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Momodou
Denmark
11707 Posts |
 Posted - 31 May 2025 : 13:02:23
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Kairaba Conservation and Leadership Organisation
Together for a Sustainable Future!
FIRST NATIONAL TESITO FORUM
CONCEPT NOTE!
Between the early and the mid-seventies, around the time of the proclamation of the Banjul Declaration on February 18th 1977, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, the first President of the Republic of the Gambia, Conceived the idea of self-reliance to inspire self-confidence and self-esteem in Gambians as a response to those who doubted Gambia’s viability as a nation. President Jawara’s objective was to implant the idea in the heart of every Gambian, whether in public service or smallholder farming so that people would take ownership of their destiny.
Sir Dawda called the idea “TESITO”. The Mandinka word “Tesito” literally means “belt-tightening” or “Self-Reliance through human solidarity”. As in the “Banjul Declaration 1977”, President Jawara urged Gambians and the world to be alert to the potential dangers to our communities if environmental care was not given priority. Tesito envisages building resilience in the entire Gambian population as a sort of inoculation against profligacy. The impetus to live within one’s means is the cornerstone of the philosophy of Tesito, as is the vital need for self-confidence and self-esteem, which are requirements for the young nation to fend for itself at every level of development. Tesito, therefore, means abhorring wastefulness with a “can-do” spirit.
Through the TESITO concept, President Jawara tried to motivate every Gambian to work diligently and honestly in the interest of the Nation. Tesito by the health worker, Tesito by the Teacher, Tesito by the Policeman and Tesito by the Civil Servant all meant the same thing: "tighten your belt and do what you can as well as you can to benefit, first and foremost, your community and the nation at large”. The consequences of ignoring the call to action and stewardship of the environment in the Banjul Declaration are being felt worldwide as people grapple with catastrophic climate changes due to environmental degradation. Our failure to embrace Tesito as a way of handling the challenges of life has resulted in the culture of “NfanKung NfanKung”, a culture of self-centredness - an uncontrollable desire for self-aggrandisement that has developed into the unpatriotic behaviour of rampant corruption in our society.
Therefore, this first National TESITO Forum aims to rekindle the dying spirit of self-reliance, honour, dignity, and selfless voluntary service to our nation and communities through a forthright and open discussion. Sir Dawda intended to demonstrate and encourage that when he championed the Tesito concept and made it the national mantra.
Unfortunately, despite his clarion call, the development trajectory of our nation since independence has been characterised by a culture of dependency in terms of narrative, models, and ideas. Sir Dawda called the nation to action because the Gambia, at birth, was considered unviable because of its peculiar size and geography (being surrounded by the Republic of Senegal) and its lack of natural resources.
However, the country was not unique; other low-income small states like it gained independence simultaneously. At independence, the Republic of Singapore had all the attributes of the Gambia except that it was a much smaller country. Singapore had the singular distinction of hoisting its national flag at the United Nations Organisation on the same day as the Gambia. For sixty years, there have been no similarities between the two nation-states: Singapore is one of the world's greenest and most developed states despite its small size and being far more prosperous than the Gambia.
The traditional linear take-make-dispose model is no longer tenable in a world of finite resources and mounting environmental challenges. Within the context of the circular economy, the concept of Tesito offers a transformative approach that prioritises the continual reduction, reuse, refurbishment, and recycling of products
and materials to conserve precious resources in the face of increasing supply chain disruptions, resource scarcity, and price volatility.
This calls for Self-Reliance, Self-Discipline, Self-Help and a Do-it-Yourself mindset, in short, a Tesito-
-CAN DO Attitude at the Personal, Community and National Levels. In addition to increasing environmental resilience, the concept of self-reliance in the circular economy offers a systemic solution framework with substantial economic and societal benefits such as job creation and innovation, increased competitiveness, enhanced resilience of businesses, cost savings, and improved social equity and well-being by ensuring a just transition for all communities affected.
The Kairaba Conservation and Leadership Organisation, KairaCLO, invites you to participate in the first Consultative Forum on Tesito. The forum is part of its mandate to popularise the Banjul Declaration of 1977 and Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara’s leadership legacy. This is a unique opportunity for policymakers, private sector actors, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), experts, and stakeholders to engage in meaningful discussions on the philosophy of Tesito to restate our national resolve and contribute to our country's sustainable development Agenda.
Participants will contribute to producing an outcome document of the First Tesito Forum under the following rubrics :
- Identify key Indigenous thrift institutions of the Gambia;
- Develop policy recommendations to valorise Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous economic ideas
and community-based adaptation strategies;
- Ensure dissemination and conservation of traditional knowledge of conservation and sustainable development.
Finally, the First Tesito Forum is organised in collaboration with the University of the Gambia--UTG in the hope that Gambian scholars and academia will devote some of their research and reflections to critical evaluation of the considerable legacy of the first president of the Gambia. To this end, the first The forum on Tesito will codify definitions and key takeaways about the concept of Tesito from our very distinguished speakers and participants and will be shared with the larger public.
Kairaba Conservation and Leadership Organisation!
Whatever you think will help valorise the conservation leadership legacy of Sir Dawda is a facet of the Tesito philosophy. For more information, please visit our website, https://kairaclo.gm/
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Kairaba Conservation and Leadership Organisation
