Shoyna, the world's northernmost "desert", is not marked on any map. In Shoyna, sand is ubiquitous. It is all around, as far as the eye can see. The dunes, which migrate up and down the White Sea coast by action of the westerly wind, can bury a house up to the roof in a single night, but here the people's attitude to sand is improbably fatalistic.

No one knows the exact reason why the sand crawls up and down the coastline. The phenomenon has not been researched extensively by scientists. Neither have they studied ways of stopping the dunes. But Shoyna's main issue is also its biggest potential: the act of removing sand.

The project tries to understand and shape the nature of Shoyna, by designing a tool that deals with its main issue and brings in social interaction and eventually, a little reward.

Contrary to average shovels, the Shovel for Two is a social tool, so to say. It is designed, when used by two people facing each other, to foster informal chats and strengthen interaction and communication. The shovel becomes a dynamic meeting point, and is no more a mere tool. 

Apart from removing sand it performs as a sledge, probably one of the only toys a kid from Shoyna can play with in this unsual playground. 

w/ Miguel Moreira.