In this essay, I explore the Youth Theatre for Peace (YTP) project in relation to environmental aesthetics and engaged participatory practices towards tolerance building in Central Asia. My main argument is that cultural histories of storytelling, "manas" (an oral and now literary Kyrgyz epic) and trickster tales incorporate ideas and narratives that are useful in negotiating the ambiguities between differing moral, political and social agendas and can be drawn on in conflict negotiation contexts. I argue that environmental aesthetics offers a useful theoretical framework for analysing the YTP project due to the nomadic eco-spirituality and ecoconsciousness of the region. Further, specific (embodied and emplaced) performing arts activities provide opportunities for communities to build longer-term strategies for engaging with and intervening in the political realities in which they live.