Volume

8

East Africa

SeaVoice Volume 8: East Africa brings together an extraordinary range of voices, from community members and elders to artists, scientists, and policy-makers, to share stories of ocean life grounded in cultural heritage, lived experience, and Ocean Literacy. Created in partnership with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO and funded by Sweden, this volume captures the spirit of SeaVoice: amplifying frontline voices to deepen our collective understanding of the ocean.

photograph by

Kaush Subramaniam

All stories

A poem on the Kilifi Ocean - Depression

Wellbeing & Blue Mind

Bahari Yetu: a song that carries the Swahili Coast

Dr. Claudia Lubao

Using Popular Music for Ocean Literacy on the Swahili Coast

The water is shallow here, clear enough to see sea grass shifting beneath the surface.

Currents of memory

Dr. Mohammed Muharram

East African coastal lives in a warming Indian Ocean

At dawn, the East African shoreline is rarely still.

Dagaa and Dignity

Editrudith Lukanga

Sustainable Livelihoods

The Women of Lake Victoria Who Read the Water

Before sunrise breaks over Lake Victoria, the women are already awake.

Growing a future from the sea

Sustainable Livelihoods

The Hiari Women Group redefine their traditional roles through their seaweed business

In many coastal communities in Tanzania, long-standing cultural norms have traditionally placed men as the sole providers for their families.

In the Comoros, find the guardians of the Gombessa

Biodiversity & Conservation

Learning from the Coast

Heritage and Ocean Literacy in East Africa

When I first began working along the East African coast, I came with a particular understanding of the ocean.

Learnings from Lake Victoria

Artistic Expression

An interview with artist Fiker Solomon

Fiker Solomon's art uses yarn, jute, natural sponges and palm leaves

Malindi Bay through a Curatorial Lens

Marine Heritage

Intersections of History and Environment

This piece explores the deep and layered histories of Malindi Bay, a place where land and sea have long shaped human life, movement, and exchange along the Swahili coast.

Moving oars in unison

Biodiversity & Conservation

Protecting the Western Indian Ocean's seagrass

Chombo hakiendi ikiwa kila mtu anapiga makasia yake—a boat does not move forward if everyone is rowing in their own way.

Muthianas: the invisible daughters of the sea

At low tide, the reef appears before the boats.

Ossunculo

Mothers of the sea in Mozambique Island

In the still-dark dawn on Mozambique Island, Fátima Celestino rises before the sun. At 68 years old, she has lived by the sea since childhood.

Peixinho

Kaush Subramaniam

Encounters & Observations

A story of overcoming fear, connecting with the ocean, and learning to survive.

The ocean is not always a place of wonder. Sometimes, it is where fear begins.

The Doors of Perception

Patrick Vernon OBE

Marine Heritage

Carved Doors and the Indian Ocean Slave Trade

Across the stone towns of the East African coast stand carved wooden doors

The keepers of the salt: A daughter's song for Lamu

Joyleen Sagandira

Artistic Expression

The Last Working Dhows

Marine Heritage

What Lamu reveals about culture, labour and change

I first visited Lamu as a small boy in early 1972.

The Shorekeepers

Jentrix Chochy Sakwa

Indigenous Knowledge

Women, Memory, and Ocean Knowledge in Coastal Kenya

Long before seawalls were constructed and global funding became a standard feature of shoreline protection, women along the Kenyan coast practiced a sophisticated form of shoreline management.

The Tide Keepers

Indigenous Knowledge

Singing to the rhythm of the tides

Along the coast where Kenya meets Somalia, a string of coral islands and mangrove-fringed channels marks the edge of an ancient world.

When the Ngalawas sail

Indigenous Knowledge

How a traditional boat racing festival is reviving Indigenous ocean knowledge for the future.

A beautiful scene of turquoise blue waters against clear skies on a hot Sunday morning along Diani Beach in Kenya.

Where the Ocean Feeds the Story

Jessica Leigh Thornton

Intangible Food Heritage and Ocean Literacy in Zanzibar

Along the Swahili coast, the ocean is never just water.

Whose Knowledge Counts?

Jentrix Chochy Sakwa

Indigenous Knowledge

Ethnographic Insights from Lamu Archipelago on Deciphering Ocean Heritage

The ocean is not silent.

Women and water are entwined like two vines

Olivia Mary Nantongo

Artistic Expression

Interview with artist Olivia Mary Nantongo

Born in Kampala, Olivia Mary Nantongo is part of a new generation of Ugandan artists reshaping contemporary African portraiture.

At SeaVoice, we believe that understanding the complex dynamics between human culture and the environment is crucial for addressing the challenges we face today. By exploring the stories of those who have a deep connection to bodies of water, we gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of preserving and protecting these invaluable resources.

SeaVoice is produced by the Ocean Decade Heritage Network UK (ODHN-UK). ODHN-UK is a registered Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SC052384)