Traditional Trades & Crafts
Multimedia documentation successfully preserved the endangered traditional skills, knowledge, and processes of craftsmen in Eastern, Northern, and Up-Country Sri Lanka.
View Project Results & Impact
Project Overview: Vanishing Knowledge
This completed project addressed the urgent threat of loss of indigenous knowledgein traditional Sri Lankan trades (e.g., pottery, lime, weaving, wood carving) due to modernization and lack of digital preservation. We successfully conducted extensive fieldwork to document these practices.
Key Project Areas Documented:
- ✔ Craft processes and specialized skill-sets
- ✔ Oral histories of craftsmen and their lineage
- ✔ Unique regional raw materials and tools
The final outputs are a comprehensive, open-access archive of multimedia content available to researchers, educators, and communities worldwide.
Our Proven Documentation Process
Our methodology focuses on rigor and archival standards. The process involved cross-regional field trips, ethical interviews with full consent, and a focus on capturing the entire value chain—from raw material sourcing to the final product.
- ✔ Identify & Vette: Located and secured participation from over 30 master artisans across three regions.
- ✔ Detailed Documentation: Captured every step of the craft process with text and high-res photography.
- ✔ Video Archiving: Filmed long-form, unedited process videos for archival security.
- ✔ Cultural Context: Recorded oral histories, lineage, and the local economic significance of the craft.
- ✔ Final Publication: All material released under Creative Commons licenses on open platforms.
Project Outputs
Cane Craft Documentation & Preservation
A comprehensive project to document the traditional methods, designs, and cultural significance of cane crafts practiced by artisans in Batticaloa regions. This initiative aims to preserve this valuable heritage for future generations.
- Detailed documentation of traditional weaving techniques
- Cataloging of historical and contemporary cane craft designs
- Video and photo documentation of the crafting process
- Interviews with master cane artisans
- Creation of educational resources for skill transfer
Traditional Pottery Documentation & Cultural Mapping
A focused initiative to document the ancient and modern techniques of pottery as practiced by hereditary artisan communities. The project captures the unique firing methods, design evolution, and social context of clay work in the region.
- Recording of clay preparation and wheel-throwing techniques
- Cataloging of traditional pottery forms (e.g., cooking, storage, ritual)
- Documentation of natural pigments and firing processes
- Oral history collection from master potters
- Digital archive of finished documentation and 3D models of artifacts
🌿 Our Model: Success Leads to New Initiatives
This completed project demonstrates our proven capability to preserve and archive vanishing cultural heritage.
Proven Impact
Successfully delivered on all project metrics and archival goals.
Investor Trust
Showcasing responsible use of funds and high-quality outputs.
Scalable Methods
Utilizing established workflows for future, larger documentation projects.
🤝 Invest in Our Next Project: Flavours of Batticaloa
We are seeking new partners to fund the essential fieldwork for our culinary heritage documentary.
Become a Sponsor