Open Hand Newsletter

Support Umm el-Jimal Today
Our work at Umm el-Jimal wouldn’t be possible without strong, sustained support from individuals. But even more than that, our work seeks to break new ground by involving local people to protect, share, and celebrate their cultural heritage amid an ever-changing world. Your support directly enables residents of developing communities like Umm el-Jimal to prepare for a vibrant future.

A Chipayan boy smiles for the camera.

Chipaya Water Project
This spring Open Hand staff plan to return to the village of Chipaya, Bolivia, to begin implementation of a clean water project that will provide this culturally unique town’s 2000 residents with daily drinking water. With no local source of clean water, a recent medical trip to the area found over 80% of locals infected with water-borne diseases. However, when complete the water purification system will provide every Chipayan with purified water for more than 20 years. Find more information on our website’s Chipaya page.


February 2010 Update	www.openhandstudios.org
Umm el-Jimal's famous double arch window at House XVIII. The Latest from Umm el-Jimal, Jordan OHS staff spent the month of January in the field with the Umm el-Jimal Project, an archaeological research, cultural heritage preservation, and community development endeavor at the ancient ruins and modern town of Umm el-Jimal, Jordan. We partnered with project director Dr. Bert de Vries and 17 student researchers from Calvin College, as well as Jordan’s Department of Antiquities, Ministry of Education, and Umm el-Jimal’s municipality and people. The cultural heritage and video teams interview a local resident. A Multi-Faceted Approach During our 2010 field season, teams focused on documenting Umm el-Jimal’s modern cultural heritage; developing an educational curriculum and teacher’s manual for Jordanian students; designing a site museum and walking tour; reconstructing major buildings via photorealistic, 3D digital models; and creating videos and other multimedia in support of the project. We’ll use this research to not only to create a virtual and physical museum for Umm el-Jimal, but to help build a community owned and operated cultural heritage center, and restore the site’s ancient water system for modern use amid Jordan’s severe, ongoing drought. Umm Hasan prepares traditional bread for the students. See the Website Following up on the season, over the next month we’re making major updates to the project web site, www.ummeljimal.org. Already visitors can view an overview video, take a look at slideshows on the images page, read published works in the library, and view models of major buildings in UJ reconstructed. As the site continues to evolve it will become the hub of the project’s virtual museum and site tour, an archive for four decades of archaeology research at Umm el-Jimal, home for the dual Arabic and English educational curriculum, and a repository of community oral histories and other information. Keep checking back for more!	February 2010 Newsletter In this issue: • The Latest from Umm el-Jimal • A Multi-Faceted Approach • See the Website • Support Umm el-Jimal Today • Chipaya Water Project
	Support Umm el-Jimal Today Our work at Umm el-Jimal wouldn’t be possible without strong, sustained support from individuals. But even more than that, our work seeks to break new ground by involving local people to protect, share, and celebrate their cultural heritage amid an ever-changing world. Your support directly enables residents of developing communities like Umm el-Jimal to prepare for a vibrant future. A Chipayan boy smiles for the camera. Chipaya Water Project This spring Open Hand staff plan to return to the village of Chipaya, Bolivia, to begin implementation of a clean water project that will provide this culturally unique town’s 2000 residents with daily drinking water. With no local source of clean water, a recent medical trip to the area found over 80% of locals infected with water-borne diseases. However, when complete the water purification system will provide every Chipayan with purified water for more than 20 years. Find more information on our website’s Chipaya page.
	Mission Open Hand Studios is a Chicago based 501c3 nonprofit organization that partners with communities across the world, academics, and the international public to create hands-on museum exhibits and virtual media that nurture social justice. Our projects help developing communities independently protect, celebrate, and share their cultural heritage—while also challenging visitors to rethink their assumptions about others. Our partners generate sustainable economic value from these projects by directly reinvesting proceeds to meet pressing community needs such as food, clean water, and education. Learn more: www.openhandstudios.org
One of Umm el-Jimal's ancient Roman reservoirs, full of water from a winter rain storm.
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