Khamir was established on 2005 out of a joint initiative of Kutch Nav Nirmaan Abhiyan (KNNA) and Nehru Foundation for Development (NFD) to empower Kutch’s creative industry after a devastating earthquake in 2001. Khamir was originally developed to support craft industries where livelihoods were particularly affected. They also wanted to ensure the sustainability of the necessary resources for growth of handicraft industries. Today, it serves as a platform for promotion of traditional handicrafts and allied cultural practices, the processes involved in their creation, and preservation of culture, community and local environments.

The ger, a traditional dwelling created by nomadic Mongolians, is specifically designed to fit their way of life. Its semi- sphere shape helps the ger endure storms and tempests. It has solutions for heat control and ventilation. It is flexible in terms of size and design, and it is portable and lightweight. At the same time, it is also comfortable to live in and easy to build and dismantle. Moreover, the ger is used as a measure for time and directions.

Among the many ethnic and linguist groups spread throughout Pakistan is the Pakhtun tribe of the Yousafzais, who live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and across the Durand Line in Afghanistan. The Yousafzais are further divided into various khels (clans) and families. One is the Khawja Markhel in the village of Sumbatchan in the picturesque valley of Upper Swat, an idyllic place in the foothills of the Hindu Kush Range. The fiercely patriarchal society is organized under Pakhtunwali, an ancient tribal honor code; the ancient social institutions of the Hujra and Gudoor, men’s and women’s social spaces; Jirga system, a council of elders; and ashar, collective reciprocal labor.

In the context of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, a wide field of NGOs is active in between governments and communities to translate concepts, facilitate and support safeguarding programs, advocate bearers’ perspectives and interests, etc. In doing so, they often turn out to be key actors for successful heritage processes engaging communities.

The concept of sustainable development is at the heart of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, which recognizes in its preamble the importance of the intangible cultural heritage as a mainspring of cultural diversity and a guarantee of sustainable development. Furthermore, Article 2.1 of the Convention, dedicated to the definition of intangible cultural heritage, stipulates that consideration will be given solely to such intangible cultural heritage as is compatible with existing international human rights instruments as well as with the requirements of mutual respect among communities, groups, and individuals, and of sustainable development.

Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet country, lies in the heart of the Tien Shan Mountain Range and the mountains of Ala-Too in Central Asia. This small country is mostly inhabited by the once-nomadic Kyrgyz people who take great pride in their whitecap mountains and ancient culture.

The history of ships in the Japanese archipelago begins with rafts and logboats (hollowed boats), which developed into semi-built-up ships made by connecting planks to a hull, and further into built-up ships made solely of planks. Strong aspirations for larger ships and advancements in lumbering and shipbuilding techniques made it possible for this gradual development. However, it was in no way a linear development.

Relative to the creative economy of South Korea, the importance of the Eurasian Turkic states is growing. The reorganized resource-rich countries of the Eurasian continent, ancient nations belonging to the Silk Road, have established themselves from the beginning of the 21st century as political and economic powers in the international arena. CIS countries such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan were protagonists of the great Silk Road that linked the East and the West that had been cut off from each other in ancient times.

Nepal, like most nations, has its own distinct cultural, ethnic, and bio-diverse makeup. The richness of Nepal’s centuries old art, crafts, and culture abounds the alleys and courtyards of Kathmandu. Arts and crafts have long been a part of Nepalese livelihoods and lifestyles. Today these arts and crafts have become precious commodities—souvenirs and antiquities for collectors. Still hundreds of thousands of people create masterpieces as part of their livelihood. Acknowledging the importance of arts and crafts in Nepal, many Fair Trade Organizations (FTOs) have been working to preserve and promote art, crafts, and culture as a means of sustainable livelihood for people practicing fair trade (FT).

Homegardens are traditional systems that combine agriculture, forestry, and livestock and provide economic, environmental, and social benefits for the householders. These agroforestry systems are often cited as the epitome of sustainability, yet the scientific community has long ignored them. Today, however, these age-old systems are receiving increasing attention owing to their potential to mitigate environmental problems such as reduced biodiversity and rising levels of carbon dioxide while providing economic gains and nutritional security to their owners.

I have had the opportunity to live in a small village, Amaravathi, in Andhra Pradesh, South India, for the past two years. It has been continually inhabited for almost 2,400 years, a 300-acre landscape or ecomuseum that is embedded with rich layers of heritage values of significance. It is the birthplace of Mahayana Buddhism. I could engage with universities and the School of Planning and Architecture from the state to scope their role in safeguarding the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of the region. We organized two major festivals on ICH, one at the regional and another at the national level. This immersion of living among ICH carriers and transmitters and fluency in Telugu language and its local dialects enables me to make the following observations. These are also drawn from teaching designated courses on ICH and associated domains since 1985 in Australian, Indian, and Vietnamese universities and working on the living heritage of communities from Ethiopia to Bangladesh, from India to Korea. Understanding and maximizing on the role of higher education institutions such as universities in promoting and safeguarding ICH is critical for the continuity of the cultural diversity of all forms of heritage across the world.

The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre (SAC) is a public organization under the supervision of the Thai Ministry of Culture. Established in 1989, the Centre’s primary mission is to promote understanding among peoples through the study of human societies. SAC’s activities fall within three main program areas: documentation, research, and public education and outreach. Geographically, SAC’s program activities focus on Thailand and the Greater Mekong Sub-region, with the broad aim of fostering tolerance and cross-cultural awareness in the region through anthropological research and public education.