Worldwide, externally supported craft development initiatives aim to enhance the capability of
local craft producers to succeed in globalized markets. However, the contribution that these
organizations make towards the abilities of local actors remains unclear.
Following a hermeneutic reflection on literature, empirical field experience derived from the
African and South Pacific contexts and a multiple case study analysis of craft development
organizations, the research investigates the pre-conceptions that lie behind approaches adopted
in craft development initiatives. Two emerging elements of particular importance have been
identified. Firstly, the Western ideological notion of craft, influenced particularly by the Arts
and Crafts movement, and secondly the ethos of social design, built on the legacy of the
appropriate technology movement. It is argued that both of these have a constraining impact on
the development of indigenous design skills that underpin successful participation in global
markets.
Noting that craft covers a wide range of practices, the research at hand furthermore identifies a
category of craft that has become the epitome of Non-Western craft. These decorative and
exotic artifacts are labor-intensive to produce, making them only marginally profitable for the
makers. Yet there is an apparent emphasis on the promotion of this category within
international craft development initiatives.
The research concludes that the current practice of craft development initiatives cannot fully
contribute to the development of the response capability of the local craft producers. Enhancing
the impact of these initiatives would require serious reconsideration of product strategies and a
re-think of the premises under which initiatives are undertaken. A new approach is suggested,
one that examines design within a framework of social, economic and ecological sustainability,
taking into consideration such socio-cultural issues as the peoples’ right to economic freedoms
and the use of capabilities, building on the work of the economist and Nobel Laureate Amartya
Sen