Design Thinking and Bamboo Workshop
January 2019, MIT DLab IAP Trip

During an IAP trip to Filandia, Colombia, apart from working with the community on developing more sustainable methods for coffee farming, during the trip each member of the MIT Dlab team was also tasked with conducting activities (such as skill workshops, tech take-apart and Arduino, etc.) with the local communities as a way to promote co-creation and participatory design.

In my case I conducted a bamboo workshop using the locally available ‘guadua - bamboo’ - a neotropical genus of thorny, clumping bamboo. It proved a valuable exchange of vernacular knowledge and an exercise in design thinking using the simplest of tools.

Easily one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.