# Intervention: supporting on building a greenhouse
Spending a week building a greenhouse at [Modul Parc Matacavalls](https://www.makeatuvida.net/modul-al/) with the [Contorno Urbano](https://contornourbano.com/) community and [Pla Integral Les Planes - Blocs Florida ](https://www.instagram.com/lhblocsflorida/)was a humbling and enriching experience. From the first day, we began by sorting and cutting materials for the primary structure, an activity that quickly grew into a shared rhythm, shaped by the flow of people coming and going.
The project itself wasn’t mine, it was initiated by an architecture collective based in Madrid[ Zuloark](https://zuloark.com/es/) with extensive experience in participatory design and community-based construction. Working alongside them was incredibly insightful. I observed how they facilitated the build in a way that welcomed contributions, encouraged shared responsibility, and respected local rhythms. It wasn’t just about erecting a structure, but cultivating a process rooted in trust and openness. For me, it was a powerful lesson in what it means to design *with* people rather than *for* them.
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My role as a designer became that of a supporter and learner, absorbing the technical and human dimensions of collective building. I saw how community members brought invaluable hands-on knowledge, practical ideas, and problem-solving intuition, often shaped by years of lived experience. These interactions made visible the core of my research: **ethnocognition,** how making carries embedded cultural understanding and identity. Inclusion, in this context, didn’t require a framework or institutional definition, it happened through doing, sharing, and being present.
The week ended with a communal meal organized by the organization, where everyone, builders, neighbors, visitors, came together to eat, talk, and reflect. Sitting there, listening to stories of the neighborhood, I felt the meaning of participatory practice in its purest form: not only about the object built, but the relationships formed through building it.
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This experience deepened my belief that **co-making is a social process of inclusion**, not just production. It reaffirmed that participatory design is not about aesthetics or efficiency, but about recognition, trust, and continuity. In spaces like this, making becomes a language, one that bridges people, culture, and place.
