Leveraging community partnership: The case of Meraka Cultural Village

Abstract

Community involvement in post-apartheid South Africa is marked by symbolic engagement and persistent power imbalances that marginalise Indigenous viewpoints and epistemologies. Drawing on decolonial theory, Indigenous Research Methodologies (IRMs), Ubuntu philosophy and Foucauldian discourse analysis, the article discusses how Indigenous epistemology can help reimagine community engagement. In this study, the Meraka Cultural Village in the Free State, South Africa, was used as a case study to demonstrate how practices embedded in the community, rooted locally and involving everyone, can disrupt existing knowledge hierarchies and secure epistemic justice. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation, and thematically analysed with an emphasis on power/knowledge dynamics. The results indicate that Meraka is a community where members take back control of their lives and the wisdom of the older generation is celebrated, and partnerships between the university and the community are strengthened through respect and sharing. Ubuntu provides a theoretical and practical basis for co-creation, trust, and collective well-being. Notwithstanding the persistence of institutional obstacles and discursive silences, Meraka helps create resistance, reflexivity and alternative ways of engagement that challenge the traditional top-down system. The idea of “pockets of hope” reflects how using Indigenous methods and Ubuntu thinking can bring decolonial prospects into community engagement. This study promotes a shift towards relational ethics and pedagogical transparency, positioning Indigenous individuals as equal partners in knowledge production and societal transformation. This enhances broader dialogues on decolonising academia and advancing socially equitable, inclusive engagement strategies within and beyond South Africa’s higher education framework.