Craft in makerspaces: the potential for social change for sustainability

Building on prior work into the cultural role of makerspaces, this research focuses on the potential of craft practices in makerspaces as a driver for social change towards sustainability goals.

The project aims to understand emerging craft ecologies in the UK in relation to sustainable behaviours, in order to establish how a maker literacy can be developed and integrated into specific social and cultural contexts. As such, particular attention is given to library makerspaces.

Initially, the project focuses on the existing craft and makerspace ecosystem in the Devon area, where the pilot library makerspace Fab Lab Devon was opened in 2014 and keeps running nowadays. Three other makerspace initiatives have been identified as suitable case studies. This study also aims to provide clarity on how those initiatives are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, and how they are reorganising themselves to pursue their mission.

It is expected that a preliminary understanding of the Devon makerspaces’ social context will provide the first step towards developing a platform for work with and in makerspaces, implementing them and evaluating programme(s) for craft-led pro-sustainability change.