Hiistoriya brings its vision to life through research, storytelling, advocacy, and digital creativity. We work with local communities to document and reinterpret Swahili heritage in ways that connect the past, present, and future. Our thematic areas are as below:
STORYTELLING
Through creative collaborations, Hiistoriya returns knowledge to its true custodians — expanding who gets to tell the story and how history is remembered, shared, and felt.
We blend oral, written, and visual traditions to bring African histories to life through film, sound, and illustration.
Our storytelling is participatory and decolonial — created with communities, elders, and artists to reclaim the right to narrate our own pasts. Each story becomes a living archive where memory, art, and imagination meet to restore what was silenced and celebrate what endures.
RESEARCH
At Hiistoriya, research begins with listening. We blend oral, written, and visual traditions to retell African histories in ways that honor their origins — through voices, sounds, and images.
Our approach is participatory and decolonial: we work with communities, elders, and artists, not on them. Together, we reinterpret archives, revive forgotten stories, and create new digital spaces where heritage speaks for itself and inspires future generations.
We also listen for the silences — especially around women, whose voices have often been pushed aside in cultural spaces. Hiistoriya is proudly women-led, inspired by the matrifocal roots of many Swahili communities before Arabisation reshaped social structures.
Our research brings hidden perspectives forward, tracing women’s roles as memory keepers of the coast.
ADVOCACY
At Hiistoriya, heritage work is also advocacy. We amplify community voices, challenge misrepresentation, and promote cultural equity along the Swahili coast.
Through op-eds, local collaborations, workshops, and digital campaigns, we support participatory research, repatriation, and benefit-sharing — ensuring communities regain control over their stories and heritage.
Our advocacy centers women, youth, and custodians of knowledge, bridging research and activism to make heritage a tool for justice, restoration, and renewal.
See relate projects here.