LaCibofficina, literally translated to mean "The Food Workshop", is a system designed for the small town of Rho, to the north of Milano, in Italy. Rho is where the major fair-ground of Milan is located, and hence receives large numbers of tourists, both domestic and foreign, each year.
This number is only expected to go up in 2015, the year of the world Expo, held in this ground. Rho faces a number of unique problems in the face of all this. Being so close to Milan, tourists rarely bother visiting the town despite spending all day at the fairgrounds. Rho does not have much in terms of historical sights to visit, and there is not much in terms of entertainment around. Youngsters from Rho themselves are drawn into Milan for recreation, entertainment and pleasure. In order to combat these issues, and the resulting loss of culture and identity, a workshop was held in the Politecnico Di Milano, convened by the people of Rho.
This number is only expected to go up in 2015, the year of the world Expo, held in this ground. Rho faces a number of unique problems in the face of all this. Being so close to Milan, tourists rarely bother visiting the town despite spending all day at the fairgrounds. Rho does not have much in terms of historical sights to visit, and there is not much in terms of entertainment around. Youngsters from Rho themselves are drawn into Milan for recreation, entertainment and pleasure. In order to combat these issues, and the resulting loss of culture and identity, a workshop was held in the Politecnico Di Milano, convened by the people of Rho.
LaCibofficina resulted from this workshop, and is in essence, a social network revolving around traditional food. Food is a large part of the identity of the Italian people, and each small town has a unique set of dishes that are cooked there. These are slowly vanishing in Rho, and the youngsters are losing a large part of their culture. LaCibofficina serves as both a physical and digital link to this culture. The application that serves as the digital platform for LaCibofficina allows users to create profiles, and interact with other people from Rho who are passionate about food. It allows them to host events and mini-workshops at home, host dinners and pass on knowledge of traditional recipes.
LaCibofficina is intended to have a permanent space, where cooking classes, and other food-related activities are held frequently. Being owned and operated by the community, the kitchen is intended to be freely available for use by the citizens of Rho.
Small certificates, to mark the mastering of a traditional dish of Rho, are also part of the system. These serve as an added level of incentive, to add weight to an otherwise intangible achievement.
