At the end of July, a co-creation workshop of AAL lecturers, students and participants of folk applied studies of Sigulda region took place in Sigulda, dedicated to the topic - senior Zero Waste pioneer.

Can we say that the senior is the initiator of Zero Waste *? Our parents and grandparents have experienced different times, including those where food and clothing were valued as gold. Memories of experiences often form human values ​​and lifestyles. All you have to do is open the closet, pantry, basement, living room, attic, go visit your aunt in the countryside and we see the things accumulated during your life - clothes, shoes, outdated electrical equipment, furniture, boxes, jars, and other objects –accumulated with thought - that will be useful to someone someday. Seniors in particular often see the potential for sustainability. Things are repaired, patched, or transformed into another function. Young designers can learn these principles and use them in their practice. The co-creation workshop promotes the exchange of ideas, creativity and experiments of different generations in order to create something new from the previous production.

"At a time when the world is overheating and resources are running low, as the mass of man-made environments and things begins to exceed the masses of the natural environment on earth, design must become part of the search for new ideas - how to consume less, how to reuse materials, turning them into new things that would promote the user's emotional attachment, which would allow them to have added value and be used for as long as possible, ” adds Professor Barbara Ābele, the leader of the creative workshop team.

Experimental co-creation workshops will be held regularly to hone the ideas created during the new study year and participate in the international design fair in Milan, in the pavilion of design schools Salone del Mobile.Milano 2022.

The first workshop was attended by lecturers of the Department of Textile Art - Professor Ieva Krūmiņa and lecturer Irēna Andrejeva - as well as students: Charlotte Bashkevica, Ella Mihailova, Dace Grīnberga, Ilona Valaine-Blekte, Madara Briede, Maruta Konceviča and Beatrise Lasmane. Artisans of Sigulda region were represented by Sigulda Folk Applied Art Studio, Mālpils Folk Applied Art Studio “Urga”, Alīda Linde Studio, Folk Applied Art Studio “Vīgrieze”, Folk Applied Art Studio “Krimulda” and Mores handicraft group. The workshop takes place as a part of the European Union Interreg Baltic Sea Region (BSR) transnational cooperation program project No. R081 BaltSe@nioR2.0 (Innovative solutions for providing a senior-friendly public environment on the basis of capacity building of BSR companies and public institutions). AAL is a project partner. The project continues to address the challenges of implementing project no. R030 BaltSe@nioR in the context of an aging population, this time with a stronger focus on adapting public spaces to the needs of seniors.

* Zero Waste is a lifestyle philosophy that encourages waste reduction and informed purchasing decisions. In the pictures - creative master class workshops. Photo: Irēna Andrejeva.