Context:
It is common for younger generations in large cities, driven by lifestyle changes brought on by technological advancements, to prefer buying ready-made food over cooking at home. This acceleration in advancements is causing a gap between generations. We have identified that, due to this and other factors, family recipes are being lost. What remains is either cooking a recipe found online or, once again, buying ready-made food.
However, the loss of these recipes is a symptom of weakening affective memories and cultural homogenization. We, therefore, want to mitigate these side effects and create moments of connection and preservation of family stories through cuisine.
Younger generations lack time and have little interest in watching their relatives cook, and the elders have difficulty communicating their knowledge (being vague). Culinary traditions and affective moments are becoming increasingly scarce.
Problem: The loss of affective and cultural memory related to family recipes.
Objective: We want to use cooking as a form of connection between generations. The goal is not just to save a recipe, but to strengthen affective bonds and reduce this gap.
Requirements:
- Physical interaction between family members;
- Learning by doing;
- Engage both parties: it must be stimulating for the youth and comfortable for the elder (with no complex technological barriers);
- Easy to use/apply.
Budget: Low budget: we would have 80 BRL.
Personas:
- The Youth (Grandchild/Child): Limited time due to a busy routine and relatively low interest. Needs stimulus and a “learning by doing” experience.
- The Elder (Grandparent/Parent): Holder of the practical knowledge, with difficulty in specifying precise measurements (does a lot “by eye” / uses intuition) and may feel demotivated by the younger person’s apparent lack of interest.