred
groves. Naa Yaa-yin Niber, a traditional
leader of Tanchara relates what happened
next:
Our main concern [was] a mining
company that [was] about to enter our
community. I called a community
meeting, so everybody would know about
this mining issue. These days nobody
wants to look like a fool, so I gathered my
people together and now we are united and
ready to prevent future problems.
The Tingandem formulated a statement protesting about the activities of the
illegal miners and asking the government
to safeguard their sacred groves and sites
from both legal and illegal mining. All the
Tingandem appended their thumb prints
on this paper and asked CIKOD to send
this to the appropriate authorities for their
attention and action. CIKOD responded by
facilitating discussions in the community,