Commentary

OP Specification

In this OP attempt I to give the reader a sense of the project I am now undertaking. I reveal both personal details as well as events and ideas that shaped this project in an attempt to reflect upon the inter-relatedness of these things in my life. I do this by recounting events that led up to the formation of the project and using the format of a reflexive interview which ties into the supporting evidence that is linked at the end.

My long-term project is an ethnographic study of the political economy of alcoholism in adivasi soceity in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Adivasi is an umbrella term used to identify the indigenous people of India. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is a bioregion in South India which is divided between the three States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Wayanad is a district in the northeast of Kerala and this is where I hope to conduct my study.

I am currently at the very preliminary stages of this project (which I anticipate will take a year or more). I have spent the last few months writing out a proposal for my project. This OP documents the process of proposal writing. Through this I hope you will understand the thinking and design that went into the creation of this project.

About this OP

The Output Packet is divided into three sections. The template was was created with the help of my advisor. The first section contains an overview of he Output Packet and some general context about my life in relation to my pathway. The third section contains the actual outcomes of the project I've worked on. It might be helpful to look through this section -even briefly- before diving into the core report. The object of my reflections in section 2 is contained in section 3. The main section, the core report, introduces the project and continues with reflections about the project.

You can use the tabs at the top menu bar to navigate between these three pages. You will find an interview that has been uploaded as an audo file, clicking on the link will open a new tab or window.

Pathway Reflection- Gaia

Here is a brief update and reflection on my pathway with Gaia U since my last OP:

Although I did not intend to, I feel out of communication for many months while I was travelling in the US. Initially I had imagined that the many experiences from this period would offer rich material for OPs. However, I found myself to be so overwhelmed with everything that was happening in my life. I found it difficult to document the variety and complexity of things that were taking place in my life at the time. Looking back I think it might have been useful to have spoken with my advisor about the things that were happening in my life and find a way to document it through those conversations.

I had hoped to be much more productive then I have been. With that said, I am happy with the progress I have made on this OP and have learned two valuable lessons form this going forward. The first being that it would be really useful to discuss and brainsorm with my advisor when life seems to be getting too overwhelming to document. The second being that complexity can be tackled by breaking it down into smaller component pieces and finding structure within which those pieces might fit.Moving forward my goal is to create 2 OPs per month.

Key learnings and skills

Here are some key learnings I have gained in the last year or so since working on my previous OP:

- Working as a teacher

- Managing a classroom

- Working with children

- Culture as it related to history and politics (especially in Kerella)

- Marital arts

- Understanding ecology

- Built a knowledge base on Ecovillage design

- Natural building (month and a half experience)

- Academic skills

- Caste and Indian Independence Movement - attended lectures while in Berkley.

Digiphon

In making this OP, I used google drive to format, organize and share text. I used evernote to capture the audio recording on my Samsung Galaxy S Plus. I then used the Mahara e-portfolio for the final version.

The Design Process and My Goals

The OP design process began with a brainstorming session between myself and my advisor. We came up with the idea of using the interview format and drafted some potential interview questions relevant to OP criteria, which I then used to have a friend interview me. This led to some additional reflections which were noted and made into a text document. Following this my advisor and I looked at what sections of the OP were still missing and filled. In attempting to write an introduction a series of new reflections came up which were added. I also used a lot of reflection from conversations from friends as content for the OP. My advisor then did a draft review and suggested a larger organizational method (this template-outline). I then reorganized the information into this final presentation.

Here is a flow chart that summarizes the design process used to create this OP:

Expansive Survey > Contraction (Make decision based on Assessment) > Plan Actions > Implementation > Reflection and Documentation > Collect Feedback > Identify Gaps and Next Steps > Further Implementation > Further Reflections > Collect Feedback > Create Container > Fill in Container > Final Implementation > Final Evaluation

The goals of this Output Packet:

1. Documentation - get back on track with documentation with Gaia University. To get back on track with meeting requirements.

2. Make life and experience of work accessible and conveyed in a way that reader can engage with.

3. Make OP easy to navigate and visually esthetic.

Pathway Reflection

Here is a brief update on my life:

The project I have been working on has been tha main focus of my time since I returned from the US 2 months ago. This has meant a lot of reading and writing. Lately I have been meeting with scholars on the field to discuss my ideas with them,

I have also been getting back into the routine of practicing martial arts and trying to find a daily routine and schedule to manage my projects. Learning to manage my time better is an ongoing effort and I attempt to periodically reflect upon personal goals I have set for myself and asess my progress.

In my personal life I have been experimenting with non-monogamy. I struggle to strike a balancing between striving to live up to my ideals of universal love and freedom while I am also accepting of my own and my partners' limitations.

All of these aspects of my life have directly or indirectly supported my in creating this Output Packet. Here I am essentially attempting to synthesize the learning and growth that has come from engaging in the world- from everyday intereactions or ethical considerations about real-life choices. This attempt is of-course always limited and so much is lost in translation. However, I have found that breaking this rather ambitious goal into bite-sized bits has helped immensly in the creation of this document.

My goals for the next few months are to:

develop my research project further
continue my ongoing efforts at managing my time
learn malayalam (the language spoken in Kerala where I will be working)
Learn computer programming by completing the CS 50 course

Comments

Laura Kaestele
11 April 2014, 7:14

Hi Manasi,

attached you can find my peer review of this OP, I appreciate all the research, work and personal development that went into creating this report, well done. Thanks for the opporunity to learn about you and the interesting projects your involved in, I wish you successful implementation in India with your research. If you have any questions regarding my feedback or other comments and because it is always exciting to meet fellow associates, I am happy to do a little action learning meeting offering my listening and support, just let me know if you are interested.

Cheers, Laura :-)