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Assessment 3:
Business and Indigenous Culture Intersect:
An Introduction
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Business and Indigenous Culture Intersect
Summary
COVID-19 pandemic is explained in the first paragraph as a communicable disease that has resulted in many effects in nation’s economy. The pandemic has impacted indigenous communities through a rise in mortality rate, reduced traditional ceremonies, poverty, and police violence. In the business sector, the indigenous people have been affected through reduced business income, increased business expenses, closure of businesses, and reduced supplies. The pandemic has, in addition, resulted in the level of unemployment, level of trade, and level of income economic discrepancies between indigenous and non-indigenous people. Such discrepancies can be reduced through the creation of job opportunities, enhancing equality in the allocation of resources, and marketing local goods in internal markets.
Introduction
COVID-19 is a communicable disease that has been a great threat to the health of many people worldwide. Despite the growth and development of most countries, like America, the disease has brought great impacts on various sectors of their economies. The effects of the disease have been experienced in communities especially in the indigenous people of the communities. Such impacts include: rise in mortality rate, reduced traditional gatherings, poverty, and police violence (Bäuerle et al. 2020). The indigenous people have been so much affected due to their inability to acquire sufficient medical services, malnutrition, lack of sufficiently clean water, and poor access to sanitation. Also, they have been affected business-wise such as reduced income, closure of other business enterprises, reduced supplies, and increased expenses. In addition to the above concepts, the report below has explained the various economic discrepancies that exist between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people.
Community Impact
The greatest impact the indigenous communities have experienced is the rise in mortality rate. The various indigenous communities in countries such as Botswana are much marginalized hence fail to access enough social resources from the government. In Botswana for example, the san communities experience the rise in mortality rate due to malnutrition resulting from restrictions in movements, lack of accessibility to sufficient medical care, lack of clean water, and poor access to sanitation. The inequality in the distribution of social resources that exist in various countries has contributed to the indigenous communities being affected more than the rest of the individuals in the country.
Disruption in community activities such as social gatherings has been also another great impact that the indigenous people have faced. The indigenous communities organize such ceremonies as initiation ceremonies, wedding ceremonies, and burial ceremonies. These are some of the most significant traditional ceremonies that bring such communities as Kenyan local communities together and increase the bond among them. Some restrictions have been enacted by the government in various countries on the steps to follow in conducting such ceremonies such as reduced number of members attending and carrying out such activities in less time (Carr 2020). Such regulations have hindered some of the ceremonies such as wending ceremonies from being conducted hence affects the communities’ ways of undertaking their activities.
Poverty has also been experienced so much in the indigenous communities as one of the impacts of COVID-19. In some indigenous communities such as in Botswana, the government enacted some restrictions such as the restrictions on movements to curb the spread of the disease. The government exempted some of these regulations to some groups of people especially those who deal with medical and food issues but did not grant such exemptions to the locals in indigenous communities who travel to other areas to earn their living (Amigo 2020). Failure to grant the locals such exemptions has resulted in the men being confined at the homes and the women having difficulties in feeding their children.
The indigenous communities have also experienced the impact of police violence as the government in various communities is onto ensuring the residents adhere to the underlaid rules on preventing the spread of COVID-19. The governments in various countries have developed and implemented some regulations to ensure that they reduce the spread of COVID-19 among the residents (van Barneveld et al. 2020). In a country such as Kenya, the various regulations include; wearing the mask while in public places and curfew during the night hours. Most residents especially in the indigenous communities are known to resist observance in such regulations. Through the use of police officers, the government has ensured people follow the regulations by penalizing the defiant. Some police officers have been seen using excessive force such as beating locals who are wondering after the curfew housing.
Business Impact
COVID-19 has greatly impacted the businesses of indigenous communities through the closure of various businesses. Various indigenous communities are involved in such businesses as crafting and making pieces of jewelry mainly for tourists (Bennett et al. 2020). Such businesses were highly affected due to the reduced level of foreigners visiting such countries. In a country such as Kenya, the indigenous communities carry out business activities such as crafting, basketry, and making ornaments for tourists. The government in Kenya restricted the movement of visitors from other countries especially foreign countries into the country. The restriction of movement by foreigners resulted in the locals having no market for the crafting and basketry products. Most of the indigenous communities involved in such businesses ended up closing such investments and looking for other means of earning a living.
Indigenous people in a country such as Uganda have experienced low income in their local businesses such as fishing. Fishing is one of the local activities carried out by the locals in Uganda that help them earn a living by selling them to other communities. The restriction of movement to various communities by those who are involved in fishing activities has resulted in such people earning very small incomes as compared to what they earned before the COVID-19 pandemic (Cotula 2021). The reduction of income has caused the individuals in such communities to experience difficulties in meeting their obligations such as educating their children and also providing food for the families.
Enterprises such as B.Yellowtail in American are experiencing low supplies since its products are sourced from the natives of the American communities (Power et al. 2020). The enterprise is concerned with trading on ancestral tradition products, culture, and beauty products. Most of these products are crafted by the locals to promote and embrace their culture. The government restriction on movement among the different states in American their implementation of total lockdown restricted the locals from the movement of such products from their local communities to the enterprises for sale. Such inability to move the products has resulted in such enterprises B.Yellowtail having reduced supplies in their stores.
Indigenous communities in various communities have experienced increased expenses in ensuring they adapt to the new normal during the pandemic. The native communities have found themselves incurring some extra costs to ensure they comply with the government’s regulations on reduction in the spread of COVID-19 (Bogdanova et al. 2020). Such costs include increased transport costs and the cost of buying sanitizers for them and their customers as one of the ways of complying with the government in the reduction of the COVID-19 disease. In native communities such as Luo in Kenya, they mainly carry out fishing businesses. In marketing their fishes, they sometimes market them as ready to eat or raw. Most of them carry out this business along the road or in open places. They are expected by the Kenyan government to place inaccessible position water and soap or sanitizers for customers. They also pay a higher cost in transport the fish to other areas.
Economic Discrepancies
Unemployment levels differ significantly between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people in various countries. In developing nations such as America, the difference in the level of unemployment of indigenous and non-indigenous is somehow small as compared to developing countries such as Kenya (Report On The World Social Situation 2013 2013). The discrepancy in the unemployment level between the indigenous and the non-indigenous is contributed by such factors as limited employment opportunities in the local areas and unequal distribution of economic resources (Rai and Waylen n.d.). Most of the native communities live in marginalized areas where most of the public services are insufficiently accessible as compared to non-indigenous people who mainly live in the urban centers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also contributed to this discrepancy through restriction of movements which denies the indigenous people access to the resources in urban areas.
The level of income between the indigenous people and the non-indigenous people is the other factor that brings an economic difference between them (Mitrou et al. 2014). Vast economic resources available to the indigenous people grant them the opportunity to undertake a variety of income-earning activity resulting in more income to such individuals (Lackner and Lisa 2009). In a country like Kenya, most of the native communities such as Kikuyu do traditional farming. These activities return to the very minimum returns as compared to the non-indigenous people who carry such activities as manufacturing. Income distribution between the indigenous and non-indigenous people varies between the developed and the developing countries (Kathyrn 2016). The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the increase in the difference in the level of income between the indigenous people and the non-indigenous people through restriction of movement hence inaccessibility to a wide market of local goods.
The level of trading activities contributes to the economic difference between the indigenous people and the non-indigenous in various countries. Most of the individuals in the native community are not much involved in trading as compared to the non-indigenous people in urban areas (Okechukwu 2018). The discrepancy results from the fact that those native communities involved in farming, are capable of producing all they need for food and just require to buy few items. The non-indigenous individuals who mainly live in the urban centers depend mostly on items from shops and markets hence enhancing the trading activities (Hall 2016). The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the economic discrepancy enlarging between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people through lockdowns in certain areas. Such lockdowns have hindered the movement of goods and services between the two groups.
Conclusion
COVID-19 has affected the different sectors of the economy in different countries. The effects have created some impacts on residents in such countries and especially on the indigenous communities. Most of the affected areas include the indigenous communities through an increase in mortality rate, poverty, police violence, and the reduced traditional ceremonies such as marriages. The other sector is the business of the economy, which has been affected through reduced business incomes, closure of business enterprises, increased business expenses, and reduced supplies. The covid 19 pandemics have also resulted in various discrepancies between the indigenous people in the society and the non-indigenous. Such economic discrepancies are indicated by the difference in unemployment level, income level, and trading level.
To ensure a reduction in the economic discrepancy of the level of income between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people, the government should ensure equality in wealth distribution. In most of the areas lived by the indigenous communities, the areas are marginalized hence carrying of commercial activities in such places becomes very difficult. The government should allocate a large amount of money in such areas to help them develop their infrastructure and have an easier moment in carrying out their commercial activities. Some of the infrastructures that should be improved with the money allocated by the national government include the building of roads and the provision of public services.
The government may find a market for products produced by the native settlers to reduce the discrepancy of the level of trade between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people. Some of the products produced by the locals in a country like Kenya include; fish, arrowroots, fish, and carvings. Such items especially the carvings have no good market within the country but they can have a good market in foreign countries. The government should help the locals in marketing their products in the foreign trade hence promoting their trade. In most countries, the products produced by the indigenous people are the only ones traded in the international market hence increasing the discrepancy between the level of trade between the indigenous and the non-indigenous people.
By encouraging the construction of industries in the marginalized areas, the government will help in reducing the discrepancy in the level of unemployment. Most of the non-indigenous people live in urban centers where most of the job opportunities are found in industries. If such industries would be constructed in marginal areas where the indigenous people live, there would be little difference in the level of employment levels between the two groups. The government can encourage the construction of such industries in marginal areas by granting them subsidies and charging them reduced taxes on their products.
References
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