BEYOND NOW – every mountain pasture tells a story: »Forestmade« understands sustainable development locally and globally
The aim is to reactivate and process traditional knowledge about regional resources such as sheep’s wool, herbs, honey and wood, and make it accessible in community formats. It’s about far more than just traditional craft techniques though.
»We make the close link between our ecological future and local production, biodiversity and our social interactions visible and tangible. The theory is important,« tells Fernandes, »but we also wanted to do something. With our hands, with the region and with others.« The two students share the common experience of familiarising themselves with a new culture through practical work. Fernandes, an Indian architect, lived in the United Arab Emirates until her tenth birthday, then moved to India, where she also studied, before coming to Weimar. Wong, who hails from Hong Kong, learned German during a gardening project – by speaking, rather than just by learning the grammar rules. The project’s central question arose from these personal experiences: how can knowledge of the environment be translated into concrete, collective action?
Whether during the apple harvest or in a community garden. It’s always about learning from one another, strengthening local cycles and making meaningful contributions to environmental and climate protection together. The outcome is not only handcrafted products such as soaps, tea blends and textile objects, but also new forms of encounter. Older generations’ knowledge meets global perspectives. »Every mountain pasture tells a story,« says Sonia. »And everyone who works there becomes a part of it.«
The students organise workshops, excursions and seasonal activities in cooperation with regional initiatives such as local gardening communities, community-supported agriculture and environmental foundations. The focus is also on endangered ecosystems such as the biodiverse Thuringian mountain pastures – habitats that will increasingly disappear without long-term care. »The project can’t solve all challenges at once, but it is laying the foundations for gradual and sustainable change through small initiatives, such as collaborations with the community gardens in Taubach and the Gemüsebande vegetable collective,« says Wong.
The practical work is accompanied by theoretical reflection and media-supported documentation. Some of the outcomes will now be presented as part of the »summaery2025« annual exhibition. In cooperation with the Kochkunstwerkerei, the vegetables harvested will be processed and sold – from soil to plate, local cultivation to cultural practice.
Wong sums up: »Our project combines ecological and social sustainability and takes the concept of ›transformation‹ entirely literally: as change that begins where people take responsibility for their environment and act together across cultural boundaries.«
The »Forestmade« project is part of the university research project on »Spaces in Transformation Thuringia«. It is funded by the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar as part of the annual theme »Beyond Now — Environments«.
Forestmade × Kochkunstwerkerei Cookery workshop during the summaery
1–6 p.m. on Saturday 12 July
Volkshochschule Weimar, Graben 6, 99423 Weimar
Registration: https://cloud.bau-ha.us/apps/forms/s/iFxigy4btGaErHk8DYi2wkib
Project participants: Sonia Fiona Fernandes (project lead), Yuen Yi (Sora) Wong (project partner), Anton Brokow-Loga (mentor)
Text: Gabriela Oroz
Photos: Julian Linden
Social media: Marit Haferkamp
Signet: Romi Klockau
Concept and editorial: Claudia Weinreich