Page 177 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

154 G.E. Glasson

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deforestation and air pollution. For the rural Malawian family, there is little alternative
but to use wood or charcoal for cooking or to heat homes. Electricity is affordable
only by affluent citizens with white-collar jobs. Even then, the supply of electricity
is intermittent and sometimes available for only a few hours a day. This lack of sup-
ply of electricity is related to damage to hydroelectric turbines due to severe flooding
3
of the Shire River, the excessive growth of plants that clog the turbines, and the
continuous breakdown of the country’s power transmission network. Thus, access to
electricity as an energy source is related not only to achieving affluence or economic
wealth, but also to environmental and infrastructure issues. Ecojustice for rural farm-
ers in Malawi would require access to renewable and nonpolluting energy sources.

Indigenous Agricultural Practices

The legacy of colonization and the continued global influence of western agricultural
practices have led to a loss of indigenous farming practices that are in many cases
more ecologically sustainable than western farming methods. To better understand
indigenous farming practices in Malawi, our research team interviewed rural farmers
in both their native tribal languages of Chichewa and Chiyao (Glasson et al. 2010).
These interviews revealed sustainable practices of rural farmers that were passed
down through generations. For example, a traditional farmer along the Shire River
grows crops under particular type of acacia species, the msangu tree, to improve crop
yield. As one farmer explained, the shedding of tree leaves ((kulakatika kwa
masamba) replenishes soil fertility (chajila). The leaves are buried to quicken decom-
position (kuwola). Using msangu leaves as a natural fertilizer (chajila cha chil-
engedwe) also improves crop yield. According to the farmer we interviewed, passing
down of knowledge of elders (kusunga misyungu ja achinangolo) to children is very
important in conserving (kuteteya) msangu trees. Most notably, these sustainable
practices were embedded in the vernacular languages of the community.
These interviews were interpreted in the context of third space theory (Bhabha
1994). Third space theory provides a framework for understanding how the first
space or home culture of indigenous people is challenged by encounters in the
second space of western culture. Giving voice to indigenous people in traditional
languages and discourses in a third space allows for a hybridized exchange of lan-
guage and ideas. For example, the farmers in these interviews shunned the use
unaffordable synthetic fertilizers that eventually depleted the soil in favor of tradi-
tional farming practices. Unfortunately, indigenous knowledge is marginalized in
the standardized school curriculum in Malawi (Phiri 2008) and the knowledge

2 Although Malawi is a subtropical country, only 32% of the land is arable and 28% is forested
(Ministry of Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs 2002).
3 The Shire River, home to hundreds of hippos, grazing elephants, and crocodiles along its banks,
is the main tributary flowing from Lake Malawi to the Indian Ocean.