Artist Studio. Creative Workshop. Innovation Space. Art & Design Workroom. Conceptual Atelier.
Call
it what you will.
Having
a designated space to produce original creative work is a blessing.
Most artists I know have some kind of space to produce work, leave out their tools, percolate ideas and have room to let their creative juices flow.
Very
few people who are not full-time artists (with the exception of retirees and empty-nesters)
are lucky to have such a space.
Personally,
I’ve never had such a space.
Until recently….
This year I have been working hard juggling teaching, PhDing and a range of other projects. I like to have one creative project on the go to help keep me balanced.
One of my ongoing side projects has been making custom-made recycled bottle cap medallions made only of recycled materials.
Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with them.
I make them out of bottle caps filled with predominately bicycle inner tubes and bike parts, but also miscellaneous materials, discarded paper, buttons, board game pieces, broken jewellery and any other manner of opp-shop or scrap bits-and-bobs.
I love how meditative the process is. I often will set aside a few hours, pull out all my gear, have a beer, put on some good music and settle in for a crafternoon session.
I’ve been making these medallions for nearly two years now and have quite a collection.
When I make them, I sometimes set up a ‘crafternoon’ workstation out the front of my house under the carport. I love working outside and the neighbors often drop in to say hi and see what designs I’m working on that day.
Invariably they’ll leave with a medallion that takes their fancy.
It still
makes me smile when I see my recycled bicycle medallions on hats, coats and
bags being worn around my community.
There’s a running joke around our streets that the locals are ‘supporting the arts’ by drinking beer and giving me the caps. Hilarious!
I often come home to find small bags of bottle caps in my letterbox or on the front steps. Gold.
Thank you to The Sunshine Family
But one
particular family have gone above and beyond.
Four months ago, a family (who I’ll call The Sunshine Family because they asked to remain anonymous, but you know who you are!) offered me the use of their double-fronted shed as a designated art workshop until the end of the year.
Oh joy!
What an
offer!
Hells yeah!
It is a massive, clean space and had everything I might ever need.
Having this studio meant I could have all my gear set out and ready to go.
I got so many more medallions done when I was in there.
Talk about productive!
Whenever I had
the time, I’d get in there and easily smash out 50 medallions at a time.
One of the best (and most unique) features of this space is the double-fronted garage doors rolled up to look out on the private backyard.
So when all the local musos came over for the weekly jam session, I had a primo position to enjoy the tunes, banter and company!
Best studio
ever!
But now it is the end of the year, so its time pack up my materials and return the shed.
This post is to say thank you to the Sunshines.
Thank you for letting me use the space so I know what it feels like to have a designated creative workspace, for the wonderful offer, for good company, for trusting me, for ‘supporting the arts’ and for giving me my first-ever studio space! I will treasure your thoughtfulness and generosity always.
To The Sunshine Family, a massive big, heart-felt THANK YOU!
Today I read Paulus Maringka’s Greencycle Masters Thesis.
Paulus undertook this research with Auckland University of Technology in 2010. I found this manuscript online and was initially drawn to read it as this bicycle-inspired community development project had a number of cross-over themes with my own current PhD research project.
This thesis was a pleasure to
read. It was clearly written, on-topic and full of interesting images to help
break up blocks of text.
It was great to see a new approach to many of the issues I can currently researching, like bicycle use in developing countries, local adaptations and resources, impacts of cultural needs and contexts, and how users personalise their bicycles.
Equally, reading the chapters on
the technical design and development phases was also interesting as this project
centres on a product creation and intervention, whereas mine does not.
Below is Maringka’s thesis’ abstract, thesis organisation and some of the key images from the thesis, which gives a solid overview of the project without having to read it in its entirety.
This Greencycle project applies a
system approach to shift design thinking and practices away from the ongoing
unsustainable use of resources towards a more sustainable framework of
consumption whereby local cultures, skills, resources and technology are
analyzed to inform the design and development of a human powered transportation
system.
It uses a trans-disciplinary
research and design approach by consulting all stakeholders; including farmers
in a Third World country, industrial designers, engineers and manufacturers to
provide information, understanding and insights as a basis to find solutions
that have enabled this research study to produce a system called Greencycle
which utilizes renewable materials and indigenous people skills to produce a
bicycle that is more sustainable.
The bicycle provides more than
basic transportation to go from A to B. Poor countries need and depend on this
mode of transportation for a wide range of uses; thus expanding its function
and uses would be of great benefit to its users.
This research study has created a
series of accessories to extend a bicycle’s functionality, with the core being
made from sustainable materials and local skills. For this project it would
have been a simple process for the designer to come up with a concept idea(s)
that was based on a personal view of what would be a suitable solution for the
target user.
Instead however, the designer has
used feedback from the target group participants to shape and develop the
design process and to ensure the design will be acceptable for the target user
to use and manufacture.
This research study has included four expert interviews, eleven case studies of target users, prototype testing and field experiments with sustainable resources to gather information, understanding and insights from these stakeholders in order to propose, design and evaluate two Greencycles (using sustainable bamboo material) and a series of design accessories.
This multi-discipline approach to the design problem has revealed many opportunities that would otherwise be hidden by less detailed research and design methodology. Many academic studies stop at the point when the written thesis is complete.
This research study has included four expert interviews, eleven case studies of target users, prototype testing and field experiments with sustainable resources to gather information, understanding and insights from these stakeholders in order to propose, design and evaluate two Greencycles (using sustainable bamboo material) and a series of design accessories. This multi-discipline approach to the design problem has revealed many opportunities that would otherwise be hidden by less detailed research and design methodology. Many academic studies stop at the point when the written thesis is complete.
This research project went a step
further by testing and implementing its findings on users back in its intended
marketplace to ensure the design will be adopted by and be successful for
people in Third World countries.
As a result of this research,
there is now an opportunity to look at and create a business model that
provides new income opportunities for the local people.
Feedback for the Greencycle design and its accessories has so far been very encouraging, with participants showing a significant level of enthusiasm. To take advantage of this success, a business proposition to market these sustainable products seems plausible as a first step to developing this business venture. Information posters to showcase the accessories and their functions and applications have been designed to test market demands and other important indicators for future business development and strategy.
Thesis Organisation
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduces and scopes the areas of research and need for functional, usable and sustainable human powered machines.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Provides critical analysis through literature review and
internet ethnography to gain an understanding and knowledge of bicycle
functionality and bicycle users in Third World countries. This chapter also
reviews literature and provides a study background on Bicycle Ergonomics, Green
Materials and Sustainability.
Chapter 3: Research Design &
Research Methods
Outlines the research design and design methods approach
to the design generation and development of the Greencycle and accessories.
Chapter 4: Significant Findings
Presents the significant findings and the major
discoveries that formed the design criteria of the Greencycle and accessories.
Chapter 5: Design &
Development Phases
Details the design phases and iterative processes in the
development phases of the Greencycle and the accessories.
Chapter 6: Evaluation
Details the evaluation outcomes of an integrated approach
for the concept design thinking of the Greencycle and accessories, including
materials and manufacturing processes.
Chapter 6: Discussion &
Conclusion
The Discussion and Conclusion provides a reflection on what has been achieved and the future of the Greencycle and the accessories.
Abstract, chapter organization & images: Paulus Maringka (2010)Greencycle .
Many of us would love to undertake a month-long challenge.
But work, family and hobby demands often get in the way.
Two days ago, I came across the National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo.
In this event, I saw an opportunity to adopt certain principles of NaNoWriMo to use in an academic context that would not detract time and energy away from my current work/research demands – but would, in fact, be a productivity kick-starter!
Source: NaNoWriMo
What is
NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) happens every year, It is an Internet-based creative writing challenge to write a 50,000-word novel from 1st to the 30th of November.
The National Novel Writing Month website started this challenge in July 1999 with only 21 participants. In 2010, 200,000 people wrote 2.8 billion words and in 2015, 430,000 participants completed 50,000 manuscripts.
This is a great challenge to get inspired, build a regular writing routine, overcome writing anxiety and writer’s block, and also be part of a highly active online community.
Source: Jeff Schwisow
Using NaNoWriMo for
academic writing
During NaNoWriMo, it is the length of the draft, not the quality that is the main goal. Editing and polishing the document comes later.
Producing writing is a constant pressure for academics and PhD candidates.
Essentially PhDers are assessed on their writing output. PhDers are required to, at a minimum, produce an 80,000-120,000-word high-quality dissertation and at least one peer-review journal article in order to fulfil their candidature. Having additional publications, conference proceeding and other written documentation are also expected.
That is one of the reasons I started this blog – to force myself to write
regularly.
I love the idea of a writing challenge. I have not been producing as much writing as I did when I first started my research and my usually productive writing routine has slipped.
Although NaNoWriMo is a novel writing challenge, I am going to use it as an opportunity to apply some of its principles to jumpstart my academic writing productivity.
Many NaNoWriMo ideas are transferable to an academic writing challenge.
So I went on an online binge to glean some of the most useful NaNoWriMo approaches.
As an R &D homage to the original NaNoWriMo, I’ve called my initial checklist (below) NiAcaWriMo– or Nina’s Academic Writing Month.
Here’s what I came up with….
Source: WCUK
NiAcaWriMo
Have all equipment and materials prepared.
This includes working tools like the keyboard, monitors, laptop/desktop, notebooks and any other paraphernalia needed. Delete Netflix or any other distractions. For me, this also meant setting up a dual monitor stand-up desk and putting my laptop in for a service and updating the operating system and all software.
Spring clean and organise your workspace.
To create productive energy and focus, declutter and spring clean your workspace. Clear out any distractions, tidy up or better yet, remove as much as you can out of your workspace to make it a lean and clean studious area. Dust off screens and keyboards, and wipe down any surfaces, IT cords and equipment as recognition that this space is open to new and fresh ideas. Commit to keeping the space clear by not allowing others to put anything in your workspace, clearing your desk at the end of each day and only keeping the basic work materials needed on your desk.
Prepare a soundtrack.
Some people listen to music while working, others prefer silence. Either way, know what kind of soundscape is most productive for you. When I work in an open office, I use ear plugs as well as high-performance ear muffs (a technique I use on public transport as well) if I want quiet and little sound. Or I use headphones with my own soundscape. I have had great success with alpha, beta and gamma binaural beats, which I used to complete a 17,000 minor thesis in four days. Another option is classical or instrumental music with no lyrics. Or have background music in a different language so your brain is not subconsciously engaged with the lyrics, but focused on your written language. For this technique, I’d recommend the French R & B duo Les Nubians album Princesses Nubiennes. Other creatives swear by having the same song on constant repeat which helps to create a consistent and familiar flow state. Find what works best for you.
Tell others about your challenge.
This means getting your significant other/s, family, work colleagues and
friends on board with what you are doing. This will save a lot of misunderstanding
and issues in the future and people will be a lot more understanding and
supportive. If you are upfront with your purpose and time frame, then measures
can be taken to organise and negate possible future complications such as invitations
and drop-in visits and even further to include things such as house cleaning
and grocery shopping.
Protect your focus
For one whole month, you need to make your writing challenge top priority – and this protecting your focus. This step requires you to know what you need to do your best work, what time of day you are most productive and that you put into place strategies to minimise interruptions and stay productive. This can include setting a schedule or a daily timetable. Or read some key literature that is not only inspiring, but is at a standard you wish to achieve. For academic writing, I like to have 3 journal articles that are my gold standard – two by my favourite author in my research field and another on a different topic whose style, expression and vocabulary I really enjoy reading. Another way to protect your focus might is to set your phone to silent and leave it in another room for your sessions. Or use an app to help your focus and build self-control, or a productivity app that helps avoid distractions, like Cold Turkey, which I recommend to postgrad students.
Prepare body and mind
We all know looking after the body and mind is important during intense work bursts, but the challenge is to make it a priority in order to sustain productivity. This includes eating well, being hydrated, taking regular screen breaks, doing regular exercise (until sweaty), getting adequate sleep and generally looking after your overall well-being. Build these elements into your daily schedule to ensure you protect your focus and keep yourself working at the optimal level. Have a look at A Year of Productivityfor other strategies to help prepare the body and mind.
Other NiAcaWriMo considerations
Once prepared, you then need to put it all into action.
This is an area I am still refining. So below is an outline of some tactics I’ve found to be incredibly helpful in consistently producing written work.
Morning Routine: I have had great success using a priming morning routine that I have adapted and personalised over the last three years.
iThinkwell. Over the last two years, I have attended two iThinkwell workshops: Turbocharge your writing and Seven habits of highly successful research students. I still some of the strategies from these workshops. If you get to one of these sessions, get your library to order the companion books which cover the same material so you can still get ahead.
Prepare the next day the night before. One key technique is starting a new day fresh and proactive, is to prepare what you are going to do the next day before you leave your desk the night before. IdentifyingThe Next Thing is a quick and easy way to get a new productive day started without wasting any valuable energy or focus on planning the day, you just get on and do it. Some writers like to leave a question as a stimulus for the next days’ writing session, or dot points that need expanding on, others leave notes to complete, or end the previous day mid-sentence so there is an idea to complete the next day and continue on.
Have a daily goal. I have a PhD friend who has a daily goal of writing 250 words a day. Another academic I know has committed one hour every day for the last five years to writing. Whether it is time, words count, tasks or any other goal, having a clear daily goal is a good way to set the intention for the day, track progress and establish milestones of achievement.
50,0000 words in a 30-day month equals 1,667 words per day.
Take each day separately. Keep in mind that progress is based on day-to-day productivity. Set-backs are inevitable. Don’t be too hard on yourself and be realistic. There will be blow-outs, mess-ups, crappy days and interruptions – this is part of life and work. If you struggle one day, reset and try again the next, but don’t try and catch-up as this adds extra stress. Take each day as a stoned alone session and accept that there will be ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’.
Know what a ‘good day’ looks like. How do you define ‘a good day’ of work? What does it look like? Is it producing a 500-word outline? Or writing 1,500 original new words? Reading a journal article? Having this clarification means that you know when you have achieved it. If this is not clear, you are at risk of ending each day feeling like you have not achieved your goal and could have done more, no matter how much your produce.
Garbage in, garbage out. Be mindful and actively manage what you allow yourself to be exposed to. This includes TV, social media, movies and the news – and also people. Remember the quality of your output is determined by the quality of the input. Read quality literature, reduce media exposure, unplug and read more engaging books.
Acknowledge milestones and reward. As you progress with writing, acknowledge micro-successes and milestones achieved. Having small rewards helps track activity, recognise breakthroughs, monitor improvements and boost motivation.
Writing is not editing. Writing and editing are two different skills, yet many people edit as they write and this can hamper progress and flow. For NaNoWriMo, participants are writing a 50,000-word draft. There is no editing at this stage and this a good idea to keep in mind. Many people get distracted while writing by fact-checking, looking up a definition, searching for a ‘better word’ or stopping to insert an accurate reference as they write. Doing these during the writing phrase inhibits ‘writing flow’ and focus. So the aim is to get ideas in writing down on without stopping to edit.
I use the write fast, edit slow – and theread a bit, write a bit, edit a bit adage to instil the distinction and importance of doing each of these tasks regularly. Another way to achieve the writer’s flow state as advocated by Blindboy is to write with fire, edit with ice.
Source: Jeff Bullas
Next steps
I only
found out about NaNoWriMo this
week, so it was too late to participate this year.
But it has inspired
me to get organised and get back into my writing routine.
Who needs a formal date to write? A month-long writing challenge can be undertaken at any time!
Take this blog post as an example: just writing about this challenge has produced a 2048-word blog post and helped clarify my next steps and preparation for NiAcaWriMo. That in itself is already a valuable and productive writing activity.
As we come up to the
end of the year, I’m gearing up for a NiAcaWriMo challenge in the new year.
And I will certainly
be looking out for NaNoWriMo next November.
So if you have any
kind of writing project, perhaps now it the time to get inspired and create
your own month-long writing challenge to crack the whip and get those important
first words onto paper.
The English Australia conference closed a few days ago. But I’ve stayed on in Sydney for some meetings, site visitations and to see family and friends. One meeting, in particular, I have been really looking forward to was with World Bicycle Relief’s Development Director Australia, Dagmar Geiger.
I was very excited to hear last year in May 2017, that WBR was opening a Sydney office.
Regular readers of this blog would be familiar with other posts I’ve uploaded about WBR’s bicycles-for-education programs – and this meeting was a great opportunity to chat with Dagmar in more detail.
World Bicycle Relief Australia – Meeting Dagmar Geiger
We met in a funky Newtown cafe and hit it off immediately.
Dagmar’s enthusiasm and passion for her work are obvious.
She is effervescent and thoughtful – and has a seemingly limitless amount of energy. Dagmar was also very interested in my blog, projects and PhD research and offered to help out where possible – which was so lovely!
We discussed WBR programs and how they are making positive changes in education, healthcare and income-generation opportunities. We also chatted about some events and fundraising efforts she has done.
It was especially interesting to hear about the stakeholder trip she took when she first started. On this trip to Africa, she got to experience first-hand the places, people and projects she now advocates.
It was lovely to be able to chat with a like-minded person who loves bikes and community building as much as I do.
It was a delight to meet Dagmar and hear what WBR has been working on. We need more people like Dagmar sharing stories of bicycles and the positive community impacts they make.
Source: Port Macquarie News
Spreading the word
Since starting her role, Dagmar has been working hard to raise the profile and networks for WBR in Australia and has had a number of high-profile successes including:
In February, retired pro-cyclist Carlee Taylor XXI Commonwealth Games and Junior World Champion pro cyclist Alex Manly, and Olympian BMX pro rider Lauren Reynolds were announced as the first Australian Pro Althele WBR ambassadors.
I am very excited about the possibility of Dagmar visiting Brisbane.
As cyclists and riders, we inherently know how important, useful and significant bikes are. It is also humbling to hear about different experiences and contexts where bikes are helping individuals and communities conquer the challenge of poverty and distance to achieve independence and increase livelihoods.
World Bicycle Relief
World Bicycle Relief aims to mobilize people through the Power of Bicycles. They envision a world where distance is no longer a barrier to necessary services like education, healthcare and economic opportunity and are working towards increasing access and equity.
Since 2005, World Bicycle Relief has delivered over 400,000 bicycles and trained over 1, 900 bicycle mechanics and has changed over 1.7 million lives.
Earlier this year at the EA (QLD) PD Fest, our Bicycles Create Change session won the QLD Bright Ideas Award.
So, thanks to Pearson and the EA Queensland Branch, I’m in Sydney representing our BCC internship team session at the conference.
I am very honoured and very excited!
EAC 2018 Day 2 Program
Session Presentation:
From EAS to Collaborative Internship:
Lessons and insights where Bicycles Create Change
Many international students undertake English and Academic Skills (EAS) and DEP bridging classes to get into university with the ultimate aim of getting a job in their field of study.
There is a perception that English classrooms are for learning English, University tutorials are for discipline-specific content, and the workplace is for vocational skills. Internships are one-way students can become more work-ready. However, a number of studies confirm that current tertiary students lack generic employability skills (ACNielsen Research Services 2000; ACCI/BCA 2002), an issue that is even more challenging for international students.
I was curious to explore what a career development program that specifically catered to the academic, vocational and personal needs of the international students in my DEP classes might look like.
This presentation is a brief overview of the origins, activities and outcomes of this exploration: The Bicycles Create Change.com 2016 Summer Internship Program.
Program background
This Internship was a volunteer, eight-week, collaborative internship that ran from January 4th to February 27th, 2016. It required participants to fulfil 80-110 working hours.
The blog Bicycles Create Change.com (which has over 110,000 readers locally and internationally) served as the professional platform for work activities as it was a low-cost, high-exposure, authentic, skills-integrated outlet to showcase work.
The program was semi-structured with space to modify and self-initiative content. Hours were achieved individually, in pairs and as a team. The team met for one full day each week to review tasks, run workshops, refine skills and to discuss progress.
Theoretical underpinnings
This program integrated key theories including, scaffolding new skills (Vygotsky 1987), the need for authentic vocational guidance, participation and engagement (Billet, 2002), promoting creative thinking and expression (Judkins, 2015) and building on foundational DEP EAS skills and competencies (GELI, n.d.).
Origins and participants
The four volunteer participants varied in ages, backgrounds and degree levels and disciplines. The 4 volunteers for this program were; Sachie (female, 23, Japanese, Philosophy undergrad), Mauricio (male, 33, Columbian, IT PG), Juliet (female, 37, Indian, Special Education PG) and Gabriel (male, 42, Cameroonian, Social Work PG).
All participants had just graduated from the Griffith English Language Institute (GELI) 10-week DEP program in December.
Semester 1 2016 did not commence until Feb 28th. This left a gap of 9 weeks before university started, which is when the internship was undertaken.
Key considerations
There were are a number of key considerations built into this program:
Strengthening self-confidence and independent learning
Experience with unique, transferable and challenging skills
Fostering creativity and valuing artistic expression
Emphasis on developing reflection, collaboration and planning skills
Integrating EAS, vocation and personal skills to a range of contexts
Promoting initiative and the ability to generate own opportunities
Increasing employability, CV and work-ready skills
Authentic interactions and connection with locals/community
Create a comprehensive evidence portfolio of work, skills and achievements
To have fun applying skills in a challenging and productive way
Program design
The focus was to build on current competencies, develop new skills, build a professional portfolio of experience (and evidence), and for participants to become more confident in initiating their own opportunities and outputs.
This program minimised the ‘daily’ supervision and ‘student’ mentality of traditional internships to instead put supported autonomy firmly into the hands of each participant, who ultimately self-managed their own workload.
Tailored experiences (below) provided exposure to a collection of advanced competencies that are cumulatively not commonly experienced in other internships or classes.
The program integrated three main competency streams: EAS, Professional Skills and Individual Development. The program was scaffolded, so tasks became progressively more challenging and required greater participant self-direction to complete, as seen below:
Unique features
Participants undertook a series of challenging tasks, including:
Develop and present a professional development workshop (individually and in pairs)
Undertake an individual project that resulted in an output (ie. Crowdfunding project, publication)
Self-identify an industry leader to cold call for a 20-min introductory meeting
Complete a Coursea MOOC on an area of their choosing
Research a social issue to creatively present as an individually ‘art bike’ as part of the team Public Art Bike Social Issue Presentation and Forum
Research and produce five original blog posts on how bicycles are being used to create more positive community change in their home country
Weekly meeting with an assigned independent industry expert mentor
Join an industry association and attend events
Series of community activities: vox pops; invite locals to contribute to a community storybook; solicit locals to donate bicycles; deliver their work at a local community garden to the general public as part of the Art Bike Public Forum; conduct an individual public presentation
Complete an Internship Portfolio (documentation of work and reflection journal that documents, audits and reviews tasks, opportunities and skills)
The BCC Internship Team: Public Art Bike Social Issue Presentation and Forum. Sunday 13th March 2016.
Takeaways:
There were many lessons learnt from this project and given time constraints, only a few are mentioned in the presentation. Some key takeaways were:
Provide transferable and unique opportunities to develop ‘generic employability’, critical reflection and creative problem-solving skills
Provide integrated, genuine and practical ways to apply skills
Celebrate strategies, ‘sticky points’, ‘misfires’ ‘pregnant opportunities’ and successes
Make tasks more challenging and higher profile
Participants loved having more contact with the local community
Adaptations are needed for aspects to be taken up by educational institutions
Work from the end result backwards (CV and skill development)
Have visible, productive and meaningful evidence (or body) of work
Foster ability to independently create own opportunities and networks
Honour unexpected outcomes
Change the mindset to change to experience
References:
ACCI/BCA (2002) Employability skills for the future, DEST, Canberra.
ACNielsen Research Services (2000) Employer satisfaction with graduate skills: research report, Evaluations and Investigations Programme Higher Education Division, Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA).
Billett, S. (2002). Workplace pedagogic practices: Participation and learning. Australian Vocational Education Review, 9(1), 28-38.
Griffith English Language Institute (GELI): Direct Entry Program. (n.d.) Retrieved from: https://www.griffith.edu.au/international/griffith-english-language-institute.
Judkins, R. (2015). The art of creative thinking. Hachette UK.
Lyons, M. (2006). National Prosperity, Local Choice and Civic Engagement: A New Partnership between Central and Local Government for the 21st Century. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
McLennan, B., & Keating, S. (2008, June). Work-integrated learning (WIL) in Australian universities: The challenges of mainstreaming WIL. In ALTC NAGCAS National Symposium (pp. 2-14).
Vygotsky, L. (1987). Zone of proximal development. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes, 5291, 157.
A big thanks to Papa Al for passing on this inspiring story to share! NG.
There can be few better examples of where bicycles create more positive community change than through the bicycle work of Bernard Kiawia.
Bernard Kiwia started out as a bike mechanic in his home country of Tanzania.
While repairing bicycles, he began applying his skills to use pedal power to create products and tools that directly improve to the lives of people in his community.
In 2011, Bernard made a bicycle-powered cellphone charger (see below).
Bernard is now a well-respected social entrepreneur – and bikes still feature prominently in many of his new inventions.
His current work is now focused on applying his (and other people’s) mechanical and technical skills towards addressing manual labour and technology issues in his area.
What we want to show people is they have skills to make their own technology that they can afford, they can repair, they can find the spare parts that they need
With local people, their income is always small and the kind of machines you can buy in the shop are not made for these local people because they’re expensive. That’s why I’m focusing on local.
I create technologies because I realise it’s something that can help my family and the community.
Source: Twende-tanzania.org
Twende – Accelerating Social Innovation
Bernard established Twende, which is a community inventor’s workshop. Twende is a creative workspace for people to come and use tools, problem solve ideas and experiment with making prototypes.
In this way, Twende functions similarly to a Men’s Shed, as it is an open workspace that has tools, resources and people there to support projects.
It also runs three workshop streams
1. Creative Capacity Workshop -entry-level workshops for any level.
Affordable Flashlight (~6 hours)
Automatic Switch (~7 hours)
Solar-Powered Phone Charger (~10 hours)
2. Built It Workshops – mechanically-focused workshops which include:
Spirit Stove (~3 hours)
Bottle Opener (~2 hours)
Electronics Workshop for secondary schools
A few of the Build Its Workshops are also integrated into some schools electronics curriculum.
3. Advanced Offerings – requires some advanced skills and tools (like welding)
Drip Irrigation
Bicycle-Powered Maize Sheller
So far, over 800 local innovators have used Twende, of which most are secondary school students, small-holder farmers, women, and microentrepreneurs.
Bicycles are ubiquitous and versatile (especially as a means to produce energy-efficient power) so it is not surprising that they feature in many of Twende’s inventions.
Source: Flickr Erik (HASH) Hersman
The Twende innovation hub was established as a space to “collaborate with students and community members in Tanzania to identify their challenges and design & create their own solutions to their problems will contribute to a world with improved access to technologies that improve people’s lives, a stronger local economy, and a nation of innovators and problem-solvers.”
are designed with (not just for) communities & partners
…and they make some of their own inventions for use and sale as well
Source: BBC News 1 Video
Twende is such an important grassroots social venture.
It fosters creative ingenuity, recycling, upskilling, empowers local skills, is cost-effective and addresses locally-identified issues – as well as providing a welcoming space for people to test mechanical and technical ideas that have an immediate positive impact.
And all this grew out of one man’s exploration of how a bike could make work and life better – awesome!
It is my pleasure to announce that Bicycles Create Change is breaking new ground!
I have many exciting plans for this blog and making these ideas into reality will take a concerted amount of effort, organisation, research, networking and resources.
As many of you know, it is a principle of Bicycles Create Change to collaborate with Griffith students and graduates to support and develop advanced personal, academic and professional skills.
These forays have been highly successful so far – such as:
Bella Turner (a Griffith Design (now) graduate) and I worked on a few projects together before she graduated and left for the UK, including the Go Ride app she and her team were working – and our collaboration to create the fun short film LEKI, which won the People’s Choice Award at the Brisbane Bicycle Short Film Festival 2018.
Nao’s assignment: What is the current status of Australian female MTB participation?
Project: Australian women’s participation in mountain biking
Currently, I am working on a number of bike-related projects and initiatives.
One of these is a public lecture investigating the issues and aspects relating to Australian women’s participation in mountain biking.
This is a big research project.
To help with this project, I am delighted to introduce the newest member of the Bicycles Create Change team – Nao Kamakura.
Nao is joining us as a Research Assistant and will be responsible for the background work for this investigation.
Introducing Nao Kamakura
Below, is a little bit about Nao in her own words….
Hello Readers!
My name is Nao and I am from Japan.
I came to Brisbane to study English and study at Griffith University. I want to learn about Australian business culture. After my English studies and a semester at Griffith University, I am now a research assistant for Nina and Bicycles Create Change.
The focus of my research for Bicycles Create Change is investigating aspects of women’s participation and perceptions of mountain biking – with a particular focus on the Australian context.
I’m a Chemist and an Environmentalist.
I believe the past development of the field of Chemistry has unfortunately destroyed our Earth a lot, but further, that future chemical innovations will be able to create a better world!
Therefore, I would like to be a person who contributes to a future where Chemistry can facilitate a more sustainable world.
Here is a link to my website called Enjoy the World. This is where I sometimes write about my greatest hobby – travelling and Australian life. I will let you know now though, it is all written in Japanese!
The BCC Research Assistant role
Nao and I have worked together previously. She is a DEP graduate of my class and for the last 13 weeks, we have been working on a PhD writing course as well while she was completed a semester of Griffith Coursework. Now she is looking for a new challenge.
Nao brings a remarkable set of skills to BCC. She has a science background so has a particular analytical approach to work, which offsets my more global and creative approach to work. She is great at the detail, I work best with the big picture. She is also a thoughtful and proactive environmentalist.
As well as having excellent English skills, Nao is also incredibly well travelled. For the last 8 years, she has kept her own travel blog, which is an amazing record of all the places she has travelled, people she has met and wonderful insights she has garnered along the way.
For this BBC role, Nao ‘s has been charged with finding and collating data, reports and research about the participation, motivations and perceptions of why women either do – or do not- ride mountain bikes in Australia and then to synthesis this information.
You will be able to hear about Nao’s work as she will also be presenting her findings as part of an upcoming Bicycles Create Change Public Symposia I have planned – the details of which will be released very soon. Stay tuned!
Dutch cycling enthusiast and designer George Barratt-Jones has created a human-powered automated bicycle-knitting machine called the Cyclo Knitter.
The Cyclo Knitter is essentially a bicycle-powered loom that is activated by light exercise.
George’s modification of a standard bicycle attached to a wooden frame and loom is such that when a rider cycles, the automatic loom attached to it will knit a fully completed scarf in 5 mins.
To launch his invention, the Cyclo Knitter was installed on a Dutch railway platform – as homage to the original inspiration for the machine, which was how to use the spare time waiting for a train in a productive manner.
A train platform is also an ideal place to showcase the Cyclo Knitter given that many commuters are already waiting on the platform for trains to arrive, so they had a spare 5 mins – and the novelty bike was a welcomed curiosity.
Best of all, those who trialled it were also rewarded with their very own ‘bespoke’ cycle-made scarf (*Aww DAD!! Not in front of my friends!!*).
Design and functionality
The Cyclo Knitter is a remarkably neat and compact invention. It is functional, quirky and innovative and is also very beautifully crafted and skillfully designed.
The Cyclo Knitter is set-up so that when the pedals turn, the spinning front wheel powers a knitting machine placed on top of a wooden tower at the front of the bike. As the rider pedals, they can watch in real time, as the knitted fabric comes from the top of the tower and is woven into a brand-new custom-made scarf. Awesome!
When George set up the Cyclo Knitter, the sign alongside it read:
Bored? Cold? Create!
Genius!
Here’s a quick video of what happened on the train platform…
“Imagine it’s the midst of winter. You are cold and bored waiting for your train at the station. This pedal powered machine gets you warm by moving, you are making something while you wait and in the end, you are left with a free scarf! That you can decide to keep yourself or give to someone who needs it more. Its all about spreading joy and making those boring moments more fun.”
It is great to see such an innovative design, fun and functionality coming together in this unique bicycle modification.
It has a sleek design and aesthetic, but the whole assemblage also folds down into a convenient and portable flatpack item, which is ideal for moving between locations (see below).
It is wonderful to see such a refreshingly new utilisation a bicycle – and an approach that makes cycling AND knitting more interesting -and accessible – to the general public.
The added bonus of a free rider-made scarf is genius.
I hope we see more creative and community orientated bicycle projects like this in the future.
In Afghanistan, many children do not go to school. Literacy and school are especially limited in the rural areas, where distance and a lack of access and resources mean that education is unrealistic for many families who live in villages where the closest school is 3 hours away.
Education is paramount to reducing poverty and increasing quality of life.
One local, Saber Hosseini is trying to rectify this.
Every weekend, Saber loads up his ‘bicycle library’ and travels to six surrounding rural villages to share his library so that the locals (who have no access to books) can learn to read and have an opportunity to read.
Adding to this, Afghanistan has a mountainous geography and vast tracks of barren land, which make travel to school impossible. Even if travel was possible, so many schools were destroyed and education was so severely restricted, that rural children from remote villages were forced to drop out.
The Afghani teacher who bicycles books to rural villages
Saber has been riding his bicycle library since 2016. Saber bought his first 200 books with fundraising support from his friends and local literary circles.
Saber had to travel to the Iranian border to buy most of the books as previously, most publications, literature and books were essentially forbidden.
Over the years, Saber has been supported by friends and local volunteers – as well as people overseas. Now his library has 3,500 books and Saber has since been able to open the first ever public library in Bamiyan.
Reports are that literacy rates in the area are rising as a direct result of Saber’s bicycle library.
At the start, the books were simple, but now, more advanced titles have been added as local reading rates have improved.
The library is now so accepted and popular within these communities, that adults are coming to use the library and are borrowing advanced level children’s books.
Saber uses the opportunity to talk to the locals about peace, avoiding drugs, and being more understanding of different people’s beliefs, lifestyles, culture and choices.
The following story about Saber is from the Global Citizen: One time, Saber spoke to children about guns, and used the slogan:
“Say no to guns, Say yes to books.”
The next time he returned to the same village, the children collected all of their toy guns and handed them over to Saber.
This was a heartwarming gesture, but the kids wanted to bargain: they would forfeit their guns if they could be the first village in the next round of book deliveries so that they could get the first pick.
Saber has brought joy to many communities, but there are costs to his endeavor. He has received many threats and many have opposed his caring works.
Even still, Saber continues to make room for the opportunity to learn. A library is more than just a pile of books, it is also a community of individuals willing to learn and discuss and grow
“When I hand the books out to them, I can see their excitement and joy,” Hosseini said. “It is the joy of being able to learn. I am also inspired.”
Below is a video about Saber’s bicycle library.
High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistan
Saber’s efforts are particularly important given that illiteracy is a major issue in rural Afghanistan.
A recent Joint NGO Briefing Report of Girls Education in Afghanistan entitled High Stakes: Girls’ Education in Afghanistanreports that female education has faced significant obstacles in Afghanistan, yet there have been enormous gains since 2001. Under the Taliban, the majority of girls’ schools were closed and gross enrollment fell from 32% to just 6.4%.
The report also states that:
Female students have high aspirations for their educational achievement.
Many schools do not have the infrastructure needed to provide a quality education.
Poverty was seen as the single biggest obstacle to girls’ access to education. Poverty as a major barrier to girls attending school.
Poverty is also linked to early or forced marriage, which is an additional major obstacle to girls’ education.
The number of available female teachers is insufficient to meet demand.
Availability of education is insufficient to meet demand.
Distance, along with attendance in mixed classes or interaction with male teachers, becomes increasingly problematic as girls approach adolescence, when cultural norms regulating their behaviour become more restrictive.
Decision-making around whether or not girls go to school, and for how long, is complex and extremely varied from province to province and even household to household.
The World Bank’s 2017 Poverty Status Update Report on the socioeconomic progress in Afghanistan, indicates that the last 15 years of growth in Afghanistan is now being undermined by a recent rise in insecurity.
Let’s hope Saber keeps riding his bike, sharing books and helping others – and that his commitment inspires others to do the same.
All Images: Now This/The Daily Motion (video still) unless otherwise indicated.
I had a great time at Queensland College of the Arts (QCA) this week at an intensive workshop with some of Griffith’s most talented artists. Here’s an overview of what we did for our 2-day The Art of Looping Workshop – Enjoy!
I arrived at the QCA Southbank Design Studio and met my usual partner in creative crime, Claire Tracey. I’ve not been to the studio before and was impressed with the setup. The room had workstations set up with screens and we were issued with extra equipment and tools like speakers, MP3 recorders and other technical materials we would need. We all had mobile phones and a few, like me, had their laptops as well.
There were 19 participants in total, three of whom I knew. So it was a good mixture of mostly new and some familiar faces.
Then we went around the group and introduced ourselves and our art practice.
We then moved to a different space and took notes as each person read aloud a section from one of the texts they had bought. The readings ranged from textbooks, academic journals, song lyrics, children’s books and people’s own musings. We did a free writing activity and then got into set up in our “looping’ groups” just before lunch.
After lunch, we all visited fellow Looper Karen Stone’s exhibition and heard her speak about her work. My team ended up staying in the exhibition space to continue filming – and we got a number of impromptu vignettes there …like…
Then we had free time to start shooting short videos. Our team spent the rest of the afternoon trialling and erroring ideas, discussing, designing and investigating how things could work when looped.
We spent the rest of the afternoon working on little projects in pairs and as a group. It was good fun to work with other people and it was a deliberately open format, so we could self-direct and follow ideas as much or as little as we wanted.
I was pretty tired by the end of the first day. Once I got home, I did a 29 min Teacher’s Tech crash Youtube course on DaVinci Resolve 14. I have had this editing software on my computer for some time, but have not made the time yet to use it. As we were one of the groups that didn’t have a video expert, it was the ideal time to learn new skills. The crash course was just enough to hack together a few ideas – perfect!
Day 2
Most people brought ‘extras’ on the second day: costumes, makeup, props, jewellery, pieces of our own art – and I brought in Leki. We started out by going on an ‘excursion’. Those with outfits put them on, others lugged gear and props. We wandered around Southbank and heading over The Goodwill Bridge and into the Gardens on the other side shooting scenes and scenarios as we went. It was great fun.
We explored lawns, garden beds, went up trees, into drains, through car parks, down flights of stairs, sat on rocks and cause some happy mayhem along the way. All the while in colourful costumes, sprouting text and being directed by fellow Loopers – much to the curiosity of random passerbys.
On one particular sortie, Claire, Alex and I found ourselves on Level 6 of the QUT Law building, whereI rode Leki across an overpass while poor Law students undertook a Law exam next door – we were quietly respectful, but the contrast between the two groups was palpable- good luck students!
After our excursion, we all headed back to the Design Studio and spent some time collating, editing and exporting our Loops. They were raw, rough and fun.
As you would expect, each team produced totally different loops. They varied widely in concept, production and technical delivery. It was really interesting to see what others had been working on and what were we able to produce in such a short space of time.
As a final showcase, filled every screen in the Design Studio with team loops, so we could walk around and see what people had been working on. Quite a few academics also came down to see our final presentations – it looked awesome.
Take-aways of time spent Looping
I was really inspired and impressed by the work and skills of my Looper team and the other participants.
It was great working on set with Claire again – we have such great creative synergy. It reminded me that public art and performance are so engaging and fun to create, but also that it is hard work.
I really enjoyed the variety of activities: I liked the warm-up intro, reading and writing that lead to the group work – it worked well to orientate us and get the creative juices flowing.
I liked that the open format pushed me to relax into whatever was happening, to relinquish the idea that ‘I need to know what I am doing’ or always have structure – the learning was organic.
I learnt a new skill (DaVinci Resolve Software) enough to put together an experimental short clip – which I would not have done in such a way if I had not done the workshop.
It was also great to have designated adult play-time – what a joy! So precious!
My team were easy going, innovative and everyone brought something to the table – and it was lovely being in a space where there was no right or wrong ideas or actions – just ‘seeing what might happen if we do this’ or ‘Let’s try X here’ – such a rare delight!
It was also great to get about and about in Brisbane to do some live shooting. I was very proud crossing The Goodwill Bridge with my fellow Loopers and being part of this beautiful, courageous, colourfully-dressed band of creatives exploring the city streets, buildings and gardens of Brisbane.
Looper Awards of Excellence
For a finale, Claire and I awarded each of our fellow loopers (and fearless leaders) a custom-made recycled Looper Award of Excellence medal, each of which we had made out of an array of recycled materials like bike inner tubes and parts, beer caps, repurposed bits-and-bobs, jewellery pieces and other found objects (see below). Just doing our bit to get more bikes in the creative arts!!
Thank you!
A massive thank you to Beck and Sue for organising this event.
To Alex for running the workshop – we had a great time!
To my team for being right there with me – you were awesome!
To all our other fellow loopers … for being equally amazing!
