Reviving Communities through Storytelling & Creative Action

This research paper describes the 'Heroes Project,' an interdisciplinary collaboration between Natural Justice, the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, and the Law+Environment+Design Laboratory. The project uses design, storytelling, and graphic narratives to address the collective historical trauma of the Khoi-San people in South Africa, aiming to reconnect youth with their cultural identity and provide alternatives to dysfunctional coping mechanisms.

• The Khoi-San people of South Africa have suffered collective historical trauma resulting from 'cultural genocide' and 'systematic and deliberate erasure of their culture' caused by colonialism and Apartheid. This trauma manifests in the community as a 'negativity bias' leading to self-sabotaging behaviors.
• In the Western Cape, the effects of this trauma are evident among Khoi-San youth, where 'gangsterism', 'alcohol and drug abuse', and 'fetal alcohol syndrome' are endemic. The document states that this group accounts for '60-80% of the prison population'.
• Despite achieving legal and material victories over the last ten years—including land restitution and benefit-sharing agreements for traditional knowledge of the 'hoodia, rooibos and sceletium plants'—the Khoi-San remain affected by internal conflict, unemployment, and substance abuse.
• The Heroes Project, initiated in 2013, employs Joseph Campbell's 'hero's journey' monomyth to create graphic narratives that 'contemporize Khoi-San folklore and mythology'. The goal is to facilitate the healing of collective trauma and replace 'dysfunctional coping mechanisms' by providing positive role models for the youth.
• The project's character design integrates Khoi-San mythology with Jungian archetypes. Five spiritually significant animals were used: the lion (Warrior), the baboon (Wizard), the jackal (Lover), the eland (King), and the mantis, who represents the deity /Kaggen and the 'supernatural aid' archetype.
• The project utilized participatory methods in the Cape Flats, including workshops featuring 'theatre games and shadow puppetry', 'beat boxing', and 'drama games' to collect real stories from local youth to be adapted into the graphic narratives.
• The 'Origin Story' developed in the first half of 2014 was scheduled for launch in late September at the 'District Six Museum, Cape Town', a location chosen because its residents were 'forcibly removed during apartheid'.

APA

Sateesh, D., Bavikatte, K., Choudhury, A., & Jansen, L. (n.d.). Reviving Communities through Storytelling & Creative Action. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Cumulus-Johannesburg-Conference-Paper-Template.pdf

Chicago

Sateesh, Deepta, Kabir Bavikatte, Abhishek Choudhury, and Lesle Jansen. Reviving Communities through Storytelling & Creative Action. Natural Justice, n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Cumulus-Johannesburg-Conference-Paper-Template.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sateesh |first1=Deepta |last2=Bavikatte |first2=Kabir |last3=Choudhury |first3=Abhishek |last4=Jansen |first4=Lesle |title=Reviving Communities through Storytelling & Creative Action |publisher=Natural Justice |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Cumulus-Johannesburg-Conference-Paper-Template.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sateeshndreviving, author = {Sateesh, Deepta and Bavikatte, Kabir and Choudhury, Abhishek and Jansen, Lesle}, title = {{Reviving Communities through Storytelling \& Creative Action}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Cumulus-Johannesburg-Conference-Paper-Template.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }