Urgent Evoke

A crash course in changing the world.

Don't fight the Culture -- Join the Culture

When I visit the family of a friend as they're preparing a meal for a gathering, it's always interesting and enlightening to watch the family dynamics. Watch who gets stuck stirring the pot, who is peeling the potatoes, who runs behind to clean the dishes or do they wait until the last plate is pushed away before jumping in on clean up? Every family has its own rhythm and way of doing things. Jumping in and trying to do things our way in some attempt at improving what they're doing can be seen as arrogant. Who are we to impose our will on others and what is our agenda? We must let go of self in our desire to assist our neighbors. What are their goals, what do they want? How can we work as a team together to help bring them to a place where they can achieve their own desires? We can't help while standing outside the situation and imposing our own desires onto others but rather, jump into their world and see their needs as they see them, and work from that understanding to find efficient and ubiquitous methods of improving their situation.

Don’t fight culture (If people cook by stirring their stews, they’re not going to use a solar oven, no matter what you do to market it. Make
them a better stove instead.)

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Comment by Simon Brookes on March 3, 2010 at 9:36am
A fabulous first post Lissa I just love the last sentence "If people cook by stirring their stews, they’re not going to use a solar oven, no matter what you do to market it. Make them a better stove instead." So many "nation changing" initiatives have failed in the past - even when good intentions are meant, because the local social and cultural contexts are not taken into account. Bizarrely, I think the "West" have learnt a very harsh lesson regarding the importance of cultural context in their recent attempts at "regime change" in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have approved this first part of mission one for you and given you +1 for knowledge share. Great work!

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