Following Field Ready's assessment visit to Bhutan in November 2018, the Fab Lab Bhutan management team, headed by Karma Lhakyi and Tsewang Lhundup, visited Nepal to lend their wisdom and experience to Field Ready's project partners Nepal Communitere. We have facilitated this collaboration as a part of the Humanitarian Design Challenge project currently running in Nepal and we hope the relationship will continue to grow and expand as Field Ready facilitate the establishment o

In celebration of International Women in Engineering day 2019, we decided to interview our Iraq Innovation Advisor, Wafa Al-Attas, who is leading Field Ready’s work on GIZ’s ICT for Youth Program in Iraq. Wafa describes herself as… A social entrepreneur. She started as a businesswoman in her native Yemen and moved into social enterprise supporting youth refugees and local community as the head of the Amel Association Community Centre in Beirut. After moving to Holland she con

Field Ready is pleased to announce the launch of a brand-new makerspace in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Field Ready: Erbil Makerspace will form part of a growing network of innovation and co-working spaces across Iraq. On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is supporting Field Ready to deliver GIZ's ICT for Iraq program, it will give Field Ready’s existing

Field Ready has demonstrated its approach to transforming humanitarian aid in places as diverse as remote island communities to those deeply affected by conflict and forced displacement. To remain our level of preparedness, we maintain an emergency response capacity. When there is a large-scale disaster and a need for the approach developed by Field Ready, we can deploy in as little as 72 hours to meet immediate need. “This team provides an edge for meeting needs in a unique

Field Ready has been working with the Anthropocene Insitute to create "how to" videos: how to repair a solar panel and how to make a water filter. These instructable videos are intended to be used by a wide audience looking to make and repair items in low-resource settings. The videos feature instructions from Julia Jenjezwa, a member of Field Ready's response team, who originally repaired solar panels in the USVI on our hurricane response. We are eager to share these step by

Reuf (pictured left) is the Technical Advisor to our Iraq project. He is originally from Sarajevo, Bosnia. So he is intimately familiar with the realities of modern conflict, the process of reconstruction and what it takes to locally make solutions using partnership, ingenuity, technological know-how and hard work. Reuf has extensive experience in making, engineering and training based in part on having his own company, HIVE Creative Agency, where he is a 3D print lab owner a

Following three years of occupation by ISIL and intense fighting to remove them, the healthcare system of the Northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been left in shambles. Many healthcare facilities were destroyed as they were used as safe havens, yet they face increasing demand as displaced population return to the region. At the same time a community of young techies gathered to find ways to improve the lives of their compatriots through building the capacity for innovation and t

Field Ready’s emergency response team is equipped to respond to disasters within 72 hours. We have responded to a number of emergencies recently. Here's some examples: the water crisis in South Sudan, the 2017 hurricanes in the Caribbean and volcano Ambae in Vanuatu. The Pacific Region is one of the most prone to disasters including, floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. We are currently building our roster in the Pacific Region s

In acute emergencies, children face a disproportionate risk of disease due to various factors perpetuated by poor water quality, lack of water and soap among many other reasons. Field Ready has been working with Save the Children and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to research, develop and implement a handwashing intervention for kids by using locally manufactured soap with a toy to incentivize handwashing. While our pilot was implemented in Iraq and initia

This week, the participants in the Un Ponte Per and Al Hussein Society (AHS) program have been continuing to work on designing and making two specific parts. The first is a wheelchair cushion which has been in development for the past few weeks. After testing different fillings they moved forward with a foam based filling. The participants continued to develop the seat cushions but altered the initial design to include comfortable armrests and a back/headrest. The participant

Field Ready has been working with the NGO Un Ponte Per (UPP) and the Al Hussein Society (AHS) to create livelihood training for people with disabilities. The goal of the program is to create dignified and sustainable entrepreneurial and employment opportunities for the most vulnerable and marginalized people from both the local host and the Syrian refugee communities, addressing in particular people with motor and psycho-social disabilities. One of the ways we are doing this

The Start Program had many impressive participants, we are going to highlight a few of them. Many displaced people are smart, educated and have the know-how, but lack opportunities to bring their ideas to fruition. We are thrilled to have been a part of the program and help these young innovators bring their ideas to the next level. Housam Halimeh is a 26-year-old from Latakia, Syria. Housam had an interest in developing toy and hobby sets which are soft, safe, handmade and c

Field Ready has a new livelihood program for people with disabilities in Jordan. This is done in partnership with the Italian NGO Un Ponte Per. Jordan is a particularly challenging country for people with disabilities. The infrastructure is rarely accessible, and the sidewalks are particularly high making it difficult for people to get around. Our program is to train people with disabilities to make mobility aids. Some of the items they will make include; ramps, removable des

We have been working with Kudra on the Start Program, which works with entrepreneurs from Syria and the host community to enable them with tools in order to succeed. The program is 2 months long and entails workshops, coaching, mentoring and use of the innovation lab. ​The program takes place at the Social Innovation Lab where Kudra brings experience working with communities, particularly building skills in entrepreneurship, design thinking etc. and running accelerator progra

Field Ready has a recently developed partnership with Rotterdam University. We will work with design students in their 4th year to develop and test items. While students often have the opportunity to complete a practicum, working with Field Ready gives students the chance to work on meaningful projects and exposes them to the humanitarian sector. By working directly with our team in Nepal, students gain practical experience and mentorship and help us to increase our list of i

On December 5-6, Field Ready M&E Officer Dan Butler attended a Livelihoods Workshop held by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Turkey. The event addressed many traditional livelihood programs and trainings, such as sewing or hairstyling. While these are all valuable skill-sets, Field Ready was used as a non-traditional example. Field Ready’s work with Kudra serves as an example of livelihood capacity building that focuses on information and communication te

2017 has been a great year for Field Ready and we have high expectations for 2018. Below are some of our highlights from the past year. We appreciate your continued interest and support, we couldn't do this without our great partners, supporters and donors. 2017 Field Ready Accomplishments: Our programs helped thousands of people through such initiatives as designing and manufacturing medical, water and sanitation, search and rescue and other useful items for humanitarian nee

The Social Innovation Lab is a partnership between Field Ready and Kudra, a maker space that provides an innovation area for start-ups, social entrepreneurs and the humanitarian sector to develop their own solutions and products. The lab is based in Gaziantep, Turkey. Kudra, an NGO that implements effective and sustainable comprehensive developmental programs, brings the experience in working with communities, particularly building skills in entrepreneurship, design thinking

Living with a disability can be difficult anywhere but in some parts of the world, the challenges can be especially daunting. Things that most people can take for granted - such as access to jobs - may seem like an impossibility. In Jordan, for instance, the employment rate of people with disabilities is around 0.5% to 1%, which make the life of a person with disability very difficult. To address this concern, Field Ready has a new livelihood program for people with disabilit

While our aim is to transform the way humanitarian aid is delivered, we seek to improve people’s overall quality of life and provide livelihood opportunities. This is especially true for those trying to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of disaster - the long and often slow recovery and reconstruction process. A key aim of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) includes eradicating extreme poverty. Field Ready has the capacity to improve livelihoods for people living in