MIT students co-designing solutions with communities facing urgent social, economic, and environmental challenges
A dehydrator designed to increase the value of aguaje oil production in Peru; a cocoa bean cleaning and drying system to help small-scale farmers in Ghana improve quality and reduce waste; and a rapid, low-cost E. coli test to increase access to safer drinking water in Nepal. These are just three of the more than two dozen projects that D-Lab students, instructors, researchers, and community partners advanced in 23 countries this past year, all rooted in our commitment to co-design.
And, while technology remains central to D-Lab’s work, we also expanded our use of the Creative Capacity Building methodology to help communities address complex social challenges, from child marriage in Mali to the economic marginalization of women miners in Colombia.
Read on for more highlights and milestones from the past year. And, for more details, visit the D-Lab website for more stories that inspire us every day.