ERASMUS+ CLICHE (2018-2021)

CAPITALIZING ON LOCAL INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE AROUND EUROPE

1st General Lyceum of Levadia

LESSON PLAN
INDIGENOUS OR LOCAL KNOWLEDGE IN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS SITUATIONS

Lesson Plan that integrates ICH-ESD (sustainable future) into the school
curriculum
Teaching in a Blended Learning --Flipped Classroom Model

Subject: English, Civics, Physics, Geography-Climate Change, (hazard education)

Lesson Topic/ Title: ICH in Emergencies: Indigenous or Local knowledge as a means of
preventing or mitigating natural disasters.
ICH element: Knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe/ Oral
traditions and expressions
Grade Level: 11      
Designed by: Carouzou Vivi, Thivaios Luckas
Date: 28/10//2019

Keywords:
indigenous knowledge, natural vs man-made disasters and ICH, hazard education,
disaster preparedness

1st Lesson

‘’Natural disasters are fast becoming more severe and unpredictable.

When we combine traditional experiences and modern scientific
knowledge, we can be safe and limit the impacts of natural disasters."

1. Have you heard of any traditional stories with practices on how to predict natural
disasters?
2. Would you rely on observation of natural signs and the unusual behavior of animals
and birds to predict disaster or on scientific methods?

Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

1. Cultural heritage is vulnerable to the adverse impacts of natural disasters.

 2. Countries around the world must employ a variety of measures to safeguard cultural
heritage against disaster risks, drawing on relevant conventions, policy frameworks,
and guidance.
3. To protect lives, livelihoods, and cultural heritage, it is important to strengthen the
resilience of assets at risk.
4. Cultural heritage holds great importance for communities around the world.
5. Cultural elements are neglected when planning and implementing DRR strategies.

1.Read all available information on our wiki inventory concerning folk weather forecasting
and Imerominia. (Greece – 1st General Lyceum)
2. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2awSRa2qnDo
3. In groups prepare the following for our next class meeting:

1st group: make a slide presentation with different types of disasters (natural/man-made).
2nd group: make a quiz with vocabulary connected to natural and man-made disasters and
3rd group: make a disaster safety quiz

2nd Lesson

READING TEXTS
Before you read the texts, check your knowledge on Disaster Preparedness. Match
the practices I-IV to their definitions a-d
I. Early warning practices
II. Water management practices
III. Practices for livelihood
IV. Health and nutrition practices

a. actions that people in a community take to minimize loss of life and assets in
anticipation of disaster
b. those activities aimed at access to water for domestic use in times of crisis
c. those applied by the community for income generation and meeting basic needs
during disaster
d. practices not directly connected to disaster risk or loss management,
the
use of herbs to treat headaches or indigenous tools for irrigating crop fields
those that seek to prevent and cure
hazard-induced illnesses and ensure nutrition during post-disaster period
Read the following texts and
I. Do a vocabulary exercise.
II. Answer whether statements are TRUE or FALSE.
III. In groups make INFOGRAPHICS with important information from the texts. Use the
web tool Canva https://www.canva.com
A.

Climate change, indigenous knowledge and adaptation strategies

In recent years increasing attention has been given to the topic of climate change. Social scientists have
studied indigenous knowledge and its relevance for our understanding of climate change and adaptation
strategies since the 1970s. It is, however, only in recent years that both scientists and practitioners have
paid serious attention to actually using local and indigenous knowledge and practices to
increase communities‫ ׳‬resilience against the impacts of climate change and disasters, and to fully
integrate such knowledge into scientific research, policy-making, and planning.
There is a literature gap on indigenous knowledge systems and natural disasters (floods, earthquakes,
tsunamis, typhoons). By using indigenous knowledge, it is hoped that the local population’s and policy-
makers’ institutional capacity will be enhanced in order to effectively encounter future natural disasters.

Women and men living in disaster-prone areas over a number of generations have accumulated
knowledge of their environment and have identified techniques to either minimize or mitigate the
consequences of disasters. These techniques are referred to as “indigenous knowledge”, a cumulative
body of knowledge, know-how, practices and representations maintained and developed by peoples
with extended histories of interaction with the natural environment. These sophisticated sets of
understandings, interpretations and meanings are part and parcel of a group of traits that encompass
language, naming and classification systems, resource use practices, ritual, spirituality and worldview.

Indigenous knowledge or local wisdom is a valuable source of information and can be a key contributor
to reducing risk in local areas. The UN has recognized this as a key element of Priority 3 of the Hyogo
Framework for Action, which focuses on education and knowledge. One of the key activities identified
under this priority action is information management and exchange and highlights the use of “relevant
traditional and indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage” to be shared with and adapted to different
target audiences.
Indigenous knowledge is thought to be distinguished from scientific knowledge, the latter being
associated with Western technology or techniques. It tends to be locally bound, culture and context
specific, non-formal and orally transmitted, closely related to survival and subsistence, dynamic and
based on innovation, adaptation and experimentation. Indigenous knowledge is an inherent valuable
resource, and an integral coping or resilience mechanism built over centuries. Mercer et al. argue that
indigenous knowledge is invaluable in understanding historical hazard events while scientific knowledge
has been proven to be of great importance when dealing with rare or unprecedented events. As a result,
indigenous and scientific knowledge should be considered as two sides of the same coin, which
complement each other.
B.

NATURAL DISASTERS EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY

LOCAL DISASTER COPING MECHANISMS

As the level of urbanization increases around the world, so does vulnerability to natural disasters, due to
the growing concentrations of population and economic activity. Interdependencies among urban
populations mean that damage to the built environment, including water, sewer and energy
infrastructure, can affect millions. Even if there is no change in the rate of occurrence of natural disasters
(an unlikely prospect in the face of ongoing climate change) the potential for human and economic loss
will continue to increase, along with the time required to recover. How do cities prepare for and recover
from natural disasters? While there is no ’one size fits all’ solution to hazard mitigation, valuable lessons
can be learned from the experiences of others.
Everyone should recognize the dual nature of intangible cultural heritage in emergencies, whereby
on the one hand its viability can be directly threatened, and on the other hand its mobilization as a
powerful leverage for resilience and recovery can be of significant benefit to affected populations.

Community-based and local knowledge may offer valuable insights into environmental change due
to climate change, and complement broader-scale scientific research with local precision and
nuance. Identifying and understanding sustainable environmental management practices, which
oral traditions encompass, is a valuable guide for the prevention of natural disasters.

C.
ΆΥΛΗ ΠΟΛΙΤΙΣΤΙΚΗ ΚΛΗΡΟΝΟΜΙΑ: ΑΕΙΦΟΡΙΚΗ ΔΙΑΧΕΙΡΙΣΗ ΠΕΡΙΒΑΛΛΟΝΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ
ΠΡΟΛΗΨΗ ΚΙΝΔΥΝΩΝ
Η κατανόηση των βιώσιμων πρακτικών περιβαλλοντικής διαχείρισης, που περιλαμβάνουν οι
προφορικές παραδόσεις, αποτελεί πολύτιμο οδηγό για την πρόληψη των φυσικών καταστροφών.
Η άυλη κληρονομιά περιλαμβάνει και τον τομέα «γνώσεις για τη φύση και το σύμπαν». Η τοπική γνώση,
η γνώση που προκύπτει από την παρατήρηση και μεταδίδεται από στόμα σε στόμα, με την εμπειρία, ας
πούμε, του να περπατάς καθημερινά σε έναν τόπο και να παρατηρείς πού «ξεπετιέται» την άνοιξη ένα
μικρό ρυάκι, είναι μια γνώση πολύτιμη. Οι μετακινούμενοι κτηνοτρόφοι, λ.χ., διαθέτουν γνώσεις για την
προστασία από τις πυρκαγιές και από τις πλημμύρες που είναι πολύτιμες. Γνώσεις που - σε κάποιες
περιπτώσεις, αναμφίβολα - εμπλέκονται με προλήψεις και δεισιδαιμονικές αντιλήψεις. Όμως, έχουν
προέλθει από επισταμένη παρατήρηση. Κάποιες από τις «δεισιδαιμονίες» είναι το μέσο της αποτροπής
μιας φυσικής καταστροφής, είναι μέσο προστασίας. Ακούγοντας και αναγνωρίζοντας την αξία των
προφορικών παραδόσεων ενός τόπου, έχει κανείς πολλά να μάθει για την προστασία από τις φυσικές
καταστροφές. Η τοπική γνώση είναι αναντικατάστατη όταν σχεδιάζονται μέτρα πρόληψης σε
περιπτώσεις φυσικών καταστροφών. Είναι όμως μια γνώση ευαίσθητη στη μετάδοσή της. Δεν
προκύπτει στον ερευνητή με ερωτηματολόγια. Προκύπτει από τη βιωμένη εμπειρία. Πρέπει να ξέρεις
να «ακούς», να μπορείς να κάνεις έρευνα πεδίου, όπως γνωρίζουν οι λαογράφοι, οι εθνολόγοι, οι
κοινωνικοί ανθρωπολόγοι και οι ιστορικοί της προφορικής ιστορίας.
D.
Safeguarding and Mobilising ICH in the Context of Natural and Human-induced Hazards
commissioned by UNESCO in 2017 showed that ICH plays a critical role in the mitigation of
disasters at every stage of the emergency management cycle, from preparedness through to
response and recovery.

The importance of sustaining and integrating with culture that reduces risk.
It is important to make the DRR strategies compatible with cultural aspects of the
community in further strengthening community’s coping capacity towards disasters. Further,
It is important to integrate local knowledge with appropriate scientific knowledge in an
effective way to make the disaster affected communities resilient against natural disasters.

VOCABULARY: Match the words to their definition

a. PROACTIVE CULTURAL FIRST AIDER

b. DRM i. Disaster Risk Management
c. INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE ii. The capacity of communities to recover from disasters with
d. COPING STRATEGIES little or no external assistance.

e. DRR iii. [‘local knowledge’, ‘traditional knowledge’ ‘indigenous

f. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS technical knowledge’, ‘peasants’ knowledge’, ‘traditional

g. RESILIENCE environmental knowledge or ‘folk knowledge]: A body of

knowledge existing within or acquired by local people over
a period of time and passed through generations.
iv. Measures taken to prepare for and reduce the effects of
disasters. That is, to predict and, where possible, prevent
disasters, mitigate their impact on vulnerable populations,
and respond to and effectively cope with their
consequences.
v. has the ability to assess risks to cultural heritage during
emergency situations and take actions to mitigate those
risks while humanitarian and peacekeeping operations are
underway. Considers multiple hazards or threats,
multiple physical, social, economic, and institutional
vulnerabilities and consequent potential impact on
heritage and the associated values, people’s safety,
economy and livelihoods and on the social structure.  
vi. Approaches that people use to deal successfully with a
crisis, preventive strategies, mitigative strategies
vii. Disaster Risk Reduction
i. Reading Comprehension

1. Indigenous knowledge is the unique collective know-how accumulated across

generations.
TRUE FALSE
2. Indigenous knowledge is internationally grown, passed down from one generation
to another and is gained over many years.
TRUE FALSE
3. Local people have certain knowledge that have evolved over centuries, have been
tested over time and proven to be sustainable in managing hazards.
TRUE FALSE
4. Indigenous knowledge can facilitate the survival of local populations in the wake of
climate change.
TRUE FALSE
5. Despite the recognition of the important role that indigenous knowledge plays in
reducing the risk of disasters and adapting to climate change, this knowledge has
not featured prominently in disaster policy and science.
TRUE FALSE
6. Indigenous knowledge is primitive and emotional. 
TRUE FALSE
7. Local knowledge has been widely used to complement and expand scientific
knowledge and to empower local communities.
TRUE FALSE
8. Local knowledge empowers communities and it is the asset of poor populations
in case of emergencies.
TRUE FALSE

ii. Infographics on indigenous knowledge and adaptation strategies

 3rd Lesson

Disasters’ impact on ICH.

A. For each of the disasters listed below, state one possible impact on ICH. What
precautions can be taken?

Disaster Impact on ICH Precautions

Flood Masonry arch bridges are very
vulnerable to flood effects
Following an integrated heritage rescue
approach: Collaborative activities with
local communities, with participation by
owners of historical records, residents,
government officials, and experts.
Identifying areas for safekeeping
important assets.
Enhancement of the value of traditions
and social practices that foster
sustainable management of natural
resources.

Earthquak Loss of construction knowledge and Model risk scenarios associated with
e materials in old buildings the hazard and design of prevention
strategies.
 Tsunami Scarcity of natural resources, e.g.
water supply, loss of social bonds
Drought Loss of natural capital: land, water,
trees, livestock, soil fertility
Fire Natural resources such as medicinal
herbs for treating illnesses are no
longer easily available
Systematic documentation of ICH, in
digital format at local level.
Cooperation among stakeholders,
including government bodies, scientists,
NGOs, private business, and local
communities.
Systematic documentation of oral
traditions and the expressions of ICH in
general.
Archiving of old manuscripts, recording
of traditional songs and dances,
conservation of knowledge, techniques,
materials, etc

B. The following bullets include processes to use in order to minimize the impact of
natural or man-made disasters. Divide them in BEFORE, DURING, AFTER
READINESS, PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY PROCESSES TO MINIMIZE DAMAGES
CAUSED BY NATURAL DISASTERS
 Consider ICH as a risk management priority in emergency situations
 Develop locational maps of European cultural heritage: TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE
 Develop locational maps of European cultural heritage at risk that link with and
relate to existing maps of natural and man-made hazards, and the potential risks
 Digitize documentation related to cultural heritage by creating and making available
electronic archival reference material
 Map the existing strategies in all 28 Member States for disaster risk management of
cultural heritage, with a focus on existing competence centres and tools, by
surveying and interviewing key experts
 Develop an effective early warning system to specifically address safeguarding
cultural heritage from multi-risk and disaster situations
 Design and adopt recording systems for disaster-damaged heritage
 Develop assessments methodologies to consider the financial impact of disasters,
taking into account intangible and tangible heritage values
 Develop an effective risk management of cultural assets strategy that fully takes into
account the true cost of loss and damage, along with an assessment of the non-
market nature of related cultural heritage values
 Reinforce the use of indigenous practices and knowledge in local early warning
systems, household water management, livelihood techniques and health and
nutritional practices that help target populations cope with hazards. The target
groups include farmers, fisherman, pregnant and lactating mothers, adolescent girls,
elderly people and persons with disabilities.
 Monitor environmental parameters (climate and pollution) in relation to the
heritage under threat (building material, environmental context/exposure, tourism
pressure, cultural and socio-economic value, general economic conditions
vulnerability)
 Raise public awareness of disaster risk management issues through informed
educational programmes
 Reinforce local coping mechanisms that can help people and communities better
prepare for managing future disasters
 Watch for early warning signs (nature, animals, birds, fish, etc)
 Immediate responses: early evacuation plans/ ensuring survival of victims
 Multi-hazard early warning system
 Post-trauma rehabilitation /rehabilitating those displaced by the disaster
 Improve the resilience of the community
 Long-term strategies for reconstruction /get people back into the area
 Local and overseas organizations provide relief operations, government agencies
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
 Rapid recovery of the economy
 Non-structural measures -- such as investing in cost-effective, community-based
solutions such as flood forecasting
 Use local wisdom for anticipating and responding to natural disasters, practitioners
of ICH, the importance of involving local communities in reconstruction efforts post-
disaster: only efforts that incorporate local needs and draw on local values, building
technologies and skills will be sustainable.
 4th Lesson

 Map the hazard and your local ICH

https://www.preventionweb.net/educational/view/68947

1. Develop cultural maps of ICH in your area. Use Google maps

2. Develop thematic maps of natural and man-made hazards in your area.
3. Develop locational maps of European cultural heritage at risk that link with and
relate to existing maps of natural and man-made hazards and the potential risks.
4. Preparedness education: Find digital games for school disaster preparedness to play
at school.

Slides presentation with disasters, match the picture to the disaster.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1k7ECCOelOQ9fs8XtsgSDPlULuMTaMHR5iRr8Bu
rm6hs/edit?folder=0AOQj6YmcijnoUk9PVA#slide=id.g6c162ded9a_0_271

Quiz: Match up the definition to the disaster

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YMdmZnYJRSbdp8PnkzjqC-
v7s9fak80SPL52i1pj1t4/edit

Disaster Safety Quiz: Do You Know What to Do?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1zqgOi8URaMdz3tyLhIbwFc1Sdh8o-
GcyBmRXRB_7z5s/viewform?edit_requested=true

World cloud with words for indigenous knowledge and disaster preparedness.
https://bigcrunch.io/v/7PpB64JNAAf8t93vDJ1v56

Infographic on indigenous knowledge and adaptation strategies

https://www.canva.com/design/DADuLg1iJhQ/hc-8_ykOJZVW6G146MRVRQ/edit?category=tACFahzNhT4

REFERENCES
Promoting Disaster Resilient Cultural Heritage
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/696061511882383371/pdf/121709-WP-
P161985-PUBLIC-DisasterResilientCulturalHeritageKnowledgeNoteENWEB.pdf