Co-Obradoiro Galego is a collaborative project situated in Galicia that looks at biotechniques to help regenerate and revive our craft heritage. The basketry decline situation derives from the reforestation with trees in Galicia from which their wood is not feasible for basketry. In collaboration with basketmakers, we explored a conscious method to continue basketry weaving with a crustaceans-based material shaping regenerative approaches, creating a social, economic, and ecological development.
This project is Galicia-based. The Atlantic Ocean has supplied the Spanish population its whole history, resulting in 602 tonnes of Galician seafood shells wasted per year, meaning a significant danger to the environment. Moreover, this amount of waste has increased in the past years due to a higher seafood demand, production systems, and the implementation of modern fishing tools. The seafood industry is no longer using traditional fishing methods, putting at risk local crafts, such as basketry. The basketry decline mainly derives from the reforestation of non-autochthonous trees in Galicia, from which their wood is not feasible for basketry techniques. That is why Co-Obradoiro Galego proposes to the basketmakers to weave with a seafood shells-based extruded flexible biomaterial. We are removing a harmful waste resource from our environment at the same time that we keep a craft over time. Waste from crustaceans becomes a valuable resource. We are using traditional weaving methods while encouraging contemporary bio-techniques. We are challenging techniques and crafts, producing a regional design at our time level, and re-connecting the seafood industry and the basketry by applying a regenerative system.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context
We are applying a regenerative system that brings value and utility to a local unusable waste resource -seafood shells- for the basketmakers to weave with. This work reflects the life cycle of the materials applied; wood, wicker, and chitosan-based biomaterial. All of them are biodegradable, sending a message to the audience about the permanence of the Galician basketry techniques, Galician basketweavers, and the Galician culture through materials that disappear but reactivate the Galician economy.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context
How must cultures have a place in the creative community and decision-making? What kind of cultures do we want to create through our design skills? Or perhaps, it is the inverse - How do cultures influence design?
The decision-making for the design approach comes from studying historical topics and social manners in a specific context. This weaving design collection shares stories and traditions from the Galician culture. As was defended by the creators of the “Laboratorio de Formas” from Galicia; work must be the child of its time but without ignoring where it comes from. Along with the whole project, the innovation term links with tradition making it unique.
Please highlight how the concept/idea can be exemplary in this context
"Co-Obradorio Galego" empower and preserves communities through partnership. Collaboration is central to sustaining cultural acknowledgment creating new narratives, exploring conscious methods to continue a craft through materiality, and shaping regenerative approaches.
Being humble, meeting everyone with the best intentions, and respecting and valuing people’s time. Being solutions-oriented, approaching challenges with solutions, also during difficult times.
Please highlight how this approach can be exemplary
The core motivation of the design methodology for "Co-Obradoiro Galego" combines ecological, scientific, and cultural specificities.
Through "Co-Obradoiro Galego" we are creating a social narrative and shaping it into a conscious design -weaving pieces collection - for a positive impact. It is about researching, designing, and communicating, inspired by the local surrounding. Collaboration, cultural and regenerative principles are at the forefront of this design practice and its values - we are maintaining traditional techniques alive at the same time that we restore, protect our environment and the Galician basketry community.
Co-Obradoiro Galego is a project located in the discipline of biodesign. Biodesign is an emerging discipline that arises from the combination of design and biology in a period of environmental emergency. Understanding biodesign as a discipline interested not only in what happens next but also linked to what happened before. Innovation in this project is linked to tradition and crafts, understanding the past to identify future needs. The project area or human activity in which this assignment is principally located in sustainable manufacturing. Sustainable manufacturing implies processes that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources. Sustainable manufacturing also enhances employee, community, and product safety. (The United States Environmental Protection Agency). Consequently, this project is focused on the importance of innovation-driven research for a bio-circular and local economy.
This design project aims to maintain what is believed to be the first craft, basketry, and in particular Galician basketry, collaborating with the Galician community of basket makers. At the same time, we are committed to regenerative systems that allow us to restore and protect our environment. We focus on the importance of innovation-driven research for a circular and local economy. Therefore, keeping this ethos in mind, this project is only one example of what it is possible to achieve.
Co-Obradoiro Galego is just the beginning of this collaborative experience between artisans and a biodesigner. It is only one example of what it is possible to achieve in the future of craft, though keeping in mind this ethos. I see a future working together with artisans shaping together regenerative and holistic systems.
Be on the largest number of platforms to give visibility to the project. We want to reach as many audiences as possible. Maintain contact with Galician and Spanish institutions in the craft sector. At the same time, together with the basket makers, we investigate the incorporation of new circularity systems, up-cycling local waste, research new bio-based materials, study invasive vegetable fibers, human and no-human centered design strategies, and support the basketry community.
The framework of "Co-Obradoiro Galego" is to co-create a project with the basketry community.
The financial backing would make it possible to establish solid foundations for the project to define our objectives.
Among those objectives would be in general lines is to define a plantation of native trees in a radius close to the basketry workshop, to implement initiatives to clean and care for our forests, to encourage the application of invasive plant fibers in Galician basketry, to develop biomaterials from local resources, and to share this ecological practice using design as a medium among other initiatives. We would go from conceptualization, material experiment, design development, product generation, and prototyping to final samples. The methods I will apply are primary research by documenting the surroundings, the community, landscape, nature; mood and imageboard creation; mind mapping; material experiments; sketching and 3d software visualization, and basketry prototyping.
@Camiña Eiras, 2022
Content licensed to the European Union.