International Development
International Development
Cumbre Internacional
Design Summit Ayuujk 2025
About
the summit
From July 29 to August 13, 2025, Santa María Tlahuitoltepec, Oaxaca, will become the epicenter of creativity and technology with the purpose of designing projects that provide solutions to different problems in the community.
In this unique 2 week-long summit, 28 local, national and international participants will come together to work as a team, learn about user-centered design and co-create 7 innovation projects that use local technology to solve specific community challenges.
Do you join in creating solutions that make a difference?
Actionable Milestones with Global Scalability
The IDDS Ayuujk 2025 is based on a proven methodology developed by MIT D-Lab, successfully tested across diverse continents and applied by thousands of social innovators. Among its key objectives are:
1
Solutions
tecnológicas
directas
Co-creation of six practical technologies, contextually-adapted, that address priority challenges within Ayuujk life, resulting in tangible improvements to the community's quality of life.
2
Formación
de líderes
locales
Empowerment of 28 local and international participants with high potential to become future co-design trainers. This directly strengthens innovation capacity within their home communities and beyond.
3
Intercambio
global de
conocimiento
Establishment of new partnerships and collaborations across at least 10 countries, promoting the flow of knowledge, experiences, and resources within the International Development Innovation Network (IDIN).
About IDDS innovators
The 36 IDDS participants are change agents from diverse regions of the world who share a common goal: to co-create sustainable solutions to real-world challenges. Through a collaborative and intercultural process, these individuals contribute their unique knowledge, experiences, and perspectives, enriching each stage of the design process with local approaches and technical expertise. Their active participation not only transforms specific contexts but also creates networks of solidarity, innovation, and learning that transcend borders.
Community-Based Technology Solutions
In alignment with the IDDS philosophy, participants and innovators—both local and international—will develop skills in participatory design to work collaboratively with members of the Ayuujk community. Throughout the summit, seven local technologies will be co-created and prototyped. These innovations are focused on solving challenges identified through a process of active listening and dialogue with community stakeholders in Santa María Tlahuitoltepec. These initiatives not only respond to concrete needs but also strengthen local capacities and promote an innovation profoundly rooted in the territory.
The design challenges
How might we plant corn faster?
Crafts
How might we extract ixtle from green maguey leaves?
How might we warp wool without electricity?
Entreprenurship
How might we avoid nopal losses due to unsold inventory? (supporting new venture led by women)
Local constructive systems
¿How produce adobe efficiently?
Traditional Medicine
How can dried medicinal plants be obtained as an alternative for women's healing?
The prototypes developed will not only benefit Tlahuitoltepec. Thanks to their participatory design and cultural relevance, these technologies have the potential to be replicated and adapted in other communities in the Ayuujk region facing similar challenges . Thus, each solution becomes a seed of transformation for multiple territories.
At the end of the summit, the selected participants will join the International Development Innovation Network (IDIN ), a global network of more than a thousand social innovators. This international community allows for the sharing of learnings, the scaling of projects, and the generation of new collaborations in different parts of the world, thus expanding the impact of the IDDS far beyond its geographical borders.
Santa María Tlahuitoltepec
host of IDDS Ayuujk 2025
Santa María Tlahuitoltepec—or Xaamkëjxp in the Ayuuk language—is an indigenous community nestled in the Sierra Mixe of Oaxaca, situated at 2,240 meters (7,350 feet) above sea level. Surrounded by majestic cloud forests and pine-oak ecosystems, this locality is located approximately two and a half hours from Oaxaca City.
Tlahuitoltepec is inhabited by the Mixe people, known as Ayuujk jä’äy, whose native language, Ayuuk, is spoken by the majority of residents. Approximately 80% of the population is bilingual, communicating daily in both Ayuuk and Spanish, thereby fostering a vibrant and resilient linguistic identity.
The community's economy is primarily based on small-scale agriculture, featuring traditional crops such as corn, beans, potatoes, peas, squash, and chilies, complemented by livestock and local commerce. Like many other indigenous communities in Southern Mexico, Tlahuitoltepec faces complex challenges, including migration, which has left a significant mark on the town’s social and family structure.
Yet, beyond the demographics, Tlahuitoltepec stands as a center of creativity, autonomy, and cultural resilience. Its unique way of inhabiting the world is expressed through its streets, music, gastronomy, and forms of communal organization: one where territory, language, and collective action are the foundation of daily life.
Facilitation team
The IDDS Ayuujk 2025 facilitators are key players in co-creating technological solutions with communities. Their role is not to teach from a distance, but to support processes from within: listening, guiding, questioning, and building alongside the teams.
With experience in participatory design, sustainable development, education, technology, and community work , they support participants throughout the entire design cycle: from immersion to prototyping. Their presence ensures that each project is based on dialogue, respect, and shared knowledge.
More than experts, they are catalysts for collective learning and collaborative work. After the summit, they continue to network through IDIN, an international community committed to grassroots social innovation.
Individual donors
We thank the following individuals for their efforts and support in making this summit a reality in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Shanti Klein ● Carol Zavalet ● Adriana Abardía ● Alex Briscoe ● Linda Eckerbom Cole ● Aura Mora ● Tjada Mckenna ● Kristin Mannion ● María José Sáenz ● Juliana Gonçalves de Olivera ● Juliana Sauaia ● Carolina Alzate ● Paola Moreno Villalobos ● Manuel Emilio Velis ● Andrea Marín ● María Isabel Noriega ● Uriel García Gopar ● Jorge Bermúdez ● Dexter Manuel ● Angnes Pyrchla ● Maurice Jakesh ● David Saleh ● Thabiso Mashaba ● Hazwan Razak ● Ravi Chhatpar ● Laura Bydyzna ● Viviana Arango ● Federico Brognoli ● Cristiane Barreto ● Alejandro Mejía Greene ● Ariana Esestein ● Darrat Corrales Sánchez
Donor organizations
Smith Family Foundation ● Sullivan Family Charitable Foundation ● Consejo Oaxaqueño de Ciencia y Tecnología ● Conversa ● Unuspat ● El Caminero ● Hotel Parador San Miguel ● Doctor’s Home ● Central Estudio ● Diversa ● Invento ● PamLab ● Fundación Bosque Vivo ● Ires y Venires ● Circa A.C.
Organizers
Co-organizing partners and sponsors
