In Spring 2011, an eco-cultural mapping workshop took place in the Tharaka district of Kenya, north east of the Mount Kenya National Park. The process was co-ordinated by Gaia partner, the Institute for Culture & Ecology, in order to bring the community around the Kathita River together, to map and reflect upon the rivers unique sacred sites, and to take back control of the future of their landscape and their place within it.

The Kathita River runs east from Mt. Kenya, its source. As it flows across Tharaka district, it cuts across a variety of landscapes - from the wet highlands of Meru to the arid and semi arid areas of Tharaka. It provides fresh water to hundreds of thousands of people, animals and plants across the region and helps temperate the hot climate. As the river flows through valleys, hills and mountains, all characterised by indigenous forest, it weaves together a number of communities, all of whom have their own spiritual connections and understandings of its significance. For many of them, as the waters of Kathita flow, so do the spirits of their ancestors.

Mapping the River, Reviving Memory

The Institute for Culture and Ecology (ICE) has been accompanying the people of Tharaka to regenerate the degraded landscape, revive their traditional seed diversity and restore local governance structures for the past three years. One of the main ways in which ICE have opened dialogue and stimulated reflected on the communities landscape - and the changes in their landscape over time - has been through eco-cultural mapping. Eco-cultural mapping is a tool used to assist communities to connect to the order of their territory, to draw out the ecological knowledge of the elders and to lay the foundations for restoration of local ecosystems and community ecological governance.

In April 2011, representatives and elders of the community and custodians of sacred sites along Kathita River and its environs, converged to 'map' their territory and related traditional knowledge and practices. This was in order for communities to review changes that have happened to their land - mapping the past order and the present disorder - and identifying ways in which they can begin to restore the degraded land.

Local and international partners who are also working with indigenous communities in Venda (South Africa), Colombia, Ethiopia and United Kingdom also took part in the eco-cultural mapping in Tharaka as a means of sharing learnings and experiences from previous mapping processes across the world.

The overall goal was to map the Kathita River ecosystem, which has over 10 sacred sites along its course. As well as reviving memory and indigenous knowledge - and restoring confidence in the communities - the final maps will also be used as an advocacy tool to seek recognition for the protection of the whole river basin as a Sacred Territory. The workshop combined training and practical activities in order to draw together a collective understanding of their territory, and to more fully understand the role of the sacred sites within it. Once these connections and understandings began to emerge, the need to revive community practices which have traditionally protected the sacred sites, becomes paramount.

By going deep into the ancestral past and indentifying the main elements which still live and should be maintained, the present is understood differently. It is seen in the context of the changes that have happened. And it shows the community that the present and future are not given or fixed. They can choose to change things and they do not have to reinvent everything. They can revive many of the tried and tested traditions of the past. The deeper one goes into the past the more options and ideas will come forward for recreating the future. Silvia Gomex, Eco-cultural mapping facilitator

The local community drew 3 maps; of their past, present and future landscape. It was a powerful participatory process which enabled the community to draw on vital learning from indigenous knowledge, in order to address present challenges facing them. Elders' reflections of the ancestral past unearthed vivid memories of a richly biodiverse landscape, and these were expressed through drawings, paintings, symbols, songs and dances. Images of thick forest cover, rivers brimful with water, a variety of species of wildlife, colourful festivities and rituals all emerged as clear articulations of a beautiful and ordered past. A past when the communities' relationship with the Earth was a more harmonious one. By reflecting upon this past, the community agreed that this memory would be carried forward to reflect the path of their future; they would revive the landscape and their sacred sites as a means of addressing this loss of live, colour and abundance.

The maps are complemented by eco-cultural calendars which show the movement of the territory over time. The maps provide a visual picture of the ecosystem, knowledge, history and changes in territory, while the calendars show the cyclical changes and movement through the seasons. Both tools assist communities to re-embed themselves in the order of place and the cycles of Nature.

For the Tharaka community, the mapping process has brought renewed hope and inspiration, and the confidence to shape their own future. A film about this inspiring process will be coming soon. In the mean time, you can find out more about eco-cultural maps & calendars or watch the film - Reviving Our Culture, Mapping Our Future - about a similar process which took place in Venda, South Africa in 2009.