Ten years ago, a community-owned development center in Ireland partnered with a technical college to create a local institution that could revitalize both a community and a lagging furniture industry cluster. Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and Connemara West, a community-owned economic development organization in western County Galway, joined forces to build a new college to introduce craft and design principles, entrepreneurship, and new production technologies in an effort to breathe new life into the industry.
