This project documents the ancestral Scissor-net Team Fishing practices of the Nivaclé and Manjui peoples along the Pilcomayo River in the South American Gran Chaco. For generations, these communities have handed down a unique form of collective fishing where dozens of men form a human chain, coordinating their movements in the water to trap fish like the sábalo. Central to this practice is the creation of specialized scissor-nets woven from caraguatá fiber, a traditional technology that requires deep botanical and technical knowledge.
Today, this knowledge is under immediate threat. Environmental crises, including heavy metal pollution from upstream mining and massive sedimentation, have disrupted fish migrations. Simultaneously, the construction of the Ruta Bioceánica (a major international infrastructure project consisting of a bridge and highway system designed to link the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, transforming transcontinental logistics) is accelerating social change, leading younger generations to seek wage labor over traditional skills. Traditional fiber scissor-nets are rapidly being replaced by commercial nylon, and the social coordination required for “team fishing” is fading as the number of expert practitioners dwindles.
Working in the community of San Agustín – Pedro P. Peña (dpto. Boquerón, Paraguay), our team will produce high-quality digital records of the entire process: from harvesting and weaving caraguatá to the complex social choreography of the river catch. Supported by MUSEO VERDE and established local networks, we will ensure this vital knowledge is preserved in the British Museum’s repository and returned to the source communities to support their cultural identity and revitalisation.
PI: Riccardo Tiddi
Collaborators: Filippo Tommasoli; Félix Peralta
Research Location: San Agustín – Pedro P. Peña, Pilcomayo River, Departmento Boquerón, Paraguay
Host Institution: Museo Verde
Top Banner Image: Fishermen with Scissor-nets in the Pilcomayo River. Photo credit: Riccardo Tiddi, 2023.