[p2p-research] Dadamac and Leapfrogging towards post-industrial development

[Michel Bauwens]

Hi Pam,

I'm publishing this on the 28th at

http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/leapfrogging-towards-post-industrial-development/2009/10/28

It seems really congruent with Franz Nahrada's global villages approach and
perhaps also with Vinay Gupta's global swadeshi?

Michel



XX

That is the opportunity that the development of Africa presents. Rural
Africa missed out on the industrial revolution that raised the living
standards of the industrial nations. It is a fresh canvas where we can paint
a new picture of development. We can work together, learning from the
mistakes of the past, using the sustainable technologies of the present,
developing the technolgies of the future. … There is no reason for top-down
solutions any more. We have ICT, we can connect with each other, many people
already have good working information channels between “developed” and
“developing” worlds - let’s make better use of them. Let’s “rub minds” to
create sustainable, resiliant communites in rural Africa, using the best
technological solutions we can come up with, combining local and
international expertise.

An interesting meditation<http://www.dadamac.net/blog/20091015/pam-we-want-street-lights>from
*Pamela McLean*, based on her experience in rural development in Africa
through her Dadamac initiative <http://www.dadamac.net/projects/ecodome>:

*“I am reminded of a conversation I had with a security man one dark night
on a compound in rural Nigeria.*

*I was admiring the stars. He was surprised. I explained that here in the UK
I live on a main road; I need thick curtains in the bedroom to keep out the
street lighting; light pollution hides all but the brightest of stars. He
said he had previously met an American woman, also admiring the stars. She
had said something similar but he had not believed her. Now I was saying the
same thing so he was starting go belive it was true.*

*Another time, stumbling along a dark village path one evening someone said
to me “Pam, we want street lights like you have”. I replied no “You want
street lights - but not like I have! I believe there are better ones now
than the ones I have - ones which do not prevent you from seeing the stars”*

*What does this have to do with climate change and sustainable futures? Well
I have the privilege of close connections with rural Africa, and many
friends who are struggling to improve the situations of their impoverished
communities. They want “What I have got” - but “What I have got” is not
sustainable. Much of it is not even sensible - such as the way our water
system works. We have to filter water to make it fit for drinking - but then
much of it goes straight down the toilet. Crazy!*

*If we started now surely we’d do things differently. But it’s hard to put
things right when you have already got things working okay in the wrong way.
If you haven’t even started yet then it is different. You can get it right -
from the very beginning.*

*That is the opportunity that the development of Africa presents. Rural
Africa missed out on the industrial revolution that raised the living
starndards of the industrial nations. It is a fresh canvas where we can
paint a new picture of development. We can work together, learning from the
mistakes of the past, using the sustainable technologies of the present,
developing the technolgies of the future, and finding solutions that can
also be copied by the nations that developed first.*

*The innovators made great strides in industry and technology but “We did it
first, and so, not surprisingly, we made some serious mistakes along the
way”. We have sytems that are pplluting and are not sustainable, We have
gained visible consumer assets, but many people feel we have lost some
invisible community assets. This time let’s all do devlopment together and
do it right - let’s have community development that is sustainable and can
be used to tackle the related issues of poverty alleviation, peak oil and
climate change.*

*There is no reason for top-down solutions any more. We have ICT, we can
connect with each other, many people already have good working information
channels between “developed” and “developing” worlds - let’s make better use
of them. Let’s “rub minds” to create sustainable, resiliant communites in
rural Africa, using the best technological solutions we can come up with,
combining local and international expertise. Then, as we get some local
solutions that really work - let’s adapt them and adopt them elsewhere as
climate change and peak oil issues drive us all into new ways of living.”*

*More information from/on Pamela McLean’s projects:*

*“For anyone who genuinely wants to collaborate and “rub minds” the story of
the Ecodome at Attachab may be of interest
http://www.dadamac.net/projects/ecodome.*

*If anyone wants to get involved in this kind of collaboration please
contact me to see how Dadamac can help (Dadamac is like a dating agency -
but for knowledge. We help people to “meet” each other, communicate
effectively, and move forward with their projects)*

*If you respond to this comment please do not rely on RSS feed from here but
also send me a direct email to pamela.mclean at dadamac.net“*


On Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 7:02 AM, <pam54321 at googlemail.com> wrote:

> I've shared a document with you:
>
> Dadamac
>
> http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AYl41estuotnZHZramdxbV84OWRxY3JwM2Z6&hl=en_GB&invite=CLSe7r4G
>
> It's not an attachment - it's stored online at Google Docs. To open this
> document, just click the link above.
>
> You asked for coded version - but I don't know what that means. I wonder if
> this version is any better for you.
>
>


-- 
Work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhurakij_Pundit_University - Research:
http://www.dpu.ac.th/dpuic/info/Research.html - Think thank:
http://www.asianforesightinstitute.org/index.php/eng/The-AFI

P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net  - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net

Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss:
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