1st Edition
Integral Community Enterprise in Africa Communitalism as an Alternative to Capitalism
At a time of global economic crisis and disillusionment with capitalism, Adodo offers refreshing and positive insight into a more integral way of business management, enterprise and community development as well as holistic healing in Africa. For over three decades, Africa was the recipient of billions of dollars in aid funds that were meant to catapult the continent from undeveloped to developed status. Yet the more the aid poured in, the poorer African countries became.
The devastating effect of western economic models in Africa that followed is well documented. Integral Community Enterprise in Africa exposes the limitations of existing theories, such as capitalism, socialism and communism, and shows how western theories were imposed on Africa. Such imposition of concepts and ideas is not only demeaning but also unsustainable, serving only the interest of the elite.
Father Anselm Adodo argues for the need to have a southern theory to serve as an alternative to western theories. The majority of African intellectuals and activists, while criticizing existing theories, often do not provide alternative theories to address the prevalent inadequacies entrenched in conventional social, political and economic systems. This revolutionary book aims to address this lapse and proposes the theory of communitalism as a more indigenous, sustainable and integral approach to tackling the social, political, economic and developmental challenges of today’s Africa. There is an African alternative to capitalism, socialism and communism – a surer path to sustainable development in and from Africa.
This is a book that is positioned at the very core of a much needed African Renaissance. A profoundly new approach to development in Africa, this is essential reading for anyone concerned with authentic development in Africa and in the world.
Table of Contents
List of figures
List of tables
About the Author
Foreword
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
PART I: INTRODUCTION TO THE INTEGRAL JOURNEY
1: Overview of my research trajectory
PART II: ORIGINATION OF RESEARCH: RESEARCH METHOD
2: My subjective inner call: the emotive researcher
3: My objective outer challenge: how I expressed my inner desire in confronting concrete challenges in my society
PART III: CONTEXT: PHENOMENOLOGY
4: Uncovering imbalances in my context: a description of Ewu Community, Paxherbal and St Benedict Monastery
5: Unravelling missing depths: my contextual transformational topography
PART IV: CO-CREATION
6: Emancipatory critique: introduction to feminism in an African context
7: Towards a true Pax Africana: communitalism as an approach to health, community and enterprise in Ewu, Edo State, Nigeria
PART V: CONTRIBUTION AND TRANSFORMATION
8: Participatory action research in an African context: the case of Ewu village, Edo State, Nigeria
9: Cooperative inquiry in an African context: the case of Paxherbal and ACIRD
PART VI: DISTILLATION AND CONCLUSION OF THE INTEGRAL JOURNEY
CHAPTER 10: CARE-ing for Nigeria: towards an integral university in Africa
Index
Biography
Anselm Adodo, OSB is the founder and director of Nigeria’s foremost herbal research institute, the Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories. He is a prominent advocate of African herbal medicine research, indigenous knowledge systems, rural community development, health policy reform and transformation of education in Africa.
‘A work of genius with high reflective ambience, originality and vision, requiring a major restructuring of our epistemological armament. A must read for intellectuals of all descents seeking to achieve multicultural reach through transcultural disciplinary approach.’ — Prof. G.O Ozumba, Centre for Integrative Humanism, University of Calabar, Nigeria
‘Anselm Adodo proposes communitalism as an indigenous, sustainable and integral approach to tackling the developmental challenges of contemporary Africa. This book documents a personal and community journey, but it’s relevance is universal.’ — Dr. Edward Paice, Director, Africa Research Institute, London, UK
‘Communitalism is based on the premise that all humans, communities and nations must seek solutions to their problems from within. Adodo demonstrates this by the successful experiments conducted in a rural community in Nigeria. The key strength of communitalism is that it can be replicated anywhere. Africa is in dire need of such a theory originating from Africa.’ — Prof. Ohioma Pogoson, Director, Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
‘In modern times we are looking for an integral vision of our world and the human being after the unity has fallen apart: East and West, North and South, individual and community, science and spirituality and economics. Father Anselm Adodo, known for his research in traditional herbal medicine, is presenting a new integral vision, the theory of Communitalism. This is true African Wisdom, enriching the other cultures of this globe.’ — Notker Wolf, O.S.B., Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Order, Rome, Italy
‘An intellectually brilliant and elegantly argued theory for all who wish to understand Africa and its stunted economic growth and development. Adodo presents refreshing and home-grown pathways to holistic development in Africa.’ — Samuel Etatuvie, Director-General, Nigeria Natural Medicine Develop
