Culturally embedded health storytelling initiative

This initiative proposes a culturally embedded health storytelling initiative to capture narratives on traditional health practices within the Ogiek community. By engaging with herbalists, mid-wives, community leaders, community members and youth, we aim to document and preserve valuable traditional health knowledge and disseminate cultural heritage. We aim to preserve these traditional practices through storytelling by; recording and documenting these practices via audio, video, podcasts, and written materials. Additionally, it aims to create an exchange learning forum for the Ogiek community with different actors and other hunter gatherer communities, empower members from the Ogiek community while creating a sense of ownership of their rich indigenous knowledge on health practices and create a digital repository to facilitate access and the exchange of traditional knowledge. This approach respects cultural values and promotes cultural continuity while bridging traditional and modern health practices for the Ogiek community. The project will be conducted in Narok County, targeting the Ogiek community across the Mau forest complex and majorly conducted at the Ogiek cultural center which acts as a safe space for the community.