Dear colleagues
I am happy to read the contributions so far!! Indeed, indigenous and local peoples, across the globe and diverse ecosystems, have adopted a plethora of strategies for addressing family food securities.
For example, rural Bangladeshi households follow the well-established tradition of ‘’musti chaul’’ – of keeping back one fistful of dry rice each time a meal was cooked, to hold against lean times, to have ready when a beggar called, or to donate to the mosque or temple when called on to do so.
Women being the key strategist of ensuring food security of the family, policies need to pay enough attention and focus on their needs and priorities. Strategies supporting their efforts to save food or the income from sale of crops and livestock need to be tailored to the ‘’seasonalities’’ which affects many rural communities (See HARVEST TIME SAVING draft that our team is proposing). (attached)
Such efforts require a radical shift in attitude and behavioiur among professionals and ‘’experts’’ who are often used to top-down model of development interventions. Robert Chambers (of IDS, Sussex, often labeled the ‘’undisputed dean of Participatory Planning) advise that such professionals need to start to Sit down, listen, learn… and ‘’Ask them’’. … He emphasize prioritizing Shutting up, among such experts to empower the locals, which could be surprisingly hard to practice, as it requires ‘’suffering the silence’’.
Looking forward to learn more.
Regards, Getaneh
Mr. Getaneh Gobezie