Andrea Somenzi

Born in Cremona in 2000, he has spent his entire life living in a small town in the province. During his bachelor’s degree in product design at Politecnico di Milano, he began to study and explore the possibilities of digital fabrication in design.
He continued his career by enrolling in the master’s degree program in Design and Engineering at the same university, interested in exploring various engineering aspects of industrial production such as electronics and manufacturing processes.
His interest lies in open-source design for local interconnected systems, driven by digital manufacturing, shared knowledge, and open innovation.

This interest led him to participate in an Erasmus program in Barcelona at Elisava – Facultad de Diseño e Ingeniería to experience life in one of the world’s first Fab Cities with a lively and expanded network of fab labs and makerspaces.

Abstract
The thesis starts with an analysis and comprehension of the current European and Italian seed systems, particularly in light of the new ecological challenges they face. The research focuses on techniques associated with agroecology, which serves as a scientific, practical, and social methodology that aims to address these challenges.
It also explores open, local, and distributed production as an alternative to industrial and mass production, promoting sustainable environmental and social practices.

The final goal of the research is to examine the role of design in the multi-actor management of biodiversity and to explore opportunities for developing projects focused on seed conservation to promote agrobiodiversity.
The research then proceeds to examine different strategies for the conservation of plant genetic resources of agricultural interest with a particular focus on the informal system.

One effective strategy suitable for a possible open, local, and distributed production is community-based biodiversity management, an established methodology that helps communities and organizations promote the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity.
Specifically, this research looks at community seed banks (CSBs), locally managed entities that conserve seeds for local use, as an effective representation of this management method.