RISD First-Gen, Low Income Student looking to speak with Producers and possible visits!

Mei Zheng

RISD Undergraduate of Industrial Design

[email protected]

Description:

Greetings! My name is Mei and I’m a junior student at the Rhode Island School of Design [RISD] studying Industrial Design.

Hope all is well with you, I wanted to reach out as I’m in the process of developing an experience design project on locality concerning local agriculture and the critique of legacy systems [i.e. growth, capitalism, productivity] in the agricultural space for my De-Industrial Design Studio, and thought to connect through the N.E. AG Exchange! Thank you so much for your time!

This second project asks us to find unsustainability/core problem and to create new intervention[s] to potentially unlock it: and through personal-driven research on Ag. Tech, I found myself now focusing on the critique of legacy systems in agriculture and how that impacts holistic forms of local agriculture [i.e. degrowth, slow tools, collective action] pertaining to care/reciprocity. How does food apartheid affect the measure of care in relation to food, and where does the role of access affect these local communities?

As an “assumption”, I feel that often the conversation of locality is met too with the lack of access, whether that takes on the form of time, transportation, or even of choice to/of food. Within this conversation, there’s a larger picture of the relationship between care and food. Some project deliverables for this assignment, I’ve considered in the forms of experience design in making a kit that maps and engages people with local farms/restaurants/spaces, interactive food zines, and food shares into a more open space of discussion for bridging this gap of knowing care.

I’m curious to know if anyone would be interested in an interview and if I could visit sometime this week! If not, it would be so helpful if you would be willing to suggest other avenues I might pursue - perhaps there is another staff member I should talk to, or perhaps there is another organization that you believe might be a good fit.

Thank you so much!

We would be willing to speak with you. My name is Katherine and my number is 401-644-7253. email: [email protected]

https://skydogfarm.com/