Cady Gonzalez is PhD candidate of anthropology and African studies at University of Florida. As a Fulbright Hays-DDRA Fellow (2019–20), she carried out research in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, investigating public displays of hospitality; materiality and aesthetics of urban natures and hinterlands; the production of urban public goods and services; and the social life of coffee. Her research and academic training have also been supported by Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships and research grants from University of Florida’s International Center, Department of Anthropology, Center for African Studies, and the Tropical Conservation and Development Program. This essay was developed through a graduate seminar on design anthropology at University of Florida’s Center for African Studies, which culminated in FLASH Panel “Lab/Field/Studio/Archive: Speculative Designs for a Lateral Anthropology” at the 2018 American Anthropological Association annual meeting.