| 11.00 – 11.30 | |
| Henson, 7F |
LESSTICS- Putting Value in single use plastics The Philippine uses a staggering 60 billion of sachet a year. The usage of sachet increases as our population grows. Base on our research it has also something to do with our socio-economic status as a 3rd world country. Most Filipinos who earns minimum wage cannot afford to buy in bulk such as 1 bottle of shampoo or 1 whole tube of toothpaste does relying on sachets which is both affordable and convenient. These sachets are unrecyclable compared to PET bottle thus most of them end up in our landfills. LESSTICS is fighting these problems through repurposing sachets into insulator boards through our own unique process. Lesstics, has created its own vegetable base adhesive to avoid melting the plastics into insulator boards that cause the release of toxic fumes that is both harmful to our health and the environment. The process and the formulation that Lesstics have developed are unique and patentable. In line with sustainable developmental goals, Lesstics provides employment to every community aside from preventing single use plastics in reaching landfill and water ways. The employment occurs during the collection and production of insulator boards. Base on our research, the insulators created does not absorb moisture, does not attract pest, has fire retardant properties, has sound deadening properties, rigid and yet very light. Compared to what is available in the market, Lesstics is 60% cheaper. |
| 12.30 – 13.00 | |
| Henson, 7F |
Sustainability in Conflict: Crafting the Future of Junco Basketry Junco is a vegetable-fiber that grows in the Peruvian wetlands. For the last 5000 years this material has been used by basketry artisans from Huara, a province next to Caral. The artisans perceive that the availability of junco has diminished due to environmental and economic factors. There are fewer wetlands, these are increasingly affected by pests—presumably due to climate change—and other productive sectors are consuming junco, thereby reducing its availability for artisans. The increased demand for junco is affecting the wetland’s ecosystem. Woven baskets made from vegetable fiber are in high-demand due a plastic ban that resulted from strengthened environmental policies in Peru. This has given rise to a paradoxical situation where measures aimed at protecting the environment are resulting in the alteration of ecosystems and the reduction of junco availability. The environmental dimension of handicrafts is inseparable from its trade. How to achieve sustainability for the craft sector in a scenario of climate change and market expansion? I will propose a way to achieve such sustainability whilst contributing to the discussion about the life-cycles of material resources. The information to be presented comes from a research commissioned by the Crafting Futures Programme in Peru. |
| Henson, 7F |
The Wiki-Waste-Workshop / Waste its Mine its Yours Globally 2 billion people do not have access to waste collection and 3 billion cannot access controlled waste disposal (UN, 2015). Communities are suffering as a consequence and waste is now seen as a development problem as well as an environmental issue (WasteAid). Materialists, technologists and resource managers all seek to ‘valorise’ waste within scalar, circular systems as an industrial, technical process – but within localised maker-movement-projects multiple-values are being unearthed and revealed through re-making. These more ‘virtuous-circular-economies’ illustrate how the crafting with waste can catalyse new opportunities, re-form personal identities, establish new cultural connections and develop an atmosphere of hope and community well being. This work builds on research of Ballie et al (Waste-for-Life) and Hakkens (Precious-Plastics) exploring co-learning and networked communities of materials recycling and the methods to support community level circular economies (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, British Council) in enabling the delivery of UN Sustainable Development Goals. Research questions: What is the role of (re)making in revealing diverse social, economic and environmental opportunities afforded through the valorisation of waste in underdeveloped communities? What technologies and methods can support the knowledge exchange and collaborative production strategies for more ‘virtuous-circular-economies’? Is this one way traffic or, what are the mutual benefits amongst the various stakeholders and agencies? This paper and the map of associated objects and values that will be presented are formed around a case-study community and project in a South African township. It will articulate research-through-making methods, providing new insights into interrelationships between people, process, production and place that making can stimulate. It maps emerging benefits and provides new insights on diffuse and distributed manufacturing possibilities within inter-connected communities of co-learning and the tests models for inclusive making that are valuable in higher education context. This case-study received funding through The British Council DICE fund and Dreamcatcher Foundation. |
| 14.30 – 16.45 | |
| Henson, 7F |
Workshop on Philippine textile surface design using natural dyes With the increasing demand for eco-friendly products, the textile and its allied industries are in constant search for innovative materials that are natural-based and at par with industry standards in terms of performance. It is along this vein that the Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) has revived the tradition of natural dyeing by developing the standardized method of extracting the colorant and applying it onto the fabric material to ensure color repeatability and colorfastness performance. The Institute improved the shelf-life and transportability of natural dye extract by converting it to powder form. Further, natural dyes were also explored as the colorants of silkscreen printing paste, textile paints, and digital printing inks. This Workshop will demonstrate two techniques, namely, shibori dyeing and silkscreen printing, in creating designs on Philippine textile with the use of natural dyes. It will explore the use of Philippine natural dyes, and its relationship with textile, design and art practices by experiencing material and processes in transformation and their interplay with the maker. The Philippine textiles developed by DOST-PTRI, namely fabrics containing blends of abaca and pineapple with cotton will be the base material to be surface-designed during the Workshop. The participants may also bring their natural textiles or wearable for the hands-on activity. |
| Hillary 1, 6F |
Piñatex: A New Material for a New World Piñatex; From Materials to System Change Piñatex® is a patented, natural and innovative plant-based material made from pineapple leaf fibres, a by-product of the pineapple agriculture. It has low water use, and contains no harmful chemicals or animals’ products. It can be used as an alternative to leather and synthetic materials in the fashion, accessories, interiors and car industry. Piñatex® follows a strong social and ecological agenda; It can be mass-produced, which makes it a cost-effective textile proposition, bringing economic and social value to pineapple farming communities, as well as innovation and new possibilities to the textile industry. Piñatex life cycle is inspired by the Cradle-to-Cradle philosophy, which supports ecological, intelligent and innovative design within today’s economic environment. This philosophy is being used as an inspiration throughout the production processes, product design and development. My work as a design consultant for The World Bank in the 90’s, brought me to work with the Design Center of the Philippines, where I came into contact with natural fibres and their potential and disruptive use in other industries, as an expansion to their use in traditional crafts. Piñatex is the result of 10 years of R&D, being the last 5 years through a PhD in the Textiles Department in the Royal College of Art and Design (RCA) in London; Ananas Anam, the company behind Piñatex was founded as a result. Through its business and products, Ananas Anam is committed to promote a more sustainable lifestyle, improve the usage of nature-based resources and create positive impact to communities. Piñatex is bringing changes by:
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| Hillary 2, 6F |
Bamboo 101: an Introduction to the benefits of Bamboo |
Day 2
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