It’s been a tough couple of days for me. 2 days of power point presentations. Yesterday very interesting with Faisal Bogale, a social enterprise entrepreneur, showing us 4 different projects, one of his own producing coffee in Africa and selling it here. Another about turning garbage into profit run by poor people in Brazil. Another one in Sicily for immigrants making high end chocolate. All the pros and cons from start to finnish.
Today was challenging day staying present to the presentations by Alex Walker about community investments and social enterprises as it relates to Findhorn. I go a bit numb when there is so much talk about money, banking systems and alternatives ... interesting is that Findhorn was one of, or maybe even the first community who established community money bills the ‘Eko’ that can only be used within the community.
Sorry about the photo and placement, I have a lot to learn about this blog’s capacities...or my own for that matter!
An Eko bill photo of one of the founders ‘Roc’ (my favorite Findhorn personality, a mathematician who met Pan, the nature god, in the Edinburgh gardens in the late 60s.)
So by late afternoon I was done, and excused myself to take a walk and a cappuccino....while my classmates are slugging away with this below.
We have tons of these kinds of materials to go through and put into practices ! It gives you a very small idea about the range of this eco-design course. ....and for 3 quarters of our group English is the second or third language !!! And have lived mostly in other countries all of their lives ! Amazing !
EDE Findhorn Design Studio
What follows is the list of design projects you’ll participate in during EDE. They are all intended for you to apply what you’re learning.
The hyperlinked text takes you to the design brief for each project and you will also find them if you search for this folder: EDE18 Design Project Briefs in your Google Drive
Design Circle/Team Aims (deliverables)- Products (Results)Review
Reviews will take place on the following dates:
Week 2 Tuesday 16 October - within in group
Week 2 Friday 19 October - to group - and for enterprise possible guest
Design Team Agreements – documented in a way that can be presented to the whole group and uploaded to GD**.
The regenerative/social enterprise design
The 5 minute pitch of the regenerative/social enterprise design
The documentation of the design and the pitch uploaded to GD.
Week 3 Friday 26 October - in group and with content providers from the week
Main Design Project interim design
15 minute presentation to the whole group and
Presentation uploaded to GD
Week 4 Wednesday 7 November - in the group with community guests
Main Project Design - Cumulative Presentation -
20 minutes in presentation to the whole group
Presentation uploaded to GD
Retrospectives - Process & Relationship of Design Team/Circle
Will take place in the whole group on:
Friday 19 October at 4pm
Friday 26 October at 4pm
Wednesday 7 November at 2:30pm
First iteration of review questions we will use are:
What went well?
What didn’t go so well?
What have I learned?
What still puzzles* me?
*Open to suggestions for more appropriate word here.
Use each of the project as vehicles to apply and adapt what you’ve learned during the course from all of the EDE Dimensions. Include skills and experience you’ve brought with you. If there is a skill you would like to develop – facilitation for example – let your team know – ask for support in that area.
**GD = Google drive
We also took a walk to inspected the site yesterday we are supposed to design for. More about that later, I am sure. Meanwhile here is on of my fellow students Karis from Latvia photographing one of the plentiful mushroom populations, which ever so often he serves us for breakfast ! Yum !
And after the day was done a little spontaneous singing to take the pressure off !
I have a feeling that my blogs will become more sparse as the course continues to demand my full attention, but I will do my best to inform you of what is happening here !
