“Lo—TEK Water” hopes to reshape the world through local technology—Colossal

From record-breaking droughts and catastrophic flash floods, to contaminated pipes and increasingly water-starved AI farms, water is key to the climate crisis. This life-giving liquid is both scarce and too plentiful, leaving half the world’s population without consistent access to fresh drinking water, while much of the world faces hotter, wetter weather that exposes communities to extreme conditions.

For designer, author and activist Julia Watson, finding multiple solutions to these time-consuming problems is one of today’s most critical and urgent tasks. her new book Loctite waterPublished by Taschen, it highlights a variety of indigenous technologies and aquatic systems that can be used to adapt to a changing climate.

Xochimilco, Mexico, has a two-meter-deep canal demarcating 55,000 square meters of high ground, called the “Highlands.” chinampas. Although this system was built by the Aztecs to purify water and irrigate crops, it actually originated with the Nahua people. Similar are Inda’s floating islands in Myanmar, which weave roots, leaves, sediment and other materials together to form hydroponic beds.

While Watson is keen to draw on ancient practices that are more widely available today, she also highlights more modern approaches, such as those of Pakistan’s Yasmeen Lari, an architect responsible for designing the world’s largest projects to build shelters and cooking pots that leave no carbon footprint.

There are 558 pages in total, Luo-TEK water “Water is an intelligent force that shapes resilient cities and landscapes. Aquatic infrastructure is reimagined – from extractive and industrial to regenerative and evolving – designed to sustain life for generations,” a statement said.

Watson is a key voice in the wider Lo-TEK movement and this new book is a companion piece to her previous book focusing on sustainable technology. Find your copy in bookstores.