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‍esigner, activist, academic, and author Julia Watson’s seminal book is firmly rooted “at the intersection of anthropology, ecology, innovation”. Lo-TEK spans “18 countries from Peru to the Philippines, Tanzania to Iran,” and “explores millennia-old human ingenuity on how to live in symbiosis with nature”. 

‍One area that is explored is the land-locked ecoregion of Meghalaya. Located in northeastern India and bordered on the south by Bangladesh, there lies the lush and stunningly biodiverse Khasi Hills.

Every shade of green can be found here, the verdant landscape stretching out in every possible direction; after all, 75% of the area is dense subtropical forest.

It’s also one of the wettest places on Earth, known for having one of the highest average annual rainfalls in the world. In fact, the word Meghalaya translates to “the abode of clouds” in Hindi and Sanskrit. On these rounded hills and at these breathtaking altitudes, the trees truly touch the sky— while a “cloud forest” can be seen emerging from the fog on any given day.

In a section titled “Mountains,” Lo-TEK Design by Radical Indigenism takes readers to the heart of these incredible forests, to the Khasi people who call this place home and have developed a remarkable way to build an infrastructure that can withstand the perpetual dampness of the region. What they have come up with is equal parts beautiful and brilliant; ordinary wood rots, but only to be used if it is dead.

Enter the Jingkieng Dieng Jri Living Root Bridges. Julia Watson introduces the “living latticeworks” engineered by Indigenous villagers and carefully designed to stretch across the many rivers and streams that cut through the Khasi Hills. These bridges take 10-15 years to grow, and eventually become sturdy enough to hold up to 50 people at a time. This is just one of the extraordinary examples of Lo-TEK design that Watson examines.

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Watson will be the first to let you know that she is not the pioneer; she is a curious culture seeker and a passionate advocate for the important voices that deserve a platform to be heard.

She stresses “technology can be different,” and that it should be informed by the natural (ancient) systems which already govern so much of the developing world. Her goal is to remind readers of this truth on every page: this is not only how to build environments, but how it is possible to grow with them too.

‍Lo-TEK Design by Radical Indigenism is about returning to what human and nature-focused design can be.

It’s about getting back down to the roots; about remembering to tread mindfully on rich soil, to ensure that those canopies that brush the clouds will always exist.