Relationships matter: the role of family-like bonds and interdependency in designing social innovation practices

This chapter looks at the role of relationships in designing social innovation (DSI) by surfacing relational entanglements present in a vibrant creative ecosystem located in Sakon Nakhon, Thailand. These relationships become more visible and active, coming to the fore in a yearly festival where local creatives return to reconnect, make, share and sell locally-made products. The strength of the relationships comes from a confluence of kinship and family-like bonds based on Sakon Nakhon’s indigo dyeing and textile weaving traditions. We highlight the interdependent nature of these bonds and their relational specificities and the conditions, such as place, history, cultures, values, beliefs and time. This allows us to better understand the importance of pre-existing relationships present in communities, the dynamics involved in nurturing and forming new relationships to grow the network and their role in sustaining a dynamic, social innovation environment.