"Co-Obradoiro Galego" is a collaborative project with three Galician basketmakers. Together, we approach biotechniques to help regenerate and revive our craft heritage. This project started during the lockdown in a pandemic year in Galicia, Spain.
Galicia is located in the northwest of Spain, bathed by the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, I began understanding the socio-environmental context. The Atlantic Ocean has supplied the Galician and 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 moving away from traditional fishing methods, which puts at risk the local crafts 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 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. 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 Galician creators from the “Laboratorio de Formas”: the work must be the child of its time but without ignoring, from where it comes.
"Co-Obradoiro Galego" is a full example of a biocircular waste economy system exploring conscious methods to continue a craft through materiality, and shaping regenerative systems.
