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I’ve adapted this qualitative research method when co-developing workshops in Europe, the West Indian Ocean and the UK. Participants are encouraged to express how they feel when they focus on aspects of their environment by, for example, making objects or photographs. This creative engagement elicits knowledge, memories, stories, and feelings that are crucial in understanding how people value and make sense of where they live. The process also offers insights into the culture of the community and the social interactions within it. NGO partners, who work on the ground with indigenous communities, have been crucial in setting up the workshops and ensuring their success.

One of the interesting things that came out of your work in Zanzibar was one of the old men talked about the historical way they used to manage octopus fisheries. So they would only fish for octopus for 3 days, twice a month, so immediately that was a strategy that we could build on to or latch on to. So that old guy may not have been someone we would have gone to speak to, he may not have come forward, he may not have been called. When you have focus groups he may not have been selected. Lorna Slade, Mwambao Coastal Community Network

I believe that using creative, sensory methods, in close partnership with NGOs, is an effective way of drawing out indigenous knowledge and experience, especially with individuals who lack the confidence to write or speak in an interview scenario. When people are encouraged to tune into their senses and participate in creative activities, they tend to respond more naturally. This might be through quiet discussion while making, or through practical workshops based around drawing, model-making, simple sculpture, sound recording, photography or video. To develop this approach, I’ve drawn on Sarah Pink’s innovative ‘Sensory Ethnography’ work as well as current research by other anthropologists.

New research published

Following a project to restore a Neolithic quoit in Cornwall, a group of us were keen to extend our local knowledge by exploring nearby Fenton-la, a ruined early medieval chapel. Aided by oral history exchange, we organised participatory walks – chosen jointly after democratic discussion – with the aim of reclaiming lost trails and forgotten connections to these two sites. Through the process of mapmaking and re-walking the land, we began to discover, for example, why paths had fallen into disuse and why it was important for local heritage. The project team has also adopted the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to help gain funding. You can read about our work in a new book called Pathways: Exploring the Routes of a Movement Heritage.