No easy compromise

Abstract

Sustainable HCI grapples with how to use technology design to make social change. This is made difficult by recurring dilemmas about how to truly make change, like how to increase the scale and duration of design impact. In this essay, we reflect on our own journey to better understand design for social change by taking inspiration from two groups that have long engaged in making change towards sustainability -- simple living and organic farm families. We describe 5 key dilemmas that both the families and HCI designers struggle with and reflect on how we can learn from families' practices to negotiate these dilemmas. We contribute a deepened understanding of the dilemmas of and opportunities for making change for sustainable HCI.