eKhaya TURNS ONE!

Last year we shared a story that started with how our mission has always been to create strong communities for storytellers, conservationists, and scientists to help each other grow and take up space. Since we blessed eKhaya Storytelling, Research and Dive Centre; it has seen hundreds of fellows, mentors, local youth and guests pass through its walls and pause in one way or another. 

In just one year, eKhaya has evolved into a space to gather, grow, learn, challenge, train, eat and rest in community. Created as to be a home base, #ChangingTheNarrative manifests as African storytellers, scientists, researchers, ocean explorers and conservationists filled its space with perspectives, ideas and dreams more diverse than our community of more than 250 fellows.

This centre embodies NEWF’s mission through supporting and celebrating Africa’s current and next generation of storytellers, impact leaders and natural history advocates. Together the community has defined this as a space for creation, connection, and shared purpose.

The communal meals at eKhaya are moments of reflection, storytelling, and shared memory. Around the modern wooden tables that are scattered with laptops and notebooks most of the day, fellows gather with their tasty, fragrant plates of food at breakfast, lunch and dinner. No experience at eKhaya is considered complete without Aunty Dumi’s cooking.

Unpacking the day’s plans, experiences and insights - it is here where so many of the bonds between fellows from different cohorts are strengthened, it is here comfort and connection are found enveloping the room and bursting out of the patio doors into Sodwana Bay’s sticky nights or cool evening showers. These moments exemplify the warmth of eKhaya, reminding everyone that this space is not only a productive workplace but a home for those who carry forward Africa’s stories.

This is who we are, this space is our home… and this is how eKhaya has brought our dreams to life over the past year:

Lounge and Learn

At eKhaya, learning is a continuous journey, supported by in-person sessions. These sessions offer an engaging and deeply enriching environment for storytellers to gather insights and refine their crafts individually and collectively. Here, learning is not only about skill-building but cultivating a shared passion for telling Africa’s stories with authenticity and dignity. These walls hold more than just the air of ubuntu - it is a highly adaptable and functional space tailored to the needs of our community. From casual lounging for downtime, screenings and ideation; to being seated around the big, wooden tables with laptops and notesbooks - eKhaya offers the space for fellows to participate in their labs, cross-pollinate with other fellows and keep up with remote work and responsibilities like meetings while engaged with NEWF. 

The primary home and training site for the largest ocean access program for African Scientists, Conservationists and Storytellers.

Thanks to Africa Refocused, a collaboration with the National Geographic Society, NEWF’s Dive Labs have found a home at eKhaya where pool training, gear and theoretical classrooms are facilitated by co-owner and Dive Instructor, Silindile Mbuyazi, Nkosi Mthembu and passionate team of local service providers.

Divers explore the local coral reefs; a first introduction to the world beneath the surface for many divers. Open water, advanced, specialised, Divemaster and Instructor-in-training candidates share the transformative experience of confined training and open water ocean exploration through a deeply personal and unique lens that has changed the narrative about African people’s connection to water in each of their home regions. This has given scientists, conservationists and storytellers working in marine spaces renewed purpose in their fields.

Through these training programs, many fellows progress to exploring and documenting the ocean, gaining the skills that open new pathways for research, advocacy and storytelling. These dives mark not just a journey into the depths but a journey towards truthful, diverse and balanced perspectives on Africa’s marine heritage, ideas of belonging, community-inclusive advocacy and innovation.

These shared experiences and positive training developments with the team have led to expeditions off the shores of Cameroon, Nkosi’s trek across the globe to YDWP’s Cares program in the Honduros, Samira’s first underwater cinematography gig in her home island of Cabo Verde and another series of partner labs with Aqua-Farms Organisation in Tanzania.

A meeting point and basecamp

Before venturing into the wild, cinematographers, birders, filmmakers, mentors, thought partners and guests find their bearings at eKhaya. Here, they gather to prepare their gear and supplies, run through production plans, connect, find the start of their multilingual communication and rhythm. The theory run-throughs (labs and local knowledge integration), gear checks (labs and active productions) and final briefings lay the foundation for safe, prepared exploration, embodying the philosophy that connection to nature begins with care, readiness and cultural context.

It is also here that cohorts, crews and guests often return before scattering for their travel home, and to review project progress, final rushes and the first threads of post-production while our studio project on site is not yet launched.

Cinematography and Post-Production by Chisomo Kawaga

Community engagement and support

Community engagement lies at the heart of eKhaya. Through collaborative events and partnerships, eKhaya embraces its role as a welcoming, inclusive space where visitors and locals come together. This is especially true for local youth passing through to learn to swim, engage with inspiring content and have fun while participating in various activities led Sli and many passionate fellows. This culture of engagement creates a vibrant network where connections are made and roots are planted, enriching all who experience it and strengthening ties to the surrounding community.

Uncle Ernie Franklin from YDWP

Bridging Perspectives – Cultural Exchange and Dialogue

A vital space for cross-cultural exchange and knowledge sharing; visiting programs like Youth Divers With a Purpose (YDWP), Makuleke Youth Birders and our collaborators from Africa to Archipelago (A2A) have together bridged understanding, and have explored shared connections, missions and perspectives. These dialogues connect African storytellers with connected experiences in the diaspora and in Asian culture that deepen collective memory and inspire new ways of seeing and documenting our stories. It is a place where each story enriches the next; fostering understanding, unity, new friendships, and renewed hope for continued (and deeply impactful) collaboration.