by ericalee | Feb 9, 2011 | argentina, cartoneros, cooperatives, engineering, news, partners, technology
Back in Buenos Aires, and it’s summer time so everything moves at half-speed. The heat has eased up over the last few days and that has made it more comfortable to move around. Still, whatever the weather, the cartoneros are present, winding their way through...
by ericalee | Nov 26, 2010 | argentina, cooperatives, design
Last night we attended the opening of an exhibit at an art gallery here in San Telmo, just a few blocks from our apartment. The artist was named Adriana Gatti, and she had created a dress made of rubber from tires. Most definitely cool. Then she had taken photos of...
by ericalee | Nov 26, 2010 | argentina, engineering, partners, technology
Much as it’s thrilling to execute on a well-laid plan, sometimes the things you don’t plan for – and couldn’t have planned for if you tried in a million years! – are the most fun and satisfying of all. Case in point: Our discovery of...
by ericalee | Nov 16, 2010 | argentina, design
Today was an exhilarating yet exhausting day of rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty. We had to test out the manufacturing process by which our premier product was made: the wallet (or billetera, pronounced beesh-eh-TERR-ah in Argentine Spanish) that...
by ericalee | Nov 12, 2010 | argentina, cartoneros, cooperatives
By Wednesday, day 10 of this visit to Buenos Aires, we were ready to visit the most important stake-holders of all: the cartonero co-operatives that will own and run the businesses that we are helping them start. Caroline and Eric had made contact with a community...
by ericalee | Nov 9, 2010 | argentina, design, partners
Back to the University of Buenos Aires yesterday for a follow-up visit with some second year students who designed and built products from chopped-up Danone yogurt containers. It was fun to chat with the students and see the look of pride on their faces as they...
by ericalee | Nov 7, 2010 | argentina
Finally we have reached the last part of the value chain – we are ready to think about selling products! We know that *we* would buy what we were selling, but we knew we needed a realistic assessment of how many of the general public would feel the same. Though...
by ericalee | Nov 6, 2010 | technology
Yesterday we secured a key piece of technology – a ‘selladora’ (pronounced SESH-a-DOR-ah) or heat sealer, which will allow us to make the cardholders developed by the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) locally. We originally wanted to find a...
by ericalee | Nov 3, 2010 | argentina, cooperatives, partners
Our second full day in Buenos Aires meant a visit to another important partner – The Working World. They are a unique organization, based in Argentina for the last five years, supporting co-operative businesses through access to low-interest loans and business...
by ericalee | Nov 3, 2010 | argentina, cooperatives, design, partners, technology
The first few days of our core team’s implementation visit have been incredibly busy, yet rewarding and so far successful. Having secured working keys to our apartment building and a guia (tiny book to help us navigate the labyrinthine Buenos Aires bus system)...
