The following analysis delves into the notion of a caravan on the basis of its birth and evolution. The source behind its creation was the habit of nomadic life. Human beings have always related their lives with movement both in time and space in search of better living conditions and new horizons and prospective. The caravan was one of the very few means to the achieving these goals. A team of nomads, like the Roma people, was the pinnacle in terms of the revolution in the world of this form of transportation. The “vardo”, powered by horse caravans, a trademark of the Roma people’s culture, replaced tents as a means of residing in the ever search. They were also a model of caravan making throughout the world.
In the decades following 1920, we have witnessed a scaled evolution in both the infrastructure as well as the function of the caravan. Europe and America were mainly the centre of this evolution with two classic and inventive companies making their presence, Eccles in Europe and Airstream in the States. Starting with conventional “boxes” made of wood and steel, placed on a trailer we went to the creation of those made of different materials like GRP material, based on the needs its period had. The functionality for instance changes during WWII.
From the 60’s and onwards the caravan as a meaning has steadily become a product, whose demand and supply rests on the quality of production demanded by the consumer. This has brought competition upon the manufacturers in terms of efficiency and mass production. The beginning of the 21st century marks the manufacturing of caravans that are designed to specific needs and in some cases their simplification.
Lastly, a question is raised; in a globalised economy like the one we are living in, coupled with a multicity of culture and civilization and in terms of the range of different needs of transportation, how can we reestablish the meaning of nomadic life using the caravan as a founding stone? Whatchangesandwhatstaysthesamealongthoselines?