Soil, Seed and Heritage

An education project by Bantu e.V. for Berlin schools, September to December 2026, in cooperation with AfricAvenir International e.V.

Colonialism is not a closed chapter. Its consequences are still visible in how we build and how we farm. Sustainable African earth-building traditions were pushed aside by imported cement and concrete standards – and are now marketed as innovation by Western architecture firms. Local seed diversity and soil knowledge came under pressure from colonial monocultures and, later, from hybrid and GM seeds. The project makes these connections tangible for students and links them to Berlin’s own responsibility.

Themes

• The colonial construction economy and rammed-earth building (links to Uganda, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Mali, Tanzania)
• Seeds, soil and colonial agriculture (links to Uganda, Burundi, DR Congo, Tanzania)
• Colonial traces in the African Quarter in Berlin-Wedding and the Berlin Conference of 1884/85 (links to Cameroon, Togo, Namibia, Tanzania)

Formats

• Module 1: workshop building a rammed-earth element (4 lessons)
• Module 2: workshop with sowing and an observation log (4 lessons)
• Field trip “Colonial traces in the African Quarter” (3 hours)
• Mini exhibition by the students at each participating school

Grades and schools

Grades 9 to 11, embedded in geography, history and biology lessons. We will name the participating schools here once they have confirmed.

Contact

To learn more about the project or the teaching materials: Boaz Murinzi Murema, Bantu e.V., info@bantu-ev.org, +49 176 3421 3765.