Serfenta has worked for over 17 years in the field of modern and business approach to basketry craft. The experts who create the organization, Paulina Adamska and Łucja Cieślar (together with business advisor Urszula Szwed) designed their own Business Model “Innovation model of Craft Revitalisation”. It helps to carry out the activities. Their goals include sharing, promoting, and managing knowledge about the intangible heritage of basketry. Serfenta’s activities cover workshops and expert events; talks about the meeting point between cultural anthropology, craft, and market; and bringing the craft experience to everyone. They teach those, who then teach others to spread the knowledge and skills of the basketry.
Our Association Serfenta is one of three Polish NGOs that is accredited by UNESCO. In 2024 we got the Europa Nostra Award in the Education area. In 2022, they received the Jeonju International Award for Promoting Intangible Cultural Heritage (JIAPICH), with strong focus on sustainable business. The organization is also a finalist of New European Bauhaus Award 2023 with the “Innovation Model of Craft Revitalisation”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O55uWzxBK_k&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O55uWzxBK_k&t=1s
"When thinking about heritage, we often narrow the concept down to symbols from the past, confined in museum displays. Hearing this term, we imagine folk costumes or ornaments characteristic of a certain region, perhaps some culinary traditions. We tend to focus more on the past than on seeing the role of heritage in the future. It seems to be something that is fading away, something that needs to be preserved, rather than something that could build a strong and innovative economy. However, the concept of heritage is much broader. It encompasses all the values, customs, and beliefs that connect a group of people and serve as a resource for a community or an individual. If we allow ourselves to broaden the concept of heritage, we will see that it includes things like football in Brazil, the custom of drinking tea in Turkey, or the characteristic cookies from the Cieszyn Silesia region. It also includes specific professional experiences of people who worked in industry or mining. It is a vast amount of skills and knowledge that can aid in transformation, yet it is often overlooked.
A broader view of heritage allows us to see it as an excellent starting point in transformation processes. Searching for what already exists within communities and people is an easier path to building solutions for the future. Remember that transformation is a process in which we adapt, not create something entirely new. In order to process, we need to know what we have at our disposal and what we can work with."
Read more in Urszula Szwed's article:
https://funduszeue.slaskie.pl/czytaj/dziedzictwo_w_procesie_transformacji_urszula_szwed
Innovation Model of Craft Revitalisation
We’ve started from deep research. We’ve crossed thousands of kilometres and spent hours in meetings and conversations to discover why basketry is awesome and how it is done. We’ve learned basketry techniques and materials from Germany, Iceland, Norway, Japan, and South Korea. We’ve travelled around Poland to map local basketry. Furthermore, we’ve gained unique knowledge from basketry masters who are ever more difficult to encounter. If you wish to find out more about our adventures, read our book “Baskets” or check our audiovisual archive.
In the next step, we designed our ICH base in the process of design thinking. The process based on deep understanding of users needs. We created, we discovered how to design a new product and new services in cooperation between designer - craftsman – market. We created, and we still create, new ways for tradition in a modern world.
Business where the idea and passion meets a market. After 17 years of experience – now we have the know-how. We can teach you, we want to share our knowledge about ICH and modern market. Also, here you can find the real effects of our work - products and services, like workshops, baskets and more. We are also taking a part and organising - conferences, lectures, presentations about our Business Model. We can share it with you if you are looking for the inspiration in the intangible heritage area.
Our Model can be use to design solutions and services in others heritage areas. If you need to have a tool for designing a change - do not hesitate to contact us.
The effects of our business ideas you can check and join: workshops, shop with baskets, Craft Tour i much more.
Check also: www.hiheritage.com
"As demonstrated by the case of the Cieszyn-based Serfenta Association, heritage can have a real impact on social change, as well as the economic development of cities and regions. Active engagement with heritage, meaning working with resources, can transform individuals and bring about significant social change. Specializing for many years in basketry craftsmanship, Serfenta has developed a business model that redefines the role of craftsmanship (and thus heritage) in the contemporary world. It moves away from preservation and focuses on what and how we can extract to serve present-day people. It is not about 'freezing' the past, but rather understanding how it can work for the future.
The result of Serfenta’s years of research and efforts is a model that completely shifts away from the product as the result of craftsmanship work and focuses instead on the experience. Modern people need the meditative nature of basketry, contact with natural materials, and the sense of agency it provides, to relax mentally and take care of their health. The need for mental health is significantly more important than acquiring another object. We have reached a point where most of us no longer need another item to store things, which was the primary function of crafted products. What we really require now is something that will balance our nervous system and help us calm down in these uncertain times. According to Serfenta’s research, participants in weaving experiences change their lives stories, gain a sense of agency, alter their beliefs about themselves, and create space for experimentation. Each of these aspects is incredibly valuable for the modern economy, for life comfort, and for a sense of belonging." (Urszula Szwed)
Study visit and online lectures - invite us to collaboration:
The Path from Grants to the Market – Come for a Study Visit to Serfenta, the NGO that has successfully become economically sustainable! In the field of cultural heritage? Yes, it’s possible! Serfenta Association operates daily in Cieszyn, on the Polish-Czech border, but its reach extends worldwide. We have been working on the future of basketry craftsmanship traditions and the contemporary persistence of cultural heritage for 17 years. We have developed our own business model, "Innovation Model of Craft Revitalisation," which has garnered broad interest from audiences around the globe and was a finalist for the New European Bauhaus Award 2023 under the theme “beautiful. sustainable. together.”
For several years now, we have been operating sustainably, independent of grants, subsidies, or other external funding sources. We have chosen stable, business-driven development for our organization, focusing on economic sustainability and market activity. We sell our services, knowledge, and products through our business operations. In the field of cultural heritage? Yes, it’s possible!
In 2024, we organised events for the cities of Kraków and Poznań, sharing our knowledge with entrepreneurs, craftsmen, and those working with cultural heritage. We can also prepare an event for you, so feel free to write to us or get in touch!
How to sell crafts today – commercial offer:
Contact us and let's do something together!
