Documentaries - Sabi Africa Network

Explore our micro-documentaries on African and Indigenous science.

Sesame Secrets Indigenous Oilseed Cultivation

The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Biodiversity Conservation

Climate Memory: Oral Histories of Drought and Rain Patterns

Yam Tending Rituals: Soil Memory and Crop Rotation

Do you know that traditional yam farmers across West Africa have been managing soil health with surprising precision long before soil science existed? Their tending rituals, mound designs and rotation systems are not just cultural choices.

Yam Tending Rituals

Traditional Drying and Smoke-Curing Technologies for Food Security

Do you know that across Africa, communities have refined drying and smoke-curing methods for centuries, creating some of the most resilient and eco-friendly food preservation systems on the planet? These are not outdated techniques. They are engineered solutions shaped by climate, culture and deep scientific knowledge.

Traditional Drying and Smoke

Traditional Blacksmiths: Metallurgy and Tool Innovation

Do you know that long before industrial steelworks appeared, blacksmiths across Africa were running complex bloomery furnaces, refining iron ores, and shaping tools through techniques that mirror the fundamentals of modern materials science? Their work was not primitive. It was engineered, tested, and optimized over centuries.

Traditional Blacksmiths

African Indigenous Mathematics: Number Systems and Counting Devices

Do you know? Africa engineered some of the world’s earliest number systems and counting tools long before written numerals spread globally. From ancient notched bones to hybrid base-20 grammars and knotted cords, these systems were not primitive. They were designed to solve real engineering problems: tracking time, measuring goods and running complex trade.

African Indigenous Mathematics

African Textile Conservation & Dye Stabilization: Bridging Indigenous Practice and Modern Science

Do you know that some of Africa’s most celebrated textiles hold centuries of chemistry, engineering and environmental science woven into their fibers? Today we are exploring the deep science behind conserving these masterpieces and stabilizing the natural dyes that bring them to life.

African Textile Conservation & Dye Stabilization

Bamboo Bridges: Indigenous Civil Engineering in Rainforest Zones

Do you know that some of the most efficient, low-carbon bridges on the planet are not made of steel or concrete but bamboo? Across Africa’s rainforest and riverine communities, bamboo bridges show how indigenous engineering blends strength, ecology and craft into infrastructure that truly serves people.