Design for poverty alleviation and craft revitalization in rural China from an actor-network perspective: the case of bamboo-weaving in Shengzhou

Abstract Design for poverty alleviation (DPA) is becoming an active promoter and effective practice form of rural social innovation. This study aims to explore the sustainable, collaborative design path of rural poverty alleviation. Based on actor network theory, this study analyzes the poverty alleviation process of rural actor network construction and participatory translation through the perspective of design integration. The case study chooses the traditional Chinese handicraft, Shengzhou bamboo weaving, to discuss the key links and elements of sustainability such as the role, benefits, and interaction of multiple actors. The staged effectiveness and social impact of the design integration are evaluated by questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews, qualitative and quantitative data collections, a logistic regression model was used to test for significant effects while adjusting for multiple factors simultaneously. The analysis shows that although DPA is difficult to realize the fundamental adjustment of the rights and interests of rural craftsmen, it plays a key role in guiding the development of industrial goals, expected economic and social benefits, brings huge driving force and implementation effect to rural social innovation. The actor network theory solves the problem of separation between the individual and network attributes of DPA among stakeholders, and provides an innovative basis for rural social innovation to choose effective design intervention and mechanisms to balance the rights and interests of various stakeholders.