Designing Under Extreme Resource Constraints: How practicing Distributed Realities in Afghanistan can shape the future of Distributed Design

The concept of designing under extreme resource constraints (both physical and psychological constraints) has become increasingly relevant in an era of local and global uncertainty, where geographically isolated, politically volatile, socially complex societies demand adaptability, serious design, contextual and responsible thinking and making. These connected forms of global challenges can be referred to as distributed realities: urban conditions that are dispersed across spatial, temporal, and cultural dimensions, which require holistic thinking and interconnected engagement by committed and dedicated people across a dynamic range of locally networked yet distributed forms of knowledge and decision-making. While the existing concept of Distributed Design positions creative skills and the making approach close to communities of knowledge and practice and points of demand, practicing it in extremely resource-constrained regions such as Afghanistan requires a comprehensive [holistic] approach influenced by the different types of realities found on the ground. This enhanced form of Distributed Design [proposed in this article] aims to increase the resilience of local businesses and small-scale production through a larger and more connected form of interface with communities of shared identity and the wider society to deliver design outcomes that are culturally appropriate and seamlessly integrated with traditional craftsmanship and small enterprises.<p></p>