Work is still associated predominantly with employment. A lot of studies focus on the link between learning and labour, but there are few investigations of what kind of knowledge is produced in the act of creating and sustaining life. This is not surprising as subsistence production is not valued as much as work that generates profits. The daily backbreaking work of poor people and women is best captured from the perspective of livelihood systems. These are constantly adjusted and they vary from one person, household or community to another. Working knowledge defined in terms of livelihood activities includes knowing how local hierarchies are tied up in larger socio-political structures, how indigenous herbs can be used for healing, and how communal resources should best be managed so that they serve the interests of all. The paper uses a case study from a village in Zimbabwe to illustrate how the collective actions of a community resulted in learning that led to the rehabilitation of a community dam and a plan for sustainable management of this asset. In this way, villagers could diversify their activities, and thus become less vulnerable to hazards such as drought. The paper suggests that educators have a role in helping villagers to ask the right questions in the process of making really useful knowledge for living.
Reprints and Corporate Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:
Academic Permissions
Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?
Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:
If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.
Related Research Data
Related research
People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.
Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.
Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.