• Introduction
• Heritage Museum
• Heritage Protection

Introduction

Among the main objectives of the program are preserving and enhancing the heritage of local areas in order to restore community pride and confidence in traditional value systems and vernacular technologies. This ethos continues to be reinforced through short and long term activities.

Since considerable thought had been given to the modalities for achieving our goal, and based on the Catalogue of Heritage Assets of the Siran Valley, it was possible to devise activities which would fulfill our heritage objectives. The Heritage Program is closely integrated with pro-poor community based cultural- and eco-tourism and is thus designed to bring long term benefits to these isolate and marginalized communities.

Since we believe that the community participation is the key for heritage safeguarding, pride and ownership, the heritage programs are being implemented in cooperation with the people of Jabbar.

The Catalogue of Heritage Assets of the Siran Valley prepared by the Foundation in early 2006 is a testimony to the enormous potential of the area for sensitive pro-poor cultural and eco-tourism. The heritage trail that has been developed is intended to provide tourists with enormous excitement as they discover various tangible and natural heritage assets so far hidden from the public view. Heritage and tradition can be gainfully employed to form the basis for reconstruction and development; particularly through encouragement of sensitively designed, cultural- and eco-tourism that can go a long way in providing livelihood to even the most remote and mountainous areas hit by the earthquake.

               
                            Natural Heritage. The tri-waterfall in Jabbar.

              
                   Unique sculptural tombstones.                  A sacred cave.  

             
              British Period 19th century Forest Lodge. Dumail.   

Heritage Museum

The earthquake has shorn many communities of many of their cultural objects and created generational gaps due to loss of life of people who were depositories of oral histories, thus degrading the non-material culture of the area. Both material and non-material culture are at risk and need to be conserved, revitalized and propagated for restoring pride of the community as well as utilization of these assets for development and income generation.

The greatest danger looms because of reconstruction activities since in the urgency to build new modern constructions, all that was once considered valuable and which might be partially damaged, would be destroyed or thrown away, finding no place in the new reconstruction phase.

These objects that were once the pride of various communities and a basis for their distinctiveness need to be saved from destruction and housed in a local museum. Work on collection of these objects has already started and they will be housed in the proposed Heritage Museum.

The community cultural objects are extremely important in order to utilize them to restoring pride and create livelihoods through conservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Based on our experience in the past 18 months, it is hoped that in addition to men it will also enable women to participate, even lead, in the rehabilitation phase. The Heritage Museum is envisaged as a source of economic, emotional, environmental and cultural rehabilitation of the community. It will act as the community cultural focus, research and publication centre, crafts training and promotion of community based tourism.

The construction of the first Heritage Museum for the area has been undertaken in Jabbar, on a site gifted by the local Syeds, Manzoor Shah family. This site is across the stream of the ancient graveyard of Jabbar. It thus lends itself to be made into a cultural centre with easy access to an ancient graveyard in Devli and other sites down the Siran River. It is possible to develop heritage and hiking trails with the Heritage Museum as the focus.

              
                   Plan of Museum Galleries.

The only surviving stone artisan, who can replicate the ancient stone sculptural carvings, is Lala Ishaq, who also lives in a nearby village. Since artisans workshops are also being constructed as part of the Heritage Museum, Lala Ishaq will be provided support to continue with his carving work along with training others in order to revitalize the ancient craft. Additionally, other artisans engaged in pottery, weaving, bead crafts etc. will also be encouraged to utilize the artisans’ workshops which will be attached to the Heritage Museum.

The refreshments kiosk, a crafts display area attached to the museum will provide visiting tourists with the flavour of the area.

Heritage Protection

Heritage Protection strategies are being devised to promote community safeguarding for the ancient graveyards that have been located through the Catalogue of Heritage Assets of the Siran Valley. The first programme being undertaken is in the ancient graveyard at Jabbar. In Summer 2007, a team of volunteers consisting of 4 students of Hazara University and over 50 Jabbar residents was lead by Faisal Rajpar of Columbia University cleaned up a major part of the Jabbar graveyard. The cleaning up of the graveyard exposed fully many of the ancient sculptural tombstones which require cleaning and/or stabilization.

              
                            Jabbar graveyard in early 2007. Photo Lala Rukh

Earlier, the graveyard had been exposed to loitering animals and had been in an extremely unkempt condition. The graveyard is now being fenced in to ensure its protection and to save the rare tombstones. After the winter snow and rain, the programme of cleaning will be undertaken along with stabilization of the gravestones where required.