In line with the series of initiatives that strengthen the link between design and sustainability, discussed in connection with the Ro Plastic Prize competition, today we present a Portuguese association that has adopted social sustainability as its hallmark. Passa Ao Futuro falls outside the Italian context and doesn’t directly focus on recycling. However, creatively reusing and upcycling waste is a reminder to the design world that there are many areas in which this sustainable ethos can be put into practice. It is precisely because of the unusual integration of three fields that are sometimes quite distant that we have decided to devote this article to Passa Ao Futuro: design, craftwork, and social sustainability.
The way things are produced, used and recycled cannot be divorced from the context in which these processes take place. The only way to achieve a genuinely healthy environment is by respecting local communities and encourage them to do the same for each other and nature.
What is Passa Ao Futuro and what are its objectives?
As its name suggests, Passa Ao Futuro is a Portuguese non-profit association for the promotion of cultural and research initiatives. These are all aimed at preserving the intangible heritage of national craftsmanship. Through a carefully designed programme of residential and collaborative experiences, the organisation strives to ensure that handicraft professionals have the opportunity to continue or, why not, to start practising their sustainable crafts without restrictions.
The organisation serves as a sort of meeting place between the artistic heritage of local craftsmen and the current boost in innovation. The latter did not fail to arrive in Portugal. In practice, Passa Ao Futuro aims to bring together the work of designers, architects and craftsmen to ensure the continuity of ancient wisdom. By combining the development of new ideas with the transmission of techniques and skills, they seek to put the past at the service of a sustainable future. This therefore confirms that in order to preserve, promote and innovate a struggling sector, collaboration must be facilitated between the different disciplines that have emerged around it. In this case, we talk about craftsmen and designers. Rather than, as has long been the case, pitting local labour against globally produced goods.
And so, by supporting traditional production techniques with new business models, this small group of Portuguese citizens is asking design thinking to play its rightful role. That is to say, building a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable future. Moreover, in order to defend the Arts and Crafts sector against the logic of profit, Passa Ao Futuro‘s work is grounded on three principles: a sustainable impact, a long-lasting result and a feasible process.
What do these initiatives actually consist of?
In addition to pursuing a wide range of objectives and forging a variety of relationships, the association is also active on many fields.
- RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: By thoroughly documenting the work of local craftsmen who use traditional techniques, Passa Ao Futuro acts as a database offering unprecedented opportunities for interaction and exchange. For the new generations, it is their only chance to learn skills otherwise inaccessible and in danger of extinction.
- ACTIVATION: However, networking is not enough. For the system to be fruitful, it is also essential to develop social and environmentally friendly initiatives. This is what the workshops, collaborations and consultancy activities mentioned above are intended for.
- TRAINING: For Passa Ao Futuro, training students who want to become craftsmen is about transmitting a deep sensitivity towards the sustainability of their work. To this end, they are also keen to spread awareness about the current field of Arts and Crafts, together with, of course, a good knowledge of techniques and materials. They believe it will be an effective manner to implement the much-discussed transdisciplinary approach to the sector. Indeed, this is their strategy to overcome the problems that different types of professionals encounter in their daily work.
- EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY: Finally, the organisation curates exhibitions, documentaries, lectures and round tables to shed light on the principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability that every manufacturing activity must respect nowadays.
And how are these activities carried out?
To illustrate more clearly what the aforementioned activities consist of, we will be talking about the residence held in the Portuguese municipality of Guarda in 2019, sponsored by Esporão.
Passa Ao Futuro and social sustainability: design, craftwork
Pico, lounge chair designed by Miguel Soeiro and handcrafted by Fernando Nelas
After conducting extensive research into basketry techniques for three years, Passa Ao Futuro organised a series of residencies involving craftsmen and designers. They culminated in an internationally renowned exhibition. As a starting point, they studied the basket collections of the Popular Arts Museum and the National Ethnographic Museum in Lisbon. As a result, they curated the exhibition “Hundreds of Baskets. A sustainable Technology for the 21st Century”. The aim was to display contemporary pieces that readapt traditional know-how, also seizing the opportunities offered by “regenerative design” when applied to the design for and with plants. All this reflects the fact that practices which might seem somewhat obsolete today are still relevant. They just require a slower pace, as they are based on respect for humankind and the environment.
What about their approach towards the non-sustainable materials used in the industry?
In this regard, it is worth mentioning the Summer Program held just a few days ago (11-23 July 2021) between Lisbon and Loulé. Metal was at the heart of the intensive course. This material is not strictly sustainable, but if used correctly, it can last for generations. Environmental sustainability provides background to a key question: How can such skilled craftsmanship revalue metals, at least on Portuguese territory? In fact, the history of metals in the Iberian Peninsula predates the creation of the country. At that time, copper, brass and tin were mainly used for decorative and religious purposes. But how can its use be transformed without polluting and interfering with the work of craftsmen?
The programme allowed 10 students to work alongside 6 professionals. By experimenting with melting, carving and engraving methods, they have focused their efforts on the design of contemporary pieces. This means products that will survive for generations, respecting the life cycle of the material itself. The aim was to hold an exhibition which, by telling the history of metals and the evolution of metalwork techniques, could inspire future applications respectful of the environment, local resources and the energy of local communities.
We are therefore waiting for the results to be published, because the premises are extremely promising. As we have seen, in fact, cooperative work can lead to long-lasting relations of production and sustainable collections on several fields. However, fostering the link between often conflicting disciplines and design methods relies on a strong motivation to reinvigorate ancient practices in order to address present needs in a sustainable and innovative manner. And Passa Ao Futuro shows that it is both possible and necessary to do so today.
