Özet:

Abstract In this study, it is aimed to offer possible solutions for the sustainability of the Kahramanmaraş yemeni craft by evaluating the semi-structured interview and observation results with the craftsmen who practice the Kahramanmaraş yemeni craft through the current method of “Design Thinking”. In addition, this article is aimed to encourage studies on the protection and sustainability of the intangible cultural heritage existing in our country and to support the craftsman-designer cooperation. The concept of sustainability was first explained in the World Conference on Environmental Development held in 1987 and in the report titled “Our Common Future”, known as the Brundtlant Report (WECD, 1987). Sustainability is described by three important dimensions; environmental, economic and social. However, cultural sustainability, which overlaps with the protection of intangible heritage in general, was proposed as a fundamental dimension in sustainability by UNESCO in 1995 and defined as the fourth dimension by Jon Hawkes in 2001. All four dimensions of sustainability contribute to the sustainability of traditional productions and crafts. The sustainability of the Kahramanmaraş yemeni craft included in this research has been examined in terms of its social and cultural dimensions as well as its known environmental and economic dimensions. Kahramanmaraş yemeni is the product of köşkerlik that Anatolia’s long-established traditional-shoe manufactures’ tradition is. The meaning of the word Köşkerlik; It is the name given to shoe repair and production. The most well-known yemeni, which has survived to the present day, is produced by köşker (who produces traditional shoes in Turkish) in Kahramanmaraş for the purpose of protecting the feet and as a foot wear item made by traditional means. Kahramanmaraş yemeni is among the crafts that are on the verge of disappearing. The sustainability of Kahramanmaraş yemeni can be considered within the scope of social design studies within the discipline of industrial design. Yemeni, which is a traditional product, and the sustainability of its production are included in the cultural dimension of sustainability. For this reason, it appears as an important case to analyze the difficult relationship of Kahramanmaraş yemeni and its production with design. The current interpretation of the traditional shoe produced using traditional methods in the shoe industry, which has reached the industrial scale and is capable of semi-mass production, is the focus of the study. In this context, field research was conducted with the Kahramanmaraş yemeni craftsmen, and the contribution of the design thinking process, which centered on the user of the Kahramanmaraş yemeni tradition, to the sustainability of this craft was evaluated. “Design Thinking”, one of the current design methods, has the potential to contribute to the sustainability studies of crafts and traditional products, as it has a user-oriented understanding and is open to the participation of different expertise. The design thinking method is especially for non-designers to learn the design process and apply this process correctly. In order to analyze and process the problem and its framework identified in the process, and to deal with the so-called “wicked problems”, teams of participants from different disciplines are required. For this reason, design is an important tool in the sustainability studies of crafts and products, crafts and products constitute an important resource in design applications. In this context, as a result of the interviews and observations made with the craftsmen within the scope of the field studies carried out in the study, the sustainability of Kahramanmaraş yemeni was gathered under the headings of the design thinking method. It is necessary to design and develop products that can be produced by the craftsman for the sustainability of the Kahramanmaraş yemeni craft, which are produced with their own unique production technique. The sustainability of Kahramanmaraş yemeni as a product, within the scope of the design thinking method stages; material selection, the processing technique provided by the material, different product forms, customized product groups, new concepts and technically developed products for the needs of the user.

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