Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo Time Space Networks

In 2007 I helped start a long-term initiative at Parsons and The New School that brings together design, international affairs, and management to take on projects under the umbrella we’re calling “designing collaborative development”

For the last two years teams of faculty and students have traveled to Guatemala to collaborate with artisan associations and help them create sustainable businesses via the sale of their artisan products in global markets.

One of the sites in which we have worked is San Lucas Toliman, a gorgeous lakeside village in the Guatemalan highlands, on the edge of Lake Atitlan with AL, a mayan weaver’s association

Our students are prepared during the spring to then lead workshops in design, business, media, and marketing once on the ground. It is a tremendous learning experience for all and the most fulfilling teaching I have ever done

And the lessons that really remain with me, as a teacher and a digital artist are those around technology. We have, at least in NYC, lost that element of surprise and awe that newcomers experience when first faced with technology

The first time I traveled I was struck by the question “What village are you from?” realizing that the relationship to space & the world for our Mayan collaborators is so different

That for them to be foreign is to be from the other side of the lake and the notion of connectivity has just recently expanded with the introduction of cell phones

We have conducted a series of workshops on how to use the computer, the internet and email. Interestingly enough, one of the hardest things has been to teach double-clicking

And the metaphors need to be culturally adapted. How do you explain the idea of a desktop to someone who has never owned a desk?

How do you explain the idea of the internet who hasn’t really ever needed to communicate with someone thousands of miles away?

One of the most interesting lessons with regards to email was the notion of the “address” which we have become very used to it being a combination of our given names, or professions

When selecting her address, one of our participants, Virginia, the oldest really wanted to share her whole identity and this is the email she picked

Upon returning to New York it was our expectation that we would be able to continue communicating via email and that we could send them links and they would be able to check sites, etc. BLOG…

Instead, what ended up happening is that we would need to check their email for them, call them if there was a message, and then reply on their behalf. It was a huge learning

This particular lesson in the rush to email back and forth really forced us to slow down

This summer when we returned we scheduled less workshops, we were OK with not being able to meet every day, and we were also OK with (irony of this presentation)

So, we are back in NY and our colleagues are in San Lucas. We call them via Skype at least once a month to check in knowing that they don’t follow us, don’t email and certainly don’t check the blog or our Facebook updates

For the women of Ajkem’aLoy’a traveling 3 hours to Guatemala City is a really long trip that most of them have never done. Boat travel only with us

Generations