What a success! On the weekend of 24th-25th of March 2018, Dojo Bali hosted the first ever Impactathon. During the course of 72hours the web application for Merah Putih Hijau (MPH), one of our cogiving projects (more infos here) was finally built, which we have been planning and designing since November 2017. This app will be the main tool to manage the daily operations of MPH. It will be used to report the daily waste intakes of their waste management facilities, track the separation of the waste, track their finances and show the data of their performance to the local community. It could help MPH expand to other villages in Bali and potentially pave the way for a full implementation of community-based waste management on the island.
The Power of Community
This was a truly unique collaborative effort which got together some of the best designers, developers and strategists from the Dojo Community to contribute in building something which would have an impact to the wider community. Because all files, process flows and designs are open sourced the project is easy implementable and replicable in other spaces and countries. Ultimately, this event demonstrated the power of community.
“This initiative represents the beginning of a deeper exploration on how foreigners can engage locally. We have many different nationalities, skillsets, ideas, backgrounds sitting under the roofs of brilliant hubs like Dojo Bali, and the Impactathon that we just put on, is just one way to leverage this collective genius. It definitely serves as a proof-of-concept for how nomads can use their skills to get involved in impactful community projects that stretch far beyond your traditional volunteer placements. This was the first time I’ve seen where we had that level of professional talent from all different corners of the world volunteer their time to build a piece of technology that will have a lasting impact on Bali’s waste challenge. On top of that, we got to host a demo day to increase engagement among the broader community, which inspired even more people to take action. I think initiatives like this can spark a broader conversation and change at scale, so this is just the beginning.”
– Eli, Volunteer Developer at the Dojo Impactathon.
The 72H Impactathon Weekend
On the Impactathon weekend itself, the developers finally brought to live the designs of the app which has been worked on by the design team and discussed in the weekly meetings leading up to the Impactathon. The developers built the app at Dojo over the course of an uninterrupted 72 hours end-to-end development. Testing rounds were conducted at each of the two days to the MPH facility at Pererenan so that the workers of the facility could try the app and give their feedbacks.
The reaction from the workers at the Pererenan MPH facility and from the Pererenan community was positive. They were very happy that a tool has been built and donated to them in order to help their mission to be a sustainable village through their Pererenan Green Village Project which MPH is at the forefront of through their waste management initiative. It was also ensured that the app was as simple to use as a paper report and that it is also in Bahasa Indonesia (and maybe later even in Bahasa Bali).
The reveal of the App
On the Monday after the weekend, the demo of the first version of the app was showcased to the Dojo community and public. We had all the main players of the app involved such as Andrea, the lead designer; Nick; the lead developer; Eli, the chief strategist and Nino, the founder and mastermind behind MPH; and Michael, the founder of Dojo who was also actively involved during the initial planning of the app. The turnout of the event was great, everyone was very excited about the results of the Impactathon and there was a lot of engagement from the crowd. After all, this is the first community-based waste management app in Bali, the first of its kind!!!
However, the journey does not end here. This is only Version 1.0 of the app and many upgrades could still be made to increase the quality and simplicity of the app. What is great is that the we have agreed to make the app open sourced, meaning that any developer in the world could contribute to upgrading the app if they want to.
Terima Kasih to team of designers, developers and strategists from our community that had given their time and energy to realize this project! Great job everyone!
