Introducing LUSEKE - the indigenous school for all

 Definition and purpose

LUSEKE is an initiative to teach and research endangered knowledge. It is also an acronym to Luminary School of Endangered Knowledge and Enterprise (LUSEKE). The initiative seeks to catalyze and pursue ways and means of giving priority to indigenous knowledge and sustainable livelihoods.

Started in Vihiga County, the vision is to spread the idea to each African community with unique cultural assets including language, customary practices and industry to incubate and institutionalize through teaching in schools from lower levels to higher ones. 

LUSEKE class of knowledge synthesizing and packaging information for teaching 

By teaching Indigenous Knowledge, the community is taking initiative for inter-generational capacitating; where young people are provided with alternative knowledge to understand their world and excel in life. The very indigenous knowledge is also an intervention to the misses or excesses of colonial education as to date. 

Observing the intentional decay of Indigenous Knowledge through lack of zeal and capacity in schools despite provided for in the day’s curriculum, one can only interpret that a people’s awareness is to their own initiatives. That the Constitution (2010) and international accords on culture and indigenous knowledge will remain conferencial statements if we do not look where it matters: within ourselves.  

Vakeele Ann Kageha, Chahenza Kidamane and Avedi Gladys (from left to right) leaving after a class session. Unlike the external attitude that Indigenous Knowledge and practices are paternalistic in approach, it is clear that both men and women participate in creating societies that are.

Borrowing Analogy of the Beer-pot

Luseke, coincidentally, is a Bantu word for ‘siphon or straw’. The word is commonly used among the Luhya people of Western Kenya. 

Luseke is given value due to its role of acting as a conduit between the drink and the mouth. One can use a straw to drink water, milk, juice, soda or beer. The importance of this innovation, conduit of matter, cannot be underscored.

It is in this bridging that the organization finds its core mandate. That is, linking knowledge holders (experts) and the learners. 

Secondly, as of old when people would gather for ceremonies and other social meetings to enjoy a pot of ferment beer, the theme of shared knowledge is what the Luseke group is inspired of. The meetings to continue being special and the drinking (collective learning) sessions not limited to just nourishing self with drink but churning on key community issues and advocating best practices.

In acting as a link catalyst, Luseke seeks to attract knowledge-holder experts and by collaborating, synthesize while documenting endangered knowledges. This activity is aimed at taking several dimensions as peer-to-peer reviews, commentaries, conservation and industry assessment. These are ways and means of interacting with very knowledge at its initial meeting other than passive collection. 

Lung'afa Igunza in a past session Interacting with young learners of Igunga Primary School on indigenous knowledge. Despite the lazy claims that schools are growing cosmopolitan, young learners are welcoming to creative lessons and knowledge. Lung'afa is LUSEKE's rapporteur secretary.

By partaking of communal drink, it is sharing in the spirit of togetherness, belonging and community homogeny. Issues of conduct, law and order, joy and happiness desire holding supreme that which brings people together. The fear for indirect repercussions in omissions of conduct is an awareness indirectly brought to life amongst those who interact with indigenous knowledge.

Watering down, as is of irresponsible drinking, abhorred of makers as well as partakers, is such that continued education that is not in favour of indigenous sustainable themes must be questioned. This courageous self-knowledge intoxication is a watch tower; of truth in good faith: to prevent and refuse another colonization.

Elder Muhindi Lugalya (right) is the present head of LUSEKE. In this image he is in a past Logooli Elders meeting alongside Ehaji Jackson (LUSEKE member) and Madam Sarah of Vizuna Ngoma group (Uganda).