INVESTIGATORS: LOUISE ST. PIERRE AND ALL THE STUDENTS IN THE ECOTANK CORE STUDIO; VILLAGE VANCOUVER

COLLABORATORS: ROSS MOSTER AND THE VILLAGE VANCOUVER TRANSITION COMMUNITY, KAY CAHILL AND NONI MILDENBERGER, VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARIES

STUDENTS: FALL 2014 ECOTANK CORE DESIGN STUDIO, EMILY CARR

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CONTEXT

Village Vancouver is a Transition Town community that focuses on food security and local food production as key to sustainable, low carbon communities.

THE PROJECT

Our work in FERMENT explored how social innovation could bring the low-energy process of fermenting to a wider group of people. Fermentation has many health benefits, requires little energy, and preserves local produce.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND RELATIONS

One to one conversation, Local events

As with most Transition Towns, Village Vancouver creates social capital through informal community exchange. Neighbour Savour is the largest potluck dinner in the community, sometimes drawing over 300 people. According to one student: “Experiencing first hand a community event makes it very tangible the feeling that our design aims to evoke. As well, a stronger sense of community was built within our own class.”

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND RELATIONS

Methodologies from creative research such as design probes (illustrated) were distributed to members of the community. Community members participated in creative discussions about the project throughout the design development. We learned about what people thought about preserving food at home.

GOVERNANCE AND POLICY MAKING

Community empowerment, Outreach

Fermenting is an ancient and low-energy method of preserving food and supporting health. This is an initiative to encourage local gardeners to store more of their harvest, and to do this while taking one step further from the fossil-fuel economy.

STORYTELLING AND VISUALIZATION

context, service

Research becomes meaningful when it is visualized and analyzed. This includes telling the story of the research process and experience.

PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION

Sketch modelling, prototyping, distribution of libraries.

Production began with simple sketch prototyping.

 

 

Final prototypes. Distribution to local libraries.

SKILL TRAINING AND DESIGN EDUCATION

design for context, research and testing, product development

The project engages students undergraduate students of design at Emily Carr University. They are educated in a range of skills from high-level contextual research, community and co-creation methods, through to production detailing and design communication. The students actively participate and help guide the project, choosing how to engage with members of the community.

JOB CREATION

entrepreneurial, new contexts, outreach

Designers in British Columbia increasingly creating create their own jobs. This project supports students in reaching out to local communities to generate conversations about where their unique skills might be useful in entrepreneurial or unexpected contexts. As a corollary, members of the community come to understand design and the value of working with designers.