Wise women.

Wise Women is aimed at improving access to healthcare for women in rural communities within the Global South, whilst simultaneously creating roles for women in the healthcare system. The Wise Women combine traditional healing methods and approaches with modern medicine. They are trusted members of the community, whose role is to advise other women about preventative health measures, treat simple conditions, and refer more complex cases to specialists.They use wearable ‘Techxtiles’, created from weaving together fabric and conductive fibres, to aid diagnostics and treatment.

This speculative project builds upon current roles of women in the textile industries within some African cultures and explores a natural evolution of this industry as the technological abilities of the world develop. Crucially this project highlights a shift from the clinical ‘West is best’ mindset, towards one of empathy and touch. At the core, the Wise Women service is a sustainable loop of knowledge and skill sharing from one generation to another. Young women are offered the opportunity to become a community Wise Woman and are trained by their elders eventually passing on their knowledge to the next generation.

The hook moment for this project emerged during insightful conversions I had with the experts from Sustainable Futures in Africa. We discussed issues surrounding the ongoing obstruction of women rights in the rural communities of Sub-Saharan Africa. In particular I was most driven to learn about access to healthcare for women and girls. I began to question what an empowered women could resemble within this context and was particularly inspired by historical Matriarchies like the Akan society which had existed in Ghana until the 1950s.

The development stage led me to explore the current domestic textile making techniques used in the African textile industry. For me this felt like one way of connecting with my users’ experiences, something I always strive to do in my design practice. As well as exploring tech weaving I investigated cultural traditions of scarification and tattooing: even pushing the idea further by exploring “tech tattoos” that would allow for palm to palm diagnosis, an idea that really tied into my wish to create a health system that encouraged touch and empathy.

This project aims to highlight the issue of gender equality in rural communities of the Global South. In particular women’s access to, and roles within, healthcare systems. I propose a preferable future: one that sees women able to seek care whilst also being able to aspire to be an educated and working woman. The project also explores the development in medical textiles, a concept that is at the forefront of future thinking in the health and design sectors.

HERE!

Read the book this project was featured in...