The Rural Natural Environment is a Teacher: Embedding Global South Rural Communities’ Environmental Experiences in Social Work Education

Abstract

This paper reflects on encounters with two contrasting Zimbabwean rural communities of Birchenough Bridge and Honde Valley. The study explored rural communities’ experiences with Indigenous environment-driven community development. The paper positions the natural environment as a metaphorical teacher and moral educator. Rural communities build knowledge from these environments. The findings were gathered through collaborative Indigenous methodology. The findings show how features like trees, rivers, soils, and herbs shape knowledge, resilience, and ethics. These can inform social work education. Lessons from the communities support decolonizing social work education. The paper argues for incorporating rural environmental experiences into Global South social work curricula. This includes letting students learn from rural environments through supervised and structured rural placements. In conclusion, Social Work training institutions should partner with rural communities. This can help ensure more contextually relevant social work education and practice.