320 WS pg 8

A lot of life has happened this term and I'm behind in 320 infoD. Here is a compilation of some of the things I was supposed to turn in:

W/S pg 8

Call to action:

Connect yourself with what you consume!

Topic:

My personal exploration with what I consume (hops through homebrew beer) can inform others on how to make this sacred connection that seems to be lost in our modern world. Mostly, I want people to think, at the very least, about what they put in their bodies.

What Interests you about your topic:

Well, the hops idea was brought to me-- I didn't go to it. This summer I participated in a collective that my friends and I organized. The idea is that we would pool our money and do projects that we wanted to do, facilitating our own learning. We did many projects such as canning food, making wine, planting garlic, and harvesting hops.

I felt almost sublime, doing these little projects. Okay, maybe sublime is a little bit over exaggerated, but it felt good. This knowledge of harvesting and preserving used to be so common, but it got lost. Maybe it isn't necessary for me to know that I can steam juice grapes and pasteurize them in my own kitchen, but it is necessary to know to make a connection to the earth. Maybe, if everyone connected to the earth in some small way, we would care more about stopping what we do to destroy it.

And, Im not just a big hippie or nature freak or whatever you want to call it; I live in a big city, in a crappy apartment and I buy my food from the store. I dont live in a self sustaining commune. I am interested in this topic because I believe in it.

List all the possible variables associated with your topic:

(Since I'm so far along, I'm listing the important aspects)

People

The earth

History

Fun

Learning

The experience

Food

What sources will you gather data from:

The internet, personal experience, my (homebrew expert) friends, people who want to educate others about food (ie people's food co-op).

What solutions exist to solve issues or problems related to your topic:

Food education is not a new idea, people have been trying to do it for a long time. The DIY culture and the overwhelming knowledge of the internet are helpful for facilitating this idea of educating yourself.

What solutions do you propose and how can you motivate your audience to consider the solutions:

Mt solution is to show, by my own experience, that educating yourself about what you consume is necessary. I am definitely having trouble with the motivation part. Money, as we know, is a big motivator, but it isn't what's important for my project. I want people to want to learn.

Angles that could motivate: Learning is fun. I learned, so you can too. Learning benefits you as a person.

Audience:

What is their age? Everyone, specifically, adults.

Where do they live: Anywhere, specifically, the portland area.

What mode of transportation do they use? Anything, bikes, cars, public trans, walking, skating.

Where do they shop for groceries? Anywhere

What do they do in their spare time? Anything

What is their socio-economic status? They have to be able to read. Having a personal computer helps, but libraries have those.

I want my audience to be as wide as possible. People who are affluent, shop at whole foods, and own a prius may be more receptive to my call to action, but anyone can learn. I want everyone to learn.