Gwendolyn Kulick
German University in Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
At RSD9 I will present a systems approach into craft projects in contexts of grassroots empowerment in Pakistan, resulting from my – still unpublished – PhD design research conducted between 2011 and 2019.
First I briefly outline the empirical research, that investigates initiatives that link craft-making to financial, human and cultural empowerment of marginalised craft producers. Then I introduce the ‘craft for empowerment system’ that I defined and termed after extracting it from the empirical data, visualising it, and characterising it as large, locked-in and dissatisfying for many stakeholders, especially craft producers. Finally, I introduce the concept of the ‘co-release craft lab’, as a collaborative space for those engaging in craft projects, with the objective to contribute to democratic and inclusive systems change and more sustainable value chains through open-ended mutual learning opportunities.
