The Pen and the Plough: Balanta Young Men in Guinea‐Bissau

Abstract

Up until the late 1990s, the Balanta of Guinea-Bissau constituted what could be described as a 'deep rural society', whose central identity was linked with rice production and cattle accumulation. At the same time, it could be argued that even in the early days after Independence in 1974, the social aspirations of Balanta young men matched those of other Guinean youths in their shared desire to get away from the strictures of gerontocracy and of rural life. Surprisingly, however, this study documents the agency of many rural Balanta young men in changing oppressive social rules, and in using agriculture as a means to fund their education, to feed their families and as a route to prosperity. The authors conclude that the persistent political instability in the country (most acutely felt in the capital city) and the national and global economic crises, together with the Balanta agricultural ethos and the softening of gerontocratic power, are at the root of this revaluing of rural livelihoods. This article challenges current dominant narratives about the crisis of young men in contemporary Africa and highlights the need to study the aspirations and achievements of youth in their rural-urban nexus from a historical and holistic perspective.

Youth and Food Systems Transformation

“…Some young people may aspire to work in farming, even though they may be obliged to seek work in other sectors while they try to gather the resources they need to do so (Filloux et al, 2019). Some young men may see farming as a practical and accessible way to build a viable economic livelihood in settings where other opportunities are scarce or unappealing (Temudo and Abrantes, 2015).…”

“…The resulting tensions can manifest as a mild irritant, as a "push factor" driving migration, or as a major frustration to the livelihood, social, and/or political ambitions of young people (e.g., in Sierra Leone, see Peters and Richards, 2011; in Rwanda, see Sommers, 2012). Nonetheless, in some instances young people are able to access land-e.g., through family, and/or rental markets-and make a start in farming, pay their own school fees, feed their young families and begin to build an independent livelihood (Temudo and Abrantes, 2015;Mwaura, 2017a,b). Gender often has a strong influence over whether, and under what terms, a young person is able to access land, credit or other productive resources.…”

“…This literature is extensive, and it is beyond the scope of this paper to review it in detail; however, a few key axes of debate can be identified. A prominent theme is whether young people are interested in farming or aspire to farm (Anyidoho et al, 2012;Petesch and Rodríguez Caillava, 2012;Tadele and Gella, 2012;White, 2012;Berckmoes and White, 2014;Leavy and Hossain, 2014;Temudo and Abrantes, 2015;BMZ, 2017;OECD, 2017;Elias et al, 2018;Filloux et al, 2019). The types of agriculture-based livelihoods that different kinds of young people (including male and female youth) might be interested in, are also explored (Okali and Sumberg, 2012;Sumberg et al, 2017;Ruiz Salvago et al, 2019).…”

Rebuilding Tertiary Education in Guinea-Bissau: Can it be done?

“…Galtung's (1969) concept of "structural violence" seems apropos here as barriers to quality education deepen in Guinea-Bissau through the "factionalization" of the political and social institutions (Vigh 2012) alongside a neocolonial legacy of underdevelopment (Rodney 1982;Vigh 2006) that is preventing people from meeting their basic needs. Cognitively reframing this fatalistic view of young people hopelessly struggling "to expand their horizons of possibility in a world of conflict, turmoil and diminishing resources" (Vigh 2006) is an essential aspect of rebuilding hope and opportunity in Guinea-Bissau (for example, see Temudo and Abrantes 2015). Recognizing this relationship between poverty and education, "Guinea-Bissau's education sector plan is in line with the poverty reduction strategy, which recognizes that the education sector has been negatively affected by the country's state of crisis" (Global Partnership for Education 2017; see also Silva and Oliveira 2017).…”

Diseño y evaluación de herramientas lúdicas de aprendizaje socio-ambiental para identificar actitudes, motivaciones y decisiones de la juventud rural campesina contemporánea

“…La mayoría de los esfuerzos por conocer la relación de la juventud rural con su entorno social y natural se ha hecho generalmente a partir de entrevistas, cuestionarios o encuestas semiestructuradas que indagan las aspiraciones que las generaciones jóvenes tienen para su futuro (Temudo y Abrantes, 2015), sus conocimientos tradicionales y los elementos que definen su identidad (Brandt, Mathez-Stiefel, Lachmuth, Hensen y Rist, 2013), algunas valoraciones y motivaciones que poseen para permanecer y usar sus territorios (Kristensen y Birch-Thomsen, 2013;Tucker, Sharp, Stracuzzi, Van Gundy y Rebellon, 2013), y solo recientemente se ha prestado atención a otro tipo de metodologías que permitan aproximarse a conocer a la juventud rural desde una perspectiva más inclusiva, dinámica e integral.…”