Wakanyi Hoffman on African Folktales for Sustainability Education
Name: Wakanyi Hoffman
Location: Global
Initiative Title: African Folktales Project
Short Description of Initiative: A digital curation of wisdom tales from African Indigenous communities aimed at preserving and passing down Indigenous knowledge through schools in Africa and around the world.
Sectors: Education technology
Website: https://www.humanitylinkfoundation.org/
Wakanyi Hoffman is a public speaker, author, and Indigenous knowledge scholar. She is currently the lead PhD researcher on Sustainable African AI Systems at Utrecht University’s Inclusive AI Lab under the Centre for Global Challenges (UGlobe), where she explores the intersection of Ubuntu ethics and sustainable AI practices.
As the founder of the African Folktales Project, Wakanyi is creating a digital database of African stories that preserves Indigenous wisdom and offers insights to sustainability and environmental conservation challenges. She built the project in response to the absence of African stories and Indigenous perspectives in formal school systems across the continent.
With a background in media and communications and a Master’s in Development Education and Global Learning from University College London (UCL), Wakanyi has authored several children’s books and speaks widely on Ubuntu philosophy as a foundation for human flourishing. She has lived and worked in multiple countries and currently resides in the Netherlands.
The African Folktales Project (AFP) is more than a collection of stories. It is a rich resource and living dialogue about the role of ancestral wisdom passed down by the earliest human civilisations in Africa. Rooted in the Ubuntu philosophy, it embraces the idea that human beings are part of the evolutionary ecology, and, as future ancestors, we exist to serve as custodians of knowledge about our natural world. Wakanyi carefully designed courses based on an African Indigenous Knowledge Education curriculum, using oral storytelling as a pedagogical tool to teach sustainability and interconnectedness, with a focus on the SDGs. At the heart of the curriculum are African stories re-imagined to inspire 21st-century learners and educators to envision a future where all people work together to protect our natural world.
Every innovator’s story starts with a spark. If you had to pick one defining moment that set you on this path, what would it be?
Motherhood. When I gave birth to my first child (I now have four), I knew instantly that I wanted to preserve African Indigenous wisdom and knowledge, not just for her, but for all future generations.
What system are you working to transform, and why does it need to change?
Education. It is long overdue. The African education system remains deeply rooted in colonial worldviews, leaving children disconnected from their heritage. Indigenous knowledge is vanishing at an alarming rate, and with it, entire languages are disappearing. As one of the few remaining wisdom keepers from Africa who speak an Indigenous language, I feel a deep responsibility to help preserve and pass down this knowledge to future generations.
How does your initiative challenge dominant narratives or conventional models? What makes it truly “Unearthodox”?
To begin with, there is a general lack of understanding of what constitutes an Indigenous identity in Africa. Unlike Indigenous communities in other parts of the world, who often live in marginalised regions of their countries, nearly everyone living in African cities comes from an Indigenous background. In a sense, all of Africa is Indigenous or ancestral land, whether modern or not.
What makes my project "Unearthodox" is that it challenges the dominant perception that only tribal people represent authentic Indigenous identity. Instead, it presents a modern, fresh, and nuanced understanding of what it truly means to be Indigenous. For me, it’s less about performative cultural expressions and more about the knowledge carried in people’s minds—knowledge that shapes worldviews and society at large. Indigenous knowledge permeates daily life for most Africans, whether they live in rural areas or high-rise buildings. It is embedded in language, in life events such as the birth of a child or the passing of an elder, and even in the way people interact and choose their food.
Indigenous knowledge in Africa also defines how people relate to the land. In Kenya, where I am from, there is a deep-rooted understanding of the risks of environmental harm, whether from cutting down trees or allowing rivers to dry up. Kenyans are generally very environmentally conscious and have been known to protest against the construction of roads through wildlife reserves or the destruction of Indigenous forests. This environmental wisdom is also preserved in the stories I have collected. I have developed a curriculum that uses Indigenous folktales as a pedagogical tool for passing down ancestral knowledge and wisdom to children in formal education settings, without disrupting the national curriculum.
Innovation often requires letting go. What beliefs, assumptions, or practices have you had to unlearn to create real change?
I have had to dismiss many cultural belief systems from my childhood, and other ideas I picked up along the way. For example, I used to believe that the world would change if only we had equality- I would fight for gender equality, social equality, cultural equality, and so on. Over time, I’ve realised that what we truly need is equity and inclusion—spaces where people can determine for themselves what feels fair, just and welcoming- then equality will be a given, and not a mere aspiration. I do believe that one way of achieving equality will be when we each begin to consciously understand how to use our individual decision-making power, accept the accountability that comes with using that power to make harmful decisions, and then face the truth that our choices create our daily realities.
What aspects of Ubuntu’s philosophy hold the greatest potential to transform how we build and sustain communities, both in digital spaces and in the real world?
At the heart of Ubuntu is the invitation to dignify every life—to see ourselves not as isolated individuals but as part of a vast, interdependent web that includes plants, animals, rivers, and even the cosmos. To get there, we human beings need to understand the law of reciprocity, which governs all of life’s existence. This understanding that our individual actions have consequences that ripple far beyond our human experiences and return back to either improve our conditions or reduce the quality of our life on earth holds the greatest potential to transform how we build communities both online and offline. Every word spoken or written has the power to shape reality. If we collectively understand the fundamental power of individual action and the consequences of misusing this power, then we can truly change the world for the better, together.
Is there a specific African folktale that, for you, captures the essence of what it means to innovate while staying rooted in ancestral wisdom?
Yes. The Legend of the Hummingbird (Sunbird). In this tale, the hummingbird takes a radical and innovative step. Instead of watching helplessly as a raging fire consumes the forest—the home of all the animals—she begins flying back and forth to the river, carrying tiny drops of water in her beak to try and put out the flames. The other animals, inspired by her determination, follow suit. Before long, through collective action, they manage to extinguish the fire, each contributing in whatever way they can with their own talents and resources.
To me, this story embodies the principle of reciprocity and collaboration, core tenets of Ubuntu. True change doesn’t come from waiting for a hero. It comes when we each do what we can, with what we have, and recognise our interdependence. We need each other, not just in moments of crisis, but all the time. We also need to act fast and remember to dignify each other’s presence and life.
Beyond funding, what kinds of support—emotional, relational, or otherwise—are essential for innovators to thrive?
Validation. Innovators constantly navigate uncertainty: everything is new, and there are many lessons to be learned. It can be a lonely place, and self-doubt often creeps in, especially in times of crisis. But moral support is the most powerful fuel that activates passion and innovative energy.
What motivated you to join the Exploration Co-Lab cohort?
My entire life’s journey has gravitated toward the road less travelled. I loved the idea of doing things in an “Unearthodox way.” When I found the Exploration Co-Lab, I felt like I had discovered a home where I could fully express myself.
Fast-forward 10 years—what do you hope your work has made possible?
That every child growing up in Africa will feel empowered to tell their own stories in their own words, passing down the true values of what it means to be human through their lived experiences.
This insight is part of a series highlighting our first cohort of the Exploration Co-Lab. Read more about the Exploration Co-Lab here.
You can also read more insight pieces like this here.
The content of this piece represents the author’s own views and does not necessarily represent the views of Unearthodox or of any of its collaborating institutions.