Description

Transformation is a learnt process requiring infrastructural and environmental settings for a successful developmental journey. SIRDC, BTD, Trans-4-m, Da Vinci Institute of Management of Technology and Innovation, UZ and others are all continuous learning platforms where leadership have significantly contributed immeasurable transformation learning curves. The journey from 2011 sought to mitigate climate change that causes drought and also to find solutions for “production of more food with less water’ for people’s livelihoods. This would be done through the application of appropriate indigenous and exogenous knowledge as interventions to improve food and nutrition status in Africa is not an easy one. A case study was carried out at Madawa village in Mutoko, Zimbabwe. The journey is in four parts namely the call, context, co-creation and contribution. On grounding in 2012 the journey’s participants have focused on issues that relate to food security, nutrition matters and above all sustaining people’s livelihoods. Exogenous knowledge applied particularly to conservation agriculture and drip irrigation, all were not really new to us but they were tedious, laborious and required time compression. The research team’s effort was to avoid drudgery. Co-researchers have revived the two technologies which have been enabled by integral research. Integral research consists of four main researches to innovation paths each linking call to context. The four paths are Southern Relational Path, Eastern Path of Renewal, Northern Path of Reason and Western Path of Realisation. Each Research to Innovation path consists of four levels, ultimately resulting (through Action Research on level 4) in transformative action. The integral research and innovation overview indicates the route from fundamental research to Transformation Action namely level 1 Method, level 2 Methodology, level 3 Critique and level 4 Action. The Southern Relational path undertaken entails the use of descriptive methods, phenomenology (emerging through bee keeping and tree planting in 2013), feminism (navigation took place and mutsago headrest theory was done in 2014) and participatory action research (transformative action here solar drip irrigation and conservation agriculture took place) (PAR) while the Eastern Path of’ renewal’s main focus is cooperative inquiry (CI). Use of CI came as a result of numerous groups forming. The year 2015 onwards was the period of effecting and universalizing.
The thesis structure - the integral journey is made up of 4 Cs. The 4 Cs journey is as follows: Chapter 1 is the introduction; Part 1 Call - Embarking on the journey it is made up of 2 chapters namely 2 & 3; Part 2 Context - Uncovering imbalances is made up of one chapter 4; Part 3 Co-creation - Transforming reality, it has 4 chapters namely 5 to 8; and Part 4 Contribution - Universalizing Development is made up of three chapters namely 9 and 10 and the last chapter 11 tells the whole transformative journey from start to end. Data accumulated was through self-immersion within the research communities such as Mutoko Community. Our main focus was food security and related livelihoods social protection (LSP). LSP is about safety, access, effectiveness etc. Agriculture is the key driver for economic growth, capacity building and is one of the largest employment sector within each economy of Africa. The study in Zimbabwe reveals the need for curricular change so that the courses match the curricular that harmonizes with the global changes particularly in the area of creativity and innovations. This transformation will enable people to be self-reliant.