Centre for Alternative Technology

I thought it useful to put up a quick video about CAT in Mid Wales before we all mini-bused over there on this year's mandatory visit..

Grow Your Own Packaging!

We looked at this today towards the end of the session. It gives a glimpse of how people are being inventive now with methods of packaging. Fascinating stuff!

Gdes3003 Visit to Worcester Resource Exchange

It's an Aladdin's cave of goodies at Worcester Resource Exchange [WRE] near Shrub Hill station. Beth and Nicki have a huge range of materials in stock there - much of it post industrial or 'swapped' with other local scrap stores for things WRE had in abundance. For this project students on the GDES3003 module can go there and source card and board etc [excellent range and not too costly in the purse] for experiments with packaging during your development stages.

Here's some pictures from the visit:

WRE Supervisor Beth talks to students

Nathan - suggestions for captions please..

Amazing old collection of "78" speed records and more.

WRE uses it's own board stocks to make up little kits for children's activities

Just a sample of the different types of paper and board in stock

Gemma looks over some of the flat cardboard supplies

They've got art supplies too..

'Wrex' the store's guard dog.

Questions For Clients

We'll use this post as a constant place to post Q's to client[s]. We'll alert Jennie to this so that she's able to get back as comments as and when she's able in her working week.

Questions.

Nicole [for Jennie]

• What food would they pair these beers with?
• What are their two best selling beers?
• What recipes would they recommend using them in?

Post Legges and Wye Valley Visit & Q+A

The group went off to both Legges butchers/delicatessen and the Wye Valley Brewery yesterday [26th Oct] to look over samples of both Legges chutney's/mustards etc as well as the Wye Valley Brewery. At Wye Valley Brewery we were shown around by managing director Vernon Amor followed by a useful talking through of the brief set and an opportunity to ask related questions one to one with both Vernon and WVB marketing director Jennie Hermolle. 

There was a wide range of questions asked by students from [getting the Clever Trevor award] "does daylight affect the quality of the beer?" to more straightforward and to the point queries about the brief and requirements or goalposts to work between.

Some pictures of the group's visit to Legges in Bromyard below:

Vishnu looks over the goodies.

Amazing range of products on show at Legges

The local food movement is growing in popularity.

Nicole and Kashka @ Legges

Images from the Wye Valley Brewery tour and Q+A session [amazing smells]:

Talk inside the brewery

Intro talk about the site's history & safety regs.

MD Vernon Amor above the settlement Vats.

One of the many examples of traditional imagery on site.

Spent mash from brewing. This is sold to local farms for cattle feed.

Barrels of beer lined-up in the brewery. The ultimate reusable container..

Students walking through from the mash room to the settlement vats

Client Audio from Wye Valley Brewery


MP3 No. 1 [large file 35Mb - some machinery noise]
MP3 No. 2 [large file 37Mb - some machinery noise]

Natural Packaging Ideas

Following on from this afternoon's string, oranges and cardboard work I've just put the ones sent to me so far on the blog.. Some nice ideas, although a done in light it does make you appreciate the challenges of wrapping round things following on from today's natural packaging discussions.

Nicole and Gareth

Ida, Claire and Rosanna

Vishnu, Nathan and Zoe

 Laura, Kashka, Emily

Harriet, Rhys

Student Learning Journal Blog Links
Laura: http://laurahenngdes3003.blogspot.com/
Nicole : http://nicolegreendesign.blogspot.com/
Dom: http://dominicgambettagreendesign.blogspot.com/
Claire: http://ch3003gd.blogspot.com/
Vishnu: http://gdes3003vp.blogspot.com/
Zoe: http://zoegdes3003blog.blogspot.com/
Adam: http://adamnicolaougdes3003.blogspot.com/
Gareth: http://garethgreendesign.blogspot.com/
Harriet: http://design3003.blogspot.com/
Kashka: http://kashkaneri.blogspot.com/
Vicky not Harris: http://vickyholdfordgreen3003.blogspot.com
Sami: http://greendesign3003.blogspot.com/
Ben: http://bengreendesign.blogspot.com/
Lizzie: http://lizzieboland.blogspot.com/
Andreea: http://gdes3003andreean.blogspot.com/
Vicky Harris: http://vickyharris-gdes3003.blogspot.com/
Emily: http://emilyvb3003.blogspot.com/
Gemma: http://gdesgem.blogspot.com/
Rebecca: http://rebeccagdes3003.blogspot.com/

Rosanna: http://rosanna-gdes3003.blogspot.com/

Rhys: http://rhysgdes3003.blogspot.com/
Ida: http://idapettgdes3003.blogspot.com/

Nathan: http://dragon2719.blogspot.com/

GDES3003 for 2011 - Welcome!

We're off again and we're starting by initially looking at the two areas that help form much of the background to the module's genesis - those of Climate change and Peak Oil.


This year we're getting all the cohort to use blogs as learning journals in line with the nature of the module and the additional flexibility this will give to highlight ideas, imagery, videos etc as well as personal research and ideas.


Some great discussions ongoing to day about both subjects - especially so from Ida, Kaska and Dom [to name but some].


Look forward to seeing the outputs from task 02 in next week's session.


Andy


Also for your consideration: