Ecosystems for traditional craft making in Mexico

Craft-making in Mexico is rooted in prehispanic traditions that have undergone continuous transformations throughout the country’s history. It is practised today by a heterogeneous collection of groups that struggle to maintain customs, autonomy, and livelihood in an activity increasingly aimed for commercialisation. In parallel, designers in the country continue to be interested in collaborating with artisans. Projects are usually initiated focusing on economic development. This thesis takes a critical look at how designers and other stakeholders in local craft ecosystems interact with artisans in Mexico. Considering that traditional craft-making revolves around local knowledge and culture, the study explores the transformation of craft due to changes in rural contexts and increased focus on commercialisation. By exploring that, the aim is to identify alternative paths for collaboration that support local knowledge and culture. For this purpose, the study undertakes a qualitative inquiry on the perspectives of artisans, public institutions, and designers and other creatives engaged in the ecosystem. The research process includes immersing in the local context, collecting and discussing stakeholder perspectives, and drawing implications for practice based on relevant findings. The study identifies that stakeholders in the craft ecosystem interact through three mechanisms: support, collaboration, and distribution and commercialisation. Based on the analysis of the data collected, the study determines five implications for interactions that support local knowledge and culture: (1) Engagement and participation from the grassroots level, (2) Collaborative identification of issues and definition of goals with the artisan or community, (3) Increased support to grassroots initiatives, (4) Interactions that address issues at the service and system levels, and (5) Continuous trust-building in the interactions