About

About me

Hi! I am Will van Twuijver, a designer, researcher and farmer working on sustainable design processes. My work is informed by an overarching goal to design and develop systems that integrate environmental restoration and human wellbeing. In practice, my work is focused on the intersection of agroecology, climate adaptation and grassroots-initiatives.

Focusing on this intersection allows me to explore alternative forms of organising based on solidarity principles, return to a human-scale and increase awareness of the natural processes that form the basis of all life. I have several years of involvement in grassroots initiatives that explore such alternatives, including projects that involve Community Supported Agriculture, waste food processing collectives and home-brewing.

In 2012 I graduated with a bachelor’s in interior architecture at Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, followed by a master’s in Collaborative & Industrial Design at the Aalto University, Finland in 2019. To further deepen my understanding of sustainability and design, I completed multiple courses on related topics. Such as a minor study on Sustainability, a certified permaculture design course, a two-year course in biodynamic agriculture and cheese making. Currently, I work as a part-time dairy farmer and cheese maker, design researcher and am active as board member of Toekomstboeren.

Contact

Toolmaking for a Human-Sized Agriculture 1 2

  • General information
  • Year
    February 2023
  • Location
    ‘Regenerative Energy Communities’ Växjö, Sweden
  • Topic
    Toolmaking, DIY, repair, repurpose, ergonomy
  • Collaboration
    Roel Roscam Abbing
  • Status
    Completed

Description

The workshop ‘Toolmaking for a Human-Sized Agriculture’ focuses on the relationship between tool design, the human body and the land and was organized for ‘Regenerative Energy Communities’, an experimental site in Växjö, Sweden.

Most industrial farm and garden tools are typically designed for the average person. They are not optimised for people with diverse body types and are only designed for generic gardening tasks. As a result, humans adapt themselves to tools, instead of tools being shaped after situated human needs and capabilities. At the same time, hand tools fall in disrepair and disuse, but this does not mean they have to be discarded. Repairing these tools can also become an opportunity for improvement, adaptation and personalisation.

The workshop ‘Toolmaking for a Human-Sized Agriculture’ invites participants to join and repair or repurpose old garden tools. During the workshop we explore how these tools can be made to reflect one’s specific needs, talents, interest and relationship to their local context.

“Sketching” with wood

A stack of branches was taken to the workshop space as the main building material. The reasoning behind the choice for this material was to make the workshop participants break away from the metric system and instead inspect the different branches carefully and chose them based on their shape, sturdiness or other qualities. An additional side effect of the branches was also that it enabled the participants to experiment freely with the material as it did not require advanced skills or precise measuring to make adjustments: lowering the barrier for participation.

Case 1: irrigation

The participants indicated there had been a long standing issue with proper irrigation of the plot where they grow vegetables. The water needs to be sourced from a lake a couple of hundred meters away and no adequate solution had been found so far. During the workshop the participants identified a traditional method of carrying water using a shoulder pole/yoke as the most simple solution. In addition, the participants also repaired their broken watering cans.

Case 2: Heavy/light forks

Several broken forks were brought to the workshop space and the farmer indicated the hay forks were often used for soil works because they were easier to carry and lighter to work with. One of the outcomes was a solution to create a dismountable platform to make it easier to push the heavy fork into the soil.

Case 3: repairing worn out tools

Several rakes, hoes, sickles and forks were brought to the workshop that were just in need of repair without much alteration. These tools were sharpened during the workshop and some of the handles were replaced with custom made ones based on the sizes of the hands of the participants.