African Indigenous Female Entrepreneurs (IFÉs): A Closed-Looped Social Circular Economy Waste Management Model
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Indigenity, Indigenous Women, and Indigenous Female Entrepreneurs (IFÉs)
2.1.1. Defining Indigenous
“Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions, and legal system”.[24]
“In much of Asia and Africa, state governments reject the term’s applicability to their own inhabitants: Indigeneity, they argue, is a function of European settler-colonialism… Such peoples are now non-dominant minorities with historical claims. Elsewhere, they aver, indigeneity would apply to everyone and is therefore irrelevant”.[21]
2.1.2. Indigenous Institutions
2.2. The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Organic Waste Treatment Method
2.3. Closed-Loop Product Life Cycle Models
2.3.1. The Circular Economy
“Circular economy strategies could help lower-income countries ‘leapfrog’ to a more sustainable development pathway… As lower-income countries’ economies are in many ways still more ‘circular’ in terms of resource management and production and consumption practices than their developed economy counterparts, the question is how to turn this into a development opportunity”.[51]
2.3.2. The Social Circular Economy
3. Materials and Methods
- How can sustained biowaste management be achieved through an Indigenous female-led group’s independent management of a black soldier fly (BSF) biowaste treatment program?
- Which conditions, including affordable technology, social inclusion, market viability, and an enabling environment, will foster a self-sustaining venture?
- Triangulation to enhance the validity of findings;
- Illustration of quantitative data findings through qualitative data;
- Inclusion of diverse perspectives needed to understand the dynamics and complex nature of waste management and gender roles in Africa;
- Explanation of unexpected and unusual findings common in pilot studies.
3.1. Pre-Design (Imitation)
3.2. Co-Design (Adaptation)
3.2.1. Phase One
- Discussions with participants and waste management experts in the community will be held to understand better the mechanisms operating in the scenario and the characteristics of the participants.
- Researcher observations will be made on the volume of waste piles, waste production (sampling and analysis), environmental conditions, landscape characteristics, and other waste-related parameters.
- The research concept will be shared with representatives of the Indigenous institution for feedback.
3.2.2. Phase Two
- Redesigning and redeveloping the strategy based on real-time response (participants, neighbours, and customer feedback);
- Determining the mechanisms required for success. Success will be benchmarked against the current volume of diverted organic waste, BSF literature, and the 2012 pilot study of composting by a female-led organization [5]. Three and a half tonnes of food waste were composted in the study, which is 2% of the daily generated food waste at the study site.
3.3. Post-Design (Innovation)
4. Challenges and Future Research
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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CEBM | Feature | Integrated into Study (Y/N) |
---|---|---|
Dematerialization | Digitalization, on-demand production, and reusable products | N |
Circular inputs | Sourcing sustainably sourced raw materials and renewable energies to manufacture fully biodegradable and recyclable products | Y (zero-energy-input goal) |
Product-life extension | Durable design, modular design, repair and maintenance, and repurposing | N 1 |
Resource recovery | Composting and recycling | Y |
Product service system | Product as a service | N |
Indicator | Source | Data From | Application in Study |
---|---|---|---|
Tons of biowaste/day (Resource recovery) | CE | BSF conversion rate | Open-dump mitigation |
Number of jobs (Job creation) | CE | BSF facility | Employment |
Work hours/day (Labour required) | SCE | BSF facility | Job security |
Number of community champions (Community champions) | SCE | Surveys and interviews | Persona modification |
Number of pre-design changes (Innovation) | [56] | BSF treatment and byproduct sales | Co-production assessment |
Total earning or losses (Profitability) | [9] | Pilot study | Economic sustainability |
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Chineme, A.; Assefa, G.; Herremans, I.M.; Wylant, B.; Shumo, M. African Indigenous Female Entrepreneurs (IFÉs): A Closed-Looped Social Circular Economy Waste Management Model. Sustainability 2022, 14, 11628. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811628
Chineme A, Assefa G, Herremans IM, Wylant B, Shumo M. African Indigenous Female Entrepreneurs (IFÉs): A Closed-Looped Social Circular Economy Waste Management Model. Sustainability. 2022; 14(18):11628. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811628
Chicago/Turabian StyleChineme, Atinuke, Getachew Assefa, Irene M. Herremans, Barry Wylant, and Marwa Shumo. 2022. "African Indigenous Female Entrepreneurs (IFÉs): A Closed-Looped Social Circular Economy Waste Management Model" Sustainability 14, no. 18: 11628. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811628