Ancestral Interfaces:
Future narratives of the vanishing tribe
Building Modular Cultural Systems for Intergenerational Continuity
Summary
This project responded to the global urgency of preserving endangered oral cultures by working with Lepcha women in Dzongu, Sikkim. Through participatory design methods, it translated clan-based narratives into a modular system of visual symbols—supporting identity continuity, intergenerational learning, and future digital applications. The outcomes contributed to ongoing conversations around plural archives and community-led design futures, with public exhibitions validating both process and impact.
Role :
UX Research I Visual Systems Design  I Textile & Material Design
Team :
Sanskruti Shukla (Lead Researcher & Designer)
In collaboration with 14 Lepcha women across 4 clans
Supported by local mediators and cultural informants
For :
Echostream Pvt. Ltd. x UNDP Secure Himalayas. x MLAS Dzongu
OVERVIEW
As global challenges call for more inclusive and regenerative futures, there is a growing recognition of the value embedded in Indigenous knowledge systems. According to the UNDP Climate Promise report (2023), Indigenous ways of knowing are central to climate adaptation, yet are often left undocumented and undervalued. Similarly, the Biocultural Diversity Toolkit by Terralingua (2010) emphasizes that oral traditions are vital to identity, ecological stewardship, and place-based knowledge, but remain vulnerable to erasure due to systemic neglect.
This project was situated in Dzongu, a protected Indigenous territory in North Sikkim, home to the Lepcha community. It sought to create a living, participatory archive of clan-based oral narratives through
co-designed visual systems.
Many of these narratives, rooted in animist cosmologies, speak of descent from lakes, animals, and mountains, forming deeply ecological and identity-forming worldviews.
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IMPACT
20+ Women Trained
Lepcha women engaged across 4 clans.
4 Villages - 4 Clan Stories
on storytelling, identity, and motif development.
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5 Workshops
Storytelling, identity, and future's thinking.
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20 + Motif Library
Visual language system developed.
2 Exhibitions
Bharat Textiles 2024 and Royal Enfield Social Mission
at Travancore Palace, New Delhi
1 Material Archive
1 cultural archive prototype developed for future digital integration
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CONTEXT
In the face of global cultural homogenisation, preserving Indigenous knowledge systems has become an urgent design challenge.
This project, rooted in Dzongu, a protected region in North Sikkim inhabited by the Lepcha community, investigates how textile design can serve as a medium for cultural continuity and resistance.
Working closely with women from four Lepcha clans, the project translated endangered clan origin stories into contemporary textile motifs through co-creation. It contributes to a growing discourse on design as a tool for safeguarding oral traditions, decentralising authorship, and reinforcing cultural sovereignty in marginalised communities.
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