Solution Prototyping and Testing: Co-creation with Students and Farmers
by Annika Schlemm
Building on the work from the previous days, day four provided a hands on opportunity, quite literally, to illustrate the solutions that the farmers and students had created to address the major challenges within the farming communities. After beginning the morning with a welcomed energising communal dance (featuring some persisting shaky dance moves) the students and two representative farmers from each village were armed with marshmallows, pipe cleaners, and artistic aspirations to become the next “Michelangelo’s” of the water-energy-food nexus community.
The task sounded simple: produce a creative prototype model of your solution. The process to make this goal a reality was, in fact, less simple. Glue and ideas flew about as the groups confronted the challenge of representing complex systems and ideas in a simple way. In line with the activities from the previous days, co-creation between the farmers and students drove the process of finetuning the challenge, solution, and model. The aim of this close collaboration was to create outputs that are fit-for-purpose and address the actual needs of the farming communities.
After a few hours of boundless creative energy, each group presented their prototype model to the other farmers, facilitators, and students. Pipe cleaner people stood alongside intricate water transport systems, whilst other groups opted for sets of interconnected gears (which the group promised would be functional the following day).
The Ddunji group focused on the challenge of collaboration between farmers. They explored how the farmers could strengthen the existing Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations, and enhance farmer networks by creating a WhatsApp group for farmer-to-farmer learning, amongst other steps that aim to leverage and expand these systems in order to mobilise resources and production.
Following this, the Namukono village group considered how to tackle the lack of technical knowledge and income generation within their community. The solution revolved around the implementation of farmer field schools, where expert trainers demonstrate sustainable farm practices to the local farming community. Over time, these practices become self-sustaining as the students evolve into experts, taking charge of both the training sessions and demonstration sites, ensuring the continuous sharing of these techniques.
In tandem with this, the group from Lugasa village addressed the challenge of soil fertility through the formation of farmer groups. The potential of these farmer groups, founded upon trust and transparency, was explored in terms of the resources they can harness. These resources include extension officers, the exchange of in-house knowledge, and partnerships with NGOs specialising in agricultural and community development education. Similarly to other groups, it was emphasised how the barrier is not necessarily the lack of knowledge, but rather, the limited sharing of this knowledge.
Finally, the Wabusolo group tackled the issue of agricultural water supply within the community through the installation of a water pump for drip irrigation. This costly infrastructure would receive support from extension and advisory services to facilitate the organisation of farmers into a cooperative, which could pool resources and further take out sponsored community loans. Given the community’s current reliance on rainfed agriculture, the water pump would be especially significant during the dry season.
The day concluded with high spirits amongst the farmers, facilitators, and students. The message that rang true throughout all group presentations emphasised the importance of community collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and resources. Just as the biophysical systems of the water-energy-food nexus are interconnected and interdependent, so too are the social systems at the community level in Uganda.