Cultural Heritage in Motion
Indigenous Knowledge and Mobile Livelihoods in Changing Climates
CuHeMo is a transdisciplinary research project funded under the umbrella of the Belmont Forum that examines the role of cultural heritage in climate change adaptation among mobile communities; specifically indigenous pastoralist and coastal communities in Thailand, Ethiopia, and Senegal. It brings together social and climate scientists with societal stakeholders and indigenous knowledge holders in Senegal, Thailand and Ethiopia.
A Collaborative Research Action under the umbrella of the Belmont Forum
New CuHeMo Publication: Trapped in Place — Changing Mobility Patterns and Lifestyles of Thai Moken
A new paper from CuHeMo's Thailand sub-project documents how the Moken, a traditionally semi-nomadic seafaring people of the Andaman Sea, have been progressively "trapped in place" by overlapping pressures: national park regulations, maritime border controls, lack of...
New CuHeMo Publication: Cultural Heritage in Motion
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new CuHeMo consortium paper in Geo: Geography and Environment: Ismail, N., Boas, I., Bunchuay-Peth, S., Zhu, A. L., Sasiwongsaroj, K., Husa, L., Berger, M., Kebede, A., Sall, A., Chaisingkananont, S., & Ndiaye, A....
From Research Fatigue to Research Partnership: PLA with Mobile Communities in Senegal
Across many indigenous and climate-vulnerable communities, a quiet crisis is unfolding – research fatigue. Most communities that have been repeatedly studied, interviewed, and documented are becoming wary of talking to researchers, largely because they rarely see...
New CuHeMo Publication: Africa’s Great Green Mirage
A new article by CuHeMo team members Annah Lake Zhu, Amadou Ndiaye, and Ingrid Boas, together with Ruben Dahm (Deltares) and Margaux Mauclaire (Bordeaux Montaigne University) has just been published in Land Use Policy. The paper asks a pointed question: why does...
CuHeMo in The Conversation: Africa’s Great Green Wall Is Stalling
CuHeMo team members Annah Lake Zhu and Amadou Ndiaye have published a public commentary in The Conversation on Africa's Great Green Wall — one of the continent's most ambitious environmental projects. In accessible, jargon-free language, they explain why a project...
Considering the Contemporary Lifestyle of the Moken on Surin Island: Semi-Nomadic or Sedentary?
Arguably, indigenous knowledge offers valuable insights and practices that can enhance climate change adaptation and mitigation. Integrating these practices with modern scientific methods can lead to more holistic, sustainable, and culturally appropriate solutions to...
Chao Lay, Sea Nomads, Sea Gypsies? – On the problems of (self-)descriptions in ethnographic fieldwork
The chao lay, or ‘sea people,’ are indigenous groups in Southeast Asia facing marginalization and severe impacts from climate change. This post explores how outsider-assigned terms like “sea nomads” often carry harmful connotations and advocates for respectful language that acknowledges their sustainable lifestyles and unique cultural identities.
CuHeMo Project Hosts Online Workshop on Integrating Participatory and Natural Science Methods
The CuHeMo project successfully conducted a Methods Workshop today, focusing on innovative ways to bridge qualitative and participatory research with natural sciences and climate data analysis. This workshop brought together a transdisciplinary group of researchers...
The Unrecognized Potential of Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Adaptation
The Nyangatom, a small agro-pastoralist community stretched between in border areas of South Sudan and Ethiopia, will be heavily affected by climate change. However, it is their indigenous knowledge systems that might help them adapt to these challenges.A Nyangatom...
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