The Club has really become the nucleus of traditional knowledge in the area. If there are ever any problems or issues for the community to discuss or resolve then the club get together and first ask 'what would our ancestors do?' Chester Chituwu, Director of CELUCT

The Chikukwa Ecological Land Use Management Trust (CELUCT) work with communities in the remote mountainous Chimanimani district of Zimbabwe. Some twenty years ago, they established a community Training Centre in the heart of the village. The Training Centre offers a space in which the community come first - it's their centre and it's run by them - and it's now a celebrated hub of activity far and wide. Neighbouring and far flung communities from across Zimbabwe come to learn about ecological farming practices and reviving traditional culture in this very special space.

In 2007, in a bid to support the community to revive and hold onto their own cultural identity, CELUCT worked with the local people to establish a 'Culture Club'. The idea emerged out of dialogues between CELUCT and the traditional leaders of the community. The leaders suggested that they needed a space where people could come and learn about their culture. The Culture Club was born and there are now over 100 members.

Membership wthin the club is respected and celebrated by putting great emphasis on the importance of indigenous knowledge and inter-generational learning. Chester Chituwu, Director of CELUCT says "The Club has really become the nucleus of traditional knowledge in the area. If there are ever any problems or issues for the community to discuss or resolve then the club get together and first ask 'what would our ancestors do'?"

Now, whenever there is training within the Centre, the Culture Club are invited to spend some time talking about the importance of reviving and respecting cultural traditions. Members of the Club perform traditional dances, explaining the deeper significance of these practices. Chester points out "it's not simply a display like one that might be given for tourists, without context or explanation! There is deeper meaning, and history to these dances and processes, and the Culture Club seek to explain and express them so their value is more deeply felt by those who watch and experience them".

The Club is also beginning to visit local schools to encourage the younger generation to value their heritage, and to start them on a journey to understand their ancestral history, their culture and their traditions, and ultimately, to help revive these practices for future generations.

Building Constructive Communities

Through years of experience in working with the communities in an open dialogue, CELUCT have found that, inevitably, conflict and misunderstanding can occur during the course of the process. To begin to deal with this they designed a programme called Building Constructive Communities and started to develop methods and platforms for the community to address their differences and to reach common agreement and a peaceful resolution.

One of the most effective means of addressing arising conflicts was the inroduction, by CELUCT, of the 'Three Circles of Knowledge'. The three circles of knowledge are firstly, the Indigenous Knowledge Circle; secondly the Spiritual Knowledge Circle; and finally, the Analytic Circle. According the CELUCT, all three must be consulted, in this order, as part of the process of solving a problem or resolving conflict which has occurred.

When you come across a problem you must first of all dig deep and ask how were our elders and ancestors able to deal with this? So already they acknowledge that there is something very positive which can be found from their indigenous knowledge system.

The Indigenous Knowledge Circle

The Indigenous Knowledge Circle is the first to be consulted in the process. Chester explains "When you come across a problem you must first of all dig deep and ask how were our elders and ancestors able to deal with this? So already they acknowledge that there is something very positive which can be found from their indigenous knowledge system".

The Spiritual Knowledge Circle

Having drawn from their dialogues around how the ancestors may have dealt with the arising conflict, they then refer to the Spiritual Knowledge Circle. At this stage the community, or group involved in the conflict, ask themselves how they would deal with the problem according to their religious or spiritual beliefs. Responses vary within the community, but many of those who are Christian also practise some traditional spiritual processes relating to ancient local belief systems. Chester explains "The gathering must ask themselves: 'If you are a Christian how would you deal with it? If you practice the traditional spiritual beliefs how would you deal with it?' What we find is that whatever your belief system is, good will be good and bad will be bad - they realize that their beliefs overlap in this way. They realize that there is much commonality in their belief systems".

The Analytic Circle

The final consultation of the process occurs within what CELUCT have termed the Analytic Circle. "This is the knowledge that you acquire - either through formal or informal education, reading and so on. This is the third and final reference point that the community use to deal with their problems. Although the Analytic Circle is the more 'current' system, it is vital that it is not the starting point. First they must dig deep within their traditional knowledge and practices".

Acknowledging Different Perspectives and Finding Common Ground

Within this system CELUCT also use symbols to help the community understand one anothers perspectives. The number '3' is used in a game which sees the community asked to look at the shape from four different angles. For some it looks like an 'm', for some a 'w', for others an 'E' and for some a '3'. "By observing how the shape can look different from four different perspectives we remind the community that there are many ways of looking at things and that different opinions and perspectives must be respected".

"Through both of these processes we remind the community that while we are one, we are bound to have different views but this in itself can and should also bind us together. We also say that we don't direct negative energies to these issues but instead work with them to find constructive outcomes - hence using processes such as the Three Circles".

To read the full interview with Chester Chituwu of CELUCT click here, or find out about their Seed Saving work by visiting our Food Sovereignty pages.