Agriculture prototypes: A design experiment of sustainable open fields in China.
Francesca Valsecchi, EU-China science and technology fellowship programme Serena Pollastri, Tektao, Urban Design Yongqi Lou, Tongji University / DESIS China
Abstract In this paper we present a practice-based design research project in rururban China. We involved local villagers in the Shanghai countryside in the re-conversion of a field to more sustainable ways of rice production, and the creation of a small marketplace for local production and storytelling. We contribute our results and findings to the wider playground of experiments in food-related sustainability issues. In the framework of sustainability and social innovation research, agriculture doesn't just mean food production; it represents the system of community, local resources, open process and connected stakeholders. Increasing public interest in agriculture, food supply, and food security is influencing the way design can help improve the urban food system. A rich showcase of design interventions on many levels has grown in the last decade; nevertheless, the global call of design for social innovation continuously asks for prototypes of small yet networked solutions. The research we are conducting follows this approach, and replies to the call with the description and the discussion of a Chinese case, in which solutions to connect Shanghai and its peri-urban areas have been prototyped. The concept of “organic products� is not familiar to the Chinese audience and local regulations are not clear. As a result, those consumers (mainly from the foreign community) looking for organic food, certified according to international standards, often turn to services that import overseas products, without stimulating any local change. Sustainable approach to food in China means rebuilding this social relationship in the link between production and consumption. In the paper we tell the story of our rice field in Chongming Island and the design strategies that have been used in the management, production, communication and dissemination of the story together with the local villagers. The field represents both a prototype of a social innovation process through the involvement of local community, and a communication and experimentation tool, used as a medium in the conversation among designers, farmers and city networks. We recall participation processes that do not explicitly refer to co-design practices; instead we designed communication, services and experiences contributing to the reconstruction of a knowledge identity by the villagers, aimed to increase their sensitivity and the awareness about their daily practice of agriculture that defines their domain of expertise. In the paper, we also describe the approach in which the field has been managed, in a continuous process of knowledge sharing among designers (suggesting and implementing creative solutions) and farmers (contributing with experience and technique). The mutual learning is an output of the process, enhanced by a mechanism of trust. This process does not involve just food production, but it is linked to the community's social and economic development. We learned that involvement and support of the community in agro-food innovative practice means both envisioning and developing the local and dis-intermediated food networks, as well as a new common conception of public space, where connections among different stakeholders are facilitated. Keywords : local production, food innovation, agriculture design
1. Agriculture, food and sustainability In the general multidisciplinary framework of research for sustainability, food has always had a crucial role. Different from other objects, services or infrastructures, food is something that we consume by introducing it in our body, and becomes a part of what we are (Petrini, 2005). The complexity of the food-system though, must be understood, and so should the social system related to food production and agriculture. Agriculture is not just the process of food production; it represents the system of community, local resources, open process and connected stakeholders. Food choices have a relevant impact on the production system, in terms of use of resources, production methods and landscape. Therefore it is impossible to be really interested in food without being interested in food production. Even if we are not farmers, we are all “farming by proxy” (Berry, 2002). Industrial agriculture considers technologies that can increase the yield of a specific crop the key of innovation and the solution to world hunger. According to Moore Lappè, though, this view can be better described as ”productivist” because it fixates on production, or “reductivist” because it narrows the focus to a single element. Monoculture is anti-ecological, not only because it negatively affects the natural local environment, but also because it isolates agriculture from its cultural local context (Moore Lappè, 2011). The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (2009) stresses the importance of the conditions of farmers, local relationships and heritage; the report also recognizes the value of traditional knowledge, defined as the interaction of the material and non-material worlds embedded in place-based culture. According to Berry, neighbouring cities demanding good quality locally grown food can encourage local farms to diversify to meet that demand. Design can have a role in this framework, facilitating the exchange of resources between the city and the countryside (service design), and raising awareness on the food topic (communication design). “Clean and fair” products (Petrini, 2005) are usually a prerogative of strongly motivated consumers that support local projects for ethical reasons. Designers can translate to products, services and communication the intangible qualities of those goods, uniting “the dimension of socio-environmental sustainability with the dimension of the pleasure of consumption” (Manzini, Meroni, 2007) The next World Expo in 2015 will specifically focus on the topic of food; it will promote further discussions and showcases of sustainability driven policies and best practices. This reflects the scale of the food issue, with impact on a global, systemic level, on society and economy. A rich showcase of local projects that reconnect people and food production while transforming neighbourhood liveability already exists in international literature. International entrepreneurial and academic networks for sustainability (such as DESIS) collect practice-based examples of farmer's markets, community supported agriculture, community gardens, social purchasing groups and 0-km initiatives. These inputs are already providing local services and improvements in the environment where they arise; they also contribute to reinforce the global network of sustainable practices. Nevertheless, design for social innovation is continuously asking for prototypes of small yet networked solutions to be adapted to different contexts. In this paper we want to contribute a specific application of this approach in China, in Chongming Island's countryside, which is a peri-urban area of Shanghai. This middle scale island maintains the characteristics of a typical rural landscape and shares the same challenges with most of the rural areas in China. Most relevant here are socio-economic transformation and problems connected with rapid urbanization and major urban and agricultural master plans. The result is a countryside that shows a profound lack of culture, low literacy and strong market drift. One of the most visible resources of Chongming is its agricultural background and the network of small farms that are still shaping the landscape and influencing the economy. Some of these farms are already reconverting to more sustainable methods of agriculture and food delivery
systems; these examples can sustain themselves thanks to Shanghai's growing demand for safer food, as it will be described in the next section. The deep meanings and values that food has in China can also be a driver of change, in the process of moving from industrial monoculture to more holistic paradigms of production. The importance of food in China, at every single stage of the food chain, is crucial, and food has milestones meanings in history and culture. Even if we are not going to elaborate on the details, we find it necessary to mention several Chinese food-related issues. China has a centuries old gastronomic tradition, with different characteristics in different parts of the country. Chines cuisine uses plenty of species, both wild and cultivated. It is probably the culture that mostly recognizes the therapeutic role of food and the medical use of edible goods. In China food represents and brings health and joy, and convivium – where dishes are shared among participants – is always respected and celebrated. Another issue to be shortly addressed are the famines that China faced during its history. They probably affect the current attitude of wasting food, by buying, ordering, cooking much more than it is needed. This behaviour is very well rooted in the whole Chinese society, regardless of the social status and personal wealth. Moreover, in China, when talking about food we have to keep in mind safety problems that originate from the conditions of soil, water and air. Wan Bentai, chief engineer at the Ministry of Environmental Protection recognizes that “heavy metal pollution incidents have occurred repeatedly in recent years” (BCC News Asia, 2011). These issues have a strong impact on the quality of food, people's concerns and their purchase decisions. All these factors represent a multi-faced description of the topic. They cannot be isolated because they contribute to outline the situation of food as a whole. China is probably the place that, because of its dimensions and development stage, is currently facing the greatest challenge in the food system. Moreover in this country, the impact of food culture affects two very separated social classes, struggling for food quality - the producers from the countryside and citizens. A sustainable approach to the food issue must be a systemic one, in which agriculture “is regarded as a culture of healthy relationships, both in the field—among soil organisms, insects, animals, plants, water, sun—and in the human communities it supports” (Moore Lappè, 2011).
2. Shanghai rururban metropolis Our research project is based in the Chinese context and refers to specific characteristic of its food system; it starts from the preliminary finding that urban Chinese middle class is getting disconnected on many levels from the food that they eat. During the ethnographic research the team conducted in the past months, we collected several data on food supply and consumption. During qualitative ethnographic research we conducted in July 2011, we investigated the relationship of urban people with food and agriculture; it emerged that only 21% of the respondents normally cook dinner at home during weekdays, while 46% of them buy take-away food, and 34% eat at restaurants. Another interesting finding is that about 75% of people interviewed can not associate vegetables and fruits to the corresponding season. Unlike in the West, where obesity is very much a problem related to the lower end of the social scale, here in Chinese cities, it is typically emerging as a middle class problem; food education on different levels is important to change unhealthy and unsustainable habits. To be effective, this process must involve this segment of the population in an active personal change. Shanghai is a vivid metropolis where consolidated practices of organic food consumption and creative initiatives are enhanced by robust market economy, smooth logistic systems and the presence of high and educated social classes seeking for high quality products. The organic products demand in Shanghai, though, mainly comes from the foreign community living in the city. The concept itself of “organic” is not familiar to the Chinese audience, and local regulations are not clear. As a result,
consumers looking for organic food, certified according to international standards, often turn to services that import overseas products at a high price for their purchases. The scarcity of localized efforts in proposing tailored regulations for “organic” labels and in suggesting new production paradigms, limits the impact on local countryside and producers. Sustainability in China, and mainly sustainability of food networks, implies a discourse that refuses the idea of Chinese countryside just as a cheap marketplace. A new idea of the countryside as a social actor must be rebuilt. Traditionally in Chinese society food production, preparation and consumption are considered to be at the same time a necessity, a quest for pleasure and a social event. To design a sustainable approach to food in China is to find new ways to rebuild this link between production and consumption on a social level. We hope in this way to positively reply to Manzini (2005) “It follows that if design can and must have a role in agricultural cultivation and food production, this should arise now out of a profound awareness of the crisis in the dominant economic and cultural model, and out of a recognition of the possible role of design as co-promoter of alternative agricultural and food systems that can become promise real steps in the direction of sustainability.” The project we are discussing is a part of Design Harvests, a wider design research project currently active at Tongji University in Shanghai. The aim of the project is to promote social and economic balance between the city and neighbouring rural areas in China. We look for alternative paths that diverge from fully industrialized processes, in the direction of a services-based society in which heritage and resources are shared values among different stakeholders. Through design practices we aim to build service, communication and product based bridges to connect the city and the countryside, enhancing interaction and exchanges. The project contributes to the sustainable food scenario by enhancing local small-scale production, connecting producers and consumers and ultimately visualizing hidden qualities of the farming activities and local heritage. To do so, we use a design approach that adopts a systemic vision, “tackling the complexity of social networks” (Manzini, Meroni 2007). At the UW-Madison centre for Integrated Agricultural Systems, a group of researchers developed the so called “Tiers of the Food System framework”, that systematizes the spectrum of relationships between consumers and the businesses that grow, process, distribute and market their food in a scale from tier 0 to tier 5, according to progressively bigger distances between the production and consumption extremes of food chain. Even if the framework is based on geographical based analysis and case studies (in the United States), it is possible to frame the scope of our design intervention to the tiers from 0 to 2, which present these characteristics: - need of knowable producers, or rather a clear track to the original farm and/or production site - environmental stewardship, mainly to build an adequate environmental transparency (of condition and limits) both in the producers than consumers - values based trading, where farms identity and values are communicated to consumers through labelling products, and where the direct feedback from consumers is included into trading mechanism. The contribution of this design intervention, therefore, is not on the agricultural practice itself, but rather directed to establish an exchange of knowledge and services between rural areas and the citizens. In the following paragraph we will describe the details of our ongoing agricultural design project in Chongming Island, which is divided into two parts: the open fields in Xianqiao Village and the activities in the city. These subprojects, conducted with a network of local and international partners, share the aim of enhancing local production, integrating new inputs of organic and natural techniques to current agricultural practice, and to facilitate the direct dialogue between farmers and citizens based on the
quality of the food and knowledge exchange. We will finally discuss preliminary findings, future practical challenges and possible impacts on major sustainability concerns.
3. Chongming Island experiment In this paragraph we will discuss some examples from the field research we conducted in Chongming Island, particularly on the rice field we started to cultivate with the help of the villagers of Xianqiao. The rice field in Chongming Island represents a) a prototype of a social innovation process through the involvement of local community; b) a communication and experimentation tool, used as a medium in the conversation among the design community, local farmers and city networks. We recall participation processes that do not explicitly refer to co-design practices; instead we design communication, services and experiences that can contribute to the reconstruction of a knowledge identity by the villagers. The aim of these activities is to increase farmers' awareness on their daily practice of agriculture, which defines their domain of expertise. The field has been managed (from seeding to selling the final product) with an approach that is as natural as possible, although it was not possible to fully apply practices of organic agriculture.
Figure 1. The rice field in Chongming Island, Summer 2011.
3.1 Experiment setting: The countryside After several months of preliminary work, in the Spring of 2011 we started the cultivation of the field. We specifically chose to cultivate rice, as it is one of the most common crops on the island, in terms of diffusion and people's experience. This process has been conducted in collaboration with the local cooperative of farmers, which is administrated by the government of the village. The cooperative provides the villagers with an efficient way to manage human resources and materials, especially during the ploughing and harvesting season, when most of the effort is required. This is a very common organization system in China, in which local government has direct intervention, control and support on the working force and the general management of the territory. Within the group of people that have been taking care of the rice, specific interlocutors emerged. With them we kept a relation of constant dialogue during the whole process. The role of these intermediates inside the local community is fundamental in our design project for very reciprocal reasons: it facilitates the translation at the very basic linguistic level (not all the farmers speak decent Mandarin), and it is necessary for a deeper cultural translation. We realize now that at the beginning of the process we underestimated the importance of planning a clear methodology, shared among all the members of the design team, to structure the dialogue. For this reason it has been difficult to use in a systematic way the communication tools that have been designed for this purpose. We experienced, instead, a less strategic and more empathic way to communicate with our interlocutors. We shared our ideas and insights, and we tried to understand the
steps and details of the common agriculture practices. Although our activities lack of the structure and systematic documentation of inputs and results that is necessary for proper practices of co-design, they allowed us to build mutual trust and create personal connections with members of the community. The process of growing also becomes a process of mutual exchange of knowledge: on one side the skills and expertise of farming and agriculture by the villagers, on the other side the inputs on food quality and sustainability awareness by the research group. We have been part of a continuous process in which creative solutions suggested by designers and farmers' knowledge on agriculture techniques and food culture have been shared in a natural based approach that saw both success and failure. Given the current uncontrollable conditions of local soil and water, it would have been impossible for us to obtain a completely organic production. Our aim has been instead, to help the farmers to build an aware and conscious understanding of the way choices made during the production process can impact on the quality of their products, and how this impact can affect the perception of customers asking for transparent information on the origin of their food. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are often considered by farmers as a necessary step to obtain valuable harvests. We observe the absence of any concern for the environmental and health impacts of products used in agriculture; this often happens for lack of awareness. We encourage the farmers to utilize concrete actions of change in the technique, asking them to avoid the use of chemicals in the field that we have been growing with them. We clearly communicated to them (and helped understand) our intention to move from a profit-oriented production model towards a quality-oriented production model, with a strong connection to immaterial values. The process has been critical, and can be just partially considered successful when it comes to the final practical choices by the farmers. We experienced an enormous difficulty in translating the knowledge related to sustainable agricultural practices into practical advices or instructions; our experience in this sense diverged from designed strategies. Other than the typical design challenge of producing different customized communication artifacts to deliver the same message or content to different interlocutors, we faced the unexpected necessity to de-construct the design of the communication. Not only does the way the message is communicated have to be tailored, but also the content itself has to be continuously discussed.
4. Experiment setting: Downtown food networks and urban gardens A second part of the project involves the urban segment of out user group, and the way we organized the project communication and the product distribution in the city. In this first year, we internally organized the distribution process of our rice, through the direct connection with committed customers. By keeping this direct link between production field and the consumers, we are also embedding in the chain the storytelling of the whole experience and the role of farmers. We use visual tools (pictures, printed material and our internally produced book) to explain the project and ultimately create a sense of connection between the consumer and the place of origin of the rice. The knowledge and practices implemented in the fields are hereby transferred into knowledge value to the final customers. This has been achieved through the design of a basic branding strategy for the rice (that we are currently expanding to other local products) and would be easily replicable to make possible also self-packaging by the farmers themselves. The rice is being distributed within farmers markets around the city, in public events in which citizens gather together in the places of production, and in some restaurants that are supporting local production and sustainable approaches to urban development. Some local associations and commercial activities started showing interest in sustaining
and redistributing the immaterial value that comes with our production. The distribution of the rice therefore, is also the dissemination of the knowledge produced. At this stage consumers become users of the product-service system.
Figure 2. The rice is packaged and sold at local creative events and farmers' markets.
Local administration also approached food safety and quality concerns, through some top-down interventions. In the last months, a new service has been launched in some local wet markets in town. An automatic machine allows customers to scan the receipt of the vegetables they buy from market vendors and have precise information on the place of origin of the products they buy. In addition, in the last couple of years, different initiatives started taking place in the city on a more regular base. Events, creative markets, technology-based farming solutions, urban farming networks, cooperation between universities and local natural farms are some of the examples of a movement that is becoming more consistent. In December 2011, the Shanghai Slow Food local chapter was launched to “cultivate and promote a robust eco-system for the production, supply and consumption of Good, Clean, Fair Food” (Slow Food Shanghai, 2012). However, this scenario is still at an early stage of development; networking activities, multidisciplinary projects and cooperation among individuals and organizations are seen as necessary, but not yet fully implemented. Our ongoing research activity is focusing, therefore, on the implementation of networking strategies, aimed to implement and improve the urban gardens network, to facilitate the process of knowledge sharing among different actors in the sustainable food system, and generate more awareness and information for the local urban community. Together with GoodToChina, we are designing an interactive “Explore Urban Farming” exhibition that will be part of the Shanghai Eco Design Fair, in April 2012 -- the biggest event on sustainability in town. These kinds of initiatives are part of our dissemination activity, aimed to keep alive and enrich the public debate and interest in the topic. Our design contribution, in this specific case, has been in the space and content design of the exhibition, and in the design of communication material for children. An additional research direction, developed with Nokia Research Center, is the design of a productservice system solution that can connect, through the use of mobile devices, rural and urban areas, in a digital marketplace for the exchange of local produce and knowledge. We are currently involved in the concept design of the final solution. We strongly believe that cooperation and the partnerships are viable ways to improve local networks. Figure 3 is a diagram that we produced as a first attempt to map the actors involved in the local sustainable scenario, together with ongoing projects. It has to be considered a preliminary contribution
to the community building challenge that we are experiencing in Shanghai, and a strategic information tool for more effective communication and networking among current and future stakeholders.
Figure 3: diagram of Shanghai sustainable food network, preliminary draft
5. Comments on project methodology It is necessary at this point, to clarify some details about the methodology used. As described in the previous paragraph, the project is characterized by a background process of knowledge sharing and agricultural practice implementation, through creative solutions from designers' contribution, and by farmers' agriculture techniques and food cultures. Mutual learning is an important output of the project and it is made possible by the mutual trust generated throughout the process. Given the informal nature of our relationship with the farmers, what in our project we consider to be the methodology of our project, is a series of specific overlapping research activities carried out together with farmers and citizens. There is no temporal or linear sequence of conceptual and practical phases, and we are still not able to provide a structured description of our activities. Instead, we found a mix of different research techniques to be more effective, with the aim to produce material results that could provide concrete benefits to the actors involved. We can provide a macroscopic description of the implemented methodology, which includes three main phases: a) immersive field activity (acquire knowledge) b) real scale prototypes (knowledge into practice) and c) public activity of communication (distribute knowledge).
Figure 4. methodology diagram
The field research is the continuous process of ethnographic research, informal conversations, and activities carried out together with local villagers. We tried to be in the field as much as we could and participate in different farming activities (from ploughing to harvesting). In the same period we have been conducting focus groups with target urban users, using specifically designed qualitative research tools. This part of the process can be considered as a phase of knowledge collection and user understanding.
Figure 5. Methodology for user resesearch. Postcard for focus groups
The second part of the methodology is the extensive use of 1:1 scale prototypes, to transfer knowledge into practice, involving both researchers and users in hands-on activities. The rice field itself is the experiment playground in which we tested and shared our findings on sustainable agriculture and farming activity. Other activities that involve the participation of urban users have been organized, such as a small community garden on the island, the harvest of part of our rice and several events and workshops.
Figure 6. work on the field
A final but very important input is the need to communicate the process and to disseminate the project's results. This year's harvest represents a first experiment to create a new type of public space, able to connect the city and the countryside, involving them in a direct conversation. This is how the rice field becomes a communication and experimentation tool. In this new common public space a sustainable marketplace, where also immaterial and heritage related values are shared and exchanged (together with local produce), can be possible. The project's impact is also in the creation of occasions for the physical encounter of the urban and the rural areas of Shanghai, promoting an alternative model of urban development, based on the balanced exchange of resources. One of the most successful communication gears has been a series of public events to share the milestones in the process of rice growing. We often organize public activities, open to the participation of citizens, in which we collaborate with the farmers in their activities in the field. These activities create a sense of involvement for the citizens, and help the farmers understand the importance of their work. They also strengthen the connection between the two communities, creating a sense of ownership and responsibility over the products and the land.
Figure 7. Students helping with the harvest.
6. Discussion and future Social innovation disciplines require continuous local experiments, to be shared at global scale. Our experience represents a specific way to reply to this call for experiments. In our approach we see the
reference to civic agriculture (Lyson, Delind, 2009), which is the implementation of locally based agriculture practices and food production that are tightly linked to a community's social and economic development. Civic agriculture is meant to be a sustainable alternative to the potentially destructive practices of conventional industrial agriculture. It mainly stresses the benefits of connecting the production of food with the social system in which it is consumed. Professor Thomas A. Lyson coined the term at Cornell University during the 1999 Rural Sociology Society Annual Meeting. Civic agriculture defines the place in two ways: as the physical context where to study and promote local agriculture, and as the locus of relationships, both cultural and practical, among involved actors. Moreover, it underlines that the space has to be lived and habited: “civic as a description of local food and farming is conceptually and practically shallow in the absence of our ability to understand and to practice “being” in place” (Delind, Bingen, 2008). We learnt that the design of the system of local and dis-intermediated food networks, as well as the design of the new public space where connections within this system happen, are important strategic actions to facilitate the involvement and support of local communities in agro-food innovative practices. This rururban space, shared by the city and the countryside, still needs to be designed. Place is a qualitative concept, as “the locus of relationships, both cultural and political, that prefigure a local civic culture”. The design of the public space has to be “focusing on the ways in which place provides opportunities for learning, for play, for engagement, for identity formation, and for explicit political and policy initiatives – as prerequisites for civic awareness and action.” Finally, we find it necessary to mention the main weakness of the project so far is the difficulty to provide the farmers with an adequate and custom designed documentation of the whole process. The main reasons for this are the communication challenges and the lack of those human and material resources that are important in order to organize moments of sharing on a regular base. Nevertheless, we recognize the importance of creating better awareness among the farmers. We are currently trying to improve this aspect with a more constant presence on the field, and through the use of photos that we show to explain our activities in the city. We hope in the near future to create more structured occasions for activities of co-planning and co-design. From the point of view of practical results, the harvest has been successful, and we are now involved in the activity of selling and distributing the rice that we packaged and branded. At local markets and events we have the chance to communicate our project, and make the whole production chain as transparent as possible for the final user. Summarizing, in this paper we presented a practice-based research project in rururban China that includes community gardens and open rice fields, and involves local villagers in the Shanghai countryside as well as citizens committed to a sustainable culture of food. From this experience, we then discuss the way our results and findings can contribute to the wider playground of experiments in food related sustainability issues. The contribution of design intervention is not in the agricultural practice itself; moreover it is directed to establish an exchange of knowledge and knowledge services between rural areas and the citizens in order to increase among them their sensitivity and awareness of their daily practice, skills, expertise and social ties.
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