Zambia Space Academy c1960

From 1960-1969 Zambia had a space program with ambitions of beating the US and Russia in the race to the moon.  A retired school teacher set up facilities on Great North Road near the capital Lusaka.  Training exercises, designed to simulate the effects of space travel, included disco-era calisthenics and rolling its 'Afronauts' down a hill in a 55-gallon drum.

The plan was to send a young cadette to the moon with two trained but uncooperative cats.  If that trip went well there was to be a follow up mission to Mars involving 12 Afronauts and ten cats.  The Space Academy submitted for but did not receive $7,000,000 in funding from the Zambian government and another $1.7 billion from the UN.

The Afronauts were championed by Captain Matha Mwamba, a 17 year old girl.  However, Mwamba's parents pulled her out of the Academy when they discovered she was pregnant. "They won't concentrate on space flight," says the Academy's director, "there's too much love-making when they should be studying the moon."

The unofficial "Zambia National Science, Space Research and Philosophy Academy" had a tiny aluminum and copper rocket which they claimed was ready to be blasted into space.  In addition the Academy's scientific pursuits, the program had an evangelical objective:  to make Zambia "controllers of the Seventh Heaven Interstellar space."

There are BBC newsreels and newspaper clippings which document this remarkable program.  Their 're-discovery' by the InHouse/OneWay design team launched this whimsical resurrection of the 'Afronauts.'  Be a part of history with your very own Zambia Space Academy t-shirt!

AFRONAUTS shirts are on sale now at One Way Zambia outlets (contact one of us or check in at the Manda Hill Kiosk) - Adult sizes S-2XL Heather Gray + black "ringer" tee AND (shown above) white + black.  

Tracking the Orange Buffaloes

InHouse has been in the unique position of being able to 'track' Zambia's elusive Orange Buffalo.

From the beginning InHouse has been working hard to carry on with its "communicating science to the public" mission while still taking on purely creative and purely commercial projects (check out THIS fun project!).  In Zambia, Inhouse is very involved in health communications campaigns -- creating brochures, posters, logos, etc, for international and local projects to not only 'brand' their campaigns but more importantly, to (1) arm community health workers in with the most up to date and correct information and (2) provide them with effective ways to get that communication to the people who need it most.

The Orange Buffaloes Project was done in collaboration with a few international NGOs started years ago with a straightforward logo design...the logo went onto shirts, hats and smocks and brochures....The latest iteration of this project was the branding of bicycles in collaborations with Akros and PATH through World Bicycle Relief, whose line of specially-designed and super-sturdy bikes is called the "Buffalo Bicycle." (Hence, the Orange Buffalo Project!)  

InHouse is lucky to be partnering again with Akros Global Health to document their most excellent work in the field and was brought on at this *nearly final* stage of the Orange Buffalo Project.  The last stage will be a follow up -- once the Orange Buffaloes have seen some rough days on the road and been scraped and skuffed and are all tired out from their hard work in rural Zambia.  For now -- here are some snaps from "the maternity ward" as WBRs Brian Moonga calls his assembly floor.

14 guys (all men today) staff the 'ward' and give life to 120 bicycles a day.

And here they are, all ready for the first distribution.  In all over 1,100 Orange Buffaloes will be 'released' into the wild.

These community health workers now have a new way to *physically* get InHouse-designed materials out into the community!  (Win-Win and pats on our back.)

Here is the link back to the Akros website -- Photos by InHouse.