Products

We connect oral histories by older people of Talcahuano with children’s activities to foreground the city’s resilience.

The interviews and workshops provided the foundational material for the design of the project’s products. Although the products can be used separately, they can be used together in educational settings, drawing on the lesson plans. The products also aim to instil pride in the city of Talcahuano, ‘the capital of resilience’.

Oral history archives

The oral history interviews have been filmed and they will be made publicly available on the Talcahuano city’s website. Talcahuano citizens and the wider public can use these videos for educational or other purposes. 

Maria, 72 years old, recreates how she made bread with her neighbour and shared it with others on their street after the 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami

Maria, 72 years old, recreates how she made bread with her neighbour and shared it with others on their street after the 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami

Games

The oral histories provide the basis for the tabletop game. It is aimed at children but we hope it will also be played with adults, especially grandparents. The game asks players to answer questions about disaster preparedness specific to Talcahuano and drawn from the stories of the older people. For example, one questions asks:

Maria was born in 1950. She went back to secondary school to finish her education when she was more than 50 years old. During the 2010 earthquake, Maria didn’t have any food but she had flour. What was she able to do? (* is the correct answer)

  1. Combine ingredients with a neighbour to make bread and share with other neighbours (*)
  2. Keep it in secret so no one would steal it  
  3. Nothing 

The game showcases Talcahuano, with the design based on a map of the city. Several of the questions ask about local disaster risks and resources. 

Comic

We worked with a comic workshop organised by the department for children at the municipality of Talcahuano. A group of children had already participated in 2 other workshops drawing comics. We joined the third workshop and proposed the theme of disaster preparedness. Children learned about DRR, heard from some of the older people from the project, and let their imagination run wild with their drawings. The result is a wonderfully creative and educational comic book on disaster risk reduction, communicated in the voice of children. You can download the comic book here

          

 

Illutrated book

The older people’s oral histories have been beautifully illustrated by designer Seba Palma. Each person’s portrait is accompanied by the drawings that the children did of their stories in the workshop. You can download the book here

 

            

Documentary

“Voices of Resilience” is a 40-minute documentary that showcases the oral life histories and the intergenerational work at the heart of this project. The documentary can also be used for educational purposes, such as to show some of the stories to students in a lesson on disasters or local history. 

You can find a trailer for the documentary here (with English subtitles) and the full documentary here

Lesson Plans

We will produce curricular material for primary schools in Talcahuano. The aims of the lesson plans will be to make disaster risk reduction and resilience easy to teach within existing primary school curricula. We will communicate local older people’ stories of disaster and resilience so that children learn how the resources for disaster survival and preparedness are already around them, among their elders and families. The lessons will also link the stories of disaster survival with stories of resilience in life. Students will also have tasks where they have to speak with the older members of their family and neighbours to learn about local stories of disaster and resilience. 

Toolkits

We have a toolkit for other researchers and practitioners who are interested in the use of oral and life histories in disaster research, and/or in an intergenerational approach to disaster preparedness. The project has had to contend with pandemic restrictions in terms of time and space. Thus, the toolkit is designed to be simple and easy to use. Even if you do not have the funds or time to carry out the ideal project, our toolkit will provide basic tips and ideas that can still have immense impact on the communities with whom you work. 

Check it out here: Methodological Guide for Voices of Resilience