El Timbiriche is a mobile wellness cart that collects, preserves, and shares traditional wellness and healing practices of the Latino community in North Brooklyn. El Puente, with the support of DesigNYC, teamed up with
architect Farzana Gandhi and graphic artist Pablo Delcán to design a solution that builds on the community's rich culture and tradition of remedios caseros (home remedies) while responding to the issues of access and affordability of healthcare. After a series of community workshops and events, El Timbiriche emerged as a concept and a physical design that we are excited to build!
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The Design
El Timbiriche, meaning "little kiosk" (and also the name of a Mexican pop band!), acts as an interactive collector and distributor of valuable information. The mobile unit will travel to local
schools, libraries, parks, community gardens, and senior centers to document
information from elders to then pass along to younger
generations. El Timbiriche acknowledges the community as experts and honors the deep knowledge of its elders. The project also aims to offer a low-tech, innovative model
for user engagement - one that finds success in neighborhood place-making and
physical interaction as a means to a larger goal of digitally documenting the
unwritten stories, remedies, and traditions passed down through generations.
The design attracts and invites several forms of participation on the street:
from its ready-to-write-on chalkboard surfaces to a bike that rewards when ridden
by powering digital tablets on hand. Both interfaces (chalkboard and
tablets) aim to record herbal recipes shared at the unit. The resulting
one-of-a-kind online database will be accessible by communities, near and far.
The Community
El Timbiriche speaks predominantely to Latino residents of Los Sures (Southside of
Williamsburg) and Bushwick, Brooklyn, ameliorating issues that threaten their long-term wellbeing such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease. El
Puente is a 32-year old community-based organization that engages members, youth and adults, in the arts, community wellness, and environmental action, and
reaches over 10,000 people annually through community events. El Puente has a long history of and commitment to
health education advocacy and research.
Architect Farzana Gandhi has been working with El Puente and the community of Los Sures for over a year on this project, and has
immersed herself in the neighborhood’s culture, expression of arts, and music in order to offer a design solution well suited to the needs of the community. Every stage of the design process has demonstrated that although modest in scale, the impact of El Timbiriche will be widespread. It has consisted of exchanging ideas, through workshops and public presentations, with enthusiastic residents, local artists and community gardeners. ![]()
The Purpose
El Timbiriche increases the visibility of a Latino healing legacy in gentrifying neighborhoods and empowers community members as
experts in their own health. We need YOUR support to purchase materials, such as plywood, aluminum panels, a bicycle dynamo/generator, video camera and tablet, in order to build El Timbiriche. In addition, we will be stocking the mobile wellness cart with medicinal samples and educational materials. On behalf of our community, young and old, we thank you for your support in realizing our vision and building El Timbiriche!
