About the Knowledge Center
Once corral was quarried out of the Southern end of the Ilha da Moxambique to build the houses (for the colonialists) on the Northern end. What was left was a vast depression more or less five meters below street level, which over time was occupied by local people. Made from sticks and stones, their homes had roofs of palm leaves (macuti) which gave their name to the area. Today, Macuti Town is a vibrant but overcrowded and painfully under-resourced part of the city. It is a hard place to live.
Situated in, Bairro St Antonia, one of the 8 neighborhoods of Macuti Town The WIXUTTA KNOWLEDGE CENTRE is a place of learning and communication, a place that encourages confident and curious children.
We believe that voice and expression play a crucial role in a child’s development. At our knowledge centre we help children find their strengths.We are not a school or an after care facility and we do not tell them what to think: rather we help them to learn how to convey their own ideas and thoughts.
We give the community the chance to experiment with theatre, visual arts, music and dance to enhance their storytelling skills which in turn provides us with an understanding of what is most needed in the community.
What we do
Our focus is on sharing knowledge through artistic disciplines Music it s important to our centre. In underdeveloped countries such as Mozambique where the literacy rate is very low and music is often used as a means to transmit social messages.
With theatre productions, singing classes, dance, art and music, we stimulate the desire for knowledge of children aged between 4 and 10. As Portuguese is the official language of the country, these methods teach them the language and thus help them become bi-lingual, with the addition of their Macua mother tongue.
We also do activities for adults Theatre, singing, Piano and Guitar lessons, dance, films projections, arts and crafts, healthcare, photography, horticulture and basic building skills with an emphasis on recycling are the main focus of activities. The aim is to inform and educate in order for the participants to create a better, healthier and more prosperous local environment.
What we intend to do
Climate change has already effected the Ilha so we will place an emphasis on this.
Crafts have always been part of the island’s culture. Toys are made from wood, bicycle tyres and available plastic bottles etc. Our craft centre will build on this, gearing out work towards using people’s creative streak: a tool for enlightenment and learning and a way of widening the horizons of the neighbourhoods children. We will also focus on gathering and recycling available materials The island is also filled with rich organic matter which can be used as a source to compost vegetable gardens and, as well, we are studying bio combustion possibilities.
Running alongside this, will be an emphasis on rediscovering old techniques and traditions. The amargoseira tree for example, has existed for many centuries here on the island, but the knowledge of tree's capacity to heal and treat minor but potentially complicated diseases has been forgotten : with our help it will be revived. We intend to give computer, portuguese and english lessons.
