Inkaya is a youth and women-led initiative in Zambia, founded by Banji Chona. Our name comes from ciTonga and refers to a layered bracelet crafted by baTonga using materials from the Earth. In buTonga culture, body adornments like these bracelets are central to personhood. For us, they symbolise and celebrate the imaginative cultural identities of our ancestors and those of our future(s).

At our core, Inkaya (said ink-eye-ah) is an initiative rooted in community-led ancestral knowledge and ecological practice. We work with and alongside women and youth artisans from underserved communities to harness creativity as a tool for cultural, social and environmental transformation. Since 2019, we have worked with women and youth artisans in Simonga and Nakatindi, supporting green artisanal skills, income generation and environmental awareness through hands-on learning and practice.

With seed funding from Youth4Climate (UNDP & MASE), we are building the Inkaya Community Studio, an off-grid space in Chisakila Village, Kafue District, within the Chiawa Kingdom. The studio will function as a dedicated hub for sustainable artisanal development in Zambia, where women and youth from underserved communities can train, work and collaborate. By expanding access to skills training, fostering women’s economic empowerment, and strengthening youth participation in climate-conscious livelihoods, we aim to cultivate long-term, locally rooted pathways to dignified employment, environmental stewardship and resilient rural economies.

To strengthen cross-disciplinary collaboration, we will host residencies and research programmes for artists, writers, thinkers, designers and the wider community. These programmes will link local knowledge with global conversations on sustainability and design, positioning the studio as a space for exchange, reflection and applied research rooted in place.

Architectural Rendering of Inkaya Community Studio by Kamuna

The Studio, designed using vernacular architectural principles and green construction methods by Kamuna Design Studio and powered entirely by clean, renewable energy, will stand as a living model of the values it seeks to share. Rooted in local building knowledge and responsive to its environmental context, the space itself becomes a learning tool, demonstrating how sustainability, cultural continuity, and climate-resilient design can be integrated into everyday practice. The project will be realised in collaboration with local skilled builders and the surrounding community, with a commitment to sourcing materials within a 100km radius, including clay pan-bricks, thatch, reeds and other locally available resources. Kamuna Design Studio’s approach centres architecture as a means of contributing to a more just and sustainable planet, aligning environmental responsibility with social impact.

Architectural Rendering of Inkaya Community Studio by Kamuna

Our Fundraising Story

Since launching this fundraiser on 24 September 2025, through the power of community we have raised £3,157. This support arrived at a critical moment and helped stabilise the project after financial pressure caused by prolonged currency exchange rate fluctuations during the grant disbursement process.

Because of this collective effort, we have been able to continue with care and intention rather than scale back. Funds raised have supported essential groundwork, planning and operational costs, allowing the project to remain aligned with its original vision.

We remain committed to transparency and can provide documentation outlining the use of funds upon request.

Where We Are Now

As we settle into the new year, we are preparing for the next phase of the studio’s life cycle. With the rainy season nearing its end, we are planning to begin construction, alongside piloting early products and training activities that will activate the space and support local livelihoods.

To carry this work forward, we will need £5,500 meaning we have increased our fundraising goal from £2,350 to £7,850.

Here’s how the funds will be put to work:

The funds will go toward sourcing high-quality, locally available building materials, ensuring that local suppliers and craftspeople are paid fairly and with dignity. This investment is at the heart of our studio, allowing us to create a space that is sustainable, resilient, and rooted in our community.

A small reserve will ensure we can respond to any unexpected costs that arise during the build, keeping the project on track without compromising quality or community impact.

With your support, every donation contributes directly to building a studio that embodies dignity, inclusion, and sustainability while creating skills, livelihoods, and learning opportunities for our community.

A view of our studio site in Chisakila. Image by Mutumbi Lungu

Together, these investments will ensure that the Inkaya Community Studio opens as a well-resourced, community-built space, one that supports women and youth not only through its programmes, but through the very process of its creation.

This campaign marks a shift from recovery to building forward. The generosity shown so far has laid a strong foundation and continued support will help transform this momentum into lasting infrastructure, skills and opportunity.

A view of our studio site in Chisakila. Image by Mutumbi Lungu

Why This Matters

The Inkaya Community Studio is more than a building. It is a place where skills are nurtured, opportunities are created and communities are strengthened. Women and youth will gain hands-on experience, build sustainable livelihoods and continue to share the ecological knowledge and wisdom rooted in their communities.

By contributing to our fundraiser you are helping to open doors, strengthen local talent and invest in a future where communities thrive.

How You Can Support

Community Voices

The Mapondera Family, direct beneficiaries of our Studio build in Chisakila. Image by Mutumbi Lungu.

Our neighbours, our teachers and the very reason Inkaya is rooted where it is. Before land becomes a site, it is a relationship. Before a studio can be built, trust must be built first.

Since 2024, we have been working alongside Gerald Mapondera and his family, the previous custodians of the land where the Inkaya Community Studio will stand. Together with the Chiyaba Chiefdom and local Chisakila leadership, this process has been guided by care, dialogue and a shared commitment to ensuring our presence here is respectful and in alignment with the community. Working with families is not a formality. It is the foundation. It is how trust is established, how accountability is held and how a project becomes of a place rather than simply in it. This is how we learn to listen, not only to people, but to the land, the histories and the more-than-human kin that already exist here.

The Maponderas are integral to Inkaya’s story and to the future of the Community Studio. We will be sharing more about their role, their wisdom and the relationships that continue to shape Inkaya as a living, breathing part of Chisakila.

Ferry, a Textile Artisan and Beneficiary of The Inkaya Natural (non-toxic) Dye Programme at the Twaabane Creative Centre in Simonga, Zambia

Ferry Kamwi is a 52 year old tailor who lives in Simonga, a rural community 18km from livingstone in Southern Zambia. She joined the Twaabane Creative Centre's Textile Studio programmes as part of their first intake. Since then she has gained skills in tailoring and natural dyeing. In her spare time, Ferry is a basket weaver and jewellery designer working with natural fibres from local plants and using Lozi knowledge as a guide in her process.

Click here to listen to Helen's story, she is an artisan and a beneficiary of the Inkaya Jewellery Design Programme at Sishemo Beads in Nakatindi, Zambia.

Together, we can ensure that Inkaya Studio opens as an impactful space for women, youth, and future generations.

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