Kenya has given kiondo to the world. It's all about weaving. And we have given M-Pesa to the world too -- which is all about digits and mobility and thinking locally and weaving assets into the villages, and into all other sorts of 'glocality'. Indeed, evidence from paleontology and archaeology clearly suggests that the earliest technology hubs (iHubs) set up by humankind, and dating back 3.3 million years to the stone age -- the age, it should not escape our attention, of not just stone tools but also stone chips -- were located in Lomekwi, in Kenya's Turkana County.
READ: World's Oldest Stone Tools Discovered Near Lake Turkana
I think I went back to the library a couple of times after that first reading, and re-read the article with undiminished enthusiasm. Subsequently, however, I was unable to trace the hard copy. But though my interest diverted to other 'things', I did not quite give up. Indeed, with the mini digital 'revolution' that was soon to begin its sweep of our varsity, I knew that the article was never going to disappear. Yesterday afternoon, as part of an extended period of on-line research, I decided to secure access to Weavin' Digital, and today I have -- only to learn that Teshome died in 2010!
The two authors' thesis, or hypothesis, is straightforward:
"...despite the newness often attributed to computer technology,
much of its vocabulary, as well as that of the internet, draws on
relational concepts borrowed from back-strap weaving."
They proceed to adduce evidence to make their case in a way that I find persuasive. This is not an endeavour steeped in statistics, but is, instead, entirely qualitative. 'Thick description' is demonstrably their preferred analytical method. Are they, in all this, guilty of bad abductive thinking? I think not. Still, an intriguing question remains: What is it exactly -- in their culture(s) and learning, and perceptions -- that inspired recent digital designers to so collectively revert to the weaving vocabulary of the past?
It is the kind of subtle thinking that Teshome and Wagnuster engage in in this article that, I think, the increasingly computer savvy African youth need to be aware of in order to feel a deep sense of ownership of today's digital technology, and to weave their own magic. They are not outsiders. There should be no divide, certainly not at the level of conceiving/developing apps! You cannot be outside of what you are deep inside, and, conversely, is deep inside you; nay, that which is you -- except in a sort of "Life After Life" situation.
One of the courses that I teach at UoN is Qualitative Research Methods. I believe that "Notes on Weaving Digital..." is a worthy addition to readings on qualitative data analysis in general, and "Thick Description" in particular. A more recent text that is likewise useful is, of course, Malcolm Gladwell's book titled Outliers, which I have indeed mentioned in class.
[Note: Some updating done on September 5, 2015]
