Empowering Women Through Up-cycling

Women in rural villages in Rajasthan are naturally innovative in the ways they use and reuse waste material. ECOWRAP’s Bhayli (भायली) is a women’s empowerment initiative that aims to help rural women secure sustainable livelihoods through repurposing urban waste. Women are changing the face of up-cycling in India as they are provided with source-segregated waste material, resources, and the training needed to bring waste back into the value chain and into the modern market. I developed art forms, product lines, and a livelihoods model to meet the needs of ECOWRAP and their creative partners alike.

    • Researched, identified, and developed art forms to best serve the long-term needs of both ECOWRAP and their creative partners.

    • Developed a business model to help ECOWRAP create products for a modern market and ensure women who partner with them have flexible opportunities that meet their income needs.

    • Designed 16 products using two up-cycled art forms I developed (embossing used beverage cans, and “cane”weaving single-use plastic water bottles).

    • Worked closely with a carpenter to improve and ensure products meet quality standards.

    • Facilitated skills development trainings for ECOWRAP’s creative partners in two up-cycled art forms.

Fostering Resilience among Refugees

As the United States military withdrew troops from Afghanistan and the city of Kabul fell to the Taliban, thousands of Afghans began fleeing what was once their home. Operation Allies Welcome was a civilian-led operation intended to be a continuation of Allies Refuge with the task of temporarily housing, sustaining, and resettling evacuees. Tasked with meeting the morale, wellness, and recreational needs, of newly arrived Afghan refugees, I developed and facilitated language learning curriculum to help allies foster confidence, creativity, self-expression, and resilience during their transition to the United States. I was assigned to help meet the mental health and psycho-social support needs of nearly 13,000 Afghan Refugee through English language-learning programs.

    • Identified fiber arts as an interest among Afghan women and designed an embroidery workshop that gave them a safe space to create, learn new skills, and practice English

    • Developed language learning curriculum: ABC Literacy for Adults, Men’s Beginner English, and Women’s Beginner English courses

    • Designed an interactive training module to help train volunteers in cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed care

    • Facilitated activities based English classes for Afghan children ages 5-9, 10-12, and 13-16 years old and mentored volunteer Afghan teachers

    • Led the volunteer Afghan teacher program (facilitating workshops in Activity Based Learning, Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses, and Collaborating for Growth)

    • Facilitated ABC Literacy course for Adults, Men’s Beginner English, and Women’s Beginner English courses

Building Understanding Across Religio-Cultural Communities

As the world becomes more globalized, more and more religio-cultural communities find themselves living alongside other religio-cultural communities very different from their own. Pranām Collaborative Learning provides modular, learner-centered programs designed to help participants from both Christian and Hindu communities learn with and from each other. Their programs facilitate critical self-reflection, humble co-learning, and mutual appreciation for Hindu culture in all its complexity and beauty and for Jesus's life example and teachings in their original cultural context.

    • Designed reflection workshops to help learners process and apply what they were learning using various artistic mediums

    • Developed and improved cross-cultural learning modules and curriculum through numerous iterations

    • Collaborated to design holistic module activities to help learners practice what they learned

    • Led storytelling workshops

    • Facilitated cross-cultural learning modules both in person and online