The Community Is Living — Not an Archive to Be Mined

Research Protocol

All research — academic, journalistic, governmental, commercial or independent — requires a written request to records@knoflokskraal.org.za stating purpose, method, funding, intended outputs and community benefit. Research proceeds only under recorded mandate and written consent, with the community named as knowledge-holder, not merely as subject.

Media Protocol

Media enquiries route through media@knoflokskraal.org.za. Official positions are given only by mandated spokespersons on mandated matters. Comment from an individual — whatever their title — is not a community position unless recorded mandate says so.

Photography & Filming Protocol

No photographs or film of residents, homes, children or gatherings without the individual’s consent and Council approval. Drone filming requires prior written approval. Commercial and editorial use require written image-consent records.

Visiting Protocol

Visits are arranged in advance through info@knoflokskraal.org.za, hosted and guided by mandated community members. Unannounced walk-throughs of residential pockets are not appropriate. Guests are received with hospitality — and with protocol.

Heritage & Rock-Art Protocol

Sensitive heritage locations — including rock-art sites, GPS points, shelter directions and vulnerable heritage information — are never published, shared with visitors, or confirmed to enquirers. Heritage engagement runs through recognised heritage processes with Council mandate.

Language-Use Protocol

Indigenous-language material is used with status notes: living, archival, provisional or requiring verification. Uncertain orthography is never presented as final. Language keepers and elders may correct any term at any time, and the public registers are updated accordingly.

Data & Records Protocol

Community records comply with POPIA. Household information is gathered for protection — tenure, services, safety — never for surveillance or exposure. Private mandate registers, ID numbers and personal details are never published.

Community Consent Pathway

Requests are received by the Secretariat, routed to the appropriate mandated body, considered under protocol, and answered in writing. Consent is specific, informed, recorded and revocable. Silence is not consent.

Who May Speak for What

The allocation of voice is published on the Governance page. No individual speaks for all matters. Titles are honoured, elders are respected, formations are recognised — but mandate governs.

What Cannot Be Published

• Sensitive heritage or rock-art site locations
• Names or identifying details of vulnerable persons
• Private mandate registers or internal membership lists
• ID numbers, signatures, or personal documents
• Internal disputes or untested accusations
• Images of persons without recorded consent

Protection of Vulnerable Persons

Children, elders at risk, and vulnerable households receive first protection in every process — research, media, records, mapping and public communication. No public output may expose them.

Image Consent

Every published image of a person requires that person’s recorded consent (or a guardian’s, for children), stating where and how the image may be used. Consent may be withdrawn, and withdrawal is honoured.

Knowledge & Story Consent

Stories, testimony, genealogies, cultural knowledge and ceremony belong to their holders and to the community. They may be recorded and shared only with informed consent, agreed attribution, agreed use, and benefit returning to the community.

Report-Back Obligations

Every researcher, media house, funder and partner returns their outputs to the community: findings presented in accessible form, publications lodged with the Secretariat, and corrections made where the community identifies error.

The No-Extraction Principle

Knowledge, story, image and data leave Knoflokskraal only under consent, mandate, benefit and report-back. What is taken without these is extraction — and extraction is the oldest wound this community knows.