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Welcome to The Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

The Endangered Material Knowledge Programme gives grants to support the documentation of material knowledge systems that are under threat and in danger of disappearing. It also provides free access by stewarding that knowledge in an open-access digital repository dedicated to its preservation.

Knowledge holders, practitioners, and scholars can apply for funds to support work that explores knowledge systems associated with the making, use, repair and re-purposing of material objects, spaces, architecture, performances and environments. EMKP strongly advocates for a working approach that centres on community epistemologies, close collaborative working and celebration of the diverse knowledge networks that affect the material world.

The Programme was established in 2018 with funding from Arcadia and is hosted by the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the British Museum.

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  • A woman crouches to sculpt a lump of clay, a fire rages in the background.
    Preforming the bottom of a bowl, Viet Nam, 2023. Photo credit: Cécile de Francquen.
  • Young men assemble a reed hut under cloudy skies.
    Building a temporary hut in the lowlands, Ethiopia, 2022. Photo credit: Luisa Sernicola.
  • A smiling woman spins yarn from a tuft of wool.
    Placing wool in the spindle, Ecuador, 2023. Photo credit: Mónica Acosta-Torres.
  • A long wooden craft sails through a shallow tidal channel.
    Sailing the chhot, West Bengal, India, 2022. Photo credit: Swarup Bhattacharyya.
  • A group of women sit beneath a tree while processing baskets of cocoons.
    Separating silkworm cocoons, Burkina Faso, 2020. Photo credit: Laurence Douny.

Supported by

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