Interview with Lachie Carracher: Living Water Heritage, a Digital Platform for Indigenous Knowledge Valorization of Martuwarra

Authors

Downloads

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2025.1.14

Published

2025-07-09

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025): Water & Heritage for Sustainable Development

Section

methodologies and case studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Lachie Carracher, Carlien Donkor

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Interview with Lachie Carracher: Living Water Heritage, a Digital Platform for Indigenous Knowledge Valorization of Martuwarra. (2025). Blue Papers, 4(1), 196–203. https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2025.1.14

Keywords:

digitization, Martuwarra, First Australians, living water heritage, sustainable development

Abstract

The Martuwarra (Fitzroy River) in the Kimberley Region of North West Australia is a National Heritage site, recognized for its cultural and biodiversity values. This interview explores the conceptual and ethnographic process of creating Living Water Heritage, an online exhibition showcasing the catchment and First Australian Traditional Owners. The project showcases how Indigenous communities are making their voices heard in a modernizing and extractive world faced with climate challenges, and are working to protect their cultural and natural heritage in line with sustainable development.

Author Biographies

  • Lachie Carracher, Notredame University

    Lachie Carracher has always centered his life around wild rivers. He has worked in conservation economies throughout Canada, Uganda, Nepal, Sumatra, Laos and Colombia. This unique life experience has provided a valuable depth of knowledge which he now brings to the West Kimberley and specifically the Martuwarra Fitzroy River. Lachie continues to build his relationship with Martuwarra Fitzroy River Country by hearing, feeling and learning from everyone and everything around him.

  • Carlien Donkor, Leiden University

    Carlien Donkor is a PhD candidate at the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL), interested in traditional ingenuity and historical practices of living on and with water, and their positioning in inclusive development frameworks. Her experience as an architect and project manager, combines research, design and construction for climate-resilient and context-sensitive solutions. She was among the winners of the EU Sparks hackathon in which The Nettuniani proposal was awarded the best solution for climate adaptation. Other interests include community collaborations and multimedia installations.