Design 21: Social Design Network

I came across this interesting posting about Jeff Sachs RDDD (Research-Develop-Demonstrate-Diffuse) theory and how it applies to instructional learning: http://lessonslearned.edublogs.org/2008/04/23/the-design-process/

I was in a meeting at Millennium Promise where a colleague was talking about the importance of agricultural interventions in our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. As a writer and designer, I couldn't help but to think of the parallels between agriculture and art, despite one being driven by necessity and the other, you could argue, being a decadent privilege unnecessary for survival. In particular, three words kept coming up: seeds, fertilizer and credit.

These three things were the key ingredients to successful agriculture, stressed this colleague of mine. Of course there are other key factors, most notably water and climate, but climate is beyond human control, whereas seeds, fertilizer and credit are within our control as humans on this planet.

Good art also requires these three same ingredients. You need the seeds to create the art (ideas and inspiration). You need fertilizer to germinate the art (tools and instruments to create your art). And you need credit. In the agriculture world, this means credit to buy fertilizer and tools, and also money to get on your feet and weather the off-season. In the writing and art world it’s the same. You need free time and a full belly to create your art. Depending on your art, you need your tools of the trade.

I’m not sure what the parallel of climate is in the art world. Maybe it’s the artistic community in which the art can thrive? The viewers of the art? Another interesting concept talked about in this me...

My name is Elizabeth Appiah, and my role in my community is to organize the women for communal labor and active involvement in the decision-making process. The biggest success I have witnessed through the Millennium Villages project is the empowerment of women and our increased involvement in communal work. This is a large achievement. I strongly feel it is divine intervention which has come to assist us to improve on the agricultural, health, educational and infrastructural programs in our community.

Before the project, our food supply was unstable due to frequent flooding of our farms, the scarcity of meat and fish and the periodic shortage of crops. During these times I went to bed hungry at least once a week. We have adopted some modern methods of farming that have been taught to us through the Millennium Villages project. In addition to training we are also supplied with improved seedlings for maize, cocoa and citrus as well as fertilizers to improve the amount of food we produce. Some community members have also been taught how to make soap, which is a valuable product for our community and can also be sold to create income.

We have had difficulty accessing healthcare. In our region, we have one doctor for every 15,000 patients. It takes a great deal of time to receive care when so many are in need of medical attention and so few can give the care that is needed. The project constructed a clinic and supported additional health staff to serve those in need. ...