In an increasingly climate-conscious, plant-based society, the identity of rural New Zealand sits at a crossroads. Having rural roots myself, I wanted to focus my capstone project on helping Kiwi farmers take back their social license to farm by shifting towards more regenerative farming practices.

Regenerative Agriculture is a symbiotic approach to farming that, among other benefits, can increase soil carbon sequestration and mitigate the effects of climate change. Fellow fields uses interactive design to facilitate regenerative knowledge exchange across New Zealand with the aim of empowering farmers on the frontline of the climate crisis.

Problem

Empathizing with regenerative stakeholders and farmers through interviews revealed that becoming regenerative goes beyond changing on-farm practices; it requires a shift in mindset that challenges traditional ideas of farm health, progress, and success. Embracing these shifting values carries a social stigma that can isolate farmers from peers they rely on for on-farm decision-making support. 

Farmers practicing regenerative agriculture rely on peer-to-peer learning and other farmers’ experiences to support their decision-making. When farmers can’t attend field days due to lockdown, location, or farm responsibilities, they currently share regenerative observations and discuss learnings through a Facebook group. A market analysis identified a gap to bring this experience onto a dedicated mobile platform.

Solution

The fellow fields app supports social resilience among Kiwi farmers by facilitating the sharing of knowledge, experiences, and ideas around regenerative farming practices. The nature of the app befits farmers’ highly active lifestyles and encourages frequent, easy access to a regenerative support hub through their smartphones.

The experience integrates social mapping and cartographic storytelling as a means to lift up the power of local knowledge and enable users to easily connect with nearby farms on similar journeys. Feedback from user testing sessions indicated that satellite imagery speaks to the target audience and adds spatial structure, enhancing the place-based storytelling experience. Kiwi farmers shifting towards regenerative practices could benefit from a dedicated platform connecting them to a support base of fellow farmers.

Read the full project here.