Page 389 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

364 C.D. Stonebanks

From Mistissini to Malawi

In the spring of 2009 I travelled to Malawi and Tanzania under the guidance of
Doug Miller, retired teacher and current coordinator of the Makupo Development
Project, and Francis Jumpe, a resident of Makupo, Malawi. The purpose of this trip
was to develop research contacts, explore experiential learning possibilities for
university students, and as I told a very surprised Malawi customs agent, to learn.
“Why are you visiting Malawi?” the customs agent asked.
“To learn about your country and its education system,” I responded, perhaps a
little too eagerly.
“Oh, very good.” he said as he stamped my passport and sent me on my way.
Perhaps this time was the most expedient pass through customs (Canada and
the United States included) that I ever have experienced. On this trip, we were
primarily concerned with looking for research connections with academics, teach-
ers, activists, political leaders, and/or any stakeholders in education who had an
interest in delving into how indigenous knowledge is utilized in schools. I was
earnest in expressing to these individuals that I knew there was much to learn
about Malawi itself. To my surprise, the Malawi customs agent expressed that he
was not shocked a foreigner carrying a Canadian passport had something to learn
from his country; rather, it was a pleasant acknowledgement that if you were
indeed open to it, there is much to experience. This was a response that we often
received from those we met and it was also coupled with a hope of reciprocity, that
is, that these individuals also hoped to dialogue and discover from our knowledge
as well. Not limited to academics, people from all walks of Malawian society
had something to say about the state of education and its relationship to life in
Malawi.
The 1,400 m Mount Kasungu stands as a predominant geographical feature in
the Kasungu region landscape of Malawi. Driving past it on the main highway, the
first visual you are taken in with is not only the size of the mountain itself, but also
how the bare slopes reveal the deforestation that has occurred. Deforestation in
Malawi is due to wood being the principle source of fuel within economic reach of
the vast majority of Malawians and a colonial history in which “colonial power
structures did not capitalize on Malawi’s natural resources. Instead, colonists intro-
duced domesticated crops deemed of value to Europeans (e.g., tobacco, tea, sugar,
cotton), but not to Malawians” (Kalipeni and Feder 1999, p. 38). For many of the
Malawians I spoke with, there is a loss of biodiversity with indigenous plants also
used as traditional medicines, namely, the “old ways of knowing” that were once
reliable, trusted, and valued. Needless to say that deforestation on Mount Kasungu
is nearly complete, with significant-sized mature tress standing only in areas
beyond the physical reach of humans. I was told by locals that Kasungu was a
strategic site of resistance, or natural stronghold, which allowed a local chief to
repel an invasion by a rival tribe. Spiritually, it also is the site of pilgrimage, with
the ascent and prolonged time and prayer at the peak of the mountain being consid-
ered a holy experience.