Do It Yourself
In the DIY projects, we tried out what it’s like to tackle our own projects. First, it’s important to figure out roughly what the goal is. Or could be. And then, the most fun phase begins: the wild brainstorming of possible approaches. It’s great to have multiple people involved to gather as many diverse (and crazy) ideas as possible. It’s good to quickly write down all the ideas so that nothing is forgotten. Sometimes it’s also good to sleep on it or talk to people who have nothing to do with the project.
Then, the most interesting or promising ideas can be selected and assessed for feasibility. Concrete information can be gathered from experienced individuals, books, or the internet. Based on this information, a choice is made (we made decisions in our small working groups using the Consensus Fish Model).
Next comes the construction planning: organizing materials, tools, discussing safety measures, estimating time, and the number of people needed. There might also be a need to draw a plan or establish a sequence of work steps. This step can sometimes take longer, as everyone needs to agree on one approach.
It’s important to discuss things thoroughly before starting with specific tasks. Otherwise, unnecessary work might arise that would have been apparent with proper planning and could have been avoided. Or you might realize on a Sunday morning that there aren’t enough screws for the construction project, the bike tube repair kit is empty, or there’s no flour for the quiche dough 😉
Then, it’s important to discuss together who wants to take on which part of the work. Room should definitely be given for expressing personal feelings so that everyone ends up satisfied with the tasks they take on. Above all, it’s crucial that everyone feels comfortable expressing what they want to learn, and that a way is found for everyone to leave the project with more knowledge than they came in with.
Because DIY projects are all about learning: Do It Yourself! And of course, it’s also part of the process to tell people who weren’t part of the project what was done, how, and why…