Registration Deadline for this class has been extended to December 10!

This 17-day design/build adventure will focus on a rural community project for the Women's Club of the Future of El Rincon. The Women's Club is dedicated to strengthening their community by creating opportunities for their residents, especially their young adults. Their projects include utilizing the nearby Laguna Del Diablo as a guided tourist hike through steep mountain farmland offering an experience of rural Dominican culture. They also offer public sewing machines (with instruction), and rainwater harvesting for public use.

The class project will be to create a gathering area where both the local community and a burgeoning eco-tourist community can congregate. The design challenge is to make the site inviting for tourist vehicles that pass by on their way to famously beautiful Rincon Beach, as well as create a shaded public place for the residents of El Rincon. The site is in the middle of the small village.

The first third of the class will lead students through a design process for this community design/build project. The process begins with the creation of individual designs which then merge into a number of collaborative designs, and finally culminate in a single design emanating from the collective ideas of the participants. The remainder of the course is an intensive building sprint to build what has been designed.

The class will work with local materials that are environmentally appropriate. The goals of the class are to bring students through the design/build progression showing how the designing and building process continually inform each other throughout the project.

This class will take place in a rural part of the Dominican Republic; the lodging will be rustic: sleeping in tents on the beach, limited or no electricity, lots of nature, and tons of hard work. It will be the experience of a lifetime.

Tuition includes travel within the Dominican Republic, rustic camping facilities in wall tents, and all meals. Intermediate to Professional.

For more information:
View a slideshow describing the 2008 class

and visit the tour operator's site:
http://www.4tdomrep.com/yestermorrow2008.html

View a slideshow from last year's class:
http://bergmandesignteam.com/drdb2007/index.htm

119 Learning Units