Weekly Blog Post 5

List ten things that make you feel human.

1. Family/friends
2. Compassion
3. Money
4. Stress
5. Communication (language)
6. Abstract Thought
7. Technology
8. Happiness/Sadness
9. Cooking
10. Pain

Articulate your philosophy of engagement as it pertains to your work with the GSIF.

Over the past winter break I participated in the Lehigh in Costa Rica program, where we got to meet and interact with many small landowner farmers practicing sustainable agriculture. I think that the people we will be dealing with in the Philippines will be very similar to the farmers in Costa Rica. The way we engaged with the farmers in Costa Rica was through listening to what they had to say and asking educated questions. These farmers already had systems in place that allowed them to practice sustainable agriculture in order to achieve economic sustainability, so all we could do was observe and learn from what they told us. In the Philippines, I expect us to engage in a similar manner: we will learn from the way they farm and conduct their business and ask respectful questions to understand their reasoning. I think where engaging the Filipino farmers will vary is gauging their interest in change, and their desire to generate more income. In Costa Rica, all we could do was learn; we weren’t there to make suggestions to improve their system. In the Philippines, through respectful inquiry, we will attempt to educate and engage farmers’ interests in our potentially helpful device/technique. 

• Why should I engage?

We need to engage with the people who will actually be using our future design to discover and understand what exactly their needs are.  It wouldn’t make sense to create some device or technique that has no use in Filipino society. By engaging, we can learn a lot about our design’s requirements, its necessary functions, and ultimately how much of an impact it will have on its potential users.

• How must I engage?

I think our best strategy will be genuine curiosity. We need to avoid taking charge and telling these people what to do, and instead ask them whether they would be open to our ideas. Coming from America, it will be important that we don’t come off as arrogant American students who have all the solutions, because we don’t; ultimately, we are there to learn from them.

• With whom must I engage?

We’re primarily going to have to engage with the farmers. Additionally, we’ve already reached out to the UPD student team working on this project and plan to acquire knowledge from them. Our plan is to learn from and collaborate with these students in order to gain a better understanding of what it is we’re trying to accomplish?

• What kinds of challenges, opportunities and approaches should I care about?

Undoubtedly, we are going to encounter individuals who are stubborn and set in their ways, who will be opposed to hear anything we have to say just because that’s the way they are, and they’re happy with the way they’ve been doing things.  I think we are going to have to take a very cautious and civil approach when talking to people.

• What might my epitaph read?

Beloved son and brother, devoted friend, adventurous and compassionate spirit.