African Traditions
Learning Objectives
- Discuss the concept of sustainability in relation to food and agriculture
- Explain the centrality of sustainability in traditional African spirituality
- Describe the traditional African spiritual tenets of growing, preparing, and sharing food
- Relate sustainability and African spiritual principles to their family and community experience
Materials and Resources
Background information
- Agroecology in West Africa [Wikipedia]
- Contributions of African Crops to American Culture and Beyond: The Slave Trade and Other Journeys of Resilient Peoples and Crops [Frontiers]
- Limited Access: “The World Began with Farming”: Creativity and Resilience in West African Savanna Agriculture [Mande Studies]
- A developmental history of West African agriculture [ReseachGate: book chapter]
- Traditional beliefs promote sustainability in West Africa [ScienceDaily]
- How Africans Are Saving Their Own Soil [National Geographic]
- Why traditional agricultural practices can’t transform African agriculture [Cornell Alliance for Science]
Technology:
- iPad with Clips application
- No Tech Option: have youth script and perform what would be their Clips video
Opening Activity: ~15 minutes
Group Discussion Question: What does it mean to have a tradition?
Have youth share their understanding of what a tradition is and what it means to “have a tradition” in their family or community. List examples of traditions that youth mention in their explanations. Next, ask them to think about how their families or communities continue these traditions. How do they show that they are doing something traditional? Ask them to consider: how do we keep traditions alive?
Content Lesson and Activities: ~60 minutes
Content and Discussion
Introduce the general concept of sustainability as a method of keeping traditions alive.
- Example activity: Watch a video introducing the concept of sustainability-related to food: Exploring Food Sustainability, Sustainability Institute
Share and discuss different tenets of sustainability in African spirituality:
- The living, the departed, and the unborn are all one.
- The inextricable link between land and food
- Food is a link between the departed, the living, and the unborn.
- Reflection and appreciation in sharing family meals
- “Seedtime and Harvest; Sowing and Reaping” in African farming community life
Ask youth to identify examples of parallels between African tenets and issues of modern issues of food sustainability (e.g., buying local to cut down on transportation costs). Discuss examples from their lives of how their families and communities sustain traditions related to these different tenets.
Group Activity
Have youth work in groups of two or three with their iPads to create short Clips videos. They will write the script, record and edit the Clips video, and share the clip with the group. If no technology is available, they can perform their scripts for the group.
In their video/script, youth should share one of the tenets as discussed by the group and then share an example of how it connects to their lives. If youth cannot think of examples from their own lives, they can create examples of how they think others have continued these traditions of sustainability.
At-Home Activity
Youth are asked to reflect on traditions in their own lives are continued from their great grandparents, their grandparents, and their parents to the young ones and future members of their families. Youth are encouraged to ask these questions at home and return to the next session with stories about their family traditions.
Closing Activity: ~15 minutes
Journal Reflection Question: What is a tradition that your family has that you think is important and want to sustain?