In the rugged landscapes of Timor-Leste, where dry seasons can stretch long and food insecurity remains a reality for many, the people have long relied on their deep knowledge of wild, resilient crops. Among them is Koto-Tisi—a hard, dark wild bean that offers vital sustenance but must be carefully prepared to remove its natural toxins. What might appear at first glance to be just another seed is, in fact, a symbol of survival, ecological wisdom, and ancestral resilience.\n\nThe bean is typically found growing on hardy, thorny shrubs or climbing vines in semi-wild areas. It is gathered primarily by women, who know when the pods are ready to be picked and how to handle them safely. The challenge lies not in harvesting but in transforming Koto-Tisi into something edible—an intricate cooking process that has been passed down through generations.\n\nPreparation begins with repeated boiling and rinsing, sometimes up to five or six times. Each round helps to leach out the toxic compounds present in the bean. The water must be discarded each time, and the beans carefully watched to ensure that they soften without disintegrating. After boiling, the beans are often sun-dried and stored for later use, to be boiled again before eating or ground into a starchy paste.\n\nThe process is labor-intensive and demands both patience and precision. Elders in the community emphasize that the knowledge of how to process Koto-Tisi is not written in books—it lives in memory, movement, and the rhythms of daily life. To rush the process or ignore the sequence could lead to poisoning. For this reason, children are taught to observe closely, assisting their mothers or grandmothers and gradually learning the delicate balance between danger and nourishment.\n\nIn times of drought, scarcity, or natural disaster, Koto-Tisi becomes a lifeline. Its ability to grow in harsh conditions, with little water or care, makes it a dependable fallback when cultivated crops fail. But it is more than a survival food—it is also a testament to how culture and ecology intertwine. The knowledge required to use it safely reflects a deep respect for the land, a skillset honed through centuries of careful experimentation and oral transmission.\n\nToday, as dietary patterns change and imported food becomes more available, the practice of preparing Koto-Tisi is fading in some areas. But in others, it remains a respected tradition—especially among elders who see it not only as food but as a story, a ritual, and a reminder of community strength in the face of adversity.

“Hakka” means “guest people” in Chinese. A group of Hakka settled in Mui Tsz Lam, a village in North-East New Territories in Hong Kong, in the 17th Century during the Qing Dynasty. \n\nThe Hakka are known for being hardworking and enduring. Since they farmed on less fertile terraces, their food grown is modest and practical. This culture is also reflected in festive foods like rice dumplings for the Tuen Ng Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival.\n\nMaking and eating rice dumplings is an essential part of the Tuen Ng Festival. The festival is associated the patriotic poet and politician Qu Yuan in the 3rd Century BC, who committed suicide at the river. After his death, people made rice dumplings and threw them into the river and played drums on the dragon boat, hoping that the fish would not eat Qu Yuan’s body. \n\nAt present times, people still make rice dumplings every Tuen Ng festival as a tradition, with different recipes passed on in different areas. The Hakka recipe is modest and simple, which utilizes almost all home grown produce, which includes bamboo leaves, sticky rice, peanuts, shallots, and dried shrimp. After many years of desolation since the 1970s, Mui Tsz Lam villagers come back to their home village to make rice dumplings together for the first time.\n\nThe instructions to make a Hakka rice dumpling are as follows:\n1. Preparing ingredients:\nSoak bamboo leaves and sticky rice overnight, and dried shrimps for 15 minutes. When bamboo leaves are soft, clean and cut the top and bottom of bamboo leaves.\n2. Chopping and crushing:\nMince the soaked dried shrimps, shallots. Crush peanuts and remove skin.\n3. Frying the filling:\nFry the dried shrimps, shallots and peanuts, first separately then together. Set the filling aside.\n4. Wrapping the dumpling:\nWith 1 bamboo leaf, place a layer of stick rice and a layer of filling, then another layer of sticky rice. Cover the layers with the same piece of bamboo leaf. Turn the dumpling aside and use another piece of bamboo leaf to wrap the side. Do the same for the other side, and the dumpling should be completely wrapped by 3 bamboo leaves. Tie up the dumpling with strings or grass. \n5. Cooking: \nBoil the dumpling for 3 hours before eating.

The flute (pa lwei) is a wind instrument which consists of a hollow tubed played by blowing through a hole at one end. There are two kinds of Myanmar flutes: The "khin balwei" and the "kjo palwei". The khin balwei is commonly played. It has a ventage and a reed at the blowing end. The kjo balwei has no reed. Blowing the kjo balwei may be seen in the murals at Ananda and Mingalar Zedi in Bagan. Earlier flutes are wood or plastic. The ventage holes are made according to the diameter of the bamboo. Altogether 10 holes are perforated: seven finger holes, thumb- hole, the membrance hole and the "pinkelu" hole. The membrance hole is now not made because it tends to produce a shrill sound.\nIn preparing the tube, the lowest hole is perforated at two- thirds of the way up the flute. Then the six holes are perforated at distances according to the diameter of the bamboo. The thumb- hole is perforated on the lower side of the flute at the point half- way between the upper sixth and seventh hole. The "pinleku: vent hole is perforated between the topmost finger hole and the tube end. The membrane hole lies between the vent hole and the seventh hole. \nThe flute can be seen playing together with the shawm in pot- drum troupe, dobat troupe, classical music troupe, modern music troupe. The flute comes in two sizes: the big and small. The flute can cover the chromatic scale.

The flute (pa lwei) is a wind instrument which consists of a hollow tubed played by blowing through a hole at one end. There are two kinds of Myanmar flutes: The "khin balwei" and the "kjo palwei". The khin balwei is commonly played. It has a ventage and a reed at the blowing end. The kjo balwei has no reed. Blowing the kjo balwei may be seen in the murals at Ananda and Mingalar Zedi in Bagan. Earlier flutes are wood or plastic. The ventage holes are made according to the diameter of the bamboo. Altogether 10 holes are perforated: seven finger holes, thumb- hole, the membrance hole and the "pinkelu" hole. The membrance hole is now not made because it tends to produce a shrill sound.\nIn preparing the tube, the lowest hole is perforated at two- thirds of the way up the flute. Then the six holes are perforated at distances according to the diameter of the bamboo. The thumb- hole is perforated on the lower side of the flute at the point half- way between the upper sixth and seventh hole. The "pinleku: vent hole is perforated between the topmost finger hole and the tube end. The membrane hole lies between the vent hole and the seventh hole.\nThe flute can be seen playing together with the shawm in pot- drum troupe, dobat troupe, classical music troupe, modern music troupe. The flute comes in two sizes: the big and small. The flute can cover the chromatic scale.

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, 2016\n" Palov Culture and Traditions was inscribed onto the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. Uzbek lifestyle is mainly connected with palov (osh) among all other meals. Palov is cooked in a ceremony conducted on the birth in the family and in all ceremonies conducted during a person’s entire life. Even in death ceremonies, palov is cooked to remember the deceased. Based on these traditions we can say that Uzbek palov brings family members, relatives, neighbors, colleagues, and friends closer.\n\nThe social significance of palov is highlighted in the current film with the help of cadres about palov preparation and consumption. Starting from purchasing ingredients, preparing, and consuming palov, the film documents the entire process as well as the conversations among the people making palov"

Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka (Hela Wedakama) is an ancient wisdom tradition of healthcare and healing practices inherited by cultural heritage unique to native people. Indigenous medical knowledge and practices dispersed throughout the country are culture-bound repository of ancestral wisdom prevailed through generations. HELA WEDA MAHIMA is a sector-specific ICH production that presents most of ICH elements pertaining to livelihoods and craftsmanship associated with indigenous medical sector. Therefore selection of captions and stories should be very authentic and genuine to represent the heritage of culture and traditional identities of indigenous medicine in Sri Lanka. \n\nBeth varam ganima.\nPractitioners believe that they should get the permission from divine forces before initiate preparing medicine and they offer oblations for the sake of protection and better efficacy of the medicine. For this ritual they select an auspicious day and a time for offering the oblations with special recitations. These kinds of ICH practices significantly show the connection of nature with culture.

Mongolians celebrate the traditional Tsagaan Sar Festival as a passing of one year and a welcoming of a new one. This is the triple celebration for passing of the severe winter safe-and-sound, welcoming a new year, and a celebration of getting wiser. Before the end of the old year, Mongolians endeavor to repay debts and resolve disagreements so as to enter the forthcoming year without lingering resentment or misfortune. The tradition of Tsagaan Sar Festival comprises of complex proceedings as bituulekh (to celebrate the day before Tsagaan sar), preparing the banquet, dairy products and mutton for the feast, zolgokh (greet each other), honoring the elders and telling well-wishing, propitious words to each other. The celebration of Tsagaan Sar is a fifteen-day period of ‘whitening’, when family and kin gather in a respectful atmosphere to renew and solidify ties, particularly between young and old.

Tom yum kung is a popular traditional soup dish that is prepared in households across all of Thailand. It often consists of prawns (kung) cooked with galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, lemon, and chili peppers, ingredients that are easily obtained in every region of the country. \n\nTom yum kung is a staple menu item in every Thai restaurant from tiny village eateries to fine-dining restaurants, and has garnered worldwide renown. This video describes the flavor of Tom yum kung and introduces the entire process from preparing to cooking the ingredients to make the dish.

Firewalking (Vila) an intangible gift to the people of Sawau (Beqa, Fiji) performed only on solemn ceremonial occasion. This is the mystical phenomenon of walking on hot stones passed through generations from the Sawau ancestors. \n\nCostume Preparation (Traditional fire walking in Fiji)\nThe liku (skirt) is the main component of the ensemble of the dauvila firewalker. This is the entire process of preparing the vilavilairevo (firewalking) costume.

In 2017, Tajikistan ratified the 2003 Convention. Two years later, the Tajik government passed a decree and project to take place between 2013 and 2020. The goals of this project were to safeguard ICH from disappearing; reviving traditions; helping and supporting performers and masters; endorsing cultural elements accessible for wide use; studying and preparing books, films, and musical discs; and organizing folk festivals, cultural competitions, and other exhibitions. The festivals have several social and cultural functions due to their continuity. Infestivals, a person experiences his/her membership in society and feels the collective solidarity. Festivals also include didactic elements, mainly structuring the young generation in the task of responsibility among other members of the society; they should follow prescribed social and cultural norms. At the same time, festival also function on a psychological level, giving people a sense of national or ethnic identity and building social integration, solidarity, thus creating an atmosphere of friendship.

Local Food preparation refers to process of harvesting through subsistence, the tools created for food preparation (such as that of fafa), and the preparation itself involves many people working together. Preparing fafa is important for many special occasions and is only carried out by men with clean hands; therefore, the men cannot have another job which would be considered unclean. Fafa comes in many different forms, including fafa fiti (pounded taro balls with a toasted coconut sweet sauce) also called sranomtuh (the pounded fafa with the sugarcane mixed with coconut milk), erah (pounded soft taro with banana and coconut cream fat solidifies around making a thin shell), srono kutak (srono-piece or part of it, kutak is soft taro, pahsruk is hard taro, it is a type of fafa that does not require water, hard working fafa, not mix. It’s difficult to pound and is very sticky), suklac (type of fafa made of bananas and taro and is purple in color), fafa spirit, also known as fafa ngun (spirit, like a ghost, something translucent and you cannot really see), fafa pot, likasringsring, among others (refer to sarfert). Some food preparation is according to the moon calendar. For example, planting and harvesting any crops during full moon is the best time. The texture of the soil is ideal during this time. Sometimes even the first three days of full moon. Torch fishing or molok (an animal for eating) is best done during full moon.

Craftsmanship of the Mongol Ger is a traditional enterprise involving the labour of a household or group, with men carving the wood and both women and men engaged in painting, sewing and stitching, and felt-making. Wooden frames comprise the crown, roof poles, wall lattices, door, two pillars and furniture produced by separate carpenters specialized for each. Traditional craftsmanship of Mongol ger is indeed reflects the nomadic culture, national identity which stands for the name card of Mongols to the world. Traditional craftsmanship is taught to the younger generations, principally through mentoring by a senior craftsperson. Dismantling and reassembling the Ger are always family operations, with children learning by watching their elders. Cutting and preparing sheep’s wool, making felt, stitching canvas and preparing woodwork are usually communal endeavours. As a traditional dwelling, the Mongol Ger plays an important social and cultural role for nomadic families and its makers are highly respected.\n