Our vision is to collect and share projects, stories, art, and resources that attempt to see beyond catastrophe and creatively imagine alternative futures in the Aral Sea region. We present diverse viewpoints and ideas that keep four major themes or pillars in mind: Home, History, Connection and Imaginings.
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Off the map and in the shadow: water, salt, fish and gardens in the Amu Darya Delta in Uzbekistan
Abstract: The Aral “catastrophe” has resulted from ongoing diversion of water flowing into the Aral Sea for irrigation, largely cotton, primarily from the 1960s until present. Shifting geographic focus south to the Amu Darya delta, this paper asks how feminist approaches to data and “shadow places” reshape understandings of the…
qaraqalpaq.com
This website, by David and Sue Richardson, is a good source of information about the people of Karakalpakstan, especially on textiles, national clothing, and yurts. The page appears to have been last updated in 2012. Related entries: Caspian tiger hunters: a lieutenant’s 1894 diary A tiny shrimp is a lifeline…
A tiny shrimp is a lifeline for communities by the Aral Sea
This article, by Beyond Catastrophe’s Saxon Bosworth, provides an overview of brine shrimp or artemia in the West Aral and highlights the importance of this tiny creature for local livelihoods, aquaculture, and perhaps even as a food source. Related entries: Journal article: The Benefits of Marginality: The Great Famine around…