Mapping Threatened Transhumant Routes in Southwestern Angola - Endangered Material Knowledge Programme

Across the African continent, there is an ongoing discussion concerning the uncertain future of transhumant pastoralist communities, both in the face of urban/industrial development, evolving social and economic practices, changes in land tenure and use, and climate change events. The case of transhumant communities in Southwestern Angola (notably, the Kuvale) is no different. In recent years, after a decade of extreme drought cycle in the region, their livelihoods, practices and traditions are under serious threat. The growing lack of accessible water holes or available pastures, added to the increasing pressure on the land due to agro-industrial projects, has encumbered, interrupted, or divested traditional transhumant routes. This has led to increased food insecurity, inter-group conflicts and migration. The lack of knowledge concerning the practice of local transhumance and its relation with the local landscapes becomes a problem when it comes to the preservation of their traditional livelihoods and material practices. A detailed, updated knowledge of the spatial and material practices of the Kuvale and other transhumant communities in Southwestern Angola can provide valuable tools for the social and political recognition of the community in the framework of the current threats they experience. Using state-of-the-art mapping tools, ethnographic research and collaborative techniques, we map traditional transhumance routes used by local pastoralist communities in Southwestern Angola, to document and testify to their traditional mobility routes and associated material culture practices.