234 Deaf Epistemologies, Identity, and Learning
perspectives (through the development tree and African mama); (4) the exploration
of these new models (through discussion and the processual development of the
performance); and (5) the implementation of the model (during the workshop).
This implementation could be seen as “conceptual growth by a community or group,
[which] is change in the concepts it uses in communicating, understanding, reason-
ing, solving problems, or in the distribution of participation in these activities across
members” (p. 12).
The tree stands for a qualitatively different notion of development than those
previously familiar to the community. The emphasis on unity and collaboration as
conditions for “harvest” contrasts with reported individual self-interest and conflict.
Rather than an abstract and perhaps unreachable model of development detached
from daily life, the tree is integrated in the life cycle of Africa and tied to everyday
activities. It is also a notion oriented toward sustainability rather than toward neo-
liberal notions of success.
Hence, the formation of this concept of deaf flourishing should be understood
from its situation in a relational network of concepts. Geschiere, Meyer, and pels
(2008, p. 2) remind us that although we can critically reflect on the “discourse of
modernity and development,... those discourses generate powerful practices that
do actually shape African people’s lives.” So, while valuing theoretical constructs of
deaf culture that have emerged in the West, it is important to take into account both
the need for indigenous notions of deaf development or flourishing to be formed
in other contexts and broader conceptual networks that are in play. Against this
background, I also note that there is a risk for this discussion of indigenous notions
of flourishing to be read or interpreted from the perspective of linear, normative,
and/or “natural” processes of maturation, whereas the focus is actually on contex-
tualized human processes of blossoming, which are intimately related to situation
and environment.
The process in Cameroon also illustrates that this formation occurs over longer
periods of time, sometimes also encompassing distributed social and physical spaces
(Engeström & Sannino, 2012). This is partly because of the role that action plays
in concept formation, with “a relatively long process of approbation of the goals by
action and by their objective filling” (Leontèv, cited in Engeström & Sannino, 2012,
p. 65). The community’s “wealthy mama” performance, which invited laughter and
bonding, could also be seen as an epistemic action: these future visions become
embodied through the participation of the members in the dance and the collective
creation of the unity sign.
However, this powerful moment during the WFD training seemed to have dis-
appeared from people’s minds by the time of the WOCAL workshop. This may
be because initiatives of development cooperation have yet to fully valorize these
indigenous practices, making them fleeting and reducing their salience. So we de-
cided to present a short edited film of the performance during the workshop as an
opportunity to value this unity and informal exchange. We made DVD copies of it
for the CANAD board members. The community has since taken further action
to establish the CSL forum, using a process that might be instructive to explore in
future research.