Ergonomic benches for Mexican backstrap weavers

We are delighted to report that Juana Ramos is visiting us here in Tucson, October 6-20th! Juana, a Mayan woman who speaks Spanish along with her native Kaqchikel, is from San Jorge la Laguna, a small town on the shores of Lake Atitlan. She was the primary trainer for the 150 women who began using the Bench during the pilot project. Juana will be helping us refine the educational content and ensure the cultural appropriateness of the educational DVD for indigenous people.

This DVD is an important way to make information available to backstrap weavers, enabling them to learn how to use the Synergo Weaving Bench safely and to maximum benefit –after all, the transition from kneeling to sitting while weaving is a major change. In thinking about that change, it’s important to realize that this project originated within the indigenous community: the women themselves recognized that kneeling is stressful. They had been looking for alternatives to the traditional working postures, and asked Synergo assistance in designing a viable way to sit while weaving. However, even though the Bench is intuitively easy to understand, it takes time for our bodies to adapt to new postures. The DVD will help the women adjust the bench to fit their individual bodies. It will help them learn new body movements, and develop the strength and coordination necessary to use them while weaving!

Now is an important time for the fundraising efforts of Synergo Arts and we are grateful for your support. Donor contributions are essential for us to proceed with this part of the project. And, once the DVD has been created in Spanish, we plan to translate and dub it in indigenous languages of Latin America, in order to make this education accessible to all.

2007 User Centered Design Award

We are excited to report that the Synergo design team has been honored with an award for the Synergo Weaving Bench. The Human Factors & Ergonomics Society’s Product Design Technical Group presented us with the 6th Annual User Centered Design Award at the HFES annual conference in Baltimore on October 2nd.