Sikhula Sonke: Living Archives of Afrofuturist Village Banking

In this episode, we are in conversation with Esther Mwema. She will be sharing about her project, Sikhula Sonke: Living Archives of Afrofuturist Village Banking, which she created together with Jon Adam Chen and three different communities in Zambia and South Africa. Sikhula Sonke is an isiXhosa phrase which means ‘we grow together.’ The project is a mixed media artwork and storytelling project that documents informal savings groups as a way of understanding inclusive financial models in Southern Africa. In recognition of the wisdom that already exists within local communities and is little understood outside of them, the project focuses on women who hold a wealth of knowledge on inclusive, open financial systems.
We will discuss with Esther how this artwork shaped her vision of a financially inclusive future, Her pathway toward becoming an Artist, and how the world influenced her.