Cultural approach to circular economy. Preliminary analysis of intangible Toraja's vernacular architecture and its potential application on the coffee value chain

This item is part of: Boarin, P., Haarhoff, E., Manfredini, M., Mohammadzadeh, M., Premier, A., (2021). Rethinking Sustainable Pacific Rim Territories. Proceedings of the 2020 APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Hub PhD Symposium, Future Cities Research Hub, School of Architecture and Planning of the University of Auckland. ISBN: 978-0-473-53616-9

ABSTRACT

The research found that the coffee value chain operates in a long linear path and has not adopted the local wisdom point of view. The real actors in the primary stage are community-based stakeholders. To employ the circular economy framework as the latest sustainable approach to the value chain, then the gap of the social value of the societal structure and the culture in a circular economy that mainly unexplored must be developed. Vernacular architecture represents the social and cultural value. This value has to be understood, translated, and employed in the framework. This research aims to create a framework for the community-based coffee value chain by adapting a circular economy framework with added social value and culture. It is done by analyzing the vernacular architecture values and the coffee culture where both are in the same frame of the cultural landscape, with case study Toraja. Furthermore, this paper will focus on the value of the carving motifs of Toraja vernacular architecture, which are part of the vernacular architecture's material symbols and its meaning in the social value and its interweaving with the coffee culture. The research employs a qualitative research methodology with a case study approach.