Community knowledge, cohesion and environmental sustainability : an educational case study in Clarkson

Abstract

An ethnographic case study was done in the rural community of Clarkson which lies at the foot of the Tsitsikamma Mountains in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Rural communities gathered and developed local wisdom on the natural resources around them. The study shows that in the past, life in Clarkson was characterised by such shared wisdom, an abundance of natural resources, as well as strong community cohesion. With the advent of modern lifestyles community cohesion and practices were disrupted and today, people living in Clarkson are less dependent on each other and on local resources. This study suggests that some of the past wisdom, community knowledge, practices and skills that existed for ages in Clarkson, can still be useful today in the context of environmental sustainability. The incorporation of this knowledge into the new outcomes-based education curriculum in South Africa and the local school curriculum, is explored.