Abstract
The craft heritage of Kerala is situated in the usage of natural materials such as banana fiber. Due to the abundant availability of banana plants in Kerala, local craftspeople use the fibers to make products such as baskets, bags, and coasters. However, the number of banana fiber craft persons is acutely declining, posing a threat to this heritage and crafting knowledge. The customary knowledge transfer method, of working in close proximity with the master craftsperson for a significant period, has become impractical and limited now. Thus, we attempt to decode this crafting knowledge using a shape grammar, as a step towards its preservation, transmission, and design development. The methodology involved gaining insights through contextual inquiry and artifact analysis. The resultant shape grammar presents the material vocabulary, the rules for creating patterned units, as well as the function corresponding to different configurations of the units.
Keywords
banana fiber; craft; shape grammar
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.575
Citation
Elizabeth-Thomas, N., and Shende, A. (2024) Decoding the banana fiber craft of Kerala using a shape grammar, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.575
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Research Paper
Included in
Decoding the banana fiber craft of Kerala using a shape grammar
The craft heritage of Kerala is situated in the usage of natural materials such as banana fiber. Due to the abundant availability of banana plants in Kerala, local craftspeople use the fibers to make products such as baskets, bags, and coasters. However, the number of banana fiber craft persons is acutely declining, posing a threat to this heritage and crafting knowledge. The customary knowledge transfer method, of working in close proximity with the master craftsperson for a significant period, has become impractical and limited now. Thus, we attempt to decode this crafting knowledge using a shape grammar, as a step towards its preservation, transmission, and design development. The methodology involved gaining insights through contextual inquiry and artifact analysis. The resultant shape grammar presents the material vocabulary, the rules for creating patterned units, as well as the function corresponding to different configurations of the units.