The time is coming for me to put my training into practice. I have been sculpting my theoretical and practical skills to be able to apply them to my research. It has been interesting trying to conceptualize my movements through coursework to create a mutually beneficial outcome for myself and the individuals I will be working alongside during my research. I appreciate the flexibility and support that I have experienced from this class and others. I have been able to tailor my assignments to best suit future goals (independent creation of a promo film, grant writing, promotional website). Within other courses I have been able to find overlap within the material that correlates with my research. I feel that all of this is building a solid foundation and framework for my work, a hands-on applied approach to research.
My next project- build a website, is something I had not envisioned myself producing prior to this course. Of course, the skills and what I am able to produce with them will be offered to the community I will be working with, if they deem them appropriate and in line with their goals is yet to be seen. I aim not to impose, but to offer/provide. As an outsider far removed from the community I am only able to understand a fraction of the reality present until I am able to spend extended time with them. I have hypothesized what would be the most practical, cost effective, and beneficial contribution I could make, but it may turn out that my perceptions were muddied by the Western lens that influences my worldview, we will see. Yet, the realization of this influence aids me in attempting to understand suitable alternative solutions/strategies.
The time is coming for me to stop talking about it, and to start being about it.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Sunday, April 8, 2012
It's in their hands now....
How to tell if something is "done"...... Well, in the past when it came to papers and assignments the "doneness" of something typically correlated with deadlines. Once the clock hit the time to turn in whatever was assigned, it was done. The rest was up to them to decide my fate in the form of a grade. Now when it comes to this class and creating projects that will transcend the classroom and take flight into the electronic and public spheres being done may become a little more complex.
I kept a blog while I was away down in Chiapas, Mexico and since there was no deadline and no pressing issues surrounding it I constantly knit-picked at my wording, grammar, phrasing, and layout. To this day there are still words that I am like "when I get a minute I'm going to take that out" even though digital cobwebs have crusted the blog over since my last post in March of 2011. I would say that my blog would be a great example of deciding how to understand when something is "done." My wife and I decided we were going to turn our blog into a book and distribute it ourselves on the web. This required us to format the blog appropriately, thoroughly go through the text and figure out the flow of the narratives. This took many thorough edits, but once we felt the final product was finished as best as it could be (there were some things we wish we could have altered like the center alignment of the final poem, etc) we were happy and willing to make compromises. We both believed in the final product enough to feel it was worthy of being placed in the marketplace.
Using the website lulu.com we set a price, created a profile page and attempted to market our creation. After about 3 days we sold about 10 copies (mostly to family members), but we took it offline. Our original plan was to take all the proceeds and donate it to the organization that is working with the Q'eqchi' I will be doing my research with, but then we felt uncomfortable knowing we included photos of individuals and used real names without asking for consent. I know this is just a blog, but since I was "profiting" off others who were not necessarily benefiting I was conflicted with the ethics of it all. We eventually took the small proceeds from the initial sales, added to it, and donated $100 to the organization.
I would consider this project a success and it being "done." We were able to produce a finalized product that carried monetary value, we were proud of it, and it contributed to the benefit of others. Of course we could have done more to make it more successful- i.e. remove real names (add pseudonyms), remove photos to ensure privacy, etc., but this would have taken away from the realness of the story. I have considered doing this, but instead I feel leaving the blog as it is with all the true intricacies of the trip intact for everyone to search for and discover on the Internet for free is of higher value to me than the occasional sale of a book.
I guess what I'm saying correlates with a quote I heard from our volunteer leader, "what you build with your hands you also build within yourself." So, as long as you are proud of what you created it is done and the confidence that surrounds it will prove its worth, if the product is a farce and you know it, it will be obvious. So, in a way what you create is a reflection of yourself, you'll know when its ready, its a feeling you get of understanding your own worth.
I kept a blog while I was away down in Chiapas, Mexico and since there was no deadline and no pressing issues surrounding it I constantly knit-picked at my wording, grammar, phrasing, and layout. To this day there are still words that I am like "when I get a minute I'm going to take that out" even though digital cobwebs have crusted the blog over since my last post in March of 2011. I would say that my blog would be a great example of deciding how to understand when something is "done." My wife and I decided we were going to turn our blog into a book and distribute it ourselves on the web. This required us to format the blog appropriately, thoroughly go through the text and figure out the flow of the narratives. This took many thorough edits, but once we felt the final product was finished as best as it could be (there were some things we wish we could have altered like the center alignment of the final poem, etc) we were happy and willing to make compromises. We both believed in the final product enough to feel it was worthy of being placed in the marketplace.
Using the website lulu.com we set a price, created a profile page and attempted to market our creation. After about 3 days we sold about 10 copies (mostly to family members), but we took it offline. Our original plan was to take all the proceeds and donate it to the organization that is working with the Q'eqchi' I will be doing my research with, but then we felt uncomfortable knowing we included photos of individuals and used real names without asking for consent. I know this is just a blog, but since I was "profiting" off others who were not necessarily benefiting I was conflicted with the ethics of it all. We eventually took the small proceeds from the initial sales, added to it, and donated $100 to the organization.
I would consider this project a success and it being "done." We were able to produce a finalized product that carried monetary value, we were proud of it, and it contributed to the benefit of others. Of course we could have done more to make it more successful- i.e. remove real names (add pseudonyms), remove photos to ensure privacy, etc., but this would have taken away from the realness of the story. I have considered doing this, but instead I feel leaving the blog as it is with all the true intricacies of the trip intact for everyone to search for and discover on the Internet for free is of higher value to me than the occasional sale of a book.
I guess what I'm saying correlates with a quote I heard from our volunteer leader, "what you build with your hands you also build within yourself." So, as long as you are proud of what you created it is done and the confidence that surrounds it will prove its worth, if the product is a farce and you know it, it will be obvious. So, in a way what you create is a reflection of yourself, you'll know when its ready, its a feeling you get of understanding your own worth.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Been Busy Beeing
This is my first Spring in the South and my wife and I are experimenting with all the backyard space we have like it's going out of style: we are growing potatoes out of used tires, broccoli in storage containers, worm composting, and building things with free bamboo we picked up off craigslist. The next logical step was to beekeep, and we happened to run into Ian at our bee class, interestingly enough. Anyways, beekeeping is very labor and time intensive, last weekend we had to put together our hive, this weekend we went to the bee yard and we got our bees. I installed them fully dressed in my bee suit today, it was crazy, scary and exciting all at the same time. I may have not released my queen from her cage properly, and I will know soon enough because if she was released and not accepted I will find her carcass laying in the pile of other discarded bees that they chuck out their front door as they get settled. Bees are pretty hardcore. So that has been my last two weekends aside from schoolwork.
Grants, funding and what not...... I am having some reservations about the funding I found regarding the indigenous organization I was planning on working with. I called the office and spoke with a woman who somewhat spoke down to me and said things like "we don't fund individuals who want to go help the poor Indians.". So, that kind of made me mad and even after I told her how I could coordinate a fiscal agent from a 501c3 non-profit organization she told me that "strategies for sustainable development" doesn't include economic development, as my project involves a collective enterprise composed of community members with the goal of achieving socio-economic upward mobility for the entire community, what is more strategic, sustainable, and results in development than that? Whatever. My wife also had a point, my relationship with the NGO I intend on working with isn't the strongest and I wouldn't want to jeopardize the future interactions due to a potential grant. So, I will have to figure something else out, and this way I won't have to deal with that rude woman, someone should tell her the age old phrase "You attract more bees with honey.". Which is true, those critters will rob you clean of your honey.
Grants, funding and what not...... I am having some reservations about the funding I found regarding the indigenous organization I was planning on working with. I called the office and spoke with a woman who somewhat spoke down to me and said things like "we don't fund individuals who want to go help the poor Indians.". So, that kind of made me mad and even after I told her how I could coordinate a fiscal agent from a 501c3 non-profit organization she told me that "strategies for sustainable development" doesn't include economic development, as my project involves a collective enterprise composed of community members with the goal of achieving socio-economic upward mobility for the entire community, what is more strategic, sustainable, and results in development than that? Whatever. My wife also had a point, my relationship with the NGO I intend on working with isn't the strongest and I wouldn't want to jeopardize the future interactions due to a potential grant. So, I will have to figure something else out, and this way I won't have to deal with that rude woman, someone should tell her the age old phrase "You attract more bees with honey.". Which is true, those critters will rob you clean of your honey.
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