[WATCH] A Preview of the Upcoming ‘Trust’ Graphic African Novel About Blockchain

A graphic novel trailer depicting the story of a young African woman using blockchain to transform her community has been released.

The trailer is based on an upcoming novel, dubbed ‘Trust’, that tells the story of Moraa, a young Kenyan woman living in Wahengaland, who learns about blockchain and uses it to transform her community.

Moraa is the main protagonist in the story

The 120-page novel is the work of Chief Nyamweya, an incredible artist and storyteller, and Anne Connelly, a Canadian blockchain educator and investor, who are innovatively using storytelling to educate readers about blockchain technology with the hope of inspiring African youth to see a bright future via blockchain education.

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The creative storyline and the beautiful artwork incorporate educational elements that enable readers go from having no knowledge of blockchain to having a basic understanding of the technology and its use cases.

Speaking to BitKE, Chief said:

“Since I began my career as a Storyteller over a decade ago, I’ve been deeply motivated by their potential for positive impact on society. If the storytelling does their job well, they give a name and a voice to the spirit of the times.

Trust was born out of my own experiences living in Nairobi and witnessing first hand the alienation and lack of trust – as well as the potential of technology to help solve such brand human challenges.

Trust is the evolving product of our partnership, and if we are successful in our mission, it will introduce millions of young African to an adjacent future of Trust, partnership and agency from an abusive centralized state.”

Speaking on the project, co-author Anne Connelly said:

“We’re thrilled by the support we’ve gotten from the crypto community for ‘Trust’. The project has received grants from Interchain Foundation, Consensys Grants, Cardano Foundation, Conflux Network, and from a number of generous donors through Gitcoin grants.

 

Our goal is to reach 1 million kids. lockchain’s greatest potential is in Africa – both in terms of the technology and the people building it.

 

We’ve partnered with great educational institutions like Blockchain Academy in South Africa, The African Blockchain Institute, which is pan-African, and Melanin Academy in Kenya, to help readers take the next steps to becoming crypto owners, entrepreneurs, and developers.

 

We believe that the best way to inspire kids is through storytelling. We all love the story of Satoshi Nakamoto and the mystery surrounding it. Now we have the story of Moraa too – a role model who can also inspire a generation of new changemakers.”

 

Quite a lot of work went into the story development and artwork.

The graphic novel process begins with the development of a storyboard. Chief has imagined the characters for the book, the world they live in, and the challenges they struggle with. From there, he plotted out what each page of the graphic novel would look like in a rough sketch.

To create the artwork and bring life to the characters in the storyboard, Chief started by creating a Pitch Bible that includes sketches of all of the characters.

Chief then created a set of pencil drawings to sketch out each page of the book. This process enables the team to review and craft the entire story before setting it permanently in ink. Each page takes about one day to complete from start to finish.

The team is currently looking to raise $58, 000 to complete the 6-month project. Funding will support the artist’s salary, partnership development, and the creation of the digital bookstore.

The partnerships are a key strategy to distribute the free digital version widely and help readers access blockchain educational and training opportunities.

 

Limited print versions will also be made available for areas with limited Internet access.

The novel is expected to launch in early 2021.

 

To support:

 

NB: Animated video courtesy of Freehand Studios

 

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