DESIGN RESEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMING SOLUTIONS FOR GROWING GHERKIN IN SOUTH INDIA

How might we create sustainable farming solutions for farmers growing Gherkins while increasing produce ?

Background and tools used

CONTEXT

The aim was to develop a gender inclusive responsible Gherkin farming curriculum to help achieve Marcatus QED’s goal of doubling the yield in its supply chain within three years through the increased implementation of sustainable farming practices.

The curriculum primarily contained in the Digital Master Textbook aims to achieve the overall vision by :

Empowering field officers with better training tools and techniques
Encouraging the adoption of responsible farming practices
Encouraging women’s participation in gherkin cultivation

Tools Used for Ethnographic research process include

Visual Ethnography
In-Depth Interviews
Visual Charts
Shadowing
Focus Group Discussions

DEVELOPMENT OF DESIGN SOLUTION

A gender inclusive sustainable farming solutions curriculum rooted in beneficial traditional practices was developed with the aid of farmers, field officers and some knowledge experts in the field of gherkin cultivation.

The opportunity areas were used as the stimulus to develop various design elements that broadly addressed the following goals :

Adoption of responsible farming practices and improve the livelihoods of farming families
Help field officers perform their roles and responsibilities better and motivate them to train the farming families
Create a sense of accountability among farmers & field officers towards the quality of crop to encourage the adoption of food safety practices
Motivate women to attend training

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KEY INSIGHTS

Some of the key insights included bad farming practices, shortage of resources including manpower, misinformation and lack of accountability at various levels in the system.

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PRELIMINARY IDEAS EXPLORED

Preliminary ideas that were explored to cater to sustainable farming solutions included promotion of community video sessions, record maintenance at the level of field officer for better accountability, encouragement of traditional practices that are beneficial and demonstrating the need of encouraging women to participate in farming practices

FINAL DESIGNS

Curriculum Design Approach

The Digital Master Textbook was designed to enhance certain principles of learning. The insights from the research phase led to a design for the curriculum that structured content according to four parameters

An Ideal Gherkin Cultivation Process Map was designed for suppliers (head office, branch offices and field officers) and farmers to keep track of the various activities to be performed, what time of the crop cycle they are to be performed and the monetary implications for crop and farmer health of non-adoption versus adoption of these practices.