Social design and research with the farmers of Montes de Maria, Colombia, South America
How might we help the farmers of Montes de Maria rejuvenate their crops post-war, and connect them to viable markets and consumers across Colombia? How might we encourage, educate and incentivize sustainable farming practices in effort to preserve Colombia’s endangered tropical dry forests?
In Colombia, South America, Project Resound gathered 27 service and communications designers from different countries, fields and interests. For two days, our team lived with the farmers of Montes de Maria and visited several farms producing crops ranging from beans forest honey, avocado, sesame seeds, eggplant and native tropical fruits. Complete ethnographic immersion allowed us to design solutions unbiased from our own backgrounds and countries, in order to design for the unique characteristics of the region and the farmers and families who call it home.
My Part: While the team truly contributed to all aspects of the project, I am proud to have personally contributed:
1. Visit, observe and interview farmers of the forest honey bee farm
2. Synthesize observations and information to present to rest of the project group
3. Support communications team in project branding ideation in response to service group planning structure
4. Design workshop material and certificates as part of Saber del Monte’s educational and incentivizing program
Project Team: Louis Baker, Miguel Navarro, Lina Lopez, Andres Amaya, Juanita Londono, Eric Shumate, Addie Ross, Anthony Ream, Brendan Delzin, Laura Mulder, Nicholas Huggins, Olivia Bishop, Peter Allen, Lindsay Courtney, Morgan Ricard, Dima Dubodel, Natalia Cardenas, Diana Echeverry, Sharee Iguaran, Felissa Jimenexz, Carolina Obregon
