Empowering System: Graffiti pendants.

On the left are paint chips that fell from graffiti walls of Detroit, Michigan. These paint chips are compressed and made into earrings and necklaces which are  designed and made by woman transitioning from a shelter to an independent life. The Rebel Neil team hires woman from homeless shelters as creative designers to create the jewelry above with a goal to restore their confidence. This is extremely empowering system that helps woman in need while giving graffiti art a second life in the form of jewelry.

Ineffective system: Culticycle prototype

This is a pedal powered tractor designed for removing weeds from crop fields. For me, this is an ineffective system because in a time where technological advanced machinery doing all the chores that we don’t want to do for us. When we look at new inventions we tend to look for something that sets the bar high for all other machines, but in this case it doesn’t seem like it’s that much of an advancement. The large size and awkwardness of the machine isn’t like the slick powerful machines that rule our world today, and some may say that this might be a step back in the world of technology for farming.