SO, WHY MAKE
ANYTHING AT ALL?
To express ourselves – exercise or use our imagination.
To share love, to show care – whether that be homemaking, cooking or other forms of making and caring for our families.
To have something or a gift to share with the world – something to be known for, something to trade, or sell.
To be in flow, meditate or to relax and be at ease (suspend time).
To create tools to improve life in some practical way.
To learn a new skill, or perfect an existing one (10,000 hours, etc).
The question, “why make anything at all?” raised itself ahead of one of our workshops, where we were due to talk about imagination and upskilling from a design perspective. The answers came overnight, surfaced by the need to meet people where they are in the moment.
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![A man wearing glasses and a colorful green and pink patterned shirt is sitting and holding an embroidery hoop with a design that includes a cross, a book, and the word 'God' in a church or community center. Two women are visible in the background near a wall with a painting or mural.]()
“Please don’t watch me stitch – because when I have finished, you will see my God”.
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![A small roadside kiosk with a sign that reads 'GOD FIRST' on top. The kiosk has a contact number and the Airtel logo on the front.]()
A mobile phone kiosk in Dzaleka refugee camp.
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![A woman in traditional African clothing and a headwrap holding a round woven basket inside a hall with painted walls.]()
We start where pride first shows itself – with the talents for making all around us.
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![People working on fashion illustrations, cutting and arranging fabric and paper designs for clothing, with scissors, thread, and decorative elements on a table.]()
Salem pins her fashion drawings to a hotel bedsheet, which displays the group’s personal artefacts and elements of self.
