Product design and action research: the lnterdesign 2005 workshop on Sustainable Rural Transport

Abstract

Examining the viability of rural manufacturing, the existing structures of rural manufacturing practices reflect the prevailing conditions under which production takes place and therefore contain features which are fundamentally appropriate to their context. An approach to intervention is therefore proposed which capitalizes on existing skills, practices and social relationships, and it is shown that by working with existing structures and skills rather than undermining them, the sustainability of the enterprises which are developed is greatly enhanced.