Page 192 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

12 When Elephants Fight, It Is the Grass That Suffers 169

metal used in cell phones, laptops, and other electronic devices. A worldwide

shortage of coltan has driven its price up to nearly US$600 a kilogram providing
miners with up to US$200/month compared to a national average of US$10/month.
Forests and streams are being destroyed, the bush meat trade is depleting wildlife,
large numbers of miners fight over mining rights, and war lords are using the
money to buy arms that are being used in the continuous genocide that has killed
over three million people and displaced 1.5 million refugees in the Congo over the
last 15 years. Coltan is now known as a “blood ore” in what has become known
cynically as “guns, money, and cell phones.” Thus, positive change for ecojustice
in Malawi is in part, contributing to eco-injustice change in Congo. And so, change
in Africa continues as the elephants fight.
But, I do not want to end this anecdotal essay with elephants fighting and the
grass continuing to suffer. One facet of resources that has not yet been realized in
Africa is the continents’ lost crop. Today, the 6+ billion people living on earth
depend upon only three grains that were developed as food resources 10,000 years
ago in the “stone” age!: wheat, maize, and rice. This is a “recipe” for a global
disaster if we would consider human extinction, as such, and a major crop failure
takes place. Climate change and global warming may certainly qualify as part of
such a recipe. The US National Research Council (NRC) in partnership with sev-
eral other science organizations both in the USA and many African countries have
identified over 50,000 plant species indigenous to the continent. Over 1,000
Africans have been asked to identify their favorite grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables,
legumes, and other food plants. They have identified over 1,000 grains, up to 3,000
native vegetable roots, stems, leaves, bulbs, and fruits, and thousands of fruits that
they know, but have been “lost” through displacement of introduced plant food
resources (NRC 1996, 2006, 2008). Populations of people throughout quite vast
areas of Africa have continuously used many of the plants, whereas others are only
known and used locally. Little is really known about their genetic potentials
because the focus of research and development has been on increased productivity
of the few introduced species that have become the food staples intolerant to the
vicarious African seasons.
However, out of the unpredictable changes associated with rainy seasons has
emerged the inspirational story of William Kamkwamba, “the boy who harnessed
the wind” (Kamkwabala and Mealer 2009). Kamkwamba was forced to drop out of
school because there was no money left for school fees because of the crop failures.
But, his quest for knowledge was partially satisfied by a village library where he
found a fascinating illustrative textbook on electricity, Using Energy. Kamkwamba
envisioned building a windmill for generating electricity in his home where he read
by candlelight. Using scraps of metal, old tractor fan blades, parts of bicycles, and
local wood, and especially his imagination, he built a windmill that could convert
wind energy into electrical energy. His accomplishments have brought international
attention and recognition and donations to the whole community.
Malawi is a parable for global change. Its story emphasizes, that while interna-
tionally, scientists and politicians have focused their attention on the established
and easy crops to grow and energy production on a large scale, local people today