Endangered Material Knowledge Programme, The British Museum, London (2026)

02/06/2026

We have an exciting new update to share from the project team behind 'Lake Turkana, in the making: documenting the mobile material knowledge of drylands pastoralism in northern Kenya'!

These photographs come straight from the field, where Samuel Derbyshire and his team are undertaking the final stretch of documentation work:

"Our project explores the material knowledge of pastoralist communities in northern Kenya at a time of rapid environmental and socio-economic change. Working with Turkana, Rendille, and Daasanach communities, we are documenting traditional practices, objects, and rituals that reflect rich, adaptive ways of life shaped by mobility, craftsmanship, and deep relationships with the land.

Recent work includes documenting donkey carriers, water troughs and leather garments in southern Turkana; ceremonial ornaments and camel protection rituals in Rendille areas around Korr; and the construction of distinctive grass house covers and clay headdresses in Daasanach communities near Ileret. These collaborative efforts are capturing knowledges and practices that are increasingly uncommon. The work reveals how deeply material life is intertwined with identity, memory and survival in Kenya’s arid lands."

Good luck to the team as they move into the final stages of the project!

If you would like to learn more about the project, please click here: https://www.emkp.org/lake-turkana-in-the-making-documenting-the-mobile-material-knowledge-of-drylands-pastoralism-in-northern-kenya/

IMAGE CREDITS // 1 & 3. Joseph Ekidor Nami, 2025 / 2. James Chorodo Malimo, 2024 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

28/05/2026

NEW EMKP COLLECTION RELEASE - Nomadic Material Heritage: Documenting Textile and Animal Hide Crafts in Western Mongolia ⬆️ Congratulations to Kristen Pearson and the team!

Mobile pastoralism has shaped material knowledge systems throughout Inner Asia, creating craft traditions intimately connected to herding and hunting practices. This project documented the production, use, and cultural significance of textile and animal hide crafts among Kazakh pastoralist communities of Western Mongolia, focusing on practices surrounding crafts such as syrmaqs (felt carpets), tus kiiz (embroidered wall hangings), terme (woven bands), and animal skin garments. A smaller but no less important subset of the data deals with Uriankhai Mongol craft practices in the same region.

Explicit sedentarization policies and mounting environmental pressures have drastically reduced mobile pastoralism worldwide. Nomadic communities in Western Mongolia face particular vulnerability from outmigration and urbanization affecting traditional lifeways and cultural heritage. Crafting traditions designed for yurt contexts face obsolescence as families adopt permanent housing, while the social frameworks through which textile and hide objects communicate identity and express cultural values are threatened by changing mobility and subsistence patterns. This is especially the case for Kazakhs in Mongolia because of increasing pressures and incentives to emigrate to Kazakhstan.

The team would like to thank:
> The Bayan Ölgii Aimag Museum and especially Director Aishagul Azamat and colleagues for hosting their public outreach event and connecting them with the local media.
> All the participants, especially those who shared their knowledge, whether by providing object biographies, demonstrating their craft practices on film, or giving an interview.
> Those who helped in little ways that made a big difference: carrying heavy syrmaqs to and fro, helping mark up a Google Map with local place names, finding a working printer in the countryside, and so many more acts of generosity.
> Those who hosted the team in their homes, especially Khali-Askar and family who hosted multiple times in Bulgan, and Janbolat and family who hosted multiple times in Ölgii.
> Specifically Aigerim, Almagul and Kharaskhan, Altangul, Arujan, Azmukhamed, Bagila, Brigad, Byambadorj, Byeibitgul, Egshiglen, Erdibek, Gaziza, Jainagul, Jargalsaikhan, Kameskhan, Karashash, Kenjel, Khuat, Kristine, Mike, Makidolda, Marat, Marua, Musa, Onay, Oraybek, Rosie, Samia, Shinarbek and Meruert, Shynai, Soltansharif and Shynai, Tatarkhan, Tileubek, and Tolev.

To learn more about this project, please click here: https://www.emkp.org/nomadic-textile-animal-hide-western-mongolia/

IMAGE CREDITS // 1, 3, 4 & 8. Kristen Pearson, 2023 / 2, 5-7, 9 & 10. Kristen Pearson, 2022 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

26/05/2026

VOICES FROM THE FIELD - 'The future of life in the oases of the Sahara depends on water from the foggaras' by Juan Ignacio Robles, Tarik Ghodbani, Mohamed Hadeid, and SidAhmed Bellal.

EMKP grantee Juan Ignacio Robles, Principal Investigator of the project, 'Foggaras: Water production in the Adrar palm grove oases (Sahara, Algeria)’, has written a new article for the Voices from the Field series. This piece focuses on his fieldwork experience during this project, and what the team have managed to document so far. The article highlights the importance of preserving this material practice in the face of economic changes that could change the social and ecological landscape of these oases.

If you would like to learn more, please click here: https://www.emkp.org/the-future-of-life-in-the-oases-of-the-sahara/

IMAGE CREDIT // J.I. Robles, 2025 // IMAGE LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

21/05/2026

WORLD DAY FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY FOR DIALOGUE AND DEVELOPMENT 🌍

According to UNESCO, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is about more than just the celebration of cultural diversity, but also the importance of cultural exchange and global dialogue for the benefit of all.

We are celebrating this day by highlighting and thanking all of the community members from around the world who have shared their material culture knowledge with EMKP teams and projects. EMKP projects create not just a dialogue between the communities and the research teams, but also with different people across the globe through the EMKP repository. None of this would be possible without the generosity of these knowledge-holders and knowledge-bearers.

IMAGE CREDIT // Kristen Pearson, 2022 // IMAGE LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

19/05/2026

Humans have been taking part in animal husbandry since approximately 10,000 BCE, according to research at Durham University. Unsurprisingly therefore, animals and material culture are closely linked. You will often see animal sourced materials being used in EMKP projects, including leather, milk, and wool.

In today's modern world, there are large amounts of people who may use or consume animal products, but who are distanced from the making processes of these items by industrialised farming. However, the local knowledge holders in EMKP projects often operate in a more traditional fashion, whereby they rear the animals directly. The communities and their animals often have a symbiotic relationship, each relying on the other to provide basic needs, such as food, shelter, and companionship.

There are a wide variety of animals that have been documented by EMKP grantees, both as crucial elements of the making process, and valued members of the community. Scroll through the pictures above to see some examples for yourself 🐑

1. A first year reindeer calf inspects the camera in a nomadic summer encampment in Mongolia, where Donatas Brandišauskas is documenting conical tents amongst reindeer herders.
2. A kitten plays on a syrmaq (felt carpet). Kristen Pearson's project documents the making process of these textiles.
3. María Luisa is beginning to shear this sheep, to collect wool. Lorena Isabel Toro-Mayorga's project researched the handspinning practices of these women from the Ecuadorian highlands.
4. From Addisu Fekadu Andeta's project about enset usage in Ethiopia, Embet Demelash Blacha uses the enset to feed her cows, who cannot graze due to the heat of the sun.
5. Halid, the shepherd, feeds his flock whilst riding his donkey in Hasan Ali's project about Palmyrene wool.
6. These baby camels are wearing old syrmaqs to keep them warm.
7. Sahib washes and bathes her sheep before shearing - the wool is then used to make shu fabric, a process that Adil Iqbal documented.

To visit the EMKP repository, click here: https://drs.britishmuseum.org/EMKP

IMAGE CREDITS // 1. Donatas Brandišauskas, 2023 / 2. Kristen Pearson, 2022 / 3. María Luisa Guamán Carlosama, 2023 / 4. Embet Demelash Blacha, 2025 / 5. Ahmad Alkhanee, 2023 / 6. Kristen Pearson, 2023 / 7. Adil Iqbal, 2023 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

14/05/2026

NEW EMKP COLLECTION RELEASE - Documenting the social and geographic dimensions of the endangered art and practice of making hand-made deep artesian wells and shallow percolation wells in the Thar desert ⬆️ Congratulations to Palak Babel and the team!

This project documents the traditional knowledge systems associated with well-making in western Rajasthan, focusing particularly on the pataali kuan (deep wells) and beris (shallow wells) prevalent in regions surrounding Jaisalmer and other districts of the Thar desert.

The project conducted an extensive survey, revisiting locations across different seasons to capture variations in usage and context. The communities engaged ranged from farmers to pastoralists and included individuals involved in well-making practices. Local collaborators, including elderly community members and younger individuals, played a vital role in navigating the field, providing contextual understanding, and serving as translators. By blending science and storytelling, this project aims to honour the resilience of desert communities and inspire sustainable futures in arid lands.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS // Collaborators: Kurush Canteenwala (audiovisual documentation and post-production), Shubham Mishra (GIS database and spatial analyses), and Gargi Joshi (technical and ecological aspects) / Community collaborators: Chattar Singh Jam, Raja Ram Dheru ji, Keshav ji, Jeevan Singh ji / Host Institution Team Members: Ashis Panda, Pranav Pandya, and Jeevan Makwana / Research assistants: Mehtab ji (on-field data collection), Aabha Chhajer (on-the-ground audiovisual data collection and processing), Monika Bhatnagar (field data collection), Saikat Das (photo and video editing), and Anuskha Kale (post-processing) / Translators: Babu Ram ji, Hema Ram, Himansha Soni, Insaaf Khan, Mahendra Singh, Nitish Kumar, and Rajeshree Shekhawat / Tanay Singh ji (local historian) / Chinmay thite and his team (geologists) / Local drivers: Dayam Khan ji, Indarjeet ji, Shaitan Singh ji and Parmanand ji / Thanks are owed to the countless participants throughout the project whose knowledge is preserved in the collection.

To learn more about this project, please click here: https://www.emkp.org/social-geographic-dimensions-artesian-percolation-wells-thar-desert-india/

IMAGE CREDITS // Sambhaav Trust, 2024 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

12/05/2026

VOICES FROM THE FIELD - 'Forty Years On - Traditional Image-Casting in Thailand' by Tristram Riley-Smith

EMKP Legacy Digitisation grantee Tristram Riley-Smith, Principle Investigator of the project, 'Traditional Image-Casting in Thailand’, has written a new article for the Voices from the Field series. This piece focuses on his return to Thailand after 40+ years to revisit the sites of his 1984 research, and his reconnection with the traditional foundries of Chiang Mai and Wat Chang. The article is a fascinating window into how what a Legacy Digitisation Grant can mean for not just the grantee, but for the community as well.

If you would like to learn more, please click here: https://www.emkp.org/forty-years-on-traditional-image-casting-in-thailand/

IMAGE CREDIT // Pitchaya Soomjinda, 2026

07/05/2026

📢📢ISSUE 8 OF THE EMKP NEWSLETTER IS HERE 📢📢

The EMKP quarterly newsletter keeps you up to date with everything that is going on both behind the scenes and out in the field. This issue opens with an update on the EMKP Granting Cycle 2025-2026, and recent visits to the EMKP London office, alongside repository updates and news bites. Issue 8 also contains two articles by EMKP grantees, Juan Ignacio Robles and Tristram Riley-Smith, which can be found on pages 3 and 5.

You can find the link to the latest issue, as well as the sign-up page here: https://www.emkp.org/newsletter/

05/05/2026

AFRICAN WORLD HERITAGE DAY

Today is UNESCO's international day of recognition for African natural and cultural heritage, intended to highlight the importance of preserving this heritage for future generations in the face of threats like climate change and civil unrest. In honour of this, above are some images from EMKP projects that highlight the work grantees are undertaking to document endangered material knowledge across the continent. From wild silk production in Burkina Faso, all the way to timbila making in Mozambique, there are many projects to explore, all of which can be found through the links below:

> Click here for further information about our ongoing projects researching African material knowledge: https://www.emkp.org/emkp-ongoing-projects/africa/
> Click here for further information about our completed projects about African material knowledge: https://www.emkp.org/emkp-completed-projects/africa-completed-projects/

IMAGE CREDITS // 1. Laurence Douny, 2020 - "West African wild wilks techniques: Preserving Marka-Dafing's heritage of knowledge" / 2. John Hanna, 2024 - "Palm Weaving: A Coptic Living Heritage Under Threat" / 3. Sara Morais, 2024 - "RESONATING MWENJE: Documenting the timbila making process and the techniques of the masters from Zavala, Mozambique" / 4. Velina Ninkova, 2021 - "Tracking Through Time: Documentation of the Material Culture of the Omaheke Ju|'hoansi, Namibia" / 5. Ruy Llera Blanes, 2020 - "Mapping Threatened Transhumant Routes in Southwestern Angola" // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

01/05/2026

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY - AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Project

An opportunity has been announced for a researcher to join an AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Project between The British Museum (Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas) and the University of Lincoln (Department of History).

The project title is: ‘Reconnecting museum collections with ecological knowledge in East Africa, 1870-1930.’

This is a 4-year studentship (can also be done part-time), which will include work with collections, archival research and research with communities in East Africa.

There is scope for the researcher to put their own stamp on this project. We are looking for someone with an interest in this subject to help shape critical work on museum collections and ecological knowledge, while earning a PhD and developing their own practice/expertise.

Deadline for applications is 13 May 2026

For further details, please click here: https://www.lincoln.ac.uk/studywithus/postgraduatestudy/researchstudentships/

Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

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