Qatar Foundation (QF) highlighted its commitment to advancing contemporary sustainability through traditional knowledge at a high-level reception in Education City. The event marked the first anniversary of the partnership between the Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future and The King’s Foundation, featuring pilot projects across four countries. At the heart of this approach is QF’s Earthna Centre for a Sustainable Future, which seeks to redefine sustainability through locally grounded, context-driven solutions rooted in indigenous knowledge. In January 2025, Earthna and The King’s Foundation, a UK charity founded by King Charles III, launched a two-year collaboration to develop four pilot urban projects demonstrating how cultural heritage can inform modern sustainable practices.Twelve months on, a high-level reception at Al Khater House in Qatar Foundation’s Education City reviewed progress on partnership projects in India, Guyana, Sierra Leone, and Zanzibar. The historic house, preserved as a hub for inclusive cultural heritage and sustainability, also underscored the value of drawing on past knowledge to shape 21st-century solutions.Highlighting the value of balance in traditional design, HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, Vice-Chairperson of QF, said people feel at ease in traditional Qatari homes such as Bayt Al Khater because they work in harmony with nature.“This sense of ease is not a coincidence; it is in resonance with the principle of mizan or balance – a universal law found in all wisdom traditions. It is through this sacred harmony – this keeping of the scales – that life truly prospers,” HE Sheikha Hind said.“Our tradition and religion counsel a measured life: take what is needful, cultivate without pillaging, and steward the creatures whose well-being is bound to our own.“These principles of stewardship underpin Qatar Foundation’s sustainability work. We see it in the revival of traditional crafts at Herfah; in the values-based educational pedagogies taught in our schools; and in the policy research and test-bedding work of Earthna, where indigenous knowledge is used to shape a sustainable future,” HE Sheikha Hind said.Kristina Murrin CBE, CEO of The King’s Foundation, said: “Our partnership with Earthna is much valued, so it is fantastic to have had the opportunity to celebrate our joint passion for protecting traditional heritage skills and the natural world.”The event saw students in QF’s Academyati school demonstrate how, through the Rihla programme, sustainability is being embedded into their learning experience, through progressive educational approaches rooted in culture, heritage and Islamic Principles.Experiential hands-on learning practices allow students to embrace traditional sustainable practices and the Islamic values and ethics that encourage environmental responsibility and stewardship. Participants and instructors from QF’s Herfah programme highlighted the importance of preserving crafts woven into Arab and Islamic cultural heritage, showcasing the projects they have developed through the programme and allowing guests to experience these time-honoured crafts for themselves.Earthna also outlined the full spectrum of its work and research focused on promoting the role of traditional knowledge in shaping a sustainable future, and updated guests on the four projects established through its partnership with The King’s Foundation.The pilot projects supported by the partnership between Earthna and The King’s Foundation were selected to represent traditional sustainability practices across different regions, each illustrating how, amid contemporary challenges, cultural heritage plays a central role in informing sustainable urban planning.The projects highlight the value of traditional methods and locally sourced materials in modern architecture and construction.They also aim to strengthen global understanding of how traditional knowledge can advance environmental sustainability, social resilience, and economic development, while serving an educational role within their communities.Insights from the four projects will be shared with countries facing similar challenges, including Qatar, in the form of research publications and policy recommendations. In India, the project team will convene a “Winter School” in February, where students, including participants from Qatar, will engage with traditional water management and land regeneration practices at Dhun, Jaipur, advancing knowledge exchange for sustainable solutions in Qatar and other hot and arid regions.In Zanzibar, the project focuses on the revival of Stone Town’s traditional craftsmanship and built heritage, underscoring cultural linkages with the Arabian Gulf and the enduring value of craftsmanship in preserving identity.In Guyana, the project strengthens Earthna’s coastal resilience and ecosystems agenda by studying mangrove ecosystems and traditional architecture, incorporating both in a visitor centre that will serve as a platform for mangrove education and regeneration practices.In Sierra Leone, the project promotes sustainable construction by designing a community facility as a primary health unit, offering replicable lessons on integrating wellness infrastructure with sustainable building practices.