Design Map · Eindhoven
Forest Walker Method
Graduation project by Vikenė Vaitkevičiūtė at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
‘Forest Walker Method’ explores how people might rebuild relationships with forests beyond the binary of extraction and preservation. Developed in Lithuania, where increasing forest clearance has intensified public debate and traditional human–forest relationships have recently been recognised as national heritage, the project asks whether relationships with forests can be reconciled through everyday practice and design, rather than ideology. Working with local forest walkers, the designer transforms materials collected along their paths into seven handcrafted bags. Accompanied by a film and a guide, the bags trace the walker’s individual story. ‘Forest Walker Method’ proposes design not merely as the production of commodities but as a way of cultivating enduring relationships with place. It is an invitation to use walking as a practice for renewing a sense of responsibility through gathering, observation, care, and everyday engagement.