The Bamyan Guardians: Community Heritage Action and Embodied Pedagogy Between Resilience and Structural Constraints

Scientific knowledge about how cultural heritage is preserved and transmitted in Afghanistan after the departure of international heritage missions in 2021 remains limited. Using a qualitative case study approach, this research examines the activities of the Bamyan Guardian, a local voluntary initiative that pursued cultural heritage conservation and community-based education between 2022 and 2024. Data were collected through participatory observation, project documents, media sources, documentary evidence, and semi-structured interviews (n = 10) and analysed using reflective thematic analysis. The results show that Bamyan Guardians have preserved the essential functions of cultural heritage through low-cost, adaptive conservation measures while strengthening heritage stewardship among children by leveraging place-based, experiential learning, heritage awareness, intergenerational knowledge transfer, and emerging heritage stewardship identities. Community programmes have also strengthened the link between cultural heritage conservation, social participation, and public well-being. Despite these achievements, the initiative faced constraints due to resource limitations, legal restrictions, and political pressures that ultimately led to the cessation of its educational activities in 2024. This research contributes to the literature on heritage resilience and community-based heritage. It highlights the paradox that educational success and increased critical awareness can themselves become a factor in institutional vulnerability.