Two papers I co-authored that discuss climate change and technology transfer in rural Colombia were selected to be presented at the Cumulus Conference Bogota 2019: The Design After. Both papers were successfully presented at the conference, sparking interesting conversations with the audience. These papers are a result of collaborative efforts to explore complex issues from a design perspective and to produce work that is relevant for local and rural communities.
The paper “Social Design for Technology Transfer: An Experience in Rural Colombia,” co-authored with Juan Manuel España, professor of Product Design, presents the methodology that we have been developing to transfer with rural communities a semi-automatic system to separate the fibers, juice, and bagasse of fique leaves. The methodology has been developed from a social design approach focused on involving rural communities as co-designers of the system and as adopters of this technology.
The paper “Transdisciplinary Collaboration Mediated by Design: An Initiative for Rural Adaptation to Climate Change,” co-authored with Luis Beltran-Forero, professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences, discusses the application of design’s integrative methods to deal with challenges related to transdisciplinary collaboration in a series of research and educational interventions that we implemented to address problems related to climate change in rural communities in Colombia.
The Cumulus Conference Bogota 2019: The Design After took place on October 30, 31, and November 1 and was hosted by Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia. The conference brought together more than 200 researchers and practitioners in design to share their ideas and discuss the future of design after design, that is, the idea of a post-design. These conversations were guided by the following questions: Before creating post design, would it be worth thinking about an after design? Can design capture another vision of the human being, cultures and ecosystems that surround humans? Have designers thought about what will happen next?
The Cumulus Association is “the only global association to serve art and design education and research. It is a forum for partnership and transfer of knowledge and best practices. Cumulus consists currently of 299 members from 56 countries” (https://www.cumulusassociation.org).
You can read these papers here:
Social Design for Technology Transfer: An Experience in Rural Colombia: https://www.academia.edu/41735488/Social_Design_for_Technology_Transfer_An_Experience_in_Rural_Colombia
Transdisciplinary Collaboration Mediated by Design: An Initiative for Rural Adaptation to Climate Change: https://www.academia.edu/41735489/Transdisciplinary_Collaboration_Mediated_by_Design_An_Initiative_for_Rural_Adaptation_to_Climate_Change
