Designing for value

Ethiopia is the sleeping giant of Africa and is arguably, some what tentatively moving one toe so to speak. There is another giant however, that has awakened and how! India, Ethiopia’s erstwhile friend and ally is an emerging superpower that has more than a few experiences to share with Ethiopia in the social, political and more importantly, economic fields of endeavor.
It has been widely reported including on this paper that a trio of historic events; the 60th anniversary of India’s independence, the 139th birthday anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and last but by no means least, the new Ethiopian Millennium were made to coincide through a series of events spearheaded by the Embassy of India in Ethiopia.
Among the numerous events linking Indias 60th indendence anniversary year with the Ethiopian new Millennium is a unique Capacity Building Workshop for Designers scheduled from October 15 to November 3, 2007. Capital is the exclusive media partner of this Workshop and will regularly monitor and report the progress of this Indian initiative.
This first ever design workshop has been co-ordinated by the inspiring designer, trained artist and academician, Dr Neeti Sethi Bose, with whom Capitals’ Tesfu Telahoun held a simulating discussion at her in-character home, surrounded by delightful artwork in Ethiopian and Indian motifs. Excerpts of the interview follow .

Capital:- Ethiopia and India enjoy a wide ranging and enduring relationship. In this light, the Capacity Building Initiative with Ethiopian designers would appear an ordinary facet of the development of these strong bilateral ties. I’m trying to ask, ‘why the particular focus on design by this initiative?
Dr. Neeti:- I was trained as an artist and I have been teaching design students in India I have also personally worked as a designer myself, not as a fashion designer but design as a whole…
Capital:- Yes, please elaborate on that as there is some confusion over the meaning of design?
Dr. Neeti:- Exactly. Well, design is a very wide area, you have graphic design and in media, web and software designing. And then we have life style design focusing on such items as tables, chairs, coasters, ashtrays, cushions – you name it. Design also includes industrial goods as everything we use must be designed.
Design has always been part of our lives but the way we look at design today is very different from how it was perceived a hundred years ago. The area that I focus on is crafts development and this consists of observing traditional knowledge systems and transferring them into contemporary products. That is what interests me. If we go to the Indian experience, after agriculture, craft is the largest sector of employment and I think there is no reason why a similarily robust crafts sector can not be developed here in Ethiopia. It is important for designers to understand and appreciate the value of craftwork and I feel that is where I come in – by helping craft people, designers and organizations to realize the enormous potential that exists in crafts products. After this realization has set in, then its time to study the value-chain, see how you can improve on lets say, a certain material to produce something of high value which is distinctively Ethiopian.
Capital:- I’m wondering …these value added crafts products sound rather exotic …touristy, if you will. Are they not everyday items?
Dr Neeti:- There are various categories of products already available in the market catering to various tastes and functional value. We have to recognize that we live in a world that is very consumer oriented. We can lament globalization, discuss its merits or disadvantages, etc, but the point is globalization is here to stay …we don’t even yet understand fully what globalization is but it is the reality. What we are looking at is the world coming closer –shrinking in a sense. People from India and Ethiopia can access anything from anywhere in the world.
Ethiopia is in a very dynamic kind of situation where the market is opening up and growing rapidly. Unless due care is given to the situation, indigenous knowledge could be lost during this globalation rush. This is the significance of our intervention. How to preserve local knowledge by making it a part of the globalized market. I believe designers are the best positioned people that can bridge that gap.
Most crafts people are at the lower end of the income scale as they tend not be formally educated. Designers on the other hand, are more affluent, have connections and above all, the opportunity to explore and imagine. What we are trying to do with these workshops is to bring in a certain science of creative impetus to understand the various possibilities that exist for Ethiopian crafts people and designers.
Capital:- I must pose the following. The nascent design sector in Ethiopia, if we may call it that, is already quite heavily influenced by non-Ethiopian styles and trends. If I may be so bold to ask, will the 50 designers you have participating in the workshop perhaps be overly exposed to the Indian touch?
Dr. Neeti- A lot of people do express this sentiment anytime an Indian designer is involved and this happens around the world. However, what must be noted is in India, we recognize our tradition and what has happened in our country is that there has been a very successful marriage of tradition with the contemporary. I believe India has accumulated valuable experience in this regard. Mind you, I am not saying that success was achieved overnight as it took many decades to grow in to its present stage of development.
So with this initiative, we are not trying to impose Indian design or Indian ideas here. My understanding is that fusion is not a bad thing. However, you must identify what is traditional first and whether it can be adapted successfully into a contemporary product.
The idea that we are trying to generate here is that since the liberalization of our economy in the early 1990s, there has been a new push in design work in India to the point where you would be hard put to classify some products as ‘Indian’. What is happening is that modern designers are utilizing the traditional skills of craft people.
One of our very prominent fashion designers, Rutu Kumar started embroidering one of her dresses and eventually an ancient yet dying style of embroidery was brought back to the contemporary market, thereby actually preserving the skill. Today, her company plays a very big part in Indian design.
On the workshop, I will be focusing my teaching on the basics of design and not the techniques of crafts work. My aim is to show the vast horizons of design, to encourage them to discover their creative talent and channel it into products of value. I want to help also with communities of craftspeople by teaching them how to observe design because in a country like Ethiopia, which doesn’t have a design school…
Capital:-That just flashed through my mind as you were saying it. What are the chances of such an institution, even a modest one being established in Ethiopia, possibly with Indian co-operation?
Dr. Neeti:- Well, as it so happens, the Capacity Building Initiative Workshop includes as its main training component, consultants who are also faculty members of an Indian design school which, if I’m not mistaken, in 2003, had announced plans to open a design school in Ethiopia called Paul Academy. However, I don’t know the current status of this important endeavor. To answer your question, yes, the issue has been raised.
I personally am in the process of setting up an NGO called Artsmart which will be focusing on providing design training on a regular and sustained basis. I already have an NGO in India and the Ethiopia office will be a fully autonomous branch of that NGO. Currently, the necessary legal formalities and paperwork are being processed and with the co-operation of the government, we hope to be established soon.
Capital- You have publicized the Capacity Building Workshop and called upon Ethiopian designers to register. What has the response been like?
Dr. Neeti- Enthusiastic would be the word to describe the response we have received from the design community. Unfortunately, our maximum intake is limited to just 50 participants so we have not been able to satisfy the very many who had applied before and even after the deadline. We would have loved to accommodate everyone but our resources are modest in comparison to the avid interest. By the way, the workshops are highly intensive and the designers we have registered already are rather a large gathering and will be divided into smaller, workable groups during the workshop. I’m hoping that my NGO Artsmart could be established as soon as possible with the kind co-operation of the relevant authorities in order that the great interest I observe in the science of design can be addressed by a dedicated center for design education. Artsmart would offer training workshops, representation activities and facilitation of markets as well as being a source that generates funding for various worthy programs. As you know, the participants of the Capacity Building Initiative for designers will be attending the workshop free of charge. All we ask, and we are very strict about this, is that they give us their time. There is a heavy fine for each day of training missed as after all, we have committed huges effort and resources to organizing this initiative and we do not want our work to have been in vain, if attendance controls are lax.
Capital:- Have you conducted such design workshops in other countries in Africa?
Dr. Neeti:- No, I haven’t personally, nor have I heard of such an initiative by India abroad. However, in India there is a lot of activity in developing craftwork. The nation has a large number of design institutes.
Capital:- The successful development of blending traditional craftwork with a contemporary touch – this fusion of the two – how will the economic benefits trickle down to the craftsperson in an equitable manner?
Dr Neeti:- My understanding is that most of the designers in Ethiopia already work closely with the producers who are the craftspeople, be they weavers, wood carvers, embroiderers and others. I have lived here for 4 years and what my experience in India and Ethiopia tells me is that this (fusion of traditional and modern design) needs a movement. It is not something one or two individuals can make happen. We must also act quickly in order to save traditional skills, some of which are in imminent danger of dying out. These are among the main reasons why I suggested we conduct this designers workshop. The workshop will ensure that the knowledge gained at the training will spread to empower many others. So its not just about creating a core group but also about helping them become the proponents. I believe that knowledge is worth its value only if one is willing to share it. If you don’t share what you know, then that knowledge is under threat of fading away.
Capital:- What will the workshop consist of? I understand that there will be a design competition with the winners awarded the chance to visit India?
Dr.Neeti :- Yes. The visit to India is an incentive. When we announced the initiative we had set four categories; Apparels – women’s, Apparels – Men’s, Accessories, and Life –style products.
Based on the applications for participation that we received we have decided to observe the candidates to see what we should best concentrate on. Of the 50 participants registered, we realized that there are 30 engaged in women’s apparel and hardly anyone exclusively for men’s wear. Therefore, we had to eliminate the men’s apparel category.
The second category is Accessories for which we have about 8 designers and the balance are engaged in the life style products category. They make linen, bedspreads, cushions curtains and many other products.
Capital:- Are the materials used exclusively local?
Dr. Neeti:- Our focus is very clear. It has to be Ethiopian craft, Ethiopian cotton, Ethiopian leather etc. Any fiber or other material produced in Ethiopia qualifies as raw material Based on this we will be handing out a set of criteria to the contestants after which when the workshop is concluded, they go into a production phase. The stipulation is that they use local materials. However, there are certain items such as suppers, buttons, clasps and the like that are not being produced in Ethiopia and we allow their use but within reason. 70-80% Ethiopian content is adequate.
The workshop will end November 1st so the contestants will have to the end of December to each produce 10 products in any category for final evaluation. After we have reviewed the products we will decide then in what forum the items can be presented to the public. It could take the form of a fashion show or an exhibition or even a combination of the two. It will depend on the quality of the products.