Can indigenous technology change the way our cities are designed?
Many people have misconceptions about indigenous technology.
They say it is primitive and outdated, anti-development and irrelevant. These misconceptions are due to a lack of understanding and awareness of the intricacies and sophistication of indigenous technologies.
What is meant by indigenous technology? It refers to the technological knowledge, skills, and resources that are transmitted from past Indigenous people to the present ones. Many indigenous technologies are sophisticated and have developed over thousands of years to adjust to specific environmental and cultural conditions. They have proven that they contribute to sustainable development and resilience in the face of global challenges.
Pioneers of technologies
Indigenous communities are pioneers of technologies that offer solutions to climate change. This is the message of an environmentalist from Harvard, Architect Julia Watson, who spent six years developing her concept of LO-TEK, which stands for “traditional ecological knowledge.”
Watson argues that tribal communities perceived by many as ancient or primitive are highly progressive when it comes to creating systems in symbiosis with the natural world. Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.
Watson thus calls for the building industry to adopt some of the principles of indigenous design to help cities around the world and be resilient for the future. Some of these technologies include increased biodiversity, food production, flood mitigation, resiliency in terms of foreshore conditions, water purification, and carbon sequestering.
Watson cites several case studies in her book highlighting mountain landscapes, forests, deserts, and wetlands.
The Totora Reed floating islands in Peru are constructed by stacking layers upon layers of totora roots and reeds anchored
to the lakebed. (INSIGHT GUIDES)
Totora Reed Floating Islands
Peru
The Uros people protected themselves from invading groups by building mobile islands from the totora, an endemic, water-resistant plant that grows in the lake. If a threat emerged, they could simply move their islands elsewhere in the lake.
These floating homes, where Andean inhabitants have lived for hundreds of years, are constructed by stacking layers upon layers of totora roots and reeds anchored to the lakebed. The workers weave the dense roots of the reed together to form a base of each island up to two meters. Fresh layers of reed must be added to maintain the islands’ stability and durability.
There are about 120 constructed islands now, with around 1,300 people living on them. The natives rely on totora for sustenance. They eat it, use it as medicine, and make tea from its flowers.
They also use it for crafts and building rafts.
Bheri Wastewater Aquaculture in Kolkata is a wastewater treatment system that cleans half of the sewage for a city of 12 million people without the use of chemicals. (SCROLL.IN)
Bheri Wastewater Aquaculture
Kolkata
This is a wastewater treatment system that cleans half of the sewage for a city of 12 million people without the use of chemicals. It was born a few hundred years from a group of Bengalese farmers who were living on the outskirts of Kolkata.
There is a group of farmers that treats sewage water coming out of the Hoogly River. A lot of the sewage from Kolkata goes into a system that leads into this wetland, and they put it through a series of processes.
They also have settling ponds, and they have ponds where they introduce fish. It is completely manufactured and run by village cooperatives.
They are cleaning wastewater and producing vegetables for the city, while saving millions of dollars a year compared to the operating costs of a conventional sewage treatment plant. This system can be applied in the periphery of a city like New York, London, or Manila, if there was political will and a real mind shift towards nature-based technologies.
Kihamba Forest Gardens
Managed by the Chagga of Tanzania
The traditional “Kihamba” system features a multi-layered vegetation structure like a tropical montane forest, composed of four main vegetation layers.
The uppermost layer is formed by sparsely spaced trees which provide shade, medicine, animal feed or fodder, fruits, firewood, and timber. Under these trees several types of bananas are grown. Under the bananas, there are coffee shrubs grown and under these, vegetables of variable species including climbers. This multilayer system maximizes the use of land and provides a large variety of food all year round.
A traditional irrigation system is used and complemented with storage ponds which help overcome water shortages in the dry season.
The Chagga have managed to figure out a way to retain the complexity of the natural rainforest but also integrate a remarkably productive agroforestry system that is remarkably productive, which has made them one of the most economically advanced communities in that region.
The Banaue Rice Terraces is unique due to its intricate design, which involves the use of local materials such as stones,
clay, and wood. (BYUNIQUE.COM)
The Banaue Rice Terraces
In the Philippines, we have our share of indigenous technologies with the Banaue Rice Terraces at the forefront.
The rice terraces cover an area of over 10,000 sq km in the Cordillera Mountain Range and were built by hand using simple tools and techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation. They are made up of a series of steps carved into the steep mountainsides.
The rice terraces are unique due to their intricate design, which involves the use of local materials such as stones, clay, and wood. The terraces form an impressive landscape that is both beautiful and functional, as they allow farmers to cultivate rice in a mountainous region that would be incompatible with agriculture.
The terraces are approximately 1,500 meters above sea level and benefit from an ancient irrigation system from the rainforests above the terraces. The terraces are still being used to plant rice and vegetables and are also a tourist attraction.
These, however, are presently threatened by climate change, modernization, migration, as well as uncontrolled tourism. They were once on the list of endangered heritage sites in 2001. Fortunately, the Ifugao Rice Terraces Rehabilitation and Preservation Act was passed a few years back paving the way for reconstruction efforts and steps to sustainability.
In the end, it is all about interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, humans living in symbiosis with natural systems. We are not superior, and we are not working against nature or being threatened by nature.
We need to shift the idea of superiority to an understanding of symbiosis. It is the only way to move forward.
The author is the principal architect of A.P de Jesus & Associates–Green Architecture. For comments or inquiries, email [email protected]
