In Zen Buddhism there is a ceremony called "The Transmission." The ritual, both mystic and arcane, is little known in lay circles. Conducted in a temple's main hall, it marks the transference of teachings from a master of esoteric practices to a student judged ready to receive such wisdom. Knowledge is thereby, simultaneously transmitted and refined. Japanese garden manuals were once like this, with "secret teachings" passed among a handful of selected practitioners. Though no longer communicated covertly, traditional skills in Japan, among both artists and artisans, continue in the time-honored manner to be passed from master to acolyte.
Mira Locher makes the observation that tradition only exists as an idea when it is challenged or superseded by the new. In her first-rate resource book on traditional design you will learn a great deal about construction methods, in which the use of natural materials encouraged a responsible attitude toward conservation.
As long as nature remained the prime source of building materials, and demand kept at a level commensurate with the needs of a much lower population, consumption would not overtake natural replacement. To subsist, you had to replace what you used, an attitude to resources that is almost entirely absent today.