In 2009, Oselvarverkstaden became the first Economuseum to open in Western Norway. In the autumn of 2021, the Norwegian branch of the organization changed its name to “Håndlaget“, ÉCONOMUSÉE NettverksSamfunn(ENS), a non-profit organization, is the founder, owner and operator of the ÉCONOMUSÉE concept and five other concepts promoted under the Artisans at Work brand: HERITAGE SPACE, CULINARY SPACE, WORKSHOP, BOUTIQUE and DESTINATION. ENS is an international organization whose members share similar goals. Together they work to preserve and promote the continuation of intangible cultural heritage, such as knowledge, skills and expertise that are passed on from generation to generation. Their work helps to protect and strengthen various traditional cultural practices. ENS works to ensure the readiness of craft entrepreneurs, organizations and their knowledge by helping them to bring out the best in themselves. ENS contributes to the active and sustainable development of local communities by strengthening the interaction between visitors and artisans, as well as increasing the income from visitors.
This group of craft businesses and traditional food producers is aimed at tourism, where living crafts are combined with providing an historical context for the food and craft traditions. Taste traditional food and see how crafts are carried out in practice. Today there are 15 members in the Norwegian chapter of “Håndlaget”
These are the members of HÅNDLAGET – 1 November 2023:
The purpose is to take care of, develop and showcase traditional craft and food traditions. The businesses that have integrated the concept have experienced good results in relation to finances, tourism and culture. In this way, a basis is created for carrying on the craft traditions.
The idea behind the model is to:
- DISPLAY living crafts and traditional knowledge
- TAKE CARE OF culture and traditions
- COMBINE culture, economy and tourism
- BUILD a cultural model for entrepreneurship
The members of HÅNDLAGET are living craft enterprises that, in addition to the production and sale of traditional food or craft products, facilitate touristm experiences by making their craft traditions and the historical context visible. This gives the business an additional arena for selling products directly to buyers, and thus a more solid basis for passing on the craft traditions and the related knowledge.
The members of “HÅNDLAGET” all share the following qualities:
- Use of a traditional technique or knowledge in production
- An inclusive working environment
- A sincere desire to open the doors to the public, to showcase their craft and knowledge about it, and to let the public meet those who carry out the craft
- A building that has been designed for displaying and dissemination of their craft tradition
- Basing the business on the sale of its products
