Glossary

In my stories, I may have used a few words and phrases that are worth explaining. Some of them are simply uncommon or borrowed from various languages; and some were adapted from P.M.’s dictionary “bolo’bolo”

A water bund is a rainwater harvesting technique consisting in digging semi-lunar holes in the ground with the opening perpendicular to the flow of water. These structures allow water to seep into the soil, retaining in the subsoil a greater amount of moisture. But also, it prevents the loss of fertile soil. Water bunds are successfully used nowadays to reforest arid zones with irregular rain patterns, allowing the growth of plants and trees, such as in the Sahel.

A jembe is a long-handled hand tool with a blade set at an angle to the handle. It’s used for digging, breaking up soil, and removing weeds. The word “jembe” originated in Swahili in the 19th century.

A phalanstère is a 4-stories building of a self-contained community, ideally consisting of 500–2,000 people. The term was coined by Charles Fourier in the early 19th century.

A solar is an inner courtyard shared by multiple households.

An ibu is an individual or a person. The term is not excluded to humans and can therefore extend to any sentient being.

A kana is a family-unit which isn’t necessarily biological. It can be a household, a hunting party, a gang or a work-group. Kani is the plural form of the word.

A bolo is a community or a tribe. Not as tightly-knitted as a kana but as a guiding principle, everyone in the bolo knows one another to some extent. A similar holistic meaning can be found in the word “Barrio”, in comparison to the more geographical-focused English equivalent of “neighborhood”.

A collection of geographical bolos would be a tega, which represents a district or a town, while vudo would go even wider. A vudo is a city, but also a bioregion such as a valley.

Fasi means transportation or travelling. The term also encompasses the means of transport, such as buses or trains.

Nima is the driving force behind cultures, traditions and lifestyles. Its focuses on the theory and less on its practicality. A sadi is a place of exchange, essentially a market, although it isn’t monetary. Therefore, nima’sadi would be a place to exchange knowledge – academia, but without any forced hierarchical structure.

MAF – acronym for “Mobile Aid Force”. A MAF-member would be called MAFex and the plural would be MAFexi.

Sarki is a “king” in Swahili, while Olori is a leader

Mu’alem is a “teacher” in Arabic and often used as a way to address a person, respectfully (provided that any person can teach us something).

A Dala is an assembly, a group of people, or the act of gathering.

Gano is a space, to which every person is entitled (“a roof over one’s head”); Often refers to one’s private room, or  mental and emotional space in which one can be themselves without scrutiny..

Dalagano is an assembly hall – a physical space for social gathering.

Nugo is related to death, often but not necessarily in the context of “accepting death” or “wishing to die”.

Ikigai is a Japanese word translated to “reason for being”. It’s often associated with finding purpose and fulfillment in life.

Sashimono is also woodcraft that doesn’t require using nails. It’s also called “traditional joinery”.

Suvu are precious drinkable water.

Matooke is a plantain, or a green banana.

Kamobo is “step-” in Swahili (as in “step-parent”). As the family-units are less blood-related to begin with, Kamobo in this context has the same meaning as “god-” (e.g. “godparent”). It is an endearment term to show kinship.

Sashimono is a woodworking technique for creating furniture without nails.

The Čapek paradox (named after Czech writer Karel Čapek, 1890-1938, who popularised the term “robot”) deals with the question “What will happen if robots will be cheaper than humans?”. Of course it wouldn’t matter in an egalitarian society, but in a capitalist society where man must work to earn a living, it creates a paradox. The paradox argues that for that reason, humans will forever be cheaper than robots, even at the price of their freedom.

Egusi are protein-rich seeds from squash, melon, or gourd plants, primarily used in West African cuisine, most famously in Egusi soup.

Kene is an unpleasant yet necessary task or duty, usually performed by volunteers in some rota.

Gray water is water used household water from sinks and showers that can be reused for watering plants  for example. This is unlike black (sewage) water that requires treatment before they can be reused.

A synan, short for Synanthropic, is an animal that grew accustomed to human presence and will struggle on its own without human presence. Terms like “pets” and “domesticated” are considered frowned upon for their connotations of ownership, similar to the word “slavery”.