In this presentation, Ishinomaki Laboratory discusses it roots in its post-disaster circumstances, its development over the past nine years as a DIY furniture brand, and the opportunities in as well as challenges of the Made in Local initiative.

This presentation shows the kind of ginhawa (well-being) actualised by the weavers’ own agency that is actually vulnerable and may be easily taken away by the same factors that enable it. There has been a renewed interest in traditional Filipino crafts in design and commerce, wherein Filipino artisans may experience the economic, social and psychological benefits of crafts. However, with the continued growth of this movement, risks may have arisen and Filipino craftspeople may be unintentionally but systematically disadvantaged in their freedom to access ginhawa in the cross-class occupational context of creating crafts.

This presentation discusses the systems approach to craft projects in contexts of grassroots empowerment in Pakistan, resulting from an extensive empirical research and action research project, conducted between 2011 and 2019 .

This presentation discusses how the gap can be filled with a resurgence of new types of guilds, informed by open source methodologies as opposed to secrecy; guilds that once more embrace their roles as cultural and social institutions; that act as maintainers and propagators of indigenous, gnostic, embodied knowledge as opposed to academic, theoretical knowledge; that recognise their place within these wider wisdom ecologies and provide its members with a sense of belonging and agency within them.

This presentation explores how a group of local makers and designers in Bangkok activates Fashion Revolution Thailand and Circular Design Lab, the autonomous, open, and collaborative networks challenging people and weaving a close-knit community for sustainable fashion consumption. By creating a safe space that people choose to connect co-design, and organise alternative modes together, the groups are shaping the culture of sharing, swapping, closing the loops that also includes and supports community resilience at grass-roots level.