Climate resilience is not only a matter of innovation but also of honoring what communities have practiced for centuries. In this episode, Julia Watson, designer, activist, and leading expert on Lo—TEK — a term that combines low-tech and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) — shares how traditional practices offer vital solutions for sustainable design and regenerative economics.

As the co-founder of the Lo—TEK Institute and author of Lo—TEK: Design by Radical Indigenism and the forthcoming Lo—TEK Water, A Field Guide for TEKnology, Julia explains how traditional ecological knowledge offers some of the most sophisticated climate solutions on the planet. From India’s living root bridges to Bali’s Subak rice terraces and Kolkata’s wetlands, Julia highlights how Indigenous innovations safeguard food systems, water, biodiversity, and community governance. The discussion also explores conservation as a colonial legacy, the urgency of biodiversity protection, and the hybridization of ancestral technologies with contemporary tools.

This episode is a powerful reminder of how sustainable practices and regenerative economics can grow from social impact strategies that honor cultural wisdom and ecological balance. Tune in to this impact podcast to learn how Lo—TEK can inspire resilient futures and guide the green economy.

Key Points From This Episode:

Julia Watson’s background and early influences in Australia, including the Aboriginal environments course that reframed her worldview while studying architecture. [0:03:08]
Studying contested sacred landscapes at Harvard, challenging Eurocentrism, and guiding students to uncover Indigenous technologies [0:07:12]
A discussion on conservation as a colonial legacy and why Lo—TEK matters today. [0:14:48]
Examples of Lo—TEK: living root bridges, Bali’s Subak terraces, and East Kolkata wetlands. [0:27:18]
Hybridizing ancestral technologies with contemporary design. [0:39:37]
Examples of hybrid projects, from sponge cities to seaweed thatching. [0:45:00]
Protecting Indigenous intellectual property through blockchain. [0:51:44]
Using blockchain and Living Earth curriculum to protect and teach Indigenous knowledge. [0:51:44]
What’s next for Julia and Lo-TEK, including her Lo—TEK Water book release, the launch of the Lo—TEK Office, and upcoming coursework. [01:00:17]

Quotations:

“The conservation story isn't a story that we can disassociate from the atrocities of ethnocide and stolen lands.” — Julia Watson [0:08:22]

“I think the — realization at the end of this century, [will be] that we have actually lost some of the most important climate technology that exists on this planet, that has existed for millennia, that has upheld all of the planet's working, vital, healthy ecosystems and its biodiversity.” — Julia Watson [0:20:35]

“The intention of these traditional systems and traditional technologies is not to extract, is not to make money, is not to make profit. The intention of these systems is to provide for the next seven generations. The intention is [that] this will be long-lasting.” — Julia Watson [0:25:23]

“I think that [linear], extractive technologies – will die. And we're starting to see that with the death of fossil fuels. Regenerative, circular, or cyclical, — technologies, like renewable energies, they will keep going because they understand how time works.” — Julia Watson [0:43:58]

“What's beautiful and super sophisticated about [Traditional Ecological Knowledge] is that it doesn't have to be ‘not artificial’ or ‘not digital’. It can be ancestral and digital. It can infuse artificial with ecological. It can be both at the same time.” — Julia Watson [0:50:26]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Julia Watson — www.juliawatson.com
Julia Watson on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianicolewatson/

Lo—TEK Institute — https://www.lo-tek.com/
Lo—TEK Design by Radical Indigenism — https://www.lo-tek.com/book
Lo—TEK Water, A Field Guide for TEKnology — https://www.lo-tek.com/product-page/preorder-lo-tek-water

Kevin Bayuk on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbayuk/

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