DROPS - Design And Re-engagement of Public Water Sources on The Island of Zlarin

Regaining the sense of wonder for the natural resources of the island of Zlarin as gifts given to us and upon which we depend.

As of 1st June 2023 association Tatavaka is conducting, in partnership with the City of Šibenik and Zlarin Tourist Board, a co-creation of public space through citizen engagement project DROPS - Design And Re-engagement of Public Water Sources on The Island of Zlarin.

The main objective of the DROPS project is re-valorization of water systems and the water basin on the Island through community engagement achieved by knowledge sharing of water use sustainable models between local residents, students, civil society stakeholders and experts, through a participatory workshop process and expert lectures from the perspectives of urban planning, biodiversity, cultural landscape, folk customs and others. In addition to the workshops, a clean-up action will be organized, as well as the installation of thematically relevant works of art and a public faucet which will ensure available drinking water for all residents and visitors of Zlarin.

Project ACTIVITIES:

• lectures by experts on geography and urban planning of the Island (yesterday, today, tomorrow)
• Zlarin in the context of climate change - workshop
• research of water systems and water basin on the Island
• drywall construction workshop
• lecture on the mythology of Lokvica
• participatory land art workshop
• workshop on wild edible plants of Zlarin
• presentation of a movie on water supply system of Zlarin
• lectures by experts on the topics of hydrology and water in public space
• round table on research and valorization of water resources in the area of Šibenik and the Šibenik archipelago
• volunteer clean-up action of traditional rainwater harvesting system
• installation of a public faucet
• final conference of the Project (presentation of the project and its results)

EVENTS:

In the described manner this project embodies the values of sustainability, inclusion and aesthetics by reaching the local community, Zlarin islanders and the citizens of Šibenik, waking up their potential through contact with the outside experts and creation of space to showcase their own expertise regarding the theme of water on the island of Zlarin.

EIT Community New European Bauhaus project DROPS - Design And Re-engagement of Public Water Sources on The Island of Zlarin is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

Workshops organization and coordination methodology

In the project planning process, the idea of using the principles of sociocracy in the organization and coordination of project workshops and sharing the methodology with the interested public in the form of a toolbox was established. The decision was made to create separate chapters concerning the research workshop and the Land Art workshop because different approaches were used during the course of the workshops based on the nature of their objectives. During the implementation of the project, we decided to add another chapter that would give insight into the challenges of planning workshops in small island environments and how to deal with them. We hope that Islands of Community will serve as a guide for small island communities that want to develop similar projects in their local communities.

Islands of Community.pdf