LEARN1

My favorite secrete for social innovation is number seven by Amy Smith from rules for designing in the developing world: Provide skills, not just finished technologies. The current revolution in design for developing countries is the notion of
co-creation, of teaching the skills necessary to create the solution,
rather than simply providing the solution. By involving the community
throughout the design process, you can help equip people to innovate and
contribute to the evolution of the product. Furthermore, they acquire the
skills needed to create solutions to a much wider variety of problems. They are
empowered.

There are several things that I like about this secrete. What I like the most is that local people are involved in the entire process. When I was studying abroad with the School for Field Studies I learned firsthand about
the power of listening to the local population. By getting out into the
community the local population accepted us even though we were outsiders and
invited us into their homes and their work. Together we were able work on
finding alternatives that would reduce the negative environmental and social
impacts of depleted fisheries. We set about researching the effects and
profitability of sustainable aquaculture ventures, specifically using bivalves.
We compared the best time to plant and harvest the crops as well as whether and
how women in the community could form a profitable co-op while still having
time to attend to other obligations.

There seems to be substantial evidence that when solutions are created with the support of the community they often both socially and environmentally beneficial and successful.

I am currently studying Spanish, Latin American government and politics, global affairs, Climate change and economics to gain the necessary academic background to work in community development. I understand that in
order to effectively help advocate for environmental and social sustainability
I must understand how history, politics and economics all influence development.
I see a lot of opportunity around the world for positive change and I will help
to bring about that change by working with communities in Latin America to ensure
a better world now and for future generations to come.