‘Lo—TEK Water’ Wants to Reshape the World Through Indigenous Technologies

From record-breaking droughts and catastrophic flash floods to contaminated pipelines and increasingly thirsty AI farms, water is at the nexus of the climate crisis. The life-giving liquid is both scarce and too abundant, causing half the global population to lack sustained access to fresh drinking water, while much of the world is subject to hotter, wetter weather that subsumes communities with extreme conditions.

For designer, author, and activist Julia Watson, pinpointing myriad approaches to these all-consuming problems is one of the most critical and urgent tasks today. Her new book Lo-TEK Water, published by Taschen, highlights various Indigenous technologies and aquatic systems that could be utilized in adapting to a climate-changed world.

an aerial photo by Toby Harriman of floating gardens — Toby Harriman, Ye-chan Floating Islands of the Intha, Myanmar

There are the two-meter-deep canals of Xochimilco, Mexico, which delineate 55,000 square meters of raised fields called chinampas. While built by the Aztecs to clean the water and irrigate crops, this system actually originated with the Nahua people. Similar are the floating islands of Intha Myanmar, which weave together roots, leaves, sediment, and other materials to create hydroponic beds.

Although Watson is keen to draw on ancient practices that could be more widely utilized today, she also highlights more modern approaches, like Pakistan’s Yasmeen Lari, an architect who’s responsible for devising the world’s largest program for creating shelters and cookware that leave no carbon footprint.

At 558 pages, Lo—TEK Water positions “water as an intelligent force that can shape resilient cities and landscapes. Aquatic infrastructure is reframed—from extractive and industrial into regenerative and evolving—designed to sustain life for generations,” a statement says.

Watson is a key voice in the broader Lo—TEK movement, and this new book is a companion to her previous volume focused on sustainable technologies. Find your copy on Bookshop.

an aerial photo by Mark Lee of a pond — Mark Lee, Loko i‘a Fishponds of the Native Hawaiians, Hawai’i

a spread from Julia Watson's Lo—TEK Water

a photo of a woman crouching down to cook — Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, Zero-carbon Chulah Cookstove by Yasmeen Lari

an aerial photo of Valentina Rocco of ponds — Valentina Rocco, Valli da Pesca Dikes, Ponds, and Canals of the Venetians, Italy

an aerial photo of Valentina Rocco of a boat casting a net in a pond — Valentina Rocco, Valli da Pesca Dikes, Ponds, and Canals of the Venetians, Italy

an aerial photo of lush step gardens — FAO/Shizuoka Wasabi Association for Important Agricultural Heritage System Promotion Japan, Tatami-ishi Terracing System of the Japanese, Japan

a photo by Simon Bourcier of a man wrapping a pole — Simon Bourcier, Bouchot Mussel Trestles of the Bretons and Normans, France

a photo by Simon Bourcier of shells covering poles — Simon Bourcier, Bouchot Mussel Trestles of the Bretons and Normans, France

the cover of Julia Watson's Lo—TEK Water

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