Value of crafts hanging by a thread

Kirjoittajat

• Jenni Suomela University of Helsinki
• Milla Plit University of Helsinki
• Tuija Kirkinen University of Helsinki

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37449/ennenjanyt.160879

Avainsanat:

fibres, skill, craft, tradition, prehistory, education

Abstrakti

The skill to make crafts has been a distinctive characteristic of humans since the earliest of ages. For survival, the ability to steadily steer one’s hand towards producing artefacts essential for filling basic needs of protection and nourishment has been a game changer. Merely the amount of knowledge needed for producing just a fishing net from tree bast is awe-inspiring. For generations, such substantial information was greatly valued and passed on. In the current era of automatization, we use the aid of machines to produce similar artefacts that, earlier, were made by hand. The skill is no longer in the hands of the crafter, but in the programming of the machine. Something profound, both physical and psychological, is lost in just a few generations when the line of passing on the skill is broken. In this article we ponder the possible consequences that overlooking crafting skills might have on both the individual and the society.