Using the medium as the message

I love this work of Julius Popp. It demonstrates to me how the use of message with a medium can have profound impact. I'm curious about a similar translation when working on design for development. When one is seeking to survive, can the solution be messaged through art and technology? If so, how?

Verbal Research

Contact FM Interview from Kara Pecknold on Vimeo.
This radio interview recalls much of what I did this summer. Take a listen if you are so inclined. I am posting it here because listening to it again reminded me of the thoughts I've had in the process of my research. Hearing yourself discuss your ideas is an incredible tool (one that my writing can sometimes lack).

Research Map

I'm working out the path of my research and how it will become actualized in project form. Not being in Rwanda seems to hinder some of my practice-based inquisitions. But for what it's worth, this is my thinking so far. Much contextual reviewing to engage with if I'm to actually position this research effectively. Feedback is welcomed (click on image to see it larger). And of course, a time line is being undertaken. This part is a little bit harder and notably blank right now.

Visualizing Research

As a writer, I'm struck by the new found freedom to use visual tools for my research process. Wordle provides a tool to do this online. Here's my blogs visualized self.

I want to be a pilot

This video was shared with me by a visual artist who knew of my time in Rwanda. It is poetic and moving, to say the least.

Beyond that it has multiple layers. And a layer that strikes me in light of my thesis work is, "How do we communicate adaptive strategies to a young boy who is infected with HIV and living alone in Kibera?" Watching him wade through mounds of garbage makes me both cry and consider. Consider how waste management could make life better (not to mention all sorts of other basic needs being fulfilled). Thankfully, some have begun to look into this idea.

As I listened to each line of his poem, I was struck by what he had to say about the West's involvement in his country and how even that had provided all that he could hope for. Suffice it say, this is sticking with me (as Kibera is in Kenya and at times, the level of poverty is not that far removed from some of the realities I saw in Rwanda).

I am also challenged with his words that we flippantly toss out, "I want to fly away." Right.

You Make Me

While in London, I visited the Tate Modern (I could seriously move in there!). While Christopher Wool was not exhibiting during my visit, I did take note of this postcard and have become quite drawn to his typographic work as an example of how communication design and art merge.

Sketch Book

During the summer, I worked on a book with words from Rwanda. I found it incredibly therapeutic and it became a way to encourage my analog side. I can find myself stuck on the computer too often and this helped me look at things from a different angle using language and image.

This word itorero means congregation or place where people gather.

We also got some media coverage over the course of the summer. Here's an article that appeared in the New Times paper after our exhibit. Click on the image to read.

Kwibuka

Kwibuka means "memory" in Kinyarwandan. And I'm chock full of them. Today marks my last day in Rwanda. I'm sitting in the airport waiting for a flight to Nairobi and ultimately London. And finally, I will return back home to the reality of school and the process of filtering through all that I've absorbed (as it relates to my thesis, not to mention my life).

This experience has been truly transforming and I am grateful to have been able to experience every moment of it.

Exhibited

We actually pulled off our exhibit at the Kandt House Museum of Natural History. The event drew about 100 guests from all sectors of society. Minister Romain Murenzi (responsible for Science and Technology) opened the show and Rose Mukankomeje from the office of the Rwandan Environmental Management Agency (REMA) also attended. We were interviewed on two of the major radio stations and there should be a spread in the Sunday edition of the New Times Paper. The women even got to sell a few items and I offered up posters to raise funds for our efforts.

We got a lot of feedback indicating this was a successful experience:
It promoted the Kandt (that most Rwandans are unaware of)
It offered a cultural and social activity (which is atypical)
It highlighted how art and science can merge together for economic development
It brought people together for a common purpose and provided something aesthetic and meaningful

I am exhausted but absolutely delighted with how everything turned out. What a great capstone to my experience here.

The site is live (but will need some North American soil tweaking still).

All you can do is try

A humble request.

Co-Design

Mitch animated the sketch that inspired the logo for COVAGA. I love how it shows the co-design reality of this process. In my research, I've also come across an interesting journal that discusses these ideas.

Unexpected Opportunities

If you've followed my blog, you are aware of how some things can be frustrating in our journey to complete our project. Internet that doesn't work, meetings and events that get cancelled and general miscommunication realities are just some of the "calamities" of our process. But recently, I've been given a great opportunity to prepare a document that will most likely be forwarded to the First Lady of Rwanda. As she is an advocate of the cooperatives in Rwanda, we wanted to share with her about our work and invite her to the exhibit. Here's some images from the brief I developed and Lama will hopefully be able to connect with her and/or her staff to present more. Whatever happens, this is something I did not expect!







I am doing similar documents to send to our potential sponsors for the exhibit. Using photography and design, we hope to present a story that the private sector can get behind.

What do you do?

I found this image on another blog and thought it was quite apropos. Design is so much more than web design and yet this image identified a reality I am facing in Rwanda as far as the general understanding of the capacity of design. I appreciate my studies at ECU that encourage and seek to develop "design thinking" not just design outputs.

Speaking of output, I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance this weekend and found myself delighted by its address of the idea of quality. What exactly is quality and how would you know if you saw it? Design constantly touches on this as one determines something they do or don't like. I am reminded of crits where someone thought a particular solution was appropriate while another person felt otherwise.

"...Structured, dualistic subject-object knowledge...isn't enough. You have to have some feeling for the quality of the work. You have to have a sense of what's good. That is what carries you forward...not just something you are born with...it's the direct result of contact with basic reality."

Basic reality? Now that's another story.

I also appreciated its discussion on rhetoric. As one who is investigating this on many levels, I was glad for a layman's lesson in novel format.

I loved this quote as well. It's simplicity moved me beyond the words it presents: Ideas rose in crowds...he felt them collide until pairs interlocked.

In completely unrelated news: I would love to get tees made for the cooperative in Gashora (as a way of profiling themselves at events and as a means of making additional money for those who may want to support their work). If anyone is remotely keen, let me know.

Click on images for larger view

Progress

At the half way mark of my time here, I've got a logo mark and splash page set up for the COVAGA project. Wireframing, site mapping and content development are underway. Phew.
Tomorrow we head to Gashora again (with a BBR board member) and will visit Akagera on Saturday to get some footage of lakes (or dried up ones) and hopefully catch some wildlife!

Slowly Coming

We’ve returned from our third visit to see the women at Gashora. While in Kigali, we came across a basket that we figured could be made out of the hyacinth and may garner a higher price than the typical ones the women were making. This basket was used at a German butcher shop while shopping.

This is Evanitie admiring the basket. She figured that the women could translate something similar.


Until yesterday.

She called us while we were on the bus back to Kibungo to tell us that they feel they would need training in order to produce this basket. I was disheartened because I had hoped that the skill with which they handled other products could easily be translated to this new concept. The training aspect is something we’ve already begun to investigate (but there are dynamics of competition that go deeper than one might imagine). Some of the women fear that our presence could impact their current market channels. If it is perceived that they have muzungus on their side, this might threaten other outlets. We are attempting to be both sensitive and supportive of this while also assisting them with tools to expand their income generating opportunities.

A fine balance to say the least. And a great opportunity for product developers/industrial designers to use their expertise to help expand the opportunities for these women and their community. We’ve done a fair amount of research into all the possible uses of the hyacinth and can imagine that these weavers could become the Rwandan advocates for alternative uses of this plant (from paper products to cattle feed to biofuel). One group in Thailand has maximized their products and we hope this could translate into something similar for the women of Gashora. We have high hopes that the women could also experience some hands-on training from Thai weavers to also catapult the work forward.


But to come to a community and focus only on their product design is naïve thinking. What we have realized from this exploration is that this community desperately needs more clean water. Children travel up to one hour to gather one jerrican. Imagine doing this numerous times per day. Imagine the water you are drinking isn’t clean. A conundrum. So we gathered some initial data (along with an engineer from the Kigali Institute of Science) that will frame another project for some geo-hydrologists coming in the fall. We even found out from a district leader that there is a network of waterways that could reactivate the dry taps.


We are also extremely excited about the fact that we’ve located a museum in Kigali that will host a cooperative event between us and a couple from the UK who are very much on our page. Emily and Tom Martin live and work in Kigali and are going to provide photography and logistical support in making this event a success. We’ll showcase the work we’ve done and hopefully have a great turn out for a weekend exhibition at the Kandt Museum. The dates are September 6-8: a nice capstone to showcase our time in Rwanda. We even love that the mandate of this museum is to show how the people of Rwanda are responsible for and reliant on their environment. A perfect fit!

Where the truth lies

I am convinced I have a lot to learn in this world (This is a no-brainer). And just when I thought my English degree and communication design training were tools that could aid in my learning, I am starkly aware that even the best training can't equip you for personality differences, bureaucracy and people's egos.

I am not surprised by the confusion generated through communication channels. That is why I enjoy being in the communication design field. It's an opportunity to effect tools/processes that can help temper this confusion. The next time you take a bus trip think about how you know which bus to take. Consider how you know a lot of things that guide you through a given day.

But what communication design can't do is define rules for engagement in oral communication. At least, I've not yet found anything to support this idea. We've experienced a lot of miscommunication because of the reliance on oral tradition here in Rwanda. Some of it is humourous. But yesterday, the humour was not present. An event we had planned, postered and prepared for was cancelled on us. It involved a film screening (Born Into Brothels) and discussion. We invited anyone who wanted to come and had planned to have it at the university. The students we have been working with were keen and and helped in the planning of it. But because we apparently didn't follow protocol (a protocol that had the potential to change on us through word of mouth, and not the written word), we were shut down. And while I certainly don't have all the information in front of me, I am fairly sure this is more about power and control than anything else. For all the meetings, document signings and technical arranging we engaged in for this event, we somehow still got shafted. Mitch will also be writing a lovely diatribe about this so rather than focus on that, I've opted to share about some other things. But I will say this, my thesis is taking a potential turn in that I am becoming interested in the role of communication design in an oral culture.

Consolations
I've shared a Jesuit practice with the boys during our time here. We use the principles to debrief our days:
During war time, orphans were fearful of falling asleep because they figured they might die in the night. So those attending to them would give them a loaf of bread to sleep with in hopes that this would bring them comfort for the night (they would be guaranteed to wake up with food). There is a lovely book about this called Sleeping With Bread. I highly recommend it. In it, the practice we can adopt is to identify our consolations and desolations in a given day (and in so doing, hopefully release them so we can truly rest). In light of this I can say that the first paragraph of this blog is one of my biggest desolations. But beyond this sentence, I will share my consolations.

We filmed the students at Kazo yesterday (for a project that BBR has been collaborating on). A new school has been built and 5 students have benefitted from the funding that comes from a community of people in Creston, BC. School fees are expensive so education can be problematic for many. We had a delightful time photographing with them and hope to have these students over for a meal before they go. They told me I was, "fresh". I'm taking this as a compliment.






Today, I'm back in Kigali (sitting at Bourbon Coffee, of course!) and we're about to head back to Gashora to do a site visit (research and data collection for future needs in the village where we are working). We will also connect with the women and I'll show them the logo I've crafted. I still have some tweaking to do but this is what I came up with in light of our co-creation session a week or so ago. I took a few of the images the women had drawn for me and from that, crafted a water hyacinth plant icon to suggest that they were unique in their weaving because of this. The two Kinyarwandan words below it say, "environment and economics" (I'll have an English and Kinyarwandan version for them). If you are a designer and have any immediate feedback, feel free to send me a note. I'll let you know what the women think!

COVAGA

We've returned to Kigali to attend a few conferences and then take a second trip to Gashora where the women's cooperative is based. During our time in Kigali, I also had the opportunity to lead the women through a brand session to discuss product development, brand identity and consistency and show them how Bourbon Coffee represents an example of strong branding reaching to a large market. Watching the women's faces light up when they saw the potential of the water hyacinth was invigorating. While it isn't something they can produce immediately, it does reflect possibilities they can begin to shoot for in the future.



In order to do this, we determined it would be wise to meet with the local authorities to let them know of our plan. The Executive Secretary of Bugesera met with us and was excited about the way I was perceiving design to be used in Rwanda (and how the use of technology could advance the region).



Our trip to Gashora was filled with obstacles and stresses (that on most days wouldn't be problematic but in Rwanda they can make a short itinerary seem exceptionally long). Getting there was easy. Freddy (Lama's cousin) drove us in his 4X4. Getting out of Gashora was a bit of an issue. The vehicle we could use (for a fee) had no gas, which meant someone had to take a bike down an extremely bumpy road to acquire fuel. But when your car runs on empty and you can't afford to refuel it, the chances of the small amount of fuel you do have actually powering the car becomes an obvious issue.

And so it was for us.

We ran out of fuel.

And when a muzungu runs out of fuel on the only road in town, it becomes a major event. And today, it was harder to be the white girl (perceived to have all the money in the world) and be asked incessantly, "Where is the money?" While having our vehicle swarmed by over 50 kids. I can hardly share how these emotions affected me but suffice it to say, I've had better days. I felt overwhelmed, helpless and frustrated by the lack of language. Thankfully, after a good night's sleep I was able to move beyond.

Our second day started with our borrowed vehicle not starting. Any time we have something that doesn't work, we seem to draw a crowd. But thankfully someone got the local mechanic to talk us through the situation and before too long we were back on the road for day 2 in Gashora.

During this trip, we went with the women to watch and film them extracting the water hyacinth.




More photos from this trip at my Flickr site.

Languid

Since being in Rwanda, I can't get the word languid out of my mind.

The people here are languid.

Well, some more than others. And I mean it the best possible way. The word itself has an elegance and gait that can only be considered peaceful. The way the word rolls off my tongue is the way the people move and interact. There is a word for this (when words equal something active), isn't there? I can't recall it right now. Something like onomatopoeia but not quite.

This languid quality is incredibly attractive and almost soothing (as opposed to the lazy definition above. With the amount of work these people do just to get by, I can hardly dub them lazy).

So the word of the week is languid . Try using it in a sentence.

Language is so beautiful and powerful.

Get your widget on

This widget is the result of a young woman's masters degree. In light of my studies, I'm very interested in how communication design addresses the big "S" word. I'm more curious how design will actually shift but this widget represents an interesting tool to use in the process of understanding our role in light of this discussion.

Why do I design?

I came across a new blog today and greatly appreciated the dialogue on design (both serious and humorous). I am asking myself a lot about the role of a designer (whether it changes or shifts when in a developing country) and where the similarities remain in this thing called visual communication. As I get introduced to people here in Rwanda as a "designer", what are they thinking I do?

In this age of sustainability (a term I am using loosely but with intention), I've asked the question, "Now what does a designer do or make?" As I work here in Rwanda where my client doesn't have the money to pay for my services but needs my skills and thinking in order to move forward, I can see so many opportunities to design. I'm not an industrial designer but I see a great need for quality products with thoughtful design that are needed for sustainable existence let alone a sustainable planet. But while I'm here, acting as a communication designer, I'm asking if this type of design relegated to the "design for development" category or is it truly the brass tax of what we designers do in this day and age? I hope it's the latter. But I'm left caught in a bit of tension about such things as I work with those who don't have a computer or internet let alone know the difference between Times New Roman and Comic Sans. I'm sure I'll have more to say on that later.

In other news, we got our office at UNATEK. Unfortunately, it has a severely wobbly table, chairs that are too low for said table and absolutely no internet connection. And so, we find ourselves once again perched at the "cyber cafe" to take advantage of the easy-come-easy-go wireless.

I liked this diagram that takes a look at luxury. Now what might it be in Rwanda?

Sharing the wealth

As you already are aware, I sent out a request for donations toward the purchase of some technology that could serve the university we are partnering with in Rwanda. We didn't get to the level we had hoped but were able to purchase some much needed software to help take the computer program to a new level.

Today, a very delighted ICT Officer (Clement) received a copy of Adobe CS3 to use at the university. A huge thank you to those of you who shared your funds to make this possible. You can imagine that there are needs but when you get to witness them, it takes the experience to a whole new level. In August, I will be offering some mini-workshops to show a few staff/students how to use the software tools for basic work. The rector is very keen to learn a bit about InDesign as he comes from a journalism background and worked in PageMaker and Quark.

Demographic Diversity

I’m typing this as the church choir practices across the street (what glorious voices) and the thunder and wind come crashing through the city. We’ve only witnessed one bout of rain so this weather is incredibly invigorating after multiple days of hot and sun.

On July 1 we traveled to Kigali to spend Canada Day with our compatriots. While drinking some beer and listening to the likes of Avril, Sarah and The Hip, we met up with Lama's old friend from his days in Burundi. Eugene offered us each a bed at his very posh home in Kigali. We arrived and were promptly taken to a tennis club (in a neighbourhood that could easily be Shaughnessy in Vancouver) where we indulged the best African tea, fish brochettes and green beans I’ve ever had (okay, that might be an exaggeration but after days upon days of bananas, beans and rice any food seems exotic!). We brought Eugene some wine as a thank you. If you know me well, you know I was more than delighted to indulge. Of note, his home had a bath tub and while it wasn’t filled up with hot bubbly water, it was the loveliest way to start my day.

All these things were a bonus to the real reason for our journey to Kigali. This was our first visit to Gashora and the women’s cooperative we will work with during our time in Rwanda. To get to Gashora on good roads, we have to travel back to Kigali (2 hours by bus) and then hire a car to take us for the one hour trip to their village.

Notable experiences for me include:
Walking in and receiving a round of applause
That nearly made me cry
Watching the women weave
That clearly takes much care and attention (and they do it with their children right next to them)
Giving them our gifts (eyeglasses and a book on baskets)
And watching them devour the images inside with much enthusiasm
Taking portraits of each woman
And watching their beautiful faces light up when they could actually see their image
Visiting the lake area where they collect the water hyacinth plant
And meeting up with a group of locals to discuss the realities of water scarcity, purity and accessibility
Taking pictures of the local kids
And hearing them giggle when they saw themselves on screen
Finding an inexpensive hotel near to Gashora
That apparently offers hot showers (good for our future trips to work with the women)
Stopping on the side of the road so Mitch could film the sunset
And having kids come up to our car to ask us where the money is. Lama told them that they shouldn’t make a bad impression to muzungus. One kid actually agreed.

This project is revealing many layers (and it is amazing to see how the locals are actually aware of it). They know the water is bad (kids crap right next to it and when the rains come it slides into the very water basin they collect from) but have little opportunity to attend to it of their own means. Evanisi (the leader of COVAGA) is a survivor of the genocide and now works to help these women find ways to get more income than what their current farming roles can offer. By developing this website and film, the cooperative hopes that it could operate full time and allow for even more income to be generated. We realize we can’t promise the world, but the chance to develop an opening for potential is pretty amazing.

Beyond that, the research around the hyacinth has led us to meet with the Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer at KIST, where we hope to navigate opportunities for the hyacinth to be made into alternative forms of energy. We are submitting a proposal as to how this might come about and impact the work this community could be developing to generate more income while dealing with an environmental issue.

I also got to meet a fellow designer (by meeting his parents on the first day who were visiting Kigali). Nat is a Brit who runs Rock Solid and in meeting with some of his team we were able to negotiate some great opportunities. They are responsible for Rwanda Air’s in-flight magazine and have asked me to write a story and submit my photos for the next issue (they indicated this story would not just be told in Rwanda but reach many locations in the world). As well, they may want to join together and create an event promoting the work of COVAGA in some form before we leave (current ideas are a photographic exhibition in the form of a soiree in Kigali)! Needless to say, all these things are seriously exciting to me. Nat even offered me work if I wanted to stay longer. I told him I had this degree to finish but to not be surprised if I show up looking for a job! We’ll definitely be keeping in touch. I’ve said it before: the opportunities for design work are endless. This doesn’t even include the work that Lama hopes to do. I’ll keep you posted on the outcomes of these possibilities.

There are other great stories that happened during this visit but I’ll direct you to Mitch’s blog for those.

The first few days in Kibungo

This entry doesn’t necessarily flow in any logical direction. Consider it my rambling vignettes. Just words I’ve typed as the thoughts have flowed.

I’m hardly able to express what life is like here. Kibungo is not Kigali. It’s the weekend and many we know have vacated this rural community for a weekend in the city. Being a city girl, I completely relate.

Knowing a few Kinyarwandan words reminds me that I am in fact a “mizungo”. And that means I’m rich, I’m interesting, I’m different. And it means I’m not a common fixture in this region of the country. Because I am white, I am often greeted in French (the other main language utilized). Here’s how it goes as we walk the main road to the university (about 5 minutes or so from our house):

Bonjour. Comment ca va?
Ca va bien.

Children are especially fearless and stare at us incessantly. It’s actually cultural to stare. Some will inevitably come up to us and watch or even wait beside us while we shop in the local stores. Conversation may or may not occur.

To get anything done here requires much patience. Because we are mizungos we are often, as I call it, “a liability” to Lama getting the best price for something. On one level, we are adding to the economy. On another level, I’m struck by how I am seen as something possessing power. Buying power. Something not to be taken lightly in a poor country like Rwanda.

There isn’t really such a thing as a day off. With Rwanda being primarily a Christian nation you can hear church services going on for hours on Sunday. But otherwise, people work and live hard. Women carry goods on their heads while also carrying their babies in swaddling blankets strapped about their backs.

Internet is incredibly slow in comparison to my high speed back home. The university where we will work has 256k bandwidth and even that has been temperamental. It really makes the idea of web design somewhat curious for me. I met Clemente who will work with me on this project and I’m grateful for his computer science background (and html skills) that will assist in this project. He is keen to learn more about design software and I look forward to Monday when I can share it with him and upload it onto a computer in their lab. I’ve been approached many times about web design as there are not many designers in Rwanda (and by default web trained ones).

Transportation for me has come in the form of walking, moto taxi, bike taxi or car. I must say that it’s fairly invigorating to get on the back of a motorcycle and ride down the main street of Kibungo. They even have helmets for you to wear (that note is for my mother!).




I’ve met Solange, a survivor of the genocide. She speaks French but since mine is still limited to brief exchanges we do our best to communicate. Lama translated some of her stories to us. It’s hard to believe that any of the atrocities we’ve heard about in the media actually existed now that we’re here. But when someone opens up about it then you realize how far people have come since ’94.



Solange started to play with my hair one night. I quickly found out that she is a hairdresser. I believe I may have the chance to get some braids done during my stay (she was testing my hair texture to see if she could do it). I figure it’s a cultural opportunity! So watch for photos in the future. I may look silly but I’m happy to support Solange’s business. And since we have no hot showers it might simplify my morning rituals.

We’ve had to take a few days just to get ourselves established as the guest house we’d planned to stay at is undergoing renovations. This meant locating a home we could live in. But here that means we have to set it up from scratch. We had originally thought that we’d get our beds from the prisoners but it turned out that they were swamped with orders. Instead we went to ETO, a local furniture factory, to get our beds, desks and chairs. The ordeal of sorting out these details was incredibly slow. The boss wasn’t there (indicating that there is still a top down hierarchy of decision making). Lama found out that the factory had halted work due to a death in the community. We had witnessed a funeral the day we arrived in town. We found out later that it was for a young man (30s) who was a survivor of the genocide, had a high ranking position at the bank, owned other businesses but committed suicide. This is not typical behaviour in Rwanda so needless to say it has shaken the community more than we might have anticipated. But because people are less likely to tell you the truth about such things, we are told other stories like “We didn’t have wood to make your furniture” to compensate. Lama has told me that telling the truth can cost you more. So people lie to protect themselves from reprimand or negative consequences.

Beds in Rwanda are really firm. And my back and neck are not yet in agreement with this fact.

I still feel sort of “packed in a suitcase” but we’re getting there. I realize how much I value the sharing of food, the sense of home that helps make life feel full and the way emptying and closing a suitcase changes my headspace. I feel like I’m planted somehow. By next week, that should be sorted.

Louise is our cook/cleaner who prepares our daily staples of beans, rice, bananas and sombe (a leafy green dish that is much like spinach and very tasty). I brought some Bean Around the World coffee (with my French press travel mug) so we indulge in fresh coffee each morning. I was surprised to find that even with Africa’s high coffee exports many drink Nescafe.

Once a month, the community (by mandate of the government) engages in a community day. This is happening today. Everyone is required to perform some form of improvement to their home/neighbourhood area. Of note, every day starts at about 5 or 6 am here. So the wood chopping started bright and early. Which means my aims to get a bit of a sleep in was found wanting. Next month, we plan to participate. Our improvement will likely be a garden in our front yard.



I wish I had more picture to show the specifics of life here. I feel so obvious already that it becomes difficult to pull out the camera. But we are finding that when we do and show people their picture it becomes a great way to bridge the various gaps (language, perceived class distinctions, etc.). While I am a designer, I am also a photographer and this part of my experience is truly powerful. Lama has great hopes that digital storytelling will help build the community and the economic opportunities in Rwanda so anything I can do to help show people the power they have in a camera is exciting. I’m grateful that Mitch also has a Nikon so we can share images (and lenses!) in this internship we’re sharing.



Next week, we hope to travel to the COVAGA women to get a sense of the reality of the project we will develop here. In discussions with Sigfried (one of our contacts at UNATEK and a ecology scientist), we began to get excited about how art and science will intersect to communicate a new perspective on the water hyacinth and its environmental impact on the lakes region of Africa. We envisioned how we could bridge the gap between the researcher and the local Rwandan to engage outcomes of the work being done in this country (and objective of the RSRC). I personally got really excited about how this research could affect more than just Rwanda (and in turn put Rwandan research at the forefront of this significant environmental issue).

Rwandans celebrate July 1 as it marks the official end of the genocide. We hope to attend a Canadian event to celebrate Canada Day together. I find it amazing that of all the times I could possibly visit Rwanda it falls during the victory celebration of the end of their hostile existence. Not sure I have the words for all of this. But it’s notable for me.

Here endeth my ramble.

Research in Rwanda

The past 3 days have found me sitting among the top scientists in Rwanda (from all possible disciplines you could imagine: ICT, GIS, Agriculture and Environmental Science to name a few). I even got to meet the Minister of Science and Technology. And as a designer, I found it amusing to be the one presenting ideas from our group work surround initiatives that the Rwanda Science Research Council could implement in the areas of the Environment and Biotechnology. Very random. But very amazing.

There is such a need for design tools in this country. Having met with some Canadians from the McLaughlin Rotman Centre for Global Health, I was inspired to consider how design thinking can be applied to this region of Africa. The possibilities are truly endless. I hardly know where to begin! From sustainable transport to waste management to city planning - this designer is truly inspired and challenged!

Of note, this conference was supported by President Kagame as he has determined that Rwanda must move into the knowledge economy to develop its capacity further. I had many conversations about the benefit of communication design in light of economic development and urban planning and growth.

Some random stats I learned from research done by a Rwandan who is doing his PhD in Canada:

The average wage in Rwanda is less than $1 per day.
The average lifespan is 44.
46% of children under 5 are likely malnourished and likely have HIV/AIDS.

These statistics open up the opportunity for much research and exploration in the areas of food, business and health. As a designer, I am inspired to consider how one might use communication tools to increase capacity and awareness for rural communities that do not have the same sort of tools as one might find in the urban centre. That being said, even an urban centre like Kigali has much potential for development.

More to come. Definitely.

In other news, we just relocated to Kibungo today and are in the process of setting up home. As they say in Kinyarwandan, "Buhoro, buhoro" (or slowly, slowly). The basics of life do not come as easily as we in North America are accustomed. It's hard to describe but coordinating a shopping trip isn't like going to your local grocer.

We've hired a cook/cleaner (to employ a local woman) and are still waiting on our beds (we'll use mattresses tonight). I'm at UNATEK (the university in Kibungo) accessing the internet we'll be able to utilize for our entire time. But bandwidth isn't like home. Which presents an interesting challenge to web design!

But all in all, there is much opportunity and I'm looking forward to how my meager skills can be shared and transferred in the steps toward good governance.

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday we took a two hour trip to Kibungo where Mitch and I will work with UNATEK (the university we are partnering with on this AUCC Students For Development project).

We had the opportunity to see the home we'll live in during our time and arranged to have some necessary additions coordinated (beds, pots, pans, plates and the like). Lama Mugabo is our link and representative of Building Bridges with Rwanda. He and I are quite excited to see about developing a small garden in the front yard.

We are clearly the new kids in town and this aspect is impossible to capture via photos without being all the more obvious. We determined that with time, we'd be more familiar and therefore less intrusive with our Nikons. Gathering a following can only be compared with being a celebrity, I suppose. Something I wish wasn't the case.

We returned to Kigali that evening and will remain here until our conference on socio-economic development is finished on Wednesday.