Give Ergonomic Benches to 200 Guatemalan Weavers
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Updates from the Field:
Updates from the Field (or Progress Reports) on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.com by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
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Index of Updates from the Field
resources for carpenters; International Day of the Woman
By Karen Piegorsch - Project Director, August 07, 2008 06:21 PM
On a visit to Guatemala in March we continued developing the infrastructure to help the local people produce and distribute the bench. Two groups of carpenters have been identified. Our resource kits for carpenters have been designed to ensure that the ergonomic features of the bench are preserved. This benefits the backstrap weavers while also helping local carpenters develop new skills.
During this visit in March Karen Piegorsch and Juana Ramos were invited to join the Museo Ixchel (the famous museum of indigenous clothing and textiles in Guatemala City) for their annual celebration of the International Day of the Woman. We were honored to make a presentation on the ergonomic bench to the participants from the museum and their fair trade partner organization, Pro-Teje.
Currently our major focus for this project is raising the remaining funds to complete production of the multilingual DVD. We are eager to get this important resource into the hands of the backstrap weavers who need it!
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see our interview with Global X on YouTube!
By Karen Piegorsch - Project Director, February 13, 2008 05:12 PM
An interview I gave with Global X last August aired recently on YouTube. It's about the program we're doing with backstrap weavers.
The interview follows a three part format: "Who are you?;" "Tell us a story;" and, "How do you see the world in 2017?"
If you'd like to see it, please link to it from the Synergo Arts website (www.synergoarts.org) or go directly to it at YouTube via the link below.
Thanks for your interest in helping Synergo Arts help women artisans!
Links:
Lots of action "behind the scenes"
By Karen Piegorsch - Project Director, January 22, 2008 05:22 PM
Many thanks to the folks who have helped support this project so far!
There has been a lot going on “behind the scenes” to get the benches into the hands of the women who need them. Here is some of what we have done recently:
- During Juana Ramos’ visit to Tucson in October (please see the October 2007 progress report) we created an educational poster for the weavers, refined the trainers’ manual, and developed script and storyboard for the DVD.
- With the help of woodworking consultants we have come up with ways to adapt the bench design so that it can be made from different types of locally available wood without losing the ergonomic functions so crucial to the weavers. Now we are preparing the kit for carpenters.
- During a trip to Guatemala in November we made a series of presentations with organizations interested in working with us, in both Guatemala and Mexico, to (a) set up training for carpenters, and (b) help distribute the bench and education to weavers.
- Also while in Guatemala in November we interviewed and got bids from DVD producers. Pending funding, we are ready to produce the DVD!
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(1) update on educational DVD; (2) User Centered Design Award received!
By Karen Piegorsch - Project Director, October 09, 2007 05:15 PM
Educational DVD:
We are delighted to report that Juana Ramos is visiting us here in Tucson, October 6-20th! Juana, a Mayan woman who speaks Spanish along with her native Kaqchikel, is from San Jorge la Laguna, a small town on the shores of Lake Atitlan. She was the primary trainer for the 150 women who began using the Bench during the pilot project. Juana will be helping us refine the educational content and ensure the cultural appropriateness of the educational DVD.
This DVD is an important way to make information available to backstrap weavers, enabling them to learn how to use the Synergo Weaving Bench safely and to maximum benefit –after all, the transition from kneeling to sitting while weaving is a major change. In thinking about that change, it’s important to realize that this project originated within the indigenous community in Guatemala: the women themselves recognized that kneeling is stressful. They had been looking for alternatives to the traditional working postures, and asked Synergo assistance in designing a viable way to sit while weaving. However, even though the Bench is intuitively easy to understand, it takes time for our bodies to adapt to new postures. The DVD will help the women adjust the bench to fit their individual bodies. It will help them learn new body movements, and develop the strength and coordination necessary to use them while weaving!
Now is an important time for the fundraising efforts of Synergo Arts and we are grateful for your support. Donor contributions are essential for us to proceed with this part of the project. And, once the DVD has been created in Spanish, we plan to translate and dub it in the indigenous languages in order to make this education accessible to all.
2007 User Centered Design Award
We are excited to report that the Synergo design team has been honored with an award for the Synergo Weaving Bench. The Human Factors & Ergonomics Society’s Product Design Technical Group presented us with the 6th Annual User Centered Design Award at the HFES annual conference in Baltimore on October 2nd.
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