Interview with Pam N Hand Me Up

In this week’s episode Gwen speaks to Pam who undertook a PhD in Using Exit strategy to design a collaborative Model for Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural Artisan Communities. She is a multi-award-winning accessories designer, educator, and author, with her own label called Vanhu Vamwe. Pam’s gift for storytelling, and her journey is quite enlightening on many fronts. Her experiences of working with artisans and feeling personally part of the problem of exploiting vulnerable communities led Pam to study a PhD where she could explore the impact designers working with artisans have on their lives and how to make the process better by bringing true, sustainable value to these communities. She enlightens the listener on how the nature of being a creative individual often means having multiple interests, and for Pam; this has meant exploring several different avenues but not being a jack of all trades. Our biggest takeaway from this episode is Pam’s boldness in stating: “... Dont tell me it’s a glorified Masters, and I say that with much humility..!” To understand how Pam arrived at this conclusion, we encourage you to listen to this highly engaging episode!!!