Cuando se juntan la creatividad y la necesidad en la cuarentena.
When creativity meets need in quarantine
If you live in Venezuela, by now you should know that the plans have an approximate duration of one week, because this country seems the stage where the strangest chapters of the Simpsons come together with the stories of dystopian books such as 1984 and Brave New World. Thus, in recent years we have experienced constant blackouts and power outages in several areas of the country, water rationing, with states and areas that have months without this service, food shortages, gasoline, unstable internet service, and the phenomenon of mass migration, among many other events.
However, if you live here you also know that in this country everything is sustained and nobody knows exactly how that is possible. During power failures, the streets became playgrounds, where every corner was transformed into either a soccer field or a domino playing table, and the business of battery card readers that worked with smartphones proliferated; the moments without water quickly brought up the business of drinking water sales in every corner, and the free filling points became known (which had always existed but not everyone used them); The shortages resulted in informal trade and much, much, much corruption, and little by little the dollar became the usual currency of exchange (a phenomenon that no one understands very well, but we continue here, holding the unsustainable ...)
Vamos a sumarle a eso una pandemia mundial
Let's add to that a global pandemic.
La aparición del Covid-19 significó una paralización o extensión del tiempo de todo plan a mediano y largo plazo que pudiéramos tener, y las medidas tomadas por el confinamiento nos han llevado a reestructurar todas las rutinas, a hacer un mejor uso de las redes sociales y el internet para comunicarnos o formarnos, y nos ha permitido desarrollar la creatividad, para aprender a resolver las cuestiones cotidianas sin…bueno…la cotidianidad.
The appearance of the Covid-19 meant a stoppage or extension of the time of any medium and long-term plan that we could have, and the measures taken by the confinement have led us to restructure all the routines, to make better use of social networks and the internet to communicate or learning, and has allowed us to develop creativity, to learn to solve everyday issues without...well...everyday life.
Para mí, estos meses han sido la excusa perfecta para juntar la necesidad con la creatividad, y por ello quiero mostrar acá tres productos que realicé en casa con ayuda de tutoriales, que me ayudaron a resolver necesidades particulares que me surgieron en el momento, y que jamás se me habría pasado por la mente realizar si no fuese por la cuarentena.
For me, these months have been the perfect excuse to combine need with creativity, and for this reason I want to show here three DIY products that I made at home watching tutorials, which helped me to solve particular needs that arose at the time, and I never would have made it if it wasn't for quarantine:
Dispensador de agua. Water dispenser
Debido a la regulación de agua, y que empeoró durante la cuarentena, ha sido necesario almacenarla en cuanto potecito consigamos. Pero tareas como lavar los platos o lavarse las manos, se vuelven engorrosas si no se tiene una persona que ayude a verterla. Ante esto, conseguí un tutorial donde se puede hacer un dispensador sencillo con cualquier envase plástico, abriéndole un agujero en la parte baja, que despide el agua cuando se afloja la tapa, y la retiene de nuevo cuando se aprieta. Esto para mí es magia, no podía creer que de verdad funcionara (exponiendo acá mis nulos conocimientos sobre física básica).
Due to the regulation of water, and which worsened during the quarantine, it has been necessary to store it as soon as we can get it. But tasks like washing dishes or washing your hands become difficult if you don't have someone to help you pour it. Given this, I got a tutorial where you can make a simple dispenser with any plastic container, opening a hole at the bottom, which releases water when the lid is loosened, and retains it again when it is tightened. This was magic to me. I couldn’t believe that it really worked (exposing here my null knowledge of basic physics).
Merengue con agua de garbanzos. Meringue with chickpea water
Yo soy vegana, y como buena vegana en Venezuela, debí aprender a cocinar de todo porque acá existen muy pocos productos que no tengan ingredientes de origen animal. Y además, la migración hizo que se fueran del país muchas personas que se dedicaban a crear productos de forma artesanal. Por ello, vivo viendo tutoriales sobre cómo preparar comidas elaboradas partiendo de ingredientes base, y en esta oportunidad, realicé un merengue para cobertura partiendo del aquafaba (agua de garbanzos) siguiendo un tutorial de Dimensión Vegana. El procedimiento es bastante sencillo, se compra una lata de garbanzos en agua, se cuela, el líquido se refrigera, y cuando esté frío se bate con la batidora hasta que comience a levantar (similar a como se hace con el huevo), se le va agregando el azúcar, y se detiene el batido cuando se consiga la textura deseada. Se le puede agregar limón, cacao, vainilla, y demás ingredientes al gusto al finalizar.
I am a vegan, and as a good vegan in Venezuela, I had to learn to cook everything because there are very few products here that do not have ingredients of animal origin. And also, the migration made many people leave the country who were dedicated to creating products in an artisanal way. For this reason, I live watching tutorials on how to prepare meals made from base ingredients, and this time, I made a meringue for coverage based on the aquafaba (chickpea water) following a Dimensión Vegana tutorial. The procedure is quite simple, you buy a can of chickpeas in water, strain it, the liquid is refrigerated, and when it is cold, beat it with the mixer until it begins to lift (similar to how it is done with the egg), add the sugar, and stop mixing when the desired texture is achieved. You can add lemon, cocoa, vanilla, and other ingredients to taste when finished.
Yo en este caso hice una cobertura para tortas, y quedó así:
In this case I made a topping for cakes, and it was like this
Forro de silicón caliente para el teléfono. Hot silicone case for smartphone
Tenía la necesidad de buscarle un forro a mi teléfono, pero entre que la mayoría de las tiendas están cerradas por la cuarentena, y no existen forros a la medida porque el modelo es muy inusual en el país, tuve que optar por buscar cómo realizar uno que le quedara con los materiales que tenía a la mano, y después de buscar un rato por youtube, conseguí este tutorial genial de cómo hacer un forro con silicón caliente. El proceso es bastante sencillo, se debe cubrir el teléfono con papel film (o envoplast como le decimos acá), e ir trazando la forma que queremos con la pistola de silicón, pero esto requiere tener tanto un pulso de cirujana (que no tengo), como mucha paciencia (que por suerte sí tengo). Así quedó al pintarlo, pero recomiendo dejarlo transparente, porque sigo peleando con la pintura, ya que se cae con el uso y el calor de las manos.
I had the need to find a case for my smartphone, but among that most stores are closed for quarantine, and there are not cases that fit with it because the model is very unusual in the country, I had to find out how to make one that fit it with the materials that I had on at hand, and after searching for a while on youtube, I got this great tutorial on how to make a case with hot silicone. The process is quite simple, you must cover the smartphone with plastic wrap, and trace the shape we want with the silicone gun, but this requires having both a surgeon's pulse (which I do not have), like a lot of patience (which luckily I do have).This is how it looks painted, but I recommend leaving it transparent, because I continue to fight with the paint, since it falls off with the use and the heat of hands.
Así concluyen mis tres creaciones en cuarentena. Productos que mezclaron la necesidad con la creatividad.
This concludes my three creations in quarantine. Products that mixed need with creativity.