¡Buenos días! For this post, I'll be reflecting on the past week, June 20th-27th, the third week of my LiA project working with Picacho Con Futuro in Comuna 6 of Medellín, Colombia. 

As you read, you'll probably notice that not a lot of work was done this week, at least compared to previous weeks. This was because on Monday, which was a Colombian holiday, we visited a local nearby city, Guatapé, and I got to climb the infamous rock! Then, my cohort took a extended weekend trip and flew to Cartagena from Friday to Sunday, which is where the banner photo was taken. Cartagena was so hot and humid, but so incredibly beautiful, especially at sunset, and I would thoroughly recommend going. 

What went well?

Similar to my last post, I think our group is making good progress on our deliverables. We designed different pamphlet prototypes that showcase our café design that we are planning on passing out at our final presentation, which we will polish and present to Adrián during week 4. 

Within Picacho Con Futuro, we interviewed "Proyectando Sueños", or Projecting Dreams, a women's dance group focused on traditional Colombian dance. Not only did we have a 30 minute conversation with them regarding their preferences for the café, in which they gave us so many ideas that we hadn't though of before, but they also performed three dances for us, each from a different region of Colombia. Their happiness and appreciation for Colombian culture really shined through their dances, leaving me awestruck and wanting to come back to visit them again.

Afterwards, we began our third deliverable, which is designing a proposal for the logistics of the café that aligns with the narrative, mission and goal of Picacho on Futuro. My job was to design the activity calendar for the café, think of decor, and create the branding of Barrio Mío. I was able to start on activities and branding ideas, but didn't make substantial progress, which will be the task for next week. 

We also met a lot of local volunteers at UPB (a local university in Medellín) by setting up tables that showcased what we were doing this summer. It was incredibly interesting meeting college students from Colombia, and learning about their plans for the future. We were able to get the contacts of at least six volunteers, and hopefully we'll be able to work with them next week.

What could've been done differently?

Part of our plan for completing our stakeholder map was printing out a QR code, and putting it up in Picacho Con Futuro so that people could fill out our google form regarding their preferences on the café (they are the same questions we ask in our stakeholder interviews). However, due to missed timing, we were unable to do this, and honestly, it is unlikely it will happen in week 4, as we're not visiting Picacho Con Futuro again until we present our first draft of our proposal. As a result, not only did we "waste" effort on the google form, but we also got a lot less outside input on the café as we had hoped. 

What did I learn about Leadership?

In this past week, I learned that a project that moves more quickly and produces faster results does not necessarily demonstrate stronger leadership. At this point being week 3 of my LiA, our project has hit a bit of a lull, as in it is going along but there are no concrete results to show for our efforts. At times, it can feel frustrating because it's difficult to measure exactly what we've accomplished. But, after our visit with Proyectando Sueños, which was such a wonderful, once in a lifetime, experience, I came to understand that leadership is also about taking small, intentional steps that improve the quality of the final outcome.

There was no need for us to actually interview Proyectando Sueños had we just handed Adrián our google form and made the members complete it on their own. But, in visiting Proyectando Sueños, not only did I learn so much about their opinions on the café, but also immersed myself in what it is like to be a member of Picacho Con Futuro. I saw how much the space and being able to dance meant for them, and it gave me a greater appreciation for the sense of community they have built.

Adjustments and developments for next week?

As we continue making progress towards our first draft of our café proposal, there is a lot to do next week: 

1. Communicate, connect and receive help from the local volunteers that signed up to work with Picacho Con Futuro. This also includes understanding the local culture more, such as classic Colombian children board games.
2. Establish the activity list and calendar, the branding of the name and the inside decor of Barrio Mío. 

Hopefully, by the end of week 4, we'll have lots of feedback from Adrián about our first proposal, and we'll start working on our final proposal!