Findings

The project found that the Romani communities we worked with demonstrated important forms of environmental knowledge, sustainability and resourcefulness that are often overlooked or misunderstood. Key themes included:

• Sustainability embedded in everyday life and daily practices

• Repair, reuse and resourcefulness valued over consumerism and waste

• Strong traditions of sharing, mutual support and collective living

• Cultural knowledge and traditions that support environmental sustainability

• Communities frequently facing environmental injustice and exclusion

• Romani communities contributing important environmental knowledge, practices and solutions rather than causing environmental harm

  The list below illustrates some of these practices and values. They are not isolated customs or nostalgic traditions. They reflect the values of Romani people living in England, Scotland and Spain today - repair instead of waste, sharing instead of excess, community instead of individualism, and respect for the natural world. At a time of environmental crisis, Romani communities have knowledge and practices that could help us all to achieve more sustainable ways of living.

1. Repair, Reuse and Low-Waste Living

• Making and mending clothes

• Making and repairing shoes

• Repairing broken household items

• Recycling metals through traditional tinkering

• Crafting everyday objects from recycled materials

• Using and trading second-hand items

• Trading second-hand items to extend product lifespan

• Sorting waste to reuse and recycle materials

• Creating art from found or discarded materials

• Making toys from natural or found materials

• Handcrafting wooden furniture

• Repairing metal objects through traditional tinkering

2. Living with Nature and Natural Materials

• Growing local food and raising animals

• Small-scale livestock farming

• Raising livestock sustainably

• Hunting small game sustainably

• Growing small gardens

• Composting organic waste

• Sustainable firewood collection

• Collecting rainwater / rainwater collection

• Using biodegradable materials

• Making household items from natural materials

• Making tools and utensils from wood and bone

• Crafting pottery from local clay

• Weaving baskets from natural fibres

• Leatherworking using traditional methods

• Outdoor living and connection to nature

• Teaching children to respect nature

3. Food, Self-Sufficiency and Resourcefulness

• Preparing and cooking fresh food

• Eating fresh food

• Preserving foods

• Open-air cooking methods

• Communal meals

• Drying clothes in open air

• Herbal medicine

• Local market stalls

• Selling handcrafted goods

• Selling at local markets and small businesses

• Bartering and trading

• Itinerant trade and local exchange systems

4. Community, Sharing and Collective Life

• Sharing resources among extended families

• Sharing and community life

• Collective decision-making on resources

• Maintaining close-knit communities

• Organising communal events

• Socialising rather than consuming

• Street games and informal recreation

• Entertainment not dependent on consumption

5. Culture, Creativity and Knowledge

• Singing and making music

• Storytelling and theatrical performance

• Handcrafting costumes and instruments

• Creating musical instruments from discarded materials

• Celebrating nature in floral patterns and decoration

• Passing down oral traditions

• Educating children through oral traditions

• Teaching traditional crafts

• Passing down sustainable skills such as fishing, foraging and crafting

6. Environmental Justice and Resistance

• Attempts to influence the Council about the waste site

• Challenging environmental inequality

• Community organising around environmental harms

• Protecting local environments and neighbourhoods

7. Values, Ethics and Ways of Living

• Respect for nature and the land

• Taking only what is needed

• Avoiding waste

• Repair rather than disposal

• Resourcefulness and self-sufficiency

• Collective responsibility and mutual support

• Sharing rather than accumulation

• Living simply with lower material consumption

• Valuing relationships and community over possessions

• Passing knowledge between generations

• Care for animals and local environments

• Creativity over consumerism

• Pride in practical skills and craftsmanship

• Freedom, mobility and adaptability

• Resistance to overconsumption and throwaway culture

Publications

2025

Venkov-Rose, N. and Bell, K. (2025) ‘Environmental racism and “the media-government complex”: Failures of municipal waste collection for a racialised community in Bulgaria’ Local Environment, 31(2), 150-168

Presentations

2026

Cioarta, I. ‘Connection with nature and wellbeing in the Roma communities’, Wisdom Days: Science for Sustainability Transformations conference. University of Jyväskylä, Finland, 8th May 2026

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘A different look through Gypsy history’ exhibition opening, Asociación Dosta with the support of the Adalusian Regional Government. Jaén Provincial Historical Archive, 9th February 2026

2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘600 years of Roma presence in Spain: History, culture and resistance’, Commemoration of 600th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Roma People in Spain, Hermandad Sacramental de los Gitanos de Sevilla. Casa Hermandad de Los Gitanos, Seville, 28th November 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘600 invisible years of Gypsy history’, 22 November: Day of the Andalusian Gypsies, Sinando Kalí Association of Gypsy Women and Jaén Provincial Council. Jaén Provincial Council Cultural Centre, 21st November 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘600 years of Gypsy presence in Spain: Past and future’ roundtable with Federico Pablos (Asociación Enseñantes con Gitanos), 600 Years Since the Arrival of the Roma People to the Iberian Peninsula, Estipen Gypsy Sociocultural Association. Osuna Cultural Centre Assembly Hall, Seville, 13th November 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘600 invisible years of Gypsy history’ roundtable with Francisco Torres Andrades at presentation of feature-length documentary The Great Roundup: History of a Genocide by Pilar Távora, Asociación Promoción Gitana de La Rioja and Government of Rioja. IES Batalla de Clavijo Assembly Hall, Logroño, 13th November 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘600 invisible years of Gypsy history’ roundtable with Francisco Torres Andrades at presentation of feature-length documentary The Great Roundup: History of a Genocide by Pilar Távora, Asociación Promoción Gitana de La Rioja, La Calahorra City Council, Fundación Caja Rioja and Government of La Rioja. Centro Fundación Caja Rioja, 12th November 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘History of the Gypsy people’, Oral Heritage Conference: ‘History and Anthropology of the Gypsy Caló Romanó People’, Instituto de Cultura Gitana and University of Granada. University of Granada Melilla Campus, 5th November 2025

Rodríguez Martínez, P and Martínez Martínez, M. ‘A different look through Gypsy history’ exhibition opening, Asociación Dosta with the support of the Adalusian Regional Government. Almería Provincial Historical Archive, 3rd November 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘A different look through Gypsy history’ exhibition opening, Asociación Dosta with the support of the Andalusian Regional Government. Málaga Provincial Historical Archive, 1st April 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘Never again: A tribute to the women victims of the Great Roundup and the 1749 Extermination Project’ at inauguration of plaque in memory of the Gypsy women imprisoned in Denia Castle, Denia City Council and FAGA (Federación Autonómica de Asociaciones Gitanas). Denia Public Library, 21st March 2025

Martínez Martínez, M. ‘600 Years of Roma presence in Spain: A silenced history’, Commemoration of the 600th anniversary of the arrival of the Roma people in Spain, University of Alicante. Fernando de Loazes Public Library, Orihuela, 5th March 2025

Pedro Heredia Reyes, el Granaíno and Manuela Ríos. ‘Gypsies Forging Sustainable Futures dance spectacular’. Auditorio Municipal Maestro Padilla, Almería, 6th March 2026