In March, during Nairobi Design Week
2025, we set up our stand hoping to share what we’ve been doing with our Samia
community around Lake Victoria. To our surprise, people didn’t just pass by,
they stopped, listened, asked thoughtful questions, and shared their own
stories about their experiences. Many were especially curious about how traditional
knowledge could play a role in addressing today’s climate challenges. Some
stayed longer than expected, drawn into honest conversations about culture,
regeneration, identity, and the environment. What followed was genuinely
heartwarming. While our collaboration with Design Reparations was already
ongoing, NDW gave us the chance to connect with a wider network and some of the
biggest seeds planted came from the designers who showed interest in getting
involved. Their engagement helped give shape and energy to two key projects
we’ve been building since then: the Cultural Revival Project and the
Regeneration Project.
The first of
these two projects is the Cultural Revival Project, which seeks to document and
celebrate Samia Indigenous knowledge. Our goal is to preserve ancestral
stories, practices, and environmental wisdom that can inform sustainable
solutions in the face of climate change. From farming methods and weather
prediction to rituals of ecological balance, we are rediscovering a well of
knowledge that has been overlooked and can guide us in our efforts against
climate change and towards regeneration of our cultures and beliefs as Samia
people.
The second initiative, the
Regeneration Project, envisions a vibrant festival in Busia County that brings
together traditional knowledge holders, local farmers, artists, and young
people. This festival will focus on climate indicators, sustainable farming
practices, and cultural history, creating a living platform for dialogue,
learning, and celebration integrated in local knowledge.
Since Nairobi
Design Week, we’ve hosted a total of five online meetings: three for the
Cultural Revival Project and two for the Regeneration Project. These sessions
have provided space for vision alignment, collective planning, and team
alignment. Each circle has strengthened our connection to the community and the
projects hence offering insights and shaping our direction going forward.
One of the
most inspiring outcomes has been the volunteer support we received during
Nairobi Design Week. Several individuals from the public, most designers
inspired by our work, stepped forward to offer their time and skills freely.
These volunteers have been instrumental in helping us find grant opportunities
and have also contributed beautiful illustrations that depict the stories we’ve
gathered from Samia elders. Their contributions have not only moved the work
forward but have added a creative and collaborative spirit to our journey.
There’s also
been a growing curiosity from people of all backgrounds, i.e., youths, elders
and women who have heard about the projects. Many have reached out to learn
more, ask about our progress, and express a desire to contribute. This growing
support reinforces the importance of what we’re doing and confirms that these
conversations that are aimed at reclaiming cultural knowledge and grounding
climate solutions in indigenous wisdom—resonate far beyond our immediate
circles.
As we look
ahead, we are continuing to consolidate our research, expand our documentation
of Samia knowledge, and prepare for the Regeneration Festival in Busia at the
Bumbe Cultural Centre. These projects remind us that true paths to
sustainability are not found in foreign ideas alone, but in returning to the
wisdom of our ancestors—reviving the ways of our people and renewing our sacred
relationship with the land and with one another.
Written by Ian
Francis Onyango, Co-Founder, Kenge Content Hive and Media Analyst, Media Council
of Kenya.