Ibrahim Tchan is a Beninese jurist specialising in cultural heritage. He is the director and co-founder of the Tata Somba Ecomuseum, the first ecological museum in West Africa. Tchan is also a steering committee member of the Climate Heritage Network (CHN), and serves as the Africa region representative within the Climate Heritage Network’s Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction.
Tchan started coordinating a cultural landscape preservation project after Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba was included on the 2020 World Monuments Watch. The project received financial support from the World Monuments Fund (WMF), which safeguards cultural heritage across the globe. Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba is a cultural landscape designated in 2004 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Togo.
“The Batammariba people of modern-day Benin and Togo first arrived in the mountainous savanna region that is now their homeland during the 17th or 18th century. On the move to escape the threat of subordination to other groups, the Batammariba brought with them a sense of independence and strong cultural identity, anchored in their building traditions,” says WMF.
“The Batammariba name, used by the Batammariba themselves, means ‘those who are the real architects of earth’, pointing to the foundational place of earthen construction traditions for Batammariba society and culture.”
Tchan works on the traditional techniques and construction materials used in Tata Somba architecture. He is active in projects involving the participation of local communities, and designed a didactic tool called ConP’Art that educates children on African world heritage.