A manual to the art of Cassie sea defence wall building on the island of Papay.

A manual to the art of Cassie sea defence wall building on the island of Papay in the Northern Isles of Orkney. By Dr Saoirse Higgins.
 
The ‘Restore the Shore’ project sought to protect and enhance historically important sections of Papay’s coastline, while sharing practical, traditional, local knowledge from expert skills sharers on the island. On Papay, an island 48 metres above sea level with a population of 88 people and a landmass one mile wide and four miles long, the responsibility for surviving and thriving lies with the community, and environmental issues between land and sea are dealt with through their direct energy and efforts.
The goal of this project was to help safeguard the future island coastline in the face of rising seas and increased erosion of the land. Through a series of Cassie sea defence wall building events in 2016, 2019 and in 2022, we aimed to preserve valuable island knowledge and pass this down to the next generation - ‘knowledge that branches like a bird’s foot from generation to generation and island to island’’.

This manual was created to share the cultural and practical process of cassie sea defence wall building on the island. It is presented together with a specially created short film - ‘Between seas [Is-Land]’ which records island expert skills sharers, together with the island community, gathering and building a cassie sea defence wall at The Kelp Store shoreline over two days in May 2022.
 
Printed in colour and black and white with fold out scans of Cassie Walls on Papay.
 
Price includes UK postage, for overseas please ask for a quote before ordering.
 
All profits from sales will go to the Papay Development Trust.