Next event:
ERINN SAVAGE – Performance
Tomorrow 15:00 GMT

Plastic Community

I visited Eigg to research the ocean waste with the aim of empowering the community by finding value in the materials. The outcome is a service that gives the community the means of utilising the waste for their future needs. An example of this could be the potential for plastic to repair road surfaces impacted by significant erosion.

Plastic Community

My visit to Eigg and speaking with the islanders allowed me to clearly understand their wants, needs and fears. This enabled me to build a future map constructed from my research. The empowerment of the community was important to me, I wanted to give them the knowledge and enable them to find value in the marine plastic. A market space would allow the islanders with their future roles (for their future needs), or own individual needs to meet and exchange materials with other islanders, and they can make what they need to thrive as a community.

Plastic Community

I became closely acquainted with the islanders, their resourcefulness, the varied roles they take on, not only to survive but thrive. I got to understand their feelings towards the marine waste. From anger to fear, the islanders felt passionately. I wanted to turn this into an advantage for this rural community. I thought, what if I could create something that would allow them to know the material’s potential, and they could do it themselves, outside of mainland councils. Discovering each of the islanders have a ‘craft’ of their own, as well as other roles within the community. This drove my material testing to design materials around the islands future needs and therefore its future roles. Photographs from our trip shot by Charlotte Elcock, photographer, Communication Design @ GSA. Instagram: charlarts

Plastic Community

I collected a variety of marine plastic from Eigg, brought it back and tested the material’s potential. From my research however what was most important was empowering the community tackling the fears they had for the future. I wanted the materials to be capable of helping them in a large scale, their infrastructure for example. With future development the marine plastic could be used within agriculture – polytunnel’s for example to develop their crop yields and reduce imported goods.

Plastic Community

I created an initial model that shows 3 suggestions I have for material use. The model includes the market (front, centre), the waste shop (mid right) – which has the encyclopaedia as well as the machines and tools to mould the materials to their needs. The road shows how the marine waste could be used for road maintenance such as pot holes or to create a new road entirely. The houses (centre, left) indicate the other uses. Insulation from polystyrene and house tiles. My outcome was based on my research on Eigg, however Eigg acts as an exemplar community to inspire and educate other small, rural communities. Eigg resident, Hannah Morrison - “Our best work is education, especially in the school I myself remember being shocked going to high school and realizing that climate change education was not such a huge part of anyone else’s schooling.” More information can be found here.

Bio-vase

The Bio-vase tackles the many issues associated with current cooking practices in rural areas, the biggest being indoor air pollution and its impact on the health of residents and our climate. Biogas provides an alternative source of clean domestic energy that helps to mitigate the emission of dangerous greenhouse gases. The Bio-vase service encourages users to create clean energy using household waste.

Bio-vase

This gif shows the experience. Throughout the development of my project it was important for the user to understand the value of their waste so that it was meaningful to them. This is also significant so the user knows when they have excess energy, and it can be shared with friends or neighbours. This importance of shared access to clean energy and self-sufficiency was made clear at the very beginning of our research. GIF 1. ( Waste is also collected from the local farmer to ensure enough energy production) 4. (Each time waste is added to the digester the biogas measure rises)

Bio-vase

This project gave us the opportunity to explore the underlying complexities regarding sustainable futures, post-capitalism, to envision a future world context. From our initial group research the lack of access to clean energy in the global south was major. This is ultimately why we designed an off-grid rural community that was self-sufficient. My individual project focuses on the production of domestic energy after discovering extremely alarming statistics on the dangers of indoor air pollution, a few of which I illustrate above. Furthermore, the change in climate will affect energy production, highlighting the necessity for a variety of energy production methods

Bio-vase

Throughout the process it was challenging trying to design for people I had never met or places I understood so little about. However through meetings with experts from Sustainable Futures in Africa I gained a perspective I desperately needed.

Bio-vase

The artefacts are made by the local entrepreneur from locally sourced and recycled materials. The vase can be decorated uniquely by the individuals and can be displayed as decoration to celebrate clean cooking. More information can be found here.