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Project
How to Lease a Cow

Year
2024

Location
Dutch Design Week 2024

Type
Documentary Film, 28 min

Collaboration
Graduation Project with Nicolas Seiler


For the first time, Vreni leases a cow to someone outside her once thriving farming village of Guttannen, Switzerland. This documentary explores how an alpine farming community has adapted to economic changes, focusing on the impact of the hydropower industry on the village’s 500-year-old communal farming culture. Historically, everyone in Guttannen owned cattle and maintained their lifelihoods through farming. However, the arrival of the regional hydropower company disrupted this way of life, eroding the village’s farming identity. The ethnographic journey reveals the filmmakers’ relationship with local residents and highlights urban-rural prejudices. While bringing to light the transformation of the Alpine farming system over the past hundred years, ‘How to Lease a Cow’ delves into the effects of energy infrastructure on rural communities.

Through an ongoing research and engagement in Guttannen, Nicolas and Livni examine the role of designers as intermediating agents by building platforms for cross-cultural exchange. They seek to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas, promoting shared responsibility for community development.















Project
How to Lease a Cow

Year
2024

Location
Dutch Design Week 2024

Type
Documentary Film, 28 min

Collaboration
Graduation Project with Nicolas Seiler


For the first time, Vreni leases a cow to someone outside her once thriving farming village of Guttannen, Switzerland. This documentary explores how an alpine farming community has adapted to economic changes, focusing on the impact of the hydropower industry on the village’s 500-year-old communal farming culture. Historically, everyone in Guttannen owned cattle and maintained their lifelihoods through farming. However, the arrival of the regional hydropower company disrupted this way of life, eroding the village’s farming identity. The ethnographic journey reveals the filmmakers’ relationship with local residents and highlights urban-rural prejudices. While bringing to light the transformation of the Alpine farming system over the past hundred years, ‘How to Lease a Cow’ delves into the effects of energy infrastructure on rural communities.

Through an ongoing research and engagement in Guttannen, Nicolas and Livni examine the role of designers as intermediating agents by building platforms for cross-cultural exchange. They seek to bridge the gap between rural and urban areas, promoting shared responsibility for community development.