
This project is a Master degree that took part in Italy, Marocco and Rwanda in 2012 in which I worked on as assistant lecturer and also project manager in the one-month workshop in Rwanda.
The goal of the International postgraduate Degree in Design for Cooperation and Sustainable Development was to teach future professionals in international design cooperation field and consultants for aid programmes. The Master had intention to convey know-how in the manufacturing reality of developing countries in the world, by exploiting traditional local craftsmanship and the natural materials already present in the environment.
Didactic activities was characterized by a multidisciplinary approach to fit the complexity of the themes involved.
Apart from the regular disciplines covered in the project, particular attention was given to local development, informal economies and their relationship with the formal economies, anthropology, market trends (critical consumption), technology (in relation to specific sectors) and the organization of production.
The activities of the Master’s course was articulated in four didactic modules of intensive integrated courses (workshops and seminars), lasting one month each in Rwanda, Morocco, Italy (Genoa and Venice).
The activities focused on particular aspects of innovation in production processes that lie between craftsmanship and industry:
The Master activities focused on particular aspects of innovation in production processes that lie between craftsmanship and industry:
1. Industrial standardization and the development of handcrafted components. The identification of industrial components that can be assembled with handcrafted or locally produced components, so as to improve and expand the productive potential of craftsmanship.
2. Experimentation of the most suitable techniques to allow for the manufacture of products or product components using natural materials.
3. Improvement of product quality by intervening in continuity and the environmental improvement of the same, by increasing the value of its salient qualities (manual capacity, diversification, etc.).
4. Improving the formal qualities of products without losing continuity with local traditions, updating and brew them more suitable to international markets.