GSIF Blog 2

  • Give three compelling examples of how cultural issues affect your project.

Sierra Leone being a low resource country has cultures that are not quite the same as we often witness here in the United States. Due to this variation in customs, it is understandable that we will face some difficulties with sustaining the mushroom production systems in the West African country. Three prime examples of cultural issues that may impact our project to some extent are the language barrier, the people’s lack of agricultural knowledge, and the ease with how they accept our systems of mushroom production. Firstly, it might be slightly difficult for us to communicate with the people of Sierra Leone because not all of them can understand English. Therefore, to explain and educate them about our mushroom production systems, we would need people that can thoroughly comprehend the English language to be able to spread the knowledge of how beneficial mushrooms are.

Secondly, because the general public of Sierra Leone is unaware of common agricultural practices, we would need to teach them how to properly grow mushrooms since it is a very delicate process. This is mainly the impact of British colonialism since the British used Sierra Leone primarily to extract diamonds and other useful valuable minerals while growing crops in surrounding countries like Ghana. The agricultural sector is additionally constrained by several factors including lack of improved inputs, labor shortages, and post-harvest losses. Land degradation and deforestation have resulted in declining soil fertility, which in turn has undermined sustainable agricultural development in the country (USAID). Our project would be something that would contribute to providing food security in Sierra Leone since the country has a suitable environment for growing mushrooms.

Also, from what I have heard so far, the people of Sierra Leon are very direct. This means that we would need to know precisely what we are talking about or else there is a great chance that the people would be confused. Lastly, they might be reluctant to accept foreign ideas from us since we would seem like saviors. We would want to come off as a group of people who are genuinely interested in helping them at our own will. Through the mushroom production systems, we want to aid the people of Sierra Leone to a brighter future where the concept of malnutrition would not exist.

  • Have you experienced or observed any of these social situations at home? Describe at least three such situations.

Since America is a huge melting pot of cultures, naturally there are some issues similar to the ones in Sierra Leone that overlap. The language barrier is something many immigrants face here regularly. I faced this barrier when I first came to America at the age of eight. I would sit in my second-grade classroom simply observing everything without being able to insert my input. It was quite a difficult time because not being able to understand what is going on around you when you are surrounded by unfamiliar faces is not a good experience. I believe that this is still a common phenomenon that a lot of people that immigrated to America at a young age face. I also think that this issue is bound to stay as long as the immigration policy of this country does not change.

I do not think that the majority of the people here are completely unaware of agricultural practices here. However, there are probably people who are oblivious to how nutritious mushrooms are. Growing up, my twin sister would never eat mushrooms at home because she would say that they are fungi and are disgusting. Even to this day, she does not touch mushrooms even though she knows that they are very nutritious. I believe that there are still people here that do not understand how beneficial mushrooms are. So, it is essential to educate them about the benefits of eating mushrooms.

People here generally tend to be very direct. However, there are exceptions to this just as there are exceptions to anything.

  • Give three examples of cultural practices that can be leveraged to address community/market problems.

One example of how a cultural practice can be leveraged to address community problems is through music. On average, people spend around 18 hours a week listening to music (IFPI’s New Report). If this is the case, then why not use music to educate people about cultural issues? This has already been done in the past and was quite influential. Kendric Lamar has won the Pulitzer Prize for capturing racial issues in America through his album Damn (NPR). If more artists join the initiative to educate people on issues like global warming, race, and other societal problems, it would certainly benefit everyone.

Plastic bags remain a hazardous material that is unfortunately still in use today in a lot of states. They are to blame for many environmental problems. For example, they get into the soil and slowly release toxic chemicals. They eventually break down into the soil, with the unfortunate result being that animals eat them and often choke and die. Not only do they clog up sewer systems, but some of them end up traveling to bodies of water and end up killing marine life. So, the usage of plastic bags must be stopped. One way to leverage this problem is to repurpose plastic bags to make something better. For example, Adidas partnered with Parley for the Oceans, a global network of creators, thinkers, and leaders from brands, governments and environmental groups who come together “to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of the oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction by reusing the waste plastic” (Adidas). Collaborations between big companies and smaller environmental companies might be the way to save our planet from its current state.

Malnutrition and starvation have become a sort of culture in low resource countries. It is vital to develop sustainable agricultural techniques that will help eliminate malnutrition in Sierra Leone. This can essentially be done by helping the locals learn about effective ways of growing and distributing energy-rich food like mushrooms. It is our goal to essentially put an end to hunger and undernourishment in Sierra Leone through our mushroom production systems.

Works Cited

“Agriculture and Food Security: Sierra Leone.” U.S. Agency for International Development, 21 Nov. 2019, www.usaid.gov/sierra-leone/agriculture-and-food-security.

Flanagan, Andrew. “Kendrick Lamar’s ‘DAMN.’ Wins Historic Pulitzer Prize In Music.” NPR, NPR, 16 Apr. 2018, www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/04/16/602948758/kendrick-lamars-damn-wins-historic-pulitzer-prize-in-music.

“Music Listening in 2019: 10 Takeaways from the IFPI’s New Report.” Music Listening in 2019: 10 Takeaways from the IFPI’s New Report, musically.com/2019/09/24/music-listening-2019-ifpi-report/.

“Parley Ocean Plastic.” Adidas News Site | Press Resources for All Brands, Sports and Innovations, 3 Oct. 2018, news.adidas.com/parley-ocean-plastic.

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