A Social Awareness Interface for Helping Immigrants Maintain Connections to Their Families and Cultural Roots. The Case of Venezuelan Immigrants

International migration forces people into an unfamiliar reality in which their customs and values lose relevance. Moreover, former relationships are left behind, which makes immigrants more likely to experience loneliness. This study focuses particularly on Venezuelan immigrants by incorporating cultural aspects into a solution aimed at reducing loneliness and increasing social connectedness. Among Venezuelans, coffee is a staple of their daily routine and their favorite social beverage. We propose KEPEIN, a coffee maker-shaped interface to transfer a sense of presence and share coffee over distance. Through an experimental study, we evaluated the user's perception and reaction when communicating through the interface. The results show potential added value to communication by including KEPEIN in a traditional remote interaction scenario. We discuss the benefits and limitations of this type of tangible communication interface and the importance of incorporating culture into the design of solutions for immigrants.