Here’s a focused advanced ethics module for Oud Academia / CI-ASASE, zooming in on the core principles of fairness, honesty, and trust in the context of agarwood trade, ritual, and artisanal practice. This can either stand alone or integrate into your broader ethics series.
Course Module
Institution: Oud Academia
Under: Crown Institute for Agarwood Science, Art, and Sustainable Enterprise (CI-ASASE)
Module Code: OA-ETH-501
Level: Advanced
Discipline: Ethics · Cultural Heritage · Sustainable Trade
Module Overview
Agarwood occupies a high-value, culturally sacred, and globally sought-after niche. Its trade and use require more than technical skill—they demand adherence to ethical principles. Fairness, honesty, and trust form the foundation of sustainable, respectful, and socially responsible engagement with both people and the sacred resource.
This module examines how these principles operate across traditional communities, intergenerational artisanal knowledge, commercial markets, and modern global supply chains.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, participants will be able to:
- Define fairness, honesty, and trust in both cultural and commercial contexts
- Analyze ethical dilemmas in agarwood sourcing, trade, and perfumery
- Apply ethical frameworks to protect communities, artisans, and the resource
- Design trade and governance practices that reinforce credibility and sustainability
Unit Structure & Content
Unit 1: Fairness — Equity in Access and Benefit
Key Principles:
- Equitable sharing of profits, knowledge, and opportunity
- Recognition of traditional custodians and forest communities
- Avoiding monopolistic practices and exploitation
Applications:
- Fair compensation to harvesters and cultivators
- Transparent pricing and grading mechanisms
- Inclusive decision-making in community-based plantations
Learning Activity:
- Roleplay: Negotiating a fair purchase between a forest community and commercial buyer
Unit 2: Honesty — Truthfulness in Quality, Source, and Claim
Key Principles:
- Accurate representation of agarwood grade, origin, and quality
- Disclosure of artificial treatments or blending
- Maintaining integrity in marketing and certification
Applications:
- Certification and traceability (CITES compliance, blockchain records)
- Honest grading vs. commercial exaggeration
- Reporting and labeling of origin and harvest methods
Learning Activity:
- Case study: Identifying ethical lapses in grading and export documentation
Unit 3: Trust — Building Long-Term Credibility
Key Principles:
- Reputation-based relationships between growers, traders, and clients
- Mutual respect and honoring agreements
- Preserving intergenerational and cross-cultural knowledge
Applications:
- Contracts with clarity and ethical standards
- Mentorship and knowledge transfer without exploitation
- Building brand credibility rooted in ethical sourcing
Learning Activity:
- Workshop: Mapping trust relationships along the agarwood supply chain
Unit 4: Integration Across Contexts
Scenario Analysis:
- Balancing high market demand with traditional community rights
- Navigating export regulations while honoring cultural grading
- Ensuring ethical use in ceremonial and luxury applications
Discussion:
How fairness, honesty, and trust reinforce not only ethics, but also market sustainability and cultural legitimacy
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- Evaluate trade practices for ethical compliance
- Implement fairness in profit-sharing and sourcing decisions
- Uphold honesty in communication, marketing, and grading
- Foster trust across communities, artisans, and global markets
Module Significance for Oud Academia / CI-ASASE
- Strengthens the ethical backbone of both cultural and commercial oud enterprises
- Supports responsible stewardship of sacred and endangered resources
- Enhances credibility in global markets and heritage preservation
- Prepares students to act as ethical leaders in the oud value chain
Suggested Next Steps / Extensions
- Develop ethics handbook for agarwood trade
- Include community-based monitoring and reporting of ethical practices
- Integrate with blockchain-enabled provenance and grading systems
- Offer certification in ethical oud trade and stewardship
I can also create a full integrated ethics module combining:
- Fairness, honesty, and trust
- Classical ethical philosophies applied to trade
- Traditional harvesting ethics
- Oral and artisanal knowledge
…so that Oud Academia offers a comprehensive ethical framework course.
Do you want me to do that?