Craft Studies

In this research we examining the apparent human need to make things, documenting varying craft techniques and their social context, as reflected in the works of activists in the rising fields of digital fabrication, do-it-yourself (DIY) movement, and  traditional practices.  

The Ostrich Eggshell-Beads Craft of the Kalahari People  

The San are several lingual groups in Southern Africa, who kept their traditional nomadic way of life until the second half of the 20th century. Hunting and gathering in one of the most deserted places on earth, the San survived for thousands of years in a sustainable egalitarian way of life of equality and sharing. Lately, their lives have been radically altered while they were required to settle and prohibited from hunting on their historical land. The San were forced to adapt, and today many of them depend on others interest for what used to be their culture, commoditizing the heart of their tradition in an effort to survive.

In the last 30 years, non-profit and other organizations encouraged San makers to sell their crafts, focusing on ostrich eggshell beads and hunting tools. The works are collected in the villages, before being distributed to central markets and stores.

Credits: Amit Zoran


Amit Zoran

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Amit S Zoran

zoran at cs dot huji dot ac dot il

Room A116, Rothberg Family Buildings, The Edmond J. Safra Campus

91904 Jerusalem, Israel