Crowdfunding, Humanitarian Design & Crisis Response
Communications and design for record-breaking crowdfunding campaigns in Colombia and contributed to UN humanitarian projects—demonstrating how design can mobilize communities, solve urgent problems, and serve global needs during crises.
#UnaVacaPorDeLaCalle: Colombia's Largest Crowdfunding Campaign
In June 2018, Humberto de la Calle—lead negotiator of Colombia's peace process with the FARC and presidential candidate—faced personal financial crisis. His political party abandoned him during the campaign, resulting in historic electoral defeat and considerable personal debt.
A group of citizens who valued his peace work decided to act. We organized #UnaVacaPorDeLaCalle—a crowdfunding campaign to help him pay this debt.
My role:
Audiovisual production (campaign videos, testimonials, calls to action) Branding and graphic design (campaign identity, social media assets, digital materials) Strategic communications (messaging, platform optimization, donor engagement) Social media management (Twitter, Facebook—intense, real-time community management)
The result:
220,000 USD raised Most successful crowdfunding in Colombian history Second most successful in Latin America at the time
We used La Vaki, a Colombian platform. Our campaign crashed their system—they had to rapidly scale infrastructure to handle the volume.
This wasn't just fundraising. It was civic expression. Thousands of Colombians demonstrated that they valued peace negotiations and wouldn't let a public servant be destroyed for pursuing them.
#UnaVacaPorLosChamos: Venezuelan Refugee Relief
Capitalizing on the success and infrastructure of the first campaign, the same group launched #UnaVacaPorLosChamos (September-November 2018) to support Venezuelan refugees in Colombia—specifically children, newborns, and single mothers facing extreme hardship.
My role: Same as first campaign—audiovisual production, branding, strategic communications, social media management.
The result:
18,000 USD raised for refugee relief
While smaller than the first campaign, this demonstrated the power of rapid community mobilization for humanitarian response.
What These Campaigns Taught Me
Design enables collective action. Clear branding, compelling visuals, and strategic messaging transform abstract causes into tangible movements.
Real-time social media during campaigns is exhausting. Managing Twitter during peak moments—when thousands of people are engaging, questioning, celebrating, and sometimes attacking—requires stamina and clear-headedness.
Platforms matter. La Vaki wasn't ready for our scale. We had to work closely with them to solve technical problems in real time. Choose infrastructure carefully.
Civic crowdfunding is political expression. People weren't just donating money; they were making statements about values and national identity.
FOLD: Open-Source Emergency PPE
In March 2020, as COVID-19 spread globally, PPE shortages became critical—especially in developing nations. I designed FOLD, an emergency DIY face mask using coffee filters.
Design principles:
Accessible — Materials available globally (coffee filters, rubber bands, paper clips) Cheap — Less than 0.70 USD per mask Easy to make — No specialized tools or skills required Functional — Creates seal around face; disposable paper construction Open source — Released under Creative Commons license for free global distribution
My philosophy:
This pandemic reflected our interconnectedness. If we were worthy of this planet, we needed collective solutions. High-end masks should go to medical workers who truly needed them. FOLD was a last-resort solution for everyone else.
I researched filtration papers, tested prototypes, created instruction videos in English, Spanish, and Italian, and released everything freely.
Distribution:
Published on Designboom and shared globally. Thousands made and used the masks in early pandemic months when nothing else was available.
License:
FOLD - DIY Facemask © 2020 by Manuel Echavarria is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Video instruction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dejWIZcwyEI
What I wrote at the time:
"It is curious how hardships have the unique power to unite us, destroy boundaries and most importantly to rethink the ways in which we interact with one another... In the spirit of collective solutions, I am calling on all of you to send me all your feedback, every piece of knowledge counts."
I quoted Kropotkin's Mutual Aid: "Those animals which acquire habits of mutual aid are undoubtedly the fittest. They have more chances to survive... mutual aid is as much a law of animal life as mutual struggle."
This was design as humanitarian response. Design as open-source knowledge. Design in service of survival.
UN Volunteer Work
My wife works for the UN. I've always wanted to contribute more. I volunteer time periodically to support UN projects as needed.
Example work:
Guinea-Bissau leadership programs — Generated graphics and logos for educational workshops and leadership development initiatives.
Various humanitarian communications — Designed materials for UN agencies when technical support was needed.
This work is small-scale but meaningful. It demonstrates willingness to contribute skills to global humanitarian efforts without expectation of compensation.
What This Body of Work Represents
Design can mobilize communities at scale. Crowdfunding campaigns proved that clear communication and strategic design can generate collective action worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Crisis demands rapid, open solutions. FOLD wasn't perfect, but it was useful when people needed it most. Releasing it openly meant it could reach anyone, anywhere.
Humanitarian work requires humility. UN projects taught me to serve larger missions without ego—contributing where needed, even in small ways.
Collective action is design's highest purpose. Whether crowdfunding for peace, creating emergency PPE, or supporting humanitarian programs, design serves best when it enables people to help each other.