Aleksandra Lukaszewicz Alcaraz and Grzegorz Skorny from Academy of Art in Szczecin are conducting research on the history of slave trade in the coast of Kenya, focusing on Kilifi county region. The research is conducted by means of research trips/walks, deep interviews recorded for documentary purposes, and library research. The planned result is a short documentary film on the history of slave trade in Kilifi county region.
Lukaszewicz Alcaraz and Skorny discover places where local people where captured, chained, and shipped by the Arabs on their way to Zanzibar, following steps and stories by Kaviha Charo Chengo, ex-mganga who lost his baobab (mganga is a Mijikenda traditional healer), son, grandson, and great-grandson of a mganga from Seahorse village on the outskirts of Kilifi town. Chengo leads from the rivers going inland from the Kibukoni at the end of the creek in Kilifi, till Musafir, the replica of old Arab ships used in slave trade staying on the side of the beach at the creek, in front of Mnarani ruins, where slaves were kept in a well before shipping them further to Takaungu, Mtwapa, Mombasa, Diani, and Zanzibar.
The live memory told by Chengo is accompanied by expert knowledge by Dr. Ibrahim Busolo from Pwani University, who supports bibliographical information for the documentary film.