Faced with the lack of documentation on the building techniques of this distinctive style of earthen homes, Tinhinane was determined not to let this traditional knowledge be lost in modern times. Reflecting on ways to trace these techniques, she decided to tap into the memory of AlUla's elders, who still recalled their involvement in building and repairing the homes they had inhabited during their childhood.
Step by step, story after story, and over many cups of tea and dates, the elders of AlUla pieced together fragments of their memories, gradually reconstructing the long-lost techniques.
The experimentation began with building single mudbricks, and the activity quickly garnered attention within the community. Younger members of the community, students from the Royal Institute of Traditional Arts, the Fellowships’ programme participants, archaeologists working on discoveries in AlUla, and even tourists passing by, all joined the tremendous effort of laying mudbricks. The project became a force of nature, and over the following months, the teams succeeded in laying over 800 bricks using traditional techniques.
I was incredibly proud of what we achieved and felt the true value of using collective memory to retrace the traditional techniques of building AlUla’s earthen homes. It was a genuine revival effort that united the entire community and created new memories.
By the end of her time in AlUla, Tinhinane and her enthusiastic colleagues had documented the entire process—from laying foundations to building walls and roofs for a traditional earthen home in AlUla.
Continuing her journey with the Fellowship programme, Tinhinane spent the following months at the Culture in Emergencies Entity at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, where she fully engaged with experts and colleagues, gaining deeper insights into conventions and their value in protecting shared human heritage.
