What we're building

Designed for real human need.

Real work from across the collective — research, products, and lived experiences, each built around a real human need.

Pumbit's six gestures of care Studio product
Care · postpartum

Pumbit

A care platform that routes a new mother's village to support her after birth — without her ever having to ask.

NeedfindingService designAI
A glowing pain visualization on the body Clinical pilot
Health · chronic pain

Illuminate

A glowing visual language that lets patients draw and map their pain — turning a dismissed experience into clinical data.

Patient researchPrototypeClinical validation
Hands playing the Lagu Hantu sound installation Installation
Decolonial design · culture

Lagu Hantu

A ritual sound installation built from Southeast Asian value systems instead of imported Western ones.

Speculative designPhysical prototypeSystems
Breadcrumbs, an e-ink agent prototype, on a desk Prototype suite
AI · calm technology

Agents in Service of Becoming

AI agents that support human becoming instead of capturing attention — parks where the internet built casinos.

Agent designCalm techPrototype
The Optimized for Itself healthcare-system simulation dashboard Simulation
Healthcare · systems

Optimized for Itself

An agent-based simulation that makes the US healthcare system visible as a self-maintaining machine — and testable.

Systems modelingStakeholder researchSimulation
Educators at a CommuniShare workshop in Uganda Field pilot
Education · social impact

CommuniShare

Cyclical teacher mentorship in Uganda, where shared experience becomes the currency that funds better learning.

Co-designNeedfindingField research
Guests sharing a meal at the Tending the Us dinner Experience
Food · ecology

Tending the Us

An immersive dinner that makes everyday acts of ecological and social reciprocity visible and shared.

Participatory designRitual designStorytelling
A hand holding one of The Cutting E.D.G.E. figurines Research
Queer history · speculative design

The Cutting E.D.G.E.

Tangible artifacts and AI voices that let people hold, visit, and pass on lost queer histories.

Archival researchSpeculative designFabrication