Sacred Innovation in the Shadow Conservation Network
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Abstract
The global shadow conservation network is informally composed of all the sacred lands of the world. This essay explores the lands of the Kayapo of the Amazon Basin; the Maasai of Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania; the Turkana of Northern Kenya; the Subak of Bali; the Khasis of Northern India and the Tofinu of Benin and the ancient infrastructures found there. From the material and construction modules, to the ecosystem as a whole, the sacredness imbued in the landscape works to maintain its ecological sustainability.
By combining eco-technology with sacred mythology, we find new and unique ways humans live symbiotically
with nature. Three critical questions guided the beginning of this research: What ecologically sustainable knowledge do indigenous people know that we once knew? Is this knowledge lost or just forgotten? How can ecological designers use this knowledge today? The innovative landscapes these communities have evolved show us the potential environments mankind is capable of creating. Rather than primitive, as Corbusier would say, these relationships are primal, within us all.
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References
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