By Ejiro Gray

Once upon a time, in a spell of dry weather, the Birds could find very little to drink, a thirsty Crow found a pitcher with a little water. But the pitcher was high, and narrow was its neck, and no matter how he tried, the Crow could not reach the water.

The poor thing felt as if it must die of thirst. Then, an idea came to it. Picking up some small pebbles, it dropped them into the pitcher one by one. With each pebble, the water rose a little higher until, at last, it was near enough for the crow to reach it.

Going by this Aesop Fable, necessity is indeed the mother of invention, and Africa’s sustainable future may be hinged on this age-old proverb. This is because innovation is not alien to the African continent, and there’s a plethora of evidence of the sustainability philosophy that has guided our progenitors through time.

From the architectural design of ancient huts to using a kitchen resource to power fighter jets, Africans have been practicing sustainability since precolonial times and have developed ingenious ideas promoting sustainable use of natural resources in meeting everyday needs. We, therefore, clearly have the fundamental indigenous ideology required to forge the future we both need and desire. Let’s take a quick look at some examples.

Never Get in Mother Nature’s Way – African Architectural Philosophy 

Like a dance partner who’s careful not to step on your toes, Africans were intentional about building homes that do not stand in the way of the elements, e.g., wind, water, and the earth itself, hence the cylindrical shape of African huts. African architectural philosophy was predicated on the belief that life and human existence should be in harmony with nature and not opposed to it. Taking lessons from natural concepts such as the cylindrical shape of tree trunks, our forefathers understood that humans should not displace the natural flow of the elements. The idea is that, as the element, e.g., the wind blows, it bypasses the cylindrical structure of the hut and continues flowing. In like manner, rainwater comes, finds its way around and if the earth expands and /or contracts, the cylindrical structure remains intact.

No Fridge, No Problem! – Cooling in Ancient Times

Goatskin water coolers were a common feature of everyday life in Mali and a primary means of storing and cooling water.  After working on the farms, our ancestors would pause in the sun’s heat to cool off with a drink of cool water. Without modern refrigeration infrastructure, a common way to achieve the cooling effect was by using clay water pots.  Porous by nature, they are designed to allow water to seep through the pot’s walls and evaporate on the surface taking heat from the pot, thereby keeping the water cool.

Further, food was also preserved through a similar technique (clay pot-in-clay pot). This required placing a clay pot inside a larger porous outer clay pot filled with wet sand. As the water evaporates from the sand, the inner pot and its contents cool, keeping the food fresh for extended periods. 

A Greener Way to Fly? – Powered by Palm Oil

Recently, Malaysia’s government unveiled plans to boost sustainable aviation fuel use by using palm oil waste. But little do people know that Africans had explored this concept years ago. Mind you, the oil palm was introduced to Malaysia by the British government in the 1870s as decorative plants from Nigeria, West Africa, the latter being a major oil palm producer at the time. Today, Malaysia is the world’s second-largest palm oil producer, producing 26% of the global palm oil supply. In comparison, Nigeria’s production has since dwindled to a meagre 1.7% of the global supply and is now a net importer of the commodity, but, I digress.

During the Nigerian Civil War, the Biafra Research Production (RAP) included a Weapons Research and Production Group to develop an Indigenous arms industry. One of the Research Group’s more interesting inventions was the processing of palm oil into bio-jet fuel to power fighter jets. When blended with Jet A-1 fuel, this solution could still be explored as a possible source of sustainable and cleaner aviation fuel.

Catching the Dew by its Tail – Fog Harvesting

The semi-arid region of Ait Baamrane in Morrocco receives minimal rainfall, with rain patterns becoming more irregular and droughts more frequent. As a result, 380 villages in the area experience daily water stress, with average water use less than 10% of Morocco’s national average. Fog harvesting is a traditional method of collecting water from trees that has been used in Africa for generations. It captures water droplets in fog through metal mesh nets and converts them into usable water. Even while water is only taken one drop at a time, a lot of fog and big nets contribute significantly overall. About 22 litres of water can be collected daily with one square meter of net.

Tilling the Land with Reverent Hands – Return to Eden

The Tonga people of southern Zambia are committed to sustaining their local biophysical environment. Tonga people of Zambia firmly subscribe to the ‘Returning to Eden’ concept as a commitment to the earth’s sustainability and the belief that it is nature’s gift to humanity. For instance, it was common practice to utilize only the medicinal portions of the crops for treatment remedies. This belief is like the concept of selective harvesting, which is the practice of leaving regenerative parts of plants or animals in place to promote regrowth. They also practiced fallowing in agriculture, like a lot of other tribes across Africa, giving a minimum of four years for land to regenerate un-ploughed before planting to improve soil quality and ultimately, crop quality.

Magic in the Kiln – Sustainable Pottery

A collection of different tribes with similar culture lives between Northern Namibia and Southern Angola. The women of these tribes used termite clay to make pottery due to its strength and binding nature. The process involves locating termite mounts built on clay or sandy soil, and the clay is then pulverized and sifted until it becomes a fine powder. The powder mixed with goat dung and water is used to make the pots. The goat dung acts as a temper that prevents the pots from cracking.

Shelling out a Solution – From Brackish Waters to Concrete Walls 

In more recent times, with the development of modern infrastructure, including housing in developing economies, the demand for construction materials remains on the rise, and so is the price. One such building material is concrete, composed primarily of aggregate (fine and coarse), cement, and water. As such, people are making efforts to find alternatives to the conventional components of building concrete to drive down the price whilst ending up with low-cost building materials that are both environmentally friendly and pocket friendly.

One such discovery is the periwinkle shell, a waste product generated from periwinkle, a riverine food staple, particularly in the South-South region of Nigeria. It is a potential replacement for coarse aggregate in concrete making and flooring. They contain quite a high percentage of calcium oxide and are lightweight, making them ideal for use in areas with weak soil or for lighter structures such as wall partitions.

They’re also fire resistant, have a low carbon footprint, and possess good drainage properties, making them ideal as a building material for areas prone to flooding. Whilst one may question the practicality of access and supply constraints of the periwinkle shells, the first step to progress is acknowledging the existence of alternatives to conventional environmentally detrimental sources. 

The foregoing attests to some of the ways in which Africans have practiced sustainability consciousness in various aspects of life. Despite these feats, it appears that the continent has not sufficiently leveraged indigenous knowledge in driving the sustainability of the continent. These stories, just like the age-old proverb of necessity being the mother of invention, have shown that “our need will be the real creator”.  While the fundamentals remain unchanged, the application of modern influences is the starting point for new thinking. The essence of this piece is to awaken our minds to the need to look inwards, as there is a lot to learn from our forbearers and their ways. 

Forging the Path…

It is time we realized and accepted that no one is coming to save Africa. The continent needs to chart its path to a sustainable future. However, the good news is that history has proven that we have what it takes. Taking lessons from ancient indigenous practices and philosophies, we can leverage technology and inclusivity to channel our energies in the right direction. So, whilst adopting modern innovations from developed nations, Africans should consider deploying technology to finetune and improve on original indigenous sustainable methods, given the continent’s challenges and peculiarities.

To achieve this, building the capacity of our highest export and resource – our youth, which we seem to have been impervious to, must return to the top of the agenda. They have the energy, curiosity and exposure required to drive the agenda. If done right, perhaps, right in our backyards the wisdom of the ancestors and the innovativeness of their progeny will converge at a confluence of solutions, to steer the wheels of change toward sustainable development. After all, “One should not be looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow when it is right under your nose.” And yes, the African continent does hold the Pot of Gold.

 ***Gray is Director, Governance and Sustainability at global energy and infrastructure conglomerate, Sahara Group