Cultural Assimilation of Technology Development in Ghana: An Ethnographic Approach

Abstract

Intrinsic to economic development is the intertwining of the application of science and technology for competitive production of goods and services. Ghana, like other sub-Saharan African countries, lacks a strong domestic technology base, despite decades of industrialisation efforts. This study, through an ethnographic approach, seeks to understand the situation of technology drawback in Ghana, by investigating a cross-section of the traditional and formal sectors of the Ghanaian society. The study, also, reflects on development remedy initiatives like the Appropriate Technology (AT) movement, National Innovation Systems (NIS) and other development interventions as exogenous efforts yielding no lasting solutions. Findings from the study showed an absence of a framework for dialogue between both sectors for development. Further, there is a disconnection between the Ghana Educational System and the traditional structure, thus, disallowing knowledge exchange and amalgamation of production practices, which should lead to the assimilation of modern technologies into the cultural structure for indigenous technology advancement. There is therefore, the need for a ‘sense of commonality’ to serve as the vehicle to cut across cultural, ethnic and social barriers in order to stimulate and sustain the drive in a culturally inclusive setting.