This limited edition tote could be yours!

We're constantly trying to improve what we do here at AzuKo, and we're keen to hear feedback from our amazing supporters.

• What information do you enjoy receiving from us?

• What would you like to hear more about?

• What type of content do you find engaging?

Take two minutes to fill out our survey and a beautiful AzuKo tote bag could be winging its way to you. We'll be announcing the winner in August.

UPDATE: THE SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED AND CONGRATULATIONS TO HANNAH B... YOUR TOTE IS ON ITS WAY!

To understand, to acknowledge & to empower.... meet new team member Nathan

Nathan Ardaiz joins AzuKo from the world of social impact. He'll be leading our A sense of place project and bringing his wealth of experience in community engagement to the team. We asked him to share a few thoughts:

• Tell us about yourself and what makes you tick...

Life for me, more and more, is about connecting with, and serving people. I also find that creating things (playing music, cooking, writing) brings me joy.

I believe that things happen for a reason and so I do my best to appreciate the nuances and 'minutia' of the day, say thank you to people (often via handwritten notes) and do it with a smile. I'm also infatuated with my nephews - the little time I get to spend with them is a blast.

• What is your design ethos?

It begins with happiness. Studies like the Happy Planet Index have shown that people universally are simply seeking contentment.

(Image: HPI)

Design then, for me, is about meeting needs by reducing anxiety and providing opportunities for people to connect, give and serve, create, find freedom, learn, feel secure, be in beauty, live harmoniously, find redemption, be validated and feel a part of something greater than themselves.

“I believe in such things as green space, round tables and public squares - designs that speak to what makes us human.”

I believe in listening - to understand, to acknowledge and to empower.

Diversity, non-linearities and the principles of nature are certainly inspirations as well. A tree has taught me more about the conditions necessary for thriving than most classes I've taken.

I believe in a balanced mix of negation (Nassim Nicholas Taleb describes this concept as Via Negativa), versus a dependence on prescription.

I believe in ambiguity (as described by Ben Hamilton-Baille) - that uncertainty is not actually risky. In fact, uncertainty is often more efficient and effective.

I believe in local and small for a book's worth of reasons.

And I believe in second hand wherever possible (and all other principles that are pro-environment, including bikes and vegetarianism).

• Describe the key milestone in your career so far.

The concept of a career, I feel, is so intimately connected with our personal journey, so my greatest milestone is probably something that reflects my personal development more than anything. It's probably when I turned down a promotion while working at a business school when I was writing my Master's thesis. That was when I decided that I wouldn't work purely for comfort and money and that I would challenge myself to spend this short life working on things that I felt didn't just serve me.

• What does public interest design mean to you?

With PID there is no clear distinction between the individual and the collective - the collective being comprised of the physical environment and all those in it. It considers the social and cultural experience of those it is intended for and is aware that those who live that experience are perhaps suited to problem solve for that experience.

“PID means understanding, openness, humility and respect for people and planet. It is anti-establishment and anti-status quo, while being humanist, and an indicator of a different future.”

• Why did you apply for the position of Research Associate?

I felt like it was a nice blend of things that I do well and things that I've been working toward for several years - research and ethnography, social innovation, community engagement, facilitation and problem solving.

I also appreciate Jo's approach to social change. The bonus is I get to learn more about spatial design and the human-centred methodology. It was the only job I had considered applying for following a year-long fellowship.

• What are you looking forward to most about working at AzuKo?

Connecting with, and serving people.

• Name or describe an article / publication / image that has changed the way you view the world and the way you approach your work.

Power and Love by Adam Kahane - an idea that has more beautifully synthesised the practicality of spirituality than any other book I've read.

Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb - a brave, comprehensive, practical and philosophical approach to life, work, the economy, design and everything worth writing about.

Influence by Dr. Robert Cialdini - a rare insight into what it actually means to be human.

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn - a hero and a firebrand who didn't allow the towers of academia to stifle his need to stand up for the voiceless. Zinn taught me to care.

Anything by Jiddu Krishnamurti - a gift to me at the age of 17. I haven't stopped reading him since, and am never not reminded of where we all stand cosmically.

The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer - the one that put a little twist on Krishnamurti and the one that relit the fire.

A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini and Richard Lannon - a poetic and scientific insight into what defines our ability to love and connect with others.

• What five words would someone use to describe you?

“Kind... hungry (for food and otherwise)... gregarious... intentional... thoughtful.”

Musings after a month on the road

Returning from a site visit to Bangladesh is always bittersweet. Setting foot back in the UK with water on tap, hot showers, cutlery, clean crisp sheets and the BBC it's hard not to heave a sigh of relief. How lucky to open your eyes and be a British citizen, right? Well, it's not that simple. After a week or so, I start to get the hunger pains for a freedom I can't quite put my finger on.

“I’m often asked, isn’t it difficult to work in Bangladesh... as a foreigner... as a woman... in the built environment? Yes, all those labels add a level of difficulty. But they do in the UK too.”

(Photo: T. Chowdhury)

Do I get taken seriously? I'm from the school of thought that you will be judged by your actions. Respect your neighbour, do good, be good, say what you really mean and deliver on your promises. If someone chooses to judge at face value, they aren't your tribe.

If I'm visiting a new village in Bangladesh, the first reaction is always of shock. I stick out like a sore thumb. This is closely followed by intrigue. I'm soon surrounded (personal space taken out of the equation) and bombarded by questions. I frantically try to translate them in my head and piece together a suitable response in broken Bangla. Without fail, the most frequently asked question - "Are you married?" Although I'm still pretty sprightly, I'm apparently a little bit past my best. Why am I alone and without a guide?

"Ekon, shami lakbe nah. Pore, pore. Ami besto. Ami kaj."

"Right now, I don't need a husband. Later, later. I'm busy. I'm working."

This is always met by much amusement.

(Photo: J. Ashbridge)

Do I have to cover up? Yes, I do my utmost to respect cultural norms. But I don't feel trapped. In fact, most of my days are spent in baggy yoga pants, T-shirts 'borrowed' from dad and my beloved flipflops. For public occasions I'll add a scarf. For weddings I'll push the boat out with a salwar kameez. The reality is I feel far more constrained in UK work attire - shirts that don't breathe during sticky summer days, skinny jeans that need to be unbuttoned if you've had too many office biscuits... and socks, who thought those were a good idea!?

At the age of 30 how can I still bear those 9-hour bus rides (12 if your wheel happens to pop off), living out of a backpack and taking tea at makeshift stalls with goat hides swinging in the wind?

Well, the bus rides don't get any easier. 

“Every now and again, a wave of calm will pass through your core. The monsoon rains (which have been finding their way through the cracks in the window) ease and the sun shines on the padi fields, the green so vibrant you forget to take a breath... then ‘Hey Jo’ starts playing in your earphones. Such timing, such serendipity.

How could I be anywhere else?”

Living out of a backpack is the worst. Not having a base used to feel liberating. No ties, no constraints. Now, I welcome the periods when I can stay a while in a village, when I can unpack and feel at home with my Bangladeshi family.

But the tea stalls never get old. If you haven't taken tea in Bangladesh, you haven't lived. In fact, it's worth booking a flight for this experience alone. Why are the tea sellers always the funniest men in the village? Bangladeshi Billy Connollys! They love pumping out American rock too... "I've been waiting for a girl like youuuuu."

In a time of uncertainty, a time of conflict between nations and disputes within, I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the people of Bangladesh for welcoming me (and AzuKo) into your country. You open my eyes to new ways of thinking and continue to push my understanding of humanity.

Bangladesh, until we meet again.

Author: J. Ashbridge