The Society for Indigenous Languages, Communities, and Cultures of Sierra Leone (SILCC) is a community-based organisation founded in 2020 by language educator and community organizer Gibrilla Kamara (Mani/Limba, Sierra Leone) and Dr. Joshua McDermott, assistant professor of sociology at Southeastern Louisiana University, U.S.
SILCC works to inspire and invigorate connections between language, land, communities, and cultures. The organisation takes a holistic approach that recognises the interconnection between Indigenous knowledge systems and traditional ecological knowledge, cultural practices, biodiversity conservation, and Indigenous practices surrounding land management.
SILCC works in partnership with Indigenous community groups, particularly women, youth, and Elders, to revitalise endangered languages and reclaim traditional cultural knowledge that have contributed to environmental protection in Sierra Leone.
To preserve, revitalize, and promote Indigenous languages of Sierra Leone and to nurture the intergenerational connections that sustain them.
To protect and restore the land and water to build diverse and harmonious ecosystems.
To strengthen intergenerational relationships and inspire connections to ancestral knowledge in ways that create flourishing communities.
To inspire people to value, strengthen, and reclaim their Indigenous identities, traditional cultural knowledge, and lifeways.
SILCC is a registered Nonprofit Community Based Organization working to revitalize endangered languages and cultures while protecting Sacred forests in Kambia District, Sierra Leone. SILCC partners with 32 community schools to plant fruit trees and promote environmental conservation, with each school planting 100 trees, creating shaded playgrounds, reducing wind damage to school buildings, and providing nutritious fruits for pupils.
To preserve Indigenous languages, every tree is given a meaningful name in the local language, such as "Freedom tree" or "Peace tree." These names are displayed on tags attached to the tree. Each pupil is assigned a tree to care for throughout their time in the school. The tree serves as their legacy.
"We call on readers, organizations, educators, and community leaders to support the revitalization of the severely endangered Mani language by investing in community-led cultural and environmental initiatives."
