Indigenous Materials, Processes and Scientific Concepts Employed in the Production of Akpeteshie and Pito: Their Relevance to Teaching and Learning of Science
Keywords:
Keywords: Indigenous knowledge; akpeteshie; pito; local beverages; indigenous materials.Abstract
In indigenous knowledge are practices that have been repeated over time and have become products and processes with a sound underlying set of scientific principles. Using the qualitative research method, the study explored indigenous materials, processes and scientific concepts employed in the production of two local alcoholic beverages akpeteshie and pito. The target population comprised 41 indigenous practitioners and the accessible population consisted of 9 active akpeteshie distillers and 8 active pito brewers. The purposive sampling technique was used to select respondents and non-participant observation and interview used to collect data. It emerged from the study that diverse materials or artefacts were in use by the indigenous practitioners to either reflect their rich culture and the economic potential of the artefacts or to ensure their sustainable values.
The use of the artefacts, especially including how they were set up by the indigenous practitioners, typically demonstrated how local artefacts can serve as intellectual adaptation tools for supporting learners to go through their Zone of Proximal Development. The study thus brought to the fore, the existence of an environment that is replete of equivalent scientific concepts, processes and materials/artefacts. It recommended that the local environment should be continuously explored by science teachers to discover relevant indigenous materials/artefacts, practices and concepts that can suitably be integrated into the teaching and learning of science.
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