Call for trail building technique – WTN Design and Stewardship Task team

The World Trails Network (WTN) Design and Stewardship Task team is calling on trail explorers worldwide to help document and preserve traditional trail building knowledge.

Across cultures and landscapes, communities have developed unique ways to build and maintain trails using local materials and knowledge passed down through generations. These methods, often deeply tied to the land and history, represent invaluable wisdom that should be recognised and shared.

If you have encountered or know of any traditional trail-building techniques, unique to your region or places you visited, we’d love to hear from you! Whether it’s stone paths or walls shaped by hand, erosion control methods or bridge building techniques, your contributions can help us build a global library of traditional trail building knowledge.

How to contribute: submit a short video or a glossary of photos showcasing that technique to TMI Trail and if you could, please also provide, a brief description of its cultural significance and practical use.

To see some examples check out the Honorary Trail Masters YouTube playlist where TMI Trail have documented some traditional trail building techniques and trail builders from Taiwan

Let’s work together to celebrate and preserve the worlds diverse trail heritage!