A story about the introduction of the European traditional craft of lime manufacture in a marginalized area in East Africa where the promotion of artisanal activities complementary to the pastoralist lifestyle are needed.

Turkana is one of the remotest and arid places in East Africa, where a million inhabitants are destined to a tough transition from nomadism to sedentarism.
Local agents are making efforts to improve their basic needs, but few is being done in order to create lifestyle alternatives.
In 2011 two spanish engineers visited the missionaries settled in the area who were building dams to grant water along the year, and came about the idea of replacing the cement for a binding material that could be locally produced. Acknoledged by UNESCO as Intangible Heritage, “The Lime of Morón” was the answer. The art of traditional lime manufacture was made available by “Morón´s Lime Museum”. Two twin kilns where built in Turkana and Morón, and all the non written secrets were transferred by some of the last keepers of this craft in Europe. One of the engineers moved to live with the missionaries and started producing lime in Turkana in 2014. Currently the need for a proper factory including other traditional materials like gypsum and clay bricks has arised. Likewise a self architecture based on local intensive labour and materials has been found: the “tile arch system”, a sign of identity of the European mediterranean architecture, is being recovered as an “adequate” technique beyond the invasive systems based on foraneous materials. Organizations like UN-Habitat and local stakeholders are showing great interest in developing and exporting this initiative to other East African regions.

The transfer of the european traditional skills and knowledge, specially those related with the craft trades promotes the sustainable and pacific growth of the most undeveloped cultures all around the world.