>[!INFO] >This is one of the [[Practical values]] of craft. >Editor: [[Kaamya Sharma]] and [[Fatina Sakaily]] The economy has many layers, including overall GDP, employment and the production ecosystem. The economic value of craft concerns its  contribution to overall economic wealth, the jobs it creates and the skills that service other manufacturing processes.  Craft contributes tangibly to economies, adds value to other industries, provides employment opportunities, and promotes more conscious approaches to production and consumption.  ### Key Claims %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ```dataview list summary from #claim AND [[Economic value of craft]] ``` %% - [[Weft/Claims/Claim - Craft is an enduring source of employment.md|Claim - Craft is an enduring source of employment]]: As a primarily locally based practice, craft promises more long-term employment than that offered by global corporations. Craft work also has intrinsic rewards. There is satisfaction in a work that is well-made. - [[Weft/Claims/Claim - Craft makes an important contribution to the economy.md|Claim - Craft makes an important contribution to the economy]]: Craft contributes in a tangible way to the GDP and balance of trade through exports. It also has an important indirect benefit to the skill base that is critical to manufacturing. Industrial crafts facilitate flexibility and innovation. Craft also adds prestige and heritage value to products. - [[Weft/Claims/Claim - Craft promotes local development.md|Claim - Craft promotes local development]]: As an alternative to industrial production, craft favours the use of local materials and distribution to local markets. This offers more enduring employment, community involvement and local pride. In the bigger picture, this encourages autonomy and diversity. - [[Weft/Claims/Claim - Craft provides employment at a time of de-growth.md|Claim - Craft provides employment at a time of de-growth]]: Craft offers versatile opportunities for employment for skilled and unskilled workers alike. As automation and artificial intelligent replace more human workers, craft remains as an intrinsically humanistic occupation. The unemployment predicted in scenarios of de-growth can also be countered by meaningful craft employment. - [[Weft/Claims/Claim - Craft skills add value to other industries.md|Claim - Craft skills add value to other industries]]: Craft skills and mindsets are integral to product development in many industries, such as design, engineering, and manufacturing. %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ### Extra claims #### Through craft, we can cultivate more conscious approaches to production and consumption In his book *Fewer, Better Things* (2018), scholar and curator Glenn Adamson makes the case for a more mindful material life. From the implements used in a Japanese tea ceremony to stoneworking to woodworking implements to the model prototypes created in automobile design, objects showcase how raw materials, tools, design and crafting skills come together to create beauty and utility – we should have fewer, but better things.  Craft can help us rethink careless and wasteful attitudes towards objects. A study of a revival in mending across Europe, US and North America (2013) shows that it can be a reflection of deeper values related to sustainability and degrowth. In hyper-consumerist, use-and-throw societies, craft can help us slow down and value well-made and well-maintained objects. #### Craft offers a space to rethink, develop and share innovative alternative production, business and economic models Innovative making practices combining crafts and digital fabrication are taking place in creative and productive hubs known as FabLabs. These places are dedicated to experiment alternative production, consumption and business models that are locally driven, less resource-consuming, regenerative and conducive to resilient societies and long-term SDGs. ### Craft acts as a vehicle to address employment, welfare and sustainable development in rural areas Craft enables communities living in rural areas to learn a skill so that they could earn a living. It empowers them with new skills and knowledge that are passed down to next generations. Weaving carpets in Kashmir and Jammu in India occupy an important place in the country’s handicrafts. The carpet Industry plays a significant role in the economic development of rural areas in India (Majeed & Swalehin, 2020). ### Craft contributes in regenerating urban areas and abandoned spaces into making places for collaborative communities and neighborhoods Craft (traditional, digital and hybrid), culture and heritage are increasingly recognised as part of an innovation system towards locally-productive cities fostering community engagement and regenerating urban spaces. It is Guided by the circular economy and relies on heritage and craftsmanship as a catalyst for innovation and social inclusion. CENTRINNO - New CENTRalities in INdustrial areas as engines for inNOvation and urban transformation is a four year project financed by the European Commission and coordinated by Milan City Council. It involved experimentations and action research in nine European cities to test and demonstrate strategies, approaches and solutions for the regeneration of industrial historic sites as creative, locally productive, and inclusive hubs (Centrinno, 2024). ### Case study - Blacksmithing as a way to boost national skills and reduce cheap imports Blacksmithing is a craft for the ages. No matter what technological advancements civilisations make, it has never gone obsolete. Peter Trott, a self-taught blacksmith from Kyneton, creates high-quality hand tools for woodworkers, carvers, and furniture makers, addressing the shortage of such tools in Australia which has historically relied on imports from the UK and US.  Trott’s blacksmithing efforts can help make Australia self-sufficient in toolmaking. Craft skills and craft knowledge are important for the self-sufficiency of nations, especially during times of instability or crisis. The availability of crafted hand tools directly enables more craft producers to take up craft activity - woodworkers, carvers, furniture makers - thus spurring more creative and economic activity. “Having world class hand tools made in Australia was more cost effective and convenient than paying the postage on items from America. There'll be another cheap, poorly made replica that's available from a big box store, or dare I say Amazon, and it'll be completely inferior." ![[Attachments/7032746b45ad2df095fea4dfb070ecd9_MD5.png]] ### See also [[The global network of FabLabs]] ### [[Sustainable Development Goals]] ![[E-WEB-Goal-08.png|150]] ![[E-WEB-Goal-09.png|150]]