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

17/06/2026

WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

Today, UNESCO highlights the global issues of desertification and drought, with special focus on the action needed to combat these phenomena in Africa. In aid of this, we want to draw attention to the EMKP project 'Foggaras: Water production in the Adrar palm grove oases (Sahara, Algeria)'.

The project team, which consists of Juan Ignacio Robles, Tarik Ghodbani, Mohamed Hadeid, and Sidi-Ahmed Bellal, are aiming to record the date production process in the oases. This process is directly related to the material and social structure of mobilisation and regulation of water, through the foggara, an underground conduit for water. The project will focus on a case study: the Othmane Ben Aïssa foggara. Here the community has managed to preserve in perfect condition all the material elements of the foggara, which feeds the oasis and the palm groves that produce dates of exceptional quality. Each farmer receives a flow of water based on his social status and the degree of participation in the maintenance of the material elements of the foggara (galleries, wells, waterwheels and canals) and the beurda (hollow where palm trees grow). Each foggara has a log book (zmam), supervised by the nékib (delegate of the imam) and the moukadem, senior dean of the irrigation community (djemaâ).

This type of water regulatory system acts as a model of resistance in the face of intensive agricultural production and well-drilling. Intensive groundwater extraction and climate change threaten the traditional social organisation of the oasis and the social and material regulation of water through the foggara - but this material knowledge is in desperate need of preservation, as it is a vital tool in the fight against further desertification and drought in the Sahara.

If you would like to learn more, please follow this link: https://www.emkp.org/foggaras-water-production-in-the-adrar-palm-grove-oases-sahara-algeria/

IMAGE CREDITS // 1. Mohamed HADEID, 2023 / 2. Taher Yousfat, 2024 / 3. Juan Ignacio Robles, 2024 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

11/06/2026

Oromo Pottery🏺

Examples of earthenware pottery have been excavated at settlements dating back to the Neolithic period - so it is not surprise that a material practice so fundamental to the human experience is often documented in EMKP projects.

Pottery is a diverse practice, with many different forms forming part of traditional heritage across the globe, and the EMKP repository offers an opportunity to explore some of these tangible cultures in detail. Bula Wayessa's project, 'Traditional Pottery-Making: An Endangered Indigenous Technology in the Gimbi Region of Ethiopia', documents the step-by-step process of Gimbi Oromo pottery, from clay mining to consumption of the end product within the local community. Pottery technology constitutes an integral part of the region’s indigenous knowledge systems.

Scroll through the images in this post to move through the stages of production yourself. If you would like to learn more, click here: https://www.emkp.org/traditional-pottery-making-an-endangered-indigenous-technology-in-the-gimbi-region-of-ethiopia-2/

IMAGE CREDITS // Bula Wayessa, 2022 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

09/06/2026

In January, grantee Sayalai Athale of the project 'Documenting the craft of creating floating dwellings in the socio-ecological landscape of Kashmir Valley, India' curated an exhibition about the project findings at the Pure International Centre, India.

Congratulations to Sayali and the team! If you would like to learn more about this project, please click here: https://www.emkp.org/documenting-the-craft-of-creating-floating-dwellings-in-the-socio-ecological-landscape-of-kashmir-valley-india/

IMAGE CREDITS // Sayali Athale, 2026 // ALL IMAGES LICENSED UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

05/06/2026

It has been an intense week of celebrations in the framework of the UK/Brazil season of culture, organised and funded by the British Council and the Instituto Guimarães Rosa, and the FAPESP London week.

On Tuesday, the EMKP hosted Renata Motta, Director of Museu Da Lingua Portuguesa in São Paulo, Brazil. Renata met with the EMKP team to discuss potential collaborations with the museum moving forward.

On Wednesday, Paula Granados, Head of the EMKP, attended the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) London week at the Science Museum. The symposium aimed to strengthen ties between researchers from São Paulo and the UK. Renata Motta chaired a session on community practice, museums and sustainable infrastructure. It was great to catch up with colleagues across the sector. Special thanks to Helen Jones for hosting the event, and to Oliver Cox, Beatriz Khul, Johanna Zettrestrom-Sharp, Mayla Valenti, Thea Pitman and Leno Veras.

Finally, on Thursday, the Americas section and SD CELAR - British Museum at the British Museum, in partnership with AIKATUK and Iepé, hosted a delegation of Kaxuyana and Kahyana leaders from Brazilian Amazonia for a conversation on Indigenous heritage, cultural ownership, and the reconnection with ancestral belongings preserved in museum collections, attended by the ambassador of Brazil in the UK. This very special and significant moment was the perfect end to a week focused on the celebration of culture, innovation and partnership.

04/06/2026

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

We are celebrating World Environment Day by highlighting the EMKP Project 'Fera i asi: Digitizing the Island Builders of the Lau Lagoon, Malaita (Solomon Islands)' by Geoffrey Hobbis, Elise Hornstra and the island builders of the Lau Lagoon.

This project works with a local community of artificial island builders in the Lau Lagoon, Malaita, Solomon Islands, whose traditional knowledge systems are closely attuned to the surrounding marine ecosystems. The team aims to document the materials, processes, and techniques embodied in the toolkits of these island builders as well as the materiality of the islands themselves.

Particular attention is given to the maintenance and processes of decay affecting these structures, as well as to their significance for the resilience of both the built environment and the broader ecosystem. The project also examines how these islands are impacted by environmental pressures—such as rising sea levels—and how their construction and upkeep may help to mitigate or adapt to such changes.

Artificial islands, but also climate change and socio-cultural transformations, are popular features of Lau amateur digital photographers and videographers, who are proliferating alongside the ubiquitous smartphone. This project draws on this enthusiasm, inviting Lau participants to document artificial island-related practices and to interview each other on these topics.

Particular attention is given to the maintenance and processes of decay affecting these structures, as well as to their significance for the resilience of both the built environment and the broader ecosystem. The project also examines how these islands are impacted by environmental pressures—such as rising sea levels—and how their construction and upkeep may help to mitigate or adapt to such changes.

Artificial islands, but also climate change and socio-cultural transformations, are popular features of Lau amateur digital photographers and videographers, who are proliferating alongside the ubiquitous smartphone. This project draws on this enthusiasm, inviting Lau participants to document artificial island-related practices and to interview each other on these topics.

ironmentDay

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

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