Photos by Mochi Liu.

This summer, the first four recipients of the Parsons Design Fellowship participated in the D.O.T. workshop in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Design, Organization, Training Center (D.O.T) was created by Parsons alumna and fashion designer Donna Karan, her foundation Urban Zen, the Parsons School of Design, and Haitian artisan and businesswoman Paula Coles to help bridge Haiti’s traditional artisan techniques with the modernity and design innovation needed to succeed in today’s global marketplace.

Parsons and the Urban Zen Foundation launched the Parsons Design Fellowship this year, granting Parsons students Amanda Evengaard, Ekatarina Kulikova, Jennifer June, and Mochi Liu an opportunity to work with the artisans at the D.O.T the summer of 2015.  Over the course of their residency, the students gave workshops and exchanged knowledge with Haitian artisans and designers, created a workspace for D.O.T. within an existing textile factory, and visited local schools including the Ecole Nationale des Arts (ENARTS). The students have documented their experience in a D.O.T. blog and a series of photo essays, which can be all be found here.