Regaining a sense of belonging
Lost and Found Workshops
Lost and Found Workshops: Reclaiming Sustainable Practices
Through hands-on workshops, we bridge generations—reviving forgotten skills and blending them with modern techniques. Inspired by history, we create a space for creativity and action, from new crafts to mending and repurposing. Every restored item and sustainable choice carries a story, and every story thrives in a shared community!
Serbia
Regional
Vojvodina, Serbia
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Early concept
No
No
As an individual partnership with other persons/organisation(s)
"Historia magistra vitae est." Guided by this Latin saying, we decided to look to the past for inspiration. As we explored museum exhibits and listened to the stories of older generations, the idea for the "Lost and Found" project emerged. What struck us as both fascinating and concerning was the realization of how little people once had, yet how much better the quality of their connections to their surroundings seemed to be.
The project aims to return to old values, focusing on sustainability, frugality, and practicality. It encourages us to become aware of our abilities and what we can create with our own hands, while considering the environment and the spaces we live in.
The project is divided into two main components: a digital platform and a series of workshops. The workshops will be organized in three cycles, each containing both theoretical and practical lessons. Additionally, participants will complete surveys that will guide the direction of the group's activities. The workshops will be mobile, held outdoors whenever the weather allows, and will not be confined to a single location.
The digital platform will focus on marketing via social media and the creation of a dedicated website. One key feature of the website will be a section mapping individual museums, cultural sites, societies, and organizations across Serbia. These will showcase the culture, history, and traditions of this small country, all of which will play a vital role in the workshops. This part of the project is crucial as one of the main goals is to connect with the past.
Each workshop cycle will consist of three parts, combining theoretical and practical lessons with surveys to help guide the content. The aim is to engage participants in the workshops and tailor the activities to their interests and needs. Multiple options will be provided to attendees to choose from.
The project aims to return to old values, focusing on sustainability, frugality, and practicality. It encourages us to become aware of our abilities and what we can create with our own hands, while considering the environment and the spaces we live in.
The project is divided into two main components: a digital platform and a series of workshops. The workshops will be organized in three cycles, each containing both theoretical and practical lessons. Additionally, participants will complete surveys that will guide the direction of the group's activities. The workshops will be mobile, held outdoors whenever the weather allows, and will not be confined to a single location.
The digital platform will focus on marketing via social media and the creation of a dedicated website. One key feature of the website will be a section mapping individual museums, cultural sites, societies, and organizations across Serbia. These will showcase the culture, history, and traditions of this small country, all of which will play a vital role in the workshops. This part of the project is crucial as one of the main goals is to connect with the past.
Each workshop cycle will consist of three parts, combining theoretical and practical lessons with surveys to help guide the content. The aim is to engage participants in the workshops and tailor the activities to their interests and needs. Multiple options will be provided to attendees to choose from.
Community Building
Intergenerational Exchange
Knowledge Sharing
Sustainability
Skill-sharing
1. Raising Awareness of Overlooked Sustainability Issues
In Serbia, sustainability remains largely unaddressed in both formal education and public discourse, especially compared to EU countries. Critical areas such as waste management, energy efficiency, recycling, and sustainable consumption receive little systemic attention. Legislative and infrastructural improvements are slow, leaving many unaware of the impact of their daily choices. This project seeks to bridge that gap by making sustainability more accessible and relevant to everyday life. Through education, storytelling, and engagement, the objective is to create a deeper understanding of how sustainability and consumer behavior connects and affects everyone.
2. Empowering People to Take Action and Find Support
Awareness alone is not enough—people must feel empowered to act. Many individuals and communities struggle with knowing where to start or where to find support in making more sustainable choices. This project emphasizes practical problem-solving, adaptability, and collective action.
3. Building a Stronger Community and Knowledge Network
By highlighting existing resources, fostering local initiatives, and encouraging creative, flexible approaches, the project aims to show that sustainability is achievable at any scale. Every small action counts, and by nurturing a more open, resourceful, and well-informed community, we can drive systemic changes in consumption patterns. Strengthening local networks can gradually grow from affecting individual behaviors, to organized efforts to create pressure for legislative and systemic change.
In Serbia, sustainability remains largely unaddressed in both formal education and public discourse, especially compared to EU countries. Critical areas such as waste management, energy efficiency, recycling, and sustainable consumption receive little systemic attention. Legislative and infrastructural improvements are slow, leaving many unaware of the impact of their daily choices. This project seeks to bridge that gap by making sustainability more accessible and relevant to everyday life. Through education, storytelling, and engagement, the objective is to create a deeper understanding of how sustainability and consumer behavior connects and affects everyone.
2. Empowering People to Take Action and Find Support
Awareness alone is not enough—people must feel empowered to act. Many individuals and communities struggle with knowing where to start or where to find support in making more sustainable choices. This project emphasizes practical problem-solving, adaptability, and collective action.
3. Building a Stronger Community and Knowledge Network
By highlighting existing resources, fostering local initiatives, and encouraging creative, flexible approaches, the project aims to show that sustainability is achievable at any scale. Every small action counts, and by nurturing a more open, resourceful, and well-informed community, we can drive systemic changes in consumption patterns. Strengthening local networks can gradually grow from affecting individual behaviors, to organized efforts to create pressure for legislative and systemic change.
1. Reviving Traditional Aesthetic Values
Showcasing the beauty of handmade, sustainable crafts, preserving cultural artistry, and inspiring appreciation for timeless craftsmanship.
2. Fostering Creativity & Personal Expression
Encouraging participants to blend traditional techniques with modern creativity, producing unique, functional, and visually appealing items. As participants engage in hands-on workshops, they can incorporate their own style, producing aesthetically pleasing objects that reflect both traditional techniques and modern personal interpretations.
3. Sustainable & Inspiring Workshop Spaces
Designing workshop spaces with natural or upcycled materials to reflect sustainability, inspire creativity, and connect participants with local heritage. The workshops themselves will become immersive environments that inspire creativity while promoting a sense of connection to nature and local heritage.
4. Balancing Functionality & Beauty
Emphasizing that well-crafted items should be both practical and visually appealing, reinforcing the value of sustainable, high-quality handmade goods.
5. Elevating Local Craftsmanship
Showcasing the skill behind local handmade products to shift perceptions, encourage appreciation, and promote investment in sustainable alternatives rather than mass-produced products.
Showcasing the beauty of handmade, sustainable crafts, preserving cultural artistry, and inspiring appreciation for timeless craftsmanship.
2. Fostering Creativity & Personal Expression
Encouraging participants to blend traditional techniques with modern creativity, producing unique, functional, and visually appealing items. As participants engage in hands-on workshops, they can incorporate their own style, producing aesthetically pleasing objects that reflect both traditional techniques and modern personal interpretations.
3. Sustainable & Inspiring Workshop Spaces
Designing workshop spaces with natural or upcycled materials to reflect sustainability, inspire creativity, and connect participants with local heritage. The workshops themselves will become immersive environments that inspire creativity while promoting a sense of connection to nature and local heritage.
4. Balancing Functionality & Beauty
Emphasizing that well-crafted items should be both practical and visually appealing, reinforcing the value of sustainable, high-quality handmade goods.
5. Elevating Local Craftsmanship
Showcasing the skill behind local handmade products to shift perceptions, encourage appreciation, and promote investment in sustainable alternatives rather than mass-produced products.
The workshops, are designed to be inclusive and engaging for people of all ages and backgrounds. They will explore product consumption, repair practices, and the shift from traditional craftsmanship to modern mass production. Over time, global trade and consumer habits have pushed society toward disposable, short-lived products, causing valuable skills like mending, frugality, and resourcefulness—once common in older generations—to fade. At the same time, younger generations bring digital-age knowledge, access to new tools, and a broader awareness of modern consumer issues.
By bringing these groups together, the workshops create a space for mutual learning and adaptation. Participants will share knowledge, exchange experiences, and develop solutions for modern sustainability challenges as a community. These sessions will cultivate a sense of belonging, self-reliance, and practical problem-solving, showing how people can apply both historical wisdom and contemporary innovations to everyday life.
Each participant may have a different motivation for attending—some might be drawn by curiosity, history, or socializing, while others may be interested in sustainability or hands-on learning. The workshops will welcome experts and students, theorists and practitioners, those familiar with consumerism and those just starting to learn, ensuring that everyone contributes and benefits from the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and values.
By bringing these groups together, the workshops create a space for mutual learning and adaptation. Participants will share knowledge, exchange experiences, and develop solutions for modern sustainability challenges as a community. These sessions will cultivate a sense of belonging, self-reliance, and practical problem-solving, showing how people can apply both historical wisdom and contemporary innovations to everyday life.
Each participant may have a different motivation for attending—some might be drawn by curiosity, history, or socializing, while others may be interested in sustainability or hands-on learning. The workshops will welcome experts and students, theorists and practitioners, those familiar with consumerism and those just starting to learn, ensuring that everyone contributes and benefits from the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and values.
1. Hands-On Skill Development
Participants will gain practical experience in traditional crafts like pottery, woodworking, metalworking, and repairs. These skills enhance self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, and a deeper connection to cultural heritage while fostering a sense of community.
2. Improved Household Efficiency
Learning repair techniques and energy-efficient solutions helps citizens reduce energy consumption, extend the life of household items, and prevent costly malfunctions, leading to long-term financial and environmental benefits.
3. Economic & Sustainability Benefits
By promoting repair, reuse, and repurposing, the project reduces waste and consumer expenses. It also creates potential for small-scale entrepreneurship in crafting and repairs, encouraging sustainable consumption and local economic growth.
4. Creativity & Problem-Solving
Workshops encourage participants to think innovatively when repairing or repurposing objects. These problem-solving skills extend beyond crafts, benefiting personal projects, career development, and adapting to challenges in daily life.
5. Lifelong Learning & Inclusion
The project is accessible to all ages, offering continuous learning opportunities. By bringing together different generations, it fosters knowledge-sharing and intergenerational exchange, enriching both young learners and experienced mentors.
6. Digital Access to Cultural Heritage
A digital platform will provide citizens with curated information on local museums, cultural sites, and historical craftsmanship, making heritage more accessible and encouraging deeper engagement with traditional knowledge.
Participants will gain practical experience in traditional crafts like pottery, woodworking, metalworking, and repairs. These skills enhance self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, and a deeper connection to cultural heritage while fostering a sense of community.
2. Improved Household Efficiency
Learning repair techniques and energy-efficient solutions helps citizens reduce energy consumption, extend the life of household items, and prevent costly malfunctions, leading to long-term financial and environmental benefits.
3. Economic & Sustainability Benefits
By promoting repair, reuse, and repurposing, the project reduces waste and consumer expenses. It also creates potential for small-scale entrepreneurship in crafting and repairs, encouraging sustainable consumption and local economic growth.
4. Creativity & Problem-Solving
Workshops encourage participants to think innovatively when repairing or repurposing objects. These problem-solving skills extend beyond crafts, benefiting personal projects, career development, and adapting to challenges in daily life.
5. Lifelong Learning & Inclusion
The project is accessible to all ages, offering continuous learning opportunities. By bringing together different generations, it fosters knowledge-sharing and intergenerational exchange, enriching both young learners and experienced mentors.
6. Digital Access to Cultural Heritage
A digital platform will provide citizens with curated information on local museums, cultural sites, and historical craftsmanship, making heritage more accessible and encouraging deeper engagement with traditional knowledge.
This project relies on broad and dynamic stakeholder engagement, ensuring that diverse perspectives and expertise contribute to its success. As it is still in the concept phase, engagement remains preliminary but is designed to grow as the project gains momentum.
1. Community Members & Participants
• Level of involvement: Empowered and Active
• Engagement and added value: Interactive workshops where participants share skills, explore sustainable practices together, and participate in the decision-making of the workshops, community direction, and culture exchange.
2. Local Craftspeople, Artisans & Repair Experts
• Level of Involvement: Collaborative
• Engagement and added value: Featuring them in workshops as mentors, providing hands-on demonstrations, and adding them to a digital skills database.
3. Historians, Archaeologists & Museums
• Level of Involvement: Collaborative
• Engagement and added value: Collaborating on research, sharing insights on past craftsmanship, and linking to museum resources.
4. Environmental & Sustainability Organizations, Consumer Protection Organizations, Educational Institutions & Researchers
• Level of Involvement: Consultation
• Engagement and added value: Raising awareness, offering expertise on sustainability topics, and expanding outreach.
1. Community Members & Participants
• Level of involvement: Empowered and Active
• Engagement and added value: Interactive workshops where participants share skills, explore sustainable practices together, and participate in the decision-making of the workshops, community direction, and culture exchange.
2. Local Craftspeople, Artisans & Repair Experts
• Level of Involvement: Collaborative
• Engagement and added value: Featuring them in workshops as mentors, providing hands-on demonstrations, and adding them to a digital skills database.
3. Historians, Archaeologists & Museums
• Level of Involvement: Collaborative
• Engagement and added value: Collaborating on research, sharing insights on past craftsmanship, and linking to museum resources.
4. Environmental & Sustainability Organizations, Consumer Protection Organizations, Educational Institutions & Researchers
• Level of Involvement: Consultation
• Engagement and added value: Raising awareness, offering expertise on sustainability topics, and expanding outreach.
The project integrates multiple disciplines and knowledge fields to create an impactful approach to sustainability, craftsmanship, and community building. The collaboration between these fields ensures a rich exchange of skills, perspectives, and methodologies.
1. Craftsmanship & Cultural Heritage
Traditional crafts intersect with historical research, ensuring authenticity while adapting techniques for modern sustainability. Material knowledge informs both the preservation of heritage skills and their practical application in everyday life.
2. Sustainability & Circular Economy
Environmental science shapes material selection and repair practices, embedding waste reduction and energy efficiency into craftsmanship. Circular economy principles influence workshop methodologies, promoting reuse and resource-conscious innovation.
3. Education & Knowledge Transfer
Pedagogical frameworks structure learning experiences, integrating storytelling from historical research and hands-on expertise from artisans. Lifelong learning principles ensure accessibility, fostering intergenerational exchange and inclusive participation.
4. Digital & Technological Innovation
Digital humanities and IT bridge traditional knowledge with contemporary access, creating virtual archives, skill-sharing platforms, and interactive educational tools that extend the project’s reach beyond physical workshops.
By facilitating collaboration between these disciplines, the project ensures that sustainability is not just an environmental goal but a cultural and social practice, reinforcing the continuity of knowledge across generations.
1. Craftsmanship & Cultural Heritage
Traditional crafts intersect with historical research, ensuring authenticity while adapting techniques for modern sustainability. Material knowledge informs both the preservation of heritage skills and their practical application in everyday life.
2. Sustainability & Circular Economy
Environmental science shapes material selection and repair practices, embedding waste reduction and energy efficiency into craftsmanship. Circular economy principles influence workshop methodologies, promoting reuse and resource-conscious innovation.
3. Education & Knowledge Transfer
Pedagogical frameworks structure learning experiences, integrating storytelling from historical research and hands-on expertise from artisans. Lifelong learning principles ensure accessibility, fostering intergenerational exchange and inclusive participation.
4. Digital & Technological Innovation
Digital humanities and IT bridge traditional knowledge with contemporary access, creating virtual archives, skill-sharing platforms, and interactive educational tools that extend the project’s reach beyond physical workshops.
By facilitating collaboration between these disciplines, the project ensures that sustainability is not just an environmental goal but a cultural and social practice, reinforcing the continuity of knowledge across generations.
"Lost and Found Workshops" are innovative because they integrate traditional knowledge with modern technology, sustainability practices, and community-driven approaches. It uses a digital platform to preserve and share cultural heritage, adapts historical practices to contemporary life, and fosters a creative, hands-on learning experience that empowers citizens while connecting them to both local and global communities.
1. Blending Tradition with Modern Solutions - Participants can revive and adapt traditional crafts in a way that makes them relevant to today’s world, blending the past with the present in creative, functional ways.
2. Mobile Workshops and Accessibility - By not being tied to one fixed location, the project reaches a broader audience, allowing citizens from different regions to participate without having to travel long distances.
3. Digital Integration with Cultural Heritage - The digital plan, which includes the creation of a website and social media campaigns, introduces a modern element to the project by mapping local museums, historical sites, and cultural organizations. This digital platform allows participants and the broader public to explore Serbia’s cultural heritage in an interactive, accessible way. This creates a bridge between the physical workshops and the online world, enabling broader engagement and education about history, culture, and sustainability. It also opens the door for global recognition and exchange of ideas.
4. Interactive Learning and Personalization - The use of surveys to guide the direction of workshops allow participants to express their interests and needs, ensuring that the activities are tailored to them, enhancing their engagement and learning experience. This personalization makes the project adaptable to a wide range of participants and ensures that the workshops remain relevant to individual interests.
1. Blending Tradition with Modern Solutions - Participants can revive and adapt traditional crafts in a way that makes them relevant to today’s world, blending the past with the present in creative, functional ways.
2. Mobile Workshops and Accessibility - By not being tied to one fixed location, the project reaches a broader audience, allowing citizens from different regions to participate without having to travel long distances.
3. Digital Integration with Cultural Heritage - The digital plan, which includes the creation of a website and social media campaigns, introduces a modern element to the project by mapping local museums, historical sites, and cultural organizations. This digital platform allows participants and the broader public to explore Serbia’s cultural heritage in an interactive, accessible way. This creates a bridge between the physical workshops and the online world, enabling broader engagement and education about history, culture, and sustainability. It also opens the door for global recognition and exchange of ideas.
4. Interactive Learning and Personalization - The use of surveys to guide the direction of workshops allow participants to express their interests and needs, ensuring that the activities are tailored to them, enhancing their engagement and learning experience. This personalization makes the project adaptable to a wide range of participants and ensures that the workshops remain relevant to individual interests.
The project has two key components: a digital knowledge platform and interactive, hands-on workshops. The project involves in-depth research and digital mapping of key resources and communities to explore historical craftsmanship, modern sustainable practices, and local needs.
1. Digital Awareness & Knowledge Sharing - A website for:
- Workshop Information – Outlining learning objectives, skills gained, and real-world applications.
- Knowledge Database – Featuring artisans, repair specialists, and historical craftsmanship techniques.
- Historical Insights – Exploring past sustainable practices through museum collections and archaeological findings.
2. Hands-On Workshops - A three-cycle workshop series encourages storytelling, critical discussions, and collaborative problem-solving:
Cycle 1: Tools & Materials
- Guided Discussion – Exploring historical material use and craftsmanship through shared stories, museum references, and expert insights.
- Experiential learning – Participants use traditional techniques like woodworking, bone carving, or textile work, applying old methods to modern sustainability challenges.
Cycle 2: Maintenance & Repair
- Participatory Dialogue – Sharing personal and intergenerational repair stories, reflecting on past vs. present attitudes toward durability.
- Experiential learning – Using peer-to-peer learning and expert guidance, fostering problem-solving and skill exchange.
- Creative Adaptation – Upcycling challenges of old objects into new uses.
Cycle 3: Energy Efficiency
- Comparative Analysis – Discussing traditional energy-saving techniques vs. modern solutions.
- Collaborative Problem Solving – Identifying realistic ways to improve energy efficiency based on participant needs and constraints.
3. Post-Workshop Engagement
- Storytelling & Reflection – Participants document and share changes they implement.
- Community Knowledge Network – Encouraging long-term exchange of skills and solutions
1. Digital Awareness & Knowledge Sharing - A website for:
- Workshop Information – Outlining learning objectives, skills gained, and real-world applications.
- Knowledge Database – Featuring artisans, repair specialists, and historical craftsmanship techniques.
- Historical Insights – Exploring past sustainable practices through museum collections and archaeological findings.
2. Hands-On Workshops - A three-cycle workshop series encourages storytelling, critical discussions, and collaborative problem-solving:
Cycle 1: Tools & Materials
- Guided Discussion – Exploring historical material use and craftsmanship through shared stories, museum references, and expert insights.
- Experiential learning – Participants use traditional techniques like woodworking, bone carving, or textile work, applying old methods to modern sustainability challenges.
Cycle 2: Maintenance & Repair
- Participatory Dialogue – Sharing personal and intergenerational repair stories, reflecting on past vs. present attitudes toward durability.
- Experiential learning – Using peer-to-peer learning and expert guidance, fostering problem-solving and skill exchange.
- Creative Adaptation – Upcycling challenges of old objects into new uses.
Cycle 3: Energy Efficiency
- Comparative Analysis – Discussing traditional energy-saving techniques vs. modern solutions.
- Collaborative Problem Solving – Identifying realistic ways to improve energy efficiency based on participant needs and constraints.
3. Post-Workshop Engagement
- Storytelling & Reflection – Participants document and share changes they implement.
- Community Knowledge Network – Encouraging long-term exchange of skills and solutions
The "Lost and Found" project ensures its impact extends beyond workshops through various transferable elements.
1. Digital Resources & Online Learning
A dedicated website, video tutorials, and digital toolkits provide open access to sustainability practices, historical crafts, and repair techniques. These resources allow individuals and organizations worldwide to implement similar practices, even without direct workshop participation.
2. Partnerships with Craft & Trade Networks
Collaborating with artisans, trade associations, and craft networks helps preserve and integrate traditional skills into professional environments. This ensures knowledge transfer to small businesses, creating new market opportunities for sustainable handmade products.
3. Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Sharing
Encouraging participants to teach skills to family, friends, and local communities fosters peer-to-peer learning. Informal knowledge exchange through small gatherings and community sessions ensures a wider and long-term impact.
4. Collaboration with Local Organizations
Partnering with schools, museums, and NGOs allows the integration of workshops into educational programs. These institutions can adopt and adapt workshop formats, ensuring knowledge dissemination to broader audiences.
5. Regional and International Replication
The project’s adaptable model allows replication in other regions through partnerships with cultural institutions and local authorities. Its methods can be customized to fit different cultural and economic contexts, enabling international scalability.
By leveraging digital tools, partnerships, and community involvement, "Lost and Found" creates a replicable framework for preserving traditional skills and promoting sustainability, making it accessible to diverse audiences and adaptable for global implementation
1. Digital Resources & Online Learning
A dedicated website, video tutorials, and digital toolkits provide open access to sustainability practices, historical crafts, and repair techniques. These resources allow individuals and organizations worldwide to implement similar practices, even without direct workshop participation.
2. Partnerships with Craft & Trade Networks
Collaborating with artisans, trade associations, and craft networks helps preserve and integrate traditional skills into professional environments. This ensures knowledge transfer to small businesses, creating new market opportunities for sustainable handmade products.
3. Peer-to-Peer Knowledge Sharing
Encouraging participants to teach skills to family, friends, and local communities fosters peer-to-peer learning. Informal knowledge exchange through small gatherings and community sessions ensures a wider and long-term impact.
4. Collaboration with Local Organizations
Partnering with schools, museums, and NGOs allows the integration of workshops into educational programs. These institutions can adopt and adapt workshop formats, ensuring knowledge dissemination to broader audiences.
5. Regional and International Replication
The project’s adaptable model allows replication in other regions through partnerships with cultural institutions and local authorities. Its methods can be customized to fit different cultural and economic contexts, enabling international scalability.
By leveraging digital tools, partnerships, and community involvement, "Lost and Found" creates a replicable framework for preserving traditional skills and promoting sustainability, making it accessible to diverse audiences and adaptable for global implementation
The world is facing an urgent sustainability crisis, with overproduction, excessive waste, and unsustainable consumption patterns accelerating environmental degradation. Many communities, particularly in regions where sustainability is not a priority in education or policy, lack the necessary knowledge and resources to adopt more responsible practices. The disconnection between traditional resourcefulness and modern consumer habits has resulted in a throwaway culture, where repair skills are disappearing, and products are designed for short-term use rather than longevity.
This project addresses these global challenges on a local scale by bridging historical craftsmanship with modern sustainable practices. Many traditional skills—once essential for making, mending, and reusing—are being lost, even though they offer valuable lessons for sustainable living. By reviving these skills and integrating them with contemporary approaches, the project fosters a culture of conscious consumption and resourcefulness.
At the same time, systemic barriers, such as inadequate recycling infrastructure and weak legislative support, make it difficult for individuals to make sustainable choices. Through hands-on workshops, knowledge exchange, and active community involvement, this project seeks to empower people to take action, demonstrating that sustainability is both achievable and rewarding at any scale.
By creating spaces for dialogue, skill-sharing, and collaboration, the project builds a foundation for long-term change. Strengthening local networks and fostering a shared sense of responsibility can gradually influence broader systems, encouraging shifts in behavior, infrastructure, and policy. In a time when environmental challenges require urgent action, this project offers a tangible way to rethink consumption, reconnect with craftsmanship, and cultivate a more sustainable future.
This project addresses these global challenges on a local scale by bridging historical craftsmanship with modern sustainable practices. Many traditional skills—once essential for making, mending, and reusing—are being lost, even though they offer valuable lessons for sustainable living. By reviving these skills and integrating them with contemporary approaches, the project fosters a culture of conscious consumption and resourcefulness.
At the same time, systemic barriers, such as inadequate recycling infrastructure and weak legislative support, make it difficult for individuals to make sustainable choices. Through hands-on workshops, knowledge exchange, and active community involvement, this project seeks to empower people to take action, demonstrating that sustainability is both achievable and rewarding at any scale.
By creating spaces for dialogue, skill-sharing, and collaboration, the project builds a foundation for long-term change. Strengthening local networks and fostering a shared sense of responsibility can gradually influence broader systems, encouraging shifts in behavior, infrastructure, and policy. In a time when environmental challenges require urgent action, this project offers a tangible way to rethink consumption, reconnect with craftsmanship, and cultivate a more sustainable future.
Research & Development - 0-4 months
- Identify key partners (artisans, educators, sustainability experts, community leaders) and establish initial collaborations.
- Research existing sustainability programs, historical crafting techniques, and educational best practices.
- Content & Methodology Development: Design workshop structures, hands-on activities, and curriculum.
- Digital Platform Prototype: Develop the first version of the website, including an interactive map of cultural heritage sites, initial educational content, and a forum for community engagement.
- Pilot: Plan first workshops in Novi Sad based on accessibility, impact, and engaged stakeholders.
Pilot Workshops & Refinement - 4-6 months
- Run initial workshops
- Gather feedback and optimize materials
- Expand workshop materials
- Digital Expansion: Add workshop documentation, instructional videos, and participant testimonials to the online platform.
Expansion & Long-Term Strategy - 6-12 months
- Scale to multiple cities
- Implement post-workshop engagement: Establish follow-up activities, such as online discussion forums, advanced training sessions, and in-person community meetups.
- Support participants in organizing their own small-scale workshops or knowledge-sharing events.
- Funding & Sustainability Planning: Secure financial and community support to ensure the project's longevity.
- Identify key partners (artisans, educators, sustainability experts, community leaders) and establish initial collaborations.
- Research existing sustainability programs, historical crafting techniques, and educational best practices.
- Content & Methodology Development: Design workshop structures, hands-on activities, and curriculum.
- Digital Platform Prototype: Develop the first version of the website, including an interactive map of cultural heritage sites, initial educational content, and a forum for community engagement.
- Pilot: Plan first workshops in Novi Sad based on accessibility, impact, and engaged stakeholders.
Pilot Workshops & Refinement - 4-6 months
- Run initial workshops
- Gather feedback and optimize materials
- Expand workshop materials
- Digital Expansion: Add workshop documentation, instructional videos, and participant testimonials to the online platform.
Expansion & Long-Term Strategy - 6-12 months
- Scale to multiple cities
- Implement post-workshop engagement: Establish follow-up activities, such as online discussion forums, advanced training sessions, and in-person community meetups.
- Support participants in organizing their own small-scale workshops or knowledge-sharing events.
- Funding & Sustainability Planning: Secure financial and community support to ensure the project's longevity.
