BUILDING

RESILIENT
COMMUNITIES
A challenge-led cross-curricular program
based in post/prone disaster, crisis and
conflict areas.

Laajverd Visiting School encourages

interdisciplinary discourse between
academics, civil society and local communities
working together to develop creative ways to
conserve regional cultural landscapes, develop
alternate livelihoods, explore creative industries
and protect the environment in order to build
resilient communities for our sustainable future.

lvs.laajverd.org
[email protected]
About Laajverd
Laajverd was founded in 2007 and is working for the promotion of Culture and Arts. Our inter-disciplinary team has car-
ried out National and International Projects in the last ten years. Our focus lies in educational and development projects
ranging from sustainable development through arts and architecture, documenting and preserving cultural heritage and,
working alongside local communities in their cultural and natural environments.

About Laajverd Visiting School:

LVS is an inter-disciplinary platform comprising of workshops, seminars, field trips and opportunities to
engage with local heritage, cultural practices, music, cuisine and crafts. Participants engage in two-way learning with the
community, working together to develop creative ways to conserve indigenous culture, develop alternate livelihoods, and
protect the environment. Through rigorous research activities and tutorials, participants will learn to use a range of re-
search methods, develop projects with local community, explore techniques of presentation, and carry out cross-curricular
research projects.

Laajverd Visiting School has been conducted successfully in Hunza Valley, Gojal Valley, Neelam Valley and Kaghan Valley
and Laspur Valley in the past five years. Partners and Collaborators include National College of Arts, WWF, HWF, Sus-
tainable Tourism Foundation Pakistan, Adventure Foundation Pakistan, Board of Architecture Education, University of
Management and Technology, Institute of Hazard Risk and Resilience and the Participatory Research Hub at Durham
University.

All Rights Reserved.

Five Year Report published by Laajverd.
CONCEPT NOTE
There is a rising need to revisit our approach to Research led The research and seminar topics are designed by instructors
development that contributes to critical awareness and- from different fields that not only present a broader under-
sound co-shaping of our shared environment. Encouraging standing of the subject under study but aims to experiment
interdisciplinary discourse, Laajverd initiated its visiting with the various ways in which we perceive the human
school that works on the intersections of cultural landscapes condition within the geo-fabric. LVS is an inter-disciplinary
– local communities and knowledge production. It also platform comprising of workshops, seminars, field trips and
questions the role of interventions in regional communities opportunities to experience cultural practices, local music
with regards to development. LVS responds to conditions of and food. Through rigorous research activities and tutori-
‘crises’ by bringing together multiple actors for dialogue and als, participants engage with a range of research methods,
collective thinking on varied and disparate issues. develop projects with local community, explore techniques
of presentation, and carry out cross-curricular research
Combined systems of humans and nature are complex in projects. In 2014, the school was based on the Attabad Lake
terms of how they anticipate and respond to disturbed disaster in Northern Pakistan. In 2015, LVS was conducted
environments: disasters, hazards and conflict zones.The in Neelum Valley that lies on the Line of Control in Azad
capacity to deal with these types of uncertainties requires Jammu Kashmir. In 2016, the LVS was based in Kaghan
innovative approaches, creative combination of strategies, Valley while 2017 was based in Gojal Valley, Gilgit Baltistan.
and the ability to adapt our frameworks to the changing In 2018, the LVS was conducted in Laspur Valley in North-
environment. To this end, we ask, how do the creative and West Pakistan.
scientific faculty respond to shifting environments? How This report gives an overview of the geographic sites,
do our frameworks of knowlege and response correspond workshops, research and outputs of the Laajverd Visiting
with local context? How do we, as researchers co-produce School presenting a case for why cultural landscapes are
research and knowledge with the inhabitants of our field of crucial for building resilient communities and sustainable
inquiry be it humans, nonhumans or more than humans? futures.
And, how can participatory research allow us to develop
more context-based, culturally sensitive and sustainable
By Zahra Hussain
approaches to development?

This intensive invites the creative and development faculty,

students, faculty, humanitarian workers and field experts to
join the visiting school in chalking out a more effective re- Zahra Hussain
search and intervention methodology. Based on the project Director LVS
Academy for democracy (AFD), Laajverd’s visiting school
encourages interdisciplinary discourse across faculties, pro- Creative-Participatory Action Research
fessional and academic and local communities by employing Audio Visual Cultures
creative negotiation as a method to co-produce knowledge.
An architect, researcher, and a human geographer; MA in
Experimental cooperation across disciplinary boundaries
Visual Cultures from Goldsmiths in London. Founding Laajverd
exemplified in this project seeks to address the educational in 2007 as an undergrad, Zahra has taught at National College
skills and knowledge practice required to tackle the critical of Arts, directed plays, exhibited across 4 continents and docu-
environmental and humanitarian challenges. It provides an mented the trees of an entire forest. She has also conceived and
opportunity to see how field practice might best interact curated several projects that experiment with communication
within the audio-visual arts, and how scholarship aligns strategies often relating to the sub-continental and post-colonial
with professional reflective analysis and creative impulse. debates eg Info Bomb and her recent research titled “Halo-caust;
It involves performance, sound and visual arts, design and the architecture of counter-insurgency” which examines the
policy recommendations. The immediate goal of the AFD is ways in which Pakistani Urban spaces have rapidly transformed
to collaboratively engage with the community under study due to geopolitical conditions ; disasters crisis and conflicts. At
in order to analyse the context and propose inclusive and present, Zahra is pursuing her PhD in Human Geography at the
sustainable strategies for development. The visiting school Department of Geography in Durham University looking at
further composes a trans-disciplinary curriculum for higher how mountain communities rebuild their lives after disasters.
education, presenting a workable and academically feasible
Zahra is actively working towards making the LVS a dynamic
interdisciplinary platform for experimenting alternate strategies
for working with communities for sustainable development.
GEOGRAPHICAL SITES
& THEMATIC CONCERNS

ETHO-ECOLOGIES
BUILDING SHARED FUTURES
Natural/Social entities and the environments they
inhabit must be engaged with equally – if a shared
future is to be considered for human and
non-humans. In times when disaster events are
escalating beyond humans’ governable capacities,
and when debates on climate change induced mi-
frations, risk and resilience are intensifying, there
is a felt urgency that actions must be taken towards CULTURAL HERITAGE VALUE
building sustainable futures. A greater importance
is being afforded to natural entities that are gov-
POST - CONFLICT ZONES
erned by human societies but upon which they also Consumption of natural resources that is faster than it
depend. To begin thinking about a shared future, in can be replenished results in depletion of the natural
LVS 2018, we seek to understand the composition environment. Contemporary global challenges are
of environment and the social, cultural and natural laden with issues of natural resource availability and
landscapes; what do these consist of and how can its management. Neelum District in Kashmir has a
we think collectively with nature and culture. beautiful valley that not only attracts tourists but also
houses indigenous settlements along with an ancient
Laajverd Visiting School was conducted in Laspur temple ruins.
and adjoining valleys in August 2018 to understand
the nature-culture relations amidst the challenges Neelum valley is located at the Line of control (Loc)
of natural hazards, environmental degradation, and and is also divided by it. There are amplified pre sures
the recent surge of slipshod construction and devel- on the natural environment of this area due to popu-
opment. Engaging with the concept of etho-ecolo- lation and increased tourism, excessive deforestation
gies, we focussed on natural environment, culture, as well as dependency of livelihoods. This influx of
architecture and natural landscapes to identify foreigners who are not local to the land also affects
correlations, interdependencies and potential the indigenous cultural archive. The cultural archive
synergies upon which we might speculate a shared is embedded in the local practices, folklore traditions
future. and customs for which the school will work closely
with the indigenous people.

Laajverd Visiting School aims to investigate and put

forth creative propositions for conserving indigenous
culture, suggest alternate livelihoods and promote
methods of conserving the environment focusing on
reading form language, audio-visual cultural uplifting,
ecotourism and environmental security among other
issues.
 MAPPING RESILIENCE
Focus Site: Gojal Valley, GB
Ghulkin and Hussaini in Gilgit Baltistan have been
reported for frequent incidents of Glacial Lake
REHABILITATING Outburst Flood (GLOF). In the past 10 years,
LANDSCAPES GLOFs have damaged infrastructure, crops, trees
and properties of the local people living around
Focus Site: Kaghan Valley, KPK these streams and rivers. Laajverd Visiting School
Economic constraints and pursuits; increased aims to map indigenous and traditional resilience
tourism and the subsequent transformation of local strategies that have developed over time in response
environment, nature and culture have contributed to to GLOF occurrences and explore their sustainability.
the degradation of the natural landscape of Naran and Taking a participatory approach in our workshops
Kaghan Valley in Northern Pakistan. Prevalent issues on Environmental Security, Audio-Visual Cultures,
are deforestation, sanitation, and a growing culture of Built Environment, Material Culture and Mountain
irresponsible tourism, which is destroying the living Economies, we will engage with local community
landscape of these valleys. The Visiting School will in- to understand how life is arranged and re-arranged
vestigate how local culture and environment is embed- around frequent GLOFs in order to map possibilities
ded within the landscape and how can this co-existence of alternate livelihoods and practices of co-existence
flourish rather than fail. It will further investigate the amidst this hazard. Our focus lies on
potential of natural and cultural landscapes to con- (but not limited to) the following developments:
tribute to a sustainable economic model for locals i.e.
through the presence of precious stones, local craft skills 1. Climate change, particularly GLOFs and effects
and local practices and patterns. Natural and cultural on agriculture, physical, social and economic
heritage sites will be explored as the LVS participants infrastructure.
work alongside the local population with the aim of 2. Exponential increase in tourism, and sustainable
generating knowledge and proposing alternate and ways of managing the influx.
effective possibilities of understanding landscape as a 3. Rapid development due to CPEC and other
resort for rehabilitation. initiatives
 Conflict/Crisis
Event

Local Community

CHILDREN ELDERS WOMEN LOCAL COUNCIL

LVS
Academicians

NCA BAE FACULTY STUDENTS

Practitioners

WWF HWF AKCSP BISP ITA

Knowlege Prod
Strengthen Local

DOCUMENTATION & Training/Sk

FIELD RESEARCH Capacity Bu

Q&A Forms Sketch Feildnotes

RAPID IDEATION Publicatio

PROBLEM ANALYSIS Posters

Discussion Seminars Workshops

with
locals PROJECT PROPOSALS

Proposals by Policy guidelines

Participants development
 LVS helped me appreciate my own
culture and I am now interested in its
sustainable development.
LVS helps us reflect upon our
position in an increasingly urbanized
and globalized world while Participants are encouraged to critically
understanding the challenges faced by analyze the culture, environment and
local cultures and traditions. challenges of the site.

LVS provides a platform for dia-

logue,learning, understanding and
sharing knowledge for a better future.

FEEDBACK

2015

Heritage Museum Janwai Heritage Museum Laspur

duction A community museum has been set up A community museum designed and
Knowlege comprising of 95 items and artifacts of curated by Laajverd celebrates the local
Heritage significance. LVS aims to set up more passion for Polo and everyday objects.
cultural spaces for locals in future.

kill-set 2014 2015-18 2015-18

uilding Woodworkshop CB Tourism Craft Making

LVS participant LVS helped develop Tourism Conduct design workshops
conducted wood sculpture regulations with local people for with local women on crafts and
workshop for local artisans responsible tourism product design.
ons
s
2015 -18

Indigenous Practices and Patterns Catalog

LVS has initiated a catalog for archiving
indigenous practices and patterns of living that
have not been documented before. In 2015, in
Kashmir, 62 indigenous practices and 110 living
patterns were identified and compiled for IPPC.

OUTREACH
LVS 2014 - FIELD REPORTS
SAMPLE REPORTS FROM THE INQUIRIES CARRIED OUT IN THE LVS 2014

SHARMA
INDIGENOUS CARPET-MAKING
Huma Tassawwur

STAYING AFLOAT
Abdullah Aslam
The Attabad Lake story begins when on Januray 4th 2010, approximately half of the Attabad village,
northwards of Hunza city on the Karakoram Highway (KKH), situated above the Hunza River, collapsed
My research was on the locally produced hand- into the valley below. Almost 5 years on, many IDPs are still without a permanent home. Administrative-
made carpets called Sharma. This is the traditional ly, there has been no solution for their plight, as almost all habitable land in the region is already inhabit-
carpet of Hunza, manufactured and produced ed. However, due to the KKH’s importance vis-à-vis Pak-China trade (and for Chinese trade in especial-
locally. From the yarn, which is made from the ly), the submerged portion of the KKH is being substituted with a 9km tunnel and multiple bridges.
hair of the local mountain goats, to the local Given the status quo, it is largely possible that the IDPs will remain IDPs even while commercial and
design and aesthetics of Hunza.What led me into touristic activity increases, with extreme potential to damage the socio-cultural and environmental fabric
my research on Sharma was the fact that there of the area. It is therefore imperative to find innovative approaches to the problems of housing the IDPs
was a cultural shift to be seen in Hunza, mainly respectfully and permanently, while making sure that they have a stake in tourist activities in the region,
due to the rise of education and the awareness which themselves are not short-term cash grabs but sensitive to their context and that over time add
of its importance in people, leading to, along value to the area. The project aims to, Provide a model for resettlement of IDPs in a land-scarce, geologi-
with other things, a decrease in the production cally unstable mountainous region, in doing so breaking from traditional approaches to architecture and
and manufacturing of Sharma in households. As land-use in the region. Develop a long-term tourism masterplan for the area, with a view to minimising
mentioned earlier, the Sharma is all handmade, environmental degradation and maximising its social and financial sustaibablity and Embrace and evolve
of yarn, which is made of goat hair. (This yarn is vernacular techniques of construction and planning, keeping in mind the changed costs and availability
mostly used in it’s natural colors but it could also of labour and materials as well as the shift to a service economy and currency-based capitalist market
be used in color with the help of chemical dying.)
People themselves made it, for themselves, in their
houses. And around a decade ago, a local from ME BESAN CHE CHAN RE-USE & RECYCLE
Aliabad Hunza invented the spinning wheel which
WHAT DO WE EAT? WOOD WORKSHOP CIQAM
made the process of making the yarn from the
goat hair easier. During the research I found out Batool Ali Wajid Ali
the introduction of Handmade Carpets in Hunza.
These carpets are handmade but not Sharma. The Hunza a beautiful valley full of vast colours of life Although there were so many things (Trade, Cul-
handmade carpet is made from sheep wool which and culture lies in the Northern land of Pakistan. ture, Costumes, Crops, Handicrafts, Music and
is not locally produced or manufactured, in fact Hunza is famous for its ripe and juicy apricots, Tourism etc.) to be researched in Hunza valley.
it is brought from Peshawar, Islamabad and other mouth watering apples and dry fruits and fresh There were a series of workshops and briefings
cities due to its unavailability in Hunza. Not only vegetables which include scrumptious potatoes, about the resettlements of Atta Abad IDP’s and
that but the design and aesthetics or even the pumpkins, spinach and cabbages. These foods go about the formation of the Atta Abad Lake. (In
color schemes are all predetermined by the retail- with their life style their culture. These crops and a very short time). But I mainly focused on the
ers or the carpet shopkeepers who are given the fruits contain energy and as the local people have Handicrafts of Hunza Valley. When I started to
designs by the prospect customers or people who to get up early to work in their crops and orchids research on Handicrafts, there were so many
take these carpets and sell them in cities. Hence, so they need to full fill their nutritional require- questions that came to mind. E.g: What are their
proving that the locals are now just being used as ments. Attabad Lake is a glorious reminder of Traditional Crafts and why they are not making
laborers, doing unskilled manual work and not us- beauty and tragedy that started on 4th January them now? And what the main reasons to craft
ing any of their local design sense and incorporat- 2010 and has not ended yet as the people of utilitarian goods?
ing it in the production of the product. Ironically, Gojal valley still are displaced. The people of the They are working on different product main-
in 1994 when the Handmade carpet production valley took shelter in other parts of Hunza. Their ly: chairs, doors, frames, tables, door panels,
was introduced in Hunza by the AKCSP, simulta- unsuitable temporary placement caused a lot windows, frames, beds, cupboards, bookshelves,
neously KADO started the Sharma Rehabilitation of damage to their routine and the government racks, stools, staircases etc. They use different
center. The Sharma Rehabilitation Center, as the did more because they did not have any means kind of woods for different products. But I was
name suggests, is a place for the mentally disabled to buy the right food or to buy a land to make a little disappointed to know that they are wasting
men who come here to make the Sharma, using home because all the funds the Chinese’s people 40% of the wood while they produce these men-
their own aesthetics and traditional designs, and had given was spent on various of things like tioned products.
is then marketed locally as well as to the tourist clothes, schooling, and for daily needs. The stove So I have suggestions for the reuse of this 40%
market. After conducting this research I came up given as a temporary cooking range was not the wastage. This 40% wood can be used for the
with an implication of transition, which could be one which the women’s were used to make their decorative items like: lamps, trophies, souvenirs,
the new infusion of foreign design with local craft. local food in for example; Phitti their daily bread toys, cooking sets, plates, ash trays, candle stands,
My proposition is that, what if, the effort put in which they used to have in breakfast is made on wooden key chains and many other things. By
developing a new way of carpet making was put a stone oven or electrical one (but they did not doing so, we can generate more revenue for the
into the indigenous craft of making Sharmas? have the funds to buy one). betterment of IDP’s and for local community as
well.
 TERRITORIAL CRISIS
LAKE AS BORDER
UTILIZING THE 60% Zahra Hussain
APRICOT PRODUCTION
Efforts to restore the transportation link between
Faryyal Arif the north and the warm waters has led to the crea-
tion of tunneled highway cutting across the moun-
The subject of our research focuses on the “apri- tains beside the Attabad Lake. Large warehouses
cot farming and utilization of the fruit” grown and storage units have also been set-up along in
in Hunza valley. While visiting the valley in Au- the road in Gojal to keep the work pace efficient.
gust, we came to know that nearly sixty percent Due to this, employment opportunities have risen
of the fruit gets wasted in one or the other way. for the people in Gojal who have felt neglect from
And only forty percent comes under use. Where their own government during the crises. Employ-
does the fruit go? From the forty percent, the ment opportunity promises a better future for the
fruit is either eaten fresh or is dried to be sold affected. Since the lake poses a huge challenge for
or kept for domestic use. The kernel is used to transportation and communication, food items
make the oil. A very small percentage is export- and other packaged goods have being transport-
ed and the rest is used locally. The by-product of ed from China. Chinese presence in Gojal has
the kernel is used as fodder for the cattles. Some increased and strengthened in the past few years.
of the fruit is packed to be sold, but most of Pro-Chinese sentiments are felt in Gojal valley for
the fruit is unable to reach down to the masses. they have been saved, favoured and helped by the
Because there no proper refrigeration units that Chinese government in the times of crises and are
can keep the fruit fresh on its way down. Ideal being supported by the Chinese Government even
refrigeration is needed because the apricots now through employment opportunity and limited
grown in Hunza are very delicate and has a thin relief goods.The Chinese government did not stop
skin therefore harsh weather conditions can at relief efforts but also introduced an apparatus
damage them easily. Outlined below are few for rehabilitation; employment through the new
proposals to derive maximum benefits from this transport link construction project. Gojal’s local
single wonder packed fruit.
- Improve packaging and introduce refrigerated
population does not direct the same sentiments to-
wards Hunza/or Pakistani Government as they feel
SILK ROUTE AGRI
storage and special transportation system with a strong neglect and lack of communication from Khurshid Khan
temperature control. The fragility of the fruit the other side of the Attabad lake. The lake acts as For centuries, Hunza Valley was almost cut off from
should be kept in mind before roughly tossing a border that restricts access, communication and the rest of the world and was almost inaccessible
the fruit in a container. Soft natural packages control of the province on the other side of the lake. even in the presence of Silk Route. The main source
should be designed, using local material such With limited area and Pakistani population be- of living was farming and hunting because from
as dried plants and soft barks that can provide a tween the lake and the Khunjerab pass (Pak-China which daily living was maintained while hunting
pliable support. border), Gojal becomes a “ liminal zone”. served as a source of income generation in the
-There should be a detachable hammock form of selling skin of hunted animals and with its
like structure that works like a basket, holding Although the Lake has become an obstruction or is exchange, commodities of daily use are obtained.
the apricots that fall from the tress by wind or more likely seen as one, it is required that the link Attabad disaster had a very negative impact on the
delayed picking. We can minimize the chance of with Gojal from this side of the Lake is established agriculture of Hunza as it not only washed away
the fruit getting rotten. again. The lake should be used an opportunity, a a rich agrarian land but had also put a residential
-The red zone areas near the Lake Attabad junction, a point of intersection, rather than a bor- burden on the available land along with productivi-
can be densely planted with the apricot trees, to der that cuts the places, people and cultures apart. ty. From attabad destruction, the area of cultivation
make them become communal farming zone Attabad Lake, the beautiful water body between reduced. The excess quantity of agriculture output
for the IDP’s. The plantation may help in hold- mountains holds great potential for the affected stopped. With the excessive demand, price hike
ing the land and prevent it from landslide. And people around it as a natural reservoir and a scenic occurred, threatening the lives of families with low
on the other hand open up an enterprise where place. Efforts should be directed towards bringing income level.
the displaced families could work and make use the people around the lake/affected by the lake As agriculture is the primary source of income
of their lands. Also generate a stable source of together to gather around it, exchange a dialogue for the people of Hunza. So through promoting
income which would assist them in rebuilding of potential progress about it rather than turn their agriculture, the lives of Hunza people can be rebuilt
their previous lifestyle. backs and stay away from it. Attabad can be used without affecting their culture and heritage. The
as an opportunity for mutual interest between both promotion of agriculture in Hunza is very easy
sides rather than an obstruction. because its people need only proper direction as
they possess key knowledge of agriculture and their
land. As the participation of students in agriculture
of Hunza is much lower than required, they can be
involved through partial participation after school/
college/university hours (may be in vacations). Also
girls’ students may help their parents in the fields
adjacent to their homes. The provision of partial
help by students will not only solve the problem of
human resource deficiency in agriculture. Training
must be provided in the field of agriculture not only
to farmers but to students as well. The educated
community (students) must be trained on modern
techniques so that productivity must be increased
from the available land.
WORKSHOPS & SESSIONS
Creative - Participatory Action Research Built-Environment, Architecture and Life
This workshop gave participants an insight to the various Aimed to highlight the significance of traditional living
qualitative research methods used in social sciences and patterns through a unique study of pattern language
the arts exploring creative methods for conducting par- and howit is connected to architecture. An anthropolog-
ticipatory research with local communities. This work- ical insight tohabitat systems, this method of research
shop served as a backdrop for the research carried out gives an insight tohow social structures are embedded
throughout the Visiting School and helped participants in architectural forms.
orient their inquiries with the local community.

Audio Visual Cultures Bio-Diversity and local Eco-system management

This workshop introduced the participants to culture and This session introduced the participants to the Bio-Di-
nature and how the relationship between these two enti- versity in the region of Laspur and adjoining Valley. In
ties has developed. Through this workshop participants addition to knowlege around local medicinal plants,
learn to map local practices and living patterns that ulti- herbs, local animals, wild life and birds, the partici-
mately inform their individual projects. These practices pants were also introduced to the indigenous systems
and patterns are also added to the IPPC. of managing the natural ecology.
Cultural Heritage Management Craft making for a Global Market
This workshop explores ways in which the local commu- This workshop allows participants to understand
nity of Laspur can be made more aware and conscious basic concepts of design and apply skills in developing
of their unique cultural heritage in order to manage it in a design range that is relevant to a globalized craft
face of development, progress and change. The work- market. The workshop will provide skills and knowl-
shop engaged with local community (men, women and edge about design through conversations and visual
children) to identify and explore local cultural heritage communication, allowing participants to engage with
and devise ways in which it can be integrated in devel- the creative process and understand what it means to
opment plans for the community. The sessions were run make things. Here designing with the craftsperson is
by multiple conveners. key to understanding action research as opposed to
designing for the craftsperson.
Environmental Security
The purpose of this workshop was to understand the
concept of development for mountain communities,
identifying the potential environmental threats that
have been introduced to the area as a result of human
interventions. Field research aimed to highlight the ef-
fects infrastructure expansion leaves on the mountains,
environment and available natural resources.
 IN THE FIELD
ETHNO-MUSICAL & CRAFTS FAIR

PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY SESSIONS

ON CULTURE AND CRAFTS

CLEANLINESS DRIVE WITH LOCAL CHILDREN

 ETHNOGRAPHY IN
LOCAL
LANDSCAPES

MUSEUM LEARNING
EXERCISES WITH
LOCAL GIRLS

INTERACTIVE DESIGN
SESSIONS ON CRAFTS
AND SUSTAINABLE
LIVELIHOODS WITH
WOMEN.
OUTREACH
HERITAGE MUSEUM JANWAI

In Janawai Village, Neelum Valley, AJK, a local per- DAIGCHA -1910

son, Bashir Ahmed Mughal has taken the initiative Brass pot used for cooking
to establish a small museum in his village. Mr Bashir
started collecting items of heritage importance from
community elders in Neelam Valley at an early age.
Over the past 18 years, his collection has reached
apx 110 items that have been placed in this museum. HOUSE HOLD
Bashir believes that the indigenous culture is impor-
tant to preserve and conserve. Old indigenous items APPAREL
such as tools, pottery, apparel and household items
have been collected from the villagers across the val- POTTERY
ley and kept in a room. Laajverd Visiting School core
team observed in August 2015 that the museum was DEVICES
in a dilapidated condition and required uplifting and
restoration, along with cataloguing and proper dis-
play and extended full efforts in up-lifting the muse-
um as an LVS outreach project, and carried out the
following tasks,

- Items have been cleaned and placed on wooden KAPRAY KE POOL -1850
base/shelves. Woven cloth used as socks
- Proper lighting arrangement for the artifacts has
been provided.
- Digital inventory of the museum has been prepared
with photographs of each item. The next phase includes,
- The museum logo and identity has been designed. - Sharing the museum archive with other established
- Maintenance kit for the artifacts has been provided. museums and platforms in order to make this com-
munity effort known, as well as give an insight to the
culture and artifacts of Neelum Valley, that have not
been documented before.

- Janawai Heritage Museum is currently operating

from a rented building and aims to construct one
of its own building in the coming years, as a larger
space are required for the collected items and to
include more community crafts and knowledge
based activities in the museum.
 “Cultural repositories help maintain a sense
of identity and belonging, therefore communi-
ty-led museums are crucial for rehabilitation in
post-conflict zones.”

Zahra Hussain, Co-Curator

Heritage Museum Janwai, Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir

LUI PATTU - 1850

Lamb wool woven blanket
GHAAS KAY POOL - 1910
Dried grass slippers

SHANRKOTI -1850
Wooden dish for eating food

PEERI -1800 CHAI DAAN -1765

Wooden chair Brass pot used for tea

DAIG -1910
Clay cooking pot

BULAITHRA - 1890 MADHAANI

Fixes ploughing machine Wooden chair
OUTREACH
HERITAGE MUSEUM LASPUR
Owner: Amirullah Yaftali
Location: Harchin Village
Shandur Road, Laspur Valley, Upper Chitral,
Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa, Pakistan

The Museum: This museum

displays the collection of historical artifacts
collected by the owner, Mr Amirullah Yaftali
who is a renowned Polo Player and former
Captain of Laspur Polo team. In the past few
decades, Mr Yaftali has collected over a hun-
dred items of historical significance related to
weaponry, the game Polo, pottery, tools and
devices, apparel and items of everyday life
usage. These items belong to the cultural her-
itage landscape of Laspur and surrounding
valleys and act as a window into its past.
DESIGN
Architect & Curator Zahra Hussain and Architect Abdul-
lah Aslam designed the museum and led the construction
and curation. The building has been designed as an octa-
gon around five columns, a recurrent architectural pattern
found in traditional houses. The columns hold a strong
spiritual significance known as ‘Punjetan’ for the resident
Islamaili Community. Moreover, following the tradition of
central skylights, the museum celebrates a central source
for natural light. The door of the museum has been care-
fully designed to showcase locally woven textile and carved
wood dating circa sixteenth century.

CURATION
In terms of the curation, Hussain worked closely with Mr.
Amirullah Yaftali, who has collected these items with great
passion and care. The artefacts are categorised, named and
tagged with the instructions and stories by Mr Yaftali and
assistance of other local people. The museum follows a flex-
ible and open-layout and will continue to be populated.
“It is very important that local communities initiate their own
museums where they get a chance to tell their
stories and narrate their own cultural landscapes”

Zahra Hussain, Lead Architect & Curator

Heritage Museum Laspur

Five columns forming the Punjetan arrangement Main Door of the museum
 INDIGENOUS PRACTICES AND
PATTERNS CATALOG
IPPC is published by Laajverd through the research carried out during the project Laajverd Visiting School.

Sustainable Development needs to be contextualized in light of the local indigenous knowledge systems, Wakhi - House
and local cultures. The local realities and situations are quite regional when it comes to indigenous manage- Traditional Wakhi house is
prising of five wooden colum
ment of natural resources that give rise to cultural practices, living patterns and the tangible and intangible octagnol roof. The five colu
heritage of a region. Indigenous practices and Patterns Catalog aims to document and archive these practices spiritual significance known
and patterns that have developed over decades and are undergoing fast-transformations due to development pattern is found in Gojal, G
pressures. Not only will this catalog will serve as a repository of information and insight into the everyday Valley.
life of regions and their relationship with land, but also highlight food and craft practices. This information
can be used as a knowledge base for other organizations who plan to design and implement projects in that
particular region.

LASPUR VALLEY
KPK Contrasting Exteriors
Tradition of bright flower painting is observed on the
exterior walls of houses contrasting with the monotone
adobe color. Bright interior spaces also are in stark con-
Felt Decorated Cap trast to the mud exteriors in the old houses.
Foundation Layin
For special occasions the chitrali cap is decorated with The foundation of a house i
the feather of mundakh. It is a migrating bird from members of a community. Th
Siberia, considered rare in region. In older times only the man with children, never di
influential people would wear it as a symbol of money/ crimes. They also bury a na
power. foundation as a ritual.
Significance of Ash
Before leaving the house the bribe would circle the hearth
holding her parents hands to ensure the blessings to stay
in the house as she left. She would touch the fire as she
left the house. Specific traditional songs are sung during
this practice blessing the occasion. She would leave with
only a pinch of ash from her parents’ home.

Drying Grass for Fodder

Grass is dried in the sun as fodder for cows and goats
and stored, for consumption in winter season.It is dried
in bundles on an elevated surface, usually on branches
of trees, or roof top. The sun-dried grass is theb stored
under the shelter made of sacks.

Crafted prayer Mats

These prayer mats are mostly seen in the households of
Baatakundi, crafted by the women andused domestically. Co
Plastic strings are interwoven together to make a pattern. All
The motifs are usually bold and geometric.Weaving tech- com
niques similar to Basket weave can be seen in these mats. Da
It seems like the technique and pattern used in making are
of chaff[ted] plates also know as “Chengair or Chabba”. It Crop protection lea
can be assumed that the weaving is the bolder interpreta-
Black Bear destroys the maize fields in Khannian, which KAGHAN VALLEY res
has
KPK
tion of the same technique. is a great concern for the local villagers. Fires are lit at
night in the fields and human dummy is installed to scare sen
the bear away. Khanian and neighboring villages Ranjhri
and Bela have dense forest areas where bear is inhabitant.
WWF has recently passed a policy to protect the Brown
Bear. Heavy penalties are issued if bear is harmed or shot,
hence it fearlessly consumes the crops of local people.
 Clustered Dwellings
Clustered dwelling was observed in the old center of
Ghulkin village. Close-knit patterns ensured a sense of
security, warmth, not only in the temperature of the area
and the collection of heat in a clustered setting; but a
social sense of warmth and belonging. The later patterns
of built environment show spaced apart dwellings sur-
rounding by fields and orchards.
an open plan com-
mns holding the
umns denote a strong
n as Punjetan. The
Ghizer and Laspur

HUNZA &
GOJAL VALLEY,
GILGIT BALTISTAN

ng Practice Nomadic Bakarwalas

is laid by worthy and respected Bakarwalas or KhanaBadosh are nomads people of the
These are usually a married subcontinent. They come to Neelum Valley from Pun-
ivorced and is also free of jab during the summer where the locals provide them
ail; coal and four stones in the with their livestock for grazing during the summers.
Neelum Valley is the main transit route, which they
take on route to Domail and eventually Chitral.

Kashmiri kulchay
Local scones made with yeast, flour and ghee. Sprinkled
with couscous and glazed with egg-wash, the biscuits
come out freshly baked with a crackling crust and an
airy texture. They are baked in a large clay oven. These
popular in the region as a breakfast item. Gathering Hearth
The kitchen is the hierarchal center of the house. It is
the largest space able to accommodate the whole family
at a time. The fire place/cooking area is the gathering
point for the family who keep themselves warm in this
ompact Terraced Dwelling room in the long winters.
l houses share walls and hence the construction is
mpact and collective. Rather than individual housing,
amdama shows the concept of communal living. There
e two defined paths of movement in the village that
ads you to all terraces, out of which one is used by the Doga
sidents and the other, which is a longer indirect route, It is a popular game much like hopscotch that kids play in
s been allocated for guests and visitors. This shows this valley. The player has to throw a stone on one of the
nsitivity towards gradation of public and private space. eight squares drawn on the ground. He or she has to hop
over the squares and kick the stone from the first block

NEELUM VALLEY till the last block to finish the game. These squares have
names such as Pail, Duja, Teeja, etc

KASHMIR
Collaborators

Research Collaborator

Laajverd Visiting School

Laajverd Visiting School led by Zahra Hussain, is an initiative to engage bachelor students and
mid career professionals in rigorous field research. This encourages them to critically
analyze the culture, environment and people of that area. This helps them reflect upon their
own position in an increasingly urbanized and globalized world while understanding the
challenges faced by local cultures and traditions. For the locals, we try to make them aware
of their environment and also do on-site impromptu workshops in areas where we can assist
them through the LVS outreach program. The LVS believes in a two-way learning model where
the locals and visiting participants engage a healthy dialogue for shared knowlege production.