Design 21: Social Design Network

“CANDO” stands for Cambodian NTFP Development Organization (CAN-DO), which is one of the non-profit organizations I’ve been contacting with. They work with rural communities of Cambodia live in prosperous and dignified condition through sustainable forest resources management, community economic development and promotion of social well-being.

They are basically the group of people I have been working with, and designing for. In order to understand their abilities and crafts clearly, (without visiting there physically) I have asked them to ship me some of their existing products.

And now, I finally got them! These are two of their bamboo baskets and natural dyed fabrics.

“CANDO” stands for Cambodian NTFP Development Organization (CAN-DO), which is one of the non-profit organizations I’ve been contacting with. They work with rural communities of Cambodia live in prosperous and dignified condition through sustainable forest resources management, community economic development and promotion of social well-being.

They are basically the group of people I have been working with, and designing for. In order to understand their abilities and crafts clearly, (without visiting there physically) I have asked them to ship me some of their existing products.

And now, I finally got them! These are two of their bamboo baskets and natural dyed fabrics.

C o r e P r o b l e m Although the Kingdom of Cambodia is rich in natural resources, decades of war and internal conflict have left it one of the world’s poorest countries. The World Bank estimated 35% of the population living under the poverty line in 2004. It is highest in rural areas and lowest in Phnom Phen. While the country’s economy has grown in the last few years, It’ll still take a long time to escape poverty.

The pressures of a fast-growing population contribute to poverty. Because of a lack of education and skills training, people have low capabilities and inadequate employment opportunities. They are insecure, excluded, and vulnerable. Poor health, lack of education, poor infrastructure and low productivity lead to deeper poverty. The cycle of poverty, ill health, and high health care costs cripple poor Cambodian families economically.

T a r g e t a u d i e n c e Producers: low-income bamboo artisan families in Cambodia Buyers: global customers

M i s s i o n • improve the quality of life for struggling low-income families in Cambodia, by investigating the country’s available natural resources, • create opportunities for the production of responsible design products to sell in the global marketplace, • practice production and consumption in a more sustainable manner. • educate consumers about the producers/artisans backgrounds

As I believe, these individuals in Cambodia have their abilities and advantages to create wealth, and to creat...

To prepare for C40 Solutions a Global Sustainable Design Exhibition, Sustainable Pratt in collaboration with the Academic Director of Sustainability and Design 21 issued a call for entries to all Pratt Institute departments.

We received entries from Interior Design, Industrial Design, Digital Arts, Architecture, Urban Design and City Planning. These diverse entries can be viewed in detail in this blog and at the Sustainable Pratt website.

Entries will be juried by Debera Johnson: Center for Sustainable Design Studies, Jacqui Khiu: Design 21, Donna Moran: School of Art and Design, and Green Week Keynote Speaker Paul Polak.

Winning Entries will be announced and displayed Thursday, March 27th at 5:30 PM in the Higgin's Hall Pitt prior to the commencement of Paul Polak's presentation.

En 2002 pude asistir como oyente y representante de España como miembro de la Fundacion Coopera a la 2ª conferencia en Cape Town south Africa sobre el Tercer Sector presidida por la Srª Ruht Cardoso siendo miembros 160 paises. Y nos ayudo asistir para conocer y comprender mejor los injustos problemas del continente Africano. Os invito a que podais asistir en esta 8ª conferencia en Barcelona España.

Conferencias "El Tercer Sector Sostenible y Cambio Social: nuevas fronteras para la investigación" Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, España 9-12 Julio, 2008 Octava Conferencia Internacional de ISTR

http://www.istr.org/conferences/barcelona/index.htm

Preschool at Lexington School for the Deaf (Queens)

Age 3 months to 18 months old (Class size 7)

One of the groups of children I had the great pleasure of working with today was a play group at Lexington School for the Deaf. In order for a child to be admitted to the school, parents must come at least once a week with their son/daughter to the Ready to Learn Center on campus. At ready to learn, children ages 3 months to 3 years participate in games and other auditory and visual communication exercises with their parent(s) and a trained specialist. The goal is to provide for a strong foundation of communication and interaction between child and parent. Every Wednesday the children and their parents get together for an hour and a half social where there is play time followed by snack time! This weekly activity allows parents to interact with one another as well as their children with other children. Of the 7 children there (two of which are brother and sister) only 3 of them have Deaf parents.

With the help of the RTL staff, I set up several of my toys amongst other toys and gave a brief informal introduction/presentation. It is sometimes nerve racking for me to sign in front of others when I hardly do it at all by myself, let alone if I ever go home (Both of my parents are Deaf). The parents were eager to participate and went about the toys, mimicking the signs to their children. I spoke to parents at random and found, to my surprise, that those parents who could hear were ...

Preschool at Lexington School for the Deaf (Queens)

Age 3 - 5 years old (class size 4-6)

Today I brought the blanket and building blocks to a school for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HOH) at Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City. It was really brilliant. The first class I met with is taught by Amanda and all the children (ages 3 to 4 years) practiced sign language and all but one had Deaf parents. So, needless to say their range of speech/vocabulary and sign was amazing! I found myself having a brief conversation with every one (some more animate than others).

They got really excited about the blocks. Especially those blocks that rattled or had crinkly affects such as plastic or paper on the inside. It is very important to note, and I am sure it will only become more obvious, the acute need to concentrate heavily on material and textures.

I first asked the children what sign the picture was that I held up to them. They most always responded in the correct sign. I then showed them the other side of the block and automatically the kids started listing off what they saw: boy, hair, baby, 'sign for cow', mouth open).

Second came the blanket, and that was a winner! Opposed to what mothers and infants said/responded to it at the YMHA, these 3/4 year olds loved it and responded to the signs. Obviously it is because they are immersed in the language, but it is important to note nonetheless.

The second class i sat in was taught by Judy and all students have Cochlear...

My concept is not only to raise awareness about global warming through better production processes but also to be able to use furniture as a medium to show the comfort of greens.

My target audience is urban inhabitants and especially people who live in NYC. There are various parks and squares around NYC. However, they are not enough for the population for the city. More than 8 million people live in NYC, but there are only 1,700 parks. Different studies have proven that vegetation has therapeutic qualities to help individuals cope with stress. Some people grow small gardens in their backyard, on the balconies or even as an ornament in their living rooms. My idea is to design a ‘green bench’ built in beside, or around trees sidewalk. This ‘green bench’ solves one’s desires to grow greens in front of their house, but also people sit enjoy ‘green’ as they sit on the park.

My concept is not only to raise awareness about global warming through better production processes but also to be able to use furniture as a medium to show the comfort of greens.

My target audience is urban inhabitants and especially people who live in NYC. There are various parks and squares around NYC. However, they are not enough for the population for the city. More than 8 million people live in NYC, but there are only 1,700 parks. Different studies have proven that vegetation has therapeutic qualities to help individuals cope with stress. Some people grow small gardens in their backyard, on the balconies or even as an ornament in their living rooms. My idea is to design a ‘green bench’ built in beside, or around trees sidewalk. This ‘green bench’ solves one’s desires to grow greens in front of their house, but also people sit enjoy ‘green’ as they sit on the park.

My concept is not only to raise awareness about global warming through better production processes but also to be able to use furniture as a medium to show the comfort of greens.

My target audience is urban inhabitants and especially people who live in NYC. There are various parks and squares around NYC. However, they are not enough for the population for the city. More than 8 million people live in NYC, but there are only 1,700 parks. Different studies have proven that vegetation has therapeutic qualities to help individuals cope with stress. Some people grow small gardens in their backyard, on the balconies or even as an ornament in their living rooms. My idea is to design a ‘green bench’ built in beside, or around trees sidewalk. This ‘green bench’ solves one’s desires to grow greens in front of their house, but also people sit enjoy ‘green’ as they sit on the park.