Paper & Video

Sadly, the video could not be converted in a format that I could post. However, some reflections on the paper were of our process through the semester and how the Illahee Institute would function.

This is a brief summation of how the model would work (lots of details are excluded):

THE MODEL THUS FAR
The Illahee Institute consists of:

1.     A mixture of 1st and 2nd year students who participate via an MFA-CD elective
2.      lllahee Institute board includes representation of Illahee & PNCA.
3.     Based on a 7 member board
4.     Mentors
5.     Administrative employees
6.     The MFA-CD program assistant could do this if they were not split between two programs
7.     A website.

Where do the projects come from?

1.     Ad Hoc / CORE GROUP
2.     External

Emily Pilloton

Emily Pilloton is an amazing designer that through documentation, diligence, patience and creativity – has made a positive impact on education in Bertie County. My take away is to definitely keep up with my documentation when it comes to the process.

primer

What Motivates Us, MIT Study

Putting it Together

Through Peter’s brief mentioning of how it would be interesting to combine Illahee somehow with PNCA, DRO began to think this could be a logical and natural connection. Also, myself and DF were connecting to the website and knew a lot more about how Illahee functioned and were able to see how this might be a great idea. After talking this through, HR drew what the Center may look like and we took off from there.

Here is the drawing by HR:

The Nest

By now the groups have been made for Center for Complex Problem Solving. We have been working on how to create the center and it was decided with a mix of conversation that going to The Nest would be a great bonding experience (plus, I just love being out in nature).

The idea arose because the SHIT  lab (Sanitation, Hygiene and Integrated Technologies) had just gone through a trying experience at the this Permaculture Convergence deal in which they set-up composting toilets that were actually used. Apparently it was a tough weekend and it was a little divided on whether it was a valuable use of their time or not. Either way, I noticed (I think most of us did), that they seemed closer as a group. So, from that idea I thought about how something like that, some trying circumstance, could pull people together more and how that might apply to Center for Complex Problems. Before that, I had gone crazy about wanting to see where this Nest was around Mt. Hood. It was a destination that only had coordinates. HR suggested we go there – and we did.  Thereafter, DF had an epiphany of what the Center could be.

Here are some of the photos from it (and this is the set if you would like to see more):

David Sawyer

David Sawyer (Don’s class – CCPS):

Context: Smart Human Systems

LDV: I am veering toward a career like this. It is something I can get lost in – just like Paul Werder’s LionHeart talk. We’ll see what happens.

Martin Goebel

Martin Goebel, Ex Director of Sustainable Northwest:

He is launching devices that will monitor 8 different particle types in the air. This will happen in the next few months.

—

LDV: At what point is their a line between sharing all information and not hurting others while doing so? For example, we were stressing the idea of customers of this product having to share their information with the world/website, but how can we actually help others that may have bad air ratings in their area when it is not their fault?

DMF: I liked the scenarios we played through; it really made it clear how the government is in the middle between the public / consumers and manufacturing / business interests.

Breaking Barriers

Epiphany is a general theme popping up in this class. Also an emphasis on neurological science. I’m actually quite interested in both.

We were asked to talk about something seemingly profound. I chose to show my photos of China. During my stay in China from 2006-2007 there were significant changes to my neighborhood.  When I arrived at my apartment, construction workers were removing a building in front of it. During the course of a year, a road was made, and two markets were gone. All that was left was the AIJIA (like a Wal-mart) down the street. Because there were such big things changing around me, I actually felt more a part of my environment – a sort of bond.

I still do not know what to think of what happened. At first I’m saddened by the removal of the markets, but I realize that China is changing at a rapid pace and the role models (developed countries) have set this type of living and these values.

Another reason I was so drawn to this is because of my love for the subject of construction and watching how the culture reacts to the changes. When the road was being built, a rock/concrete wall was put up. This wall actually blocked most of the faculty and staff of the university in which I was teaching. Due to this complication, a temporary fix was made – they actually broke a 3’x4’ hole into the wall so that people could get through. I saw people carrying they’re bikes through the hole and helping people through the muddy passage to get there. In the US, that just wouldn’t fly. Although, I adore how it was realized that people were blocked from work and the temporary fix was made.

Below is a progression of the photos and you can view more of the specific set on Flickr.