How would describe the agriculture development challenge you are trying to address to a 5 year old?
The team-group considers the consolidation of food-sovereignty (FS) as one of the most important challenges that global agriculture is facing right now. One of the key demands for FS is to get out the food from a regular -speculative- capital markets and that the food should not be longer subjects of coercion and it to be vehicles of strengthen political and economic hegemonies for the vulnerably people in the country, especially important for communities where the agriculture is the key economic activity. According to this framework the “future agriculture” that the team-group is conceptualizing should point to strengthen local production that should be capable to cover the whole community needs for food and rehearse values of cultural-identity linked to these activities. How is your product service an innovative solution?
The project and the product-service-system aim to establish within Rio Nima community small units of agriculture into their houses where the specific local knowledge is incorporated. Those units include organic processes and other cultural elements that are part of the heritage of the community; at the same time the access of a basic balanced diet is possible for children.
Children will be linked in two different moments, when they are cultivating and when they are eating the food from their homes.

What is your proposed operating budget for the 3-mounth time line?. Please how the microgrant funds will be used. Pleased also tell us if have received additional funding for your project.
The community has no economic support from any kind of NGO or government organizations right now.
The project is planning to get USD $10.000 as starting point in order to run the pilot that includes
Phase 1: ENLISTMENT with a general cost of $1.000 in order to invest in some equipment (PC dell vostro 15.5 inch x USD $600 + materials)
Phase 2: HEAR RELOADED. Fieldwork 1 with a budget of USD $1000
Phase 3: CREATE RELOADED. Fieldwork 2 with a budget of USD $800
Phase 4: DELIVER. Fieldwork 3 with a budget of $600
Phase 5: IMPLEMENTATIOS. Fieldwork 4 with a budget of USD $6000 that correspond of 4 sets of tools (USD $300 each) and the construction of the three urban gardens (USD $250) and support materials for the training USD $3000. The rest of the budget is part of the fieldwork.
Phase 6: CONCLUTIONS. USD $600

How will you apply the human-centered design methodology to approach this challenge? Please briefly a 3 months timeline, refencing specific aspects of the HCD process
The project began in 2010 when a group of students and a professor from the Industrial Design Department of the National University of Colombia approached the community based on a HCD toolkit with the intention to hear about their living conditions. Then in 2011 as part of the “Second Design and Social Innovation Evening” – http://jrms.pktweb.com/?p=1582 with the community of Rio Nima, in Valle del Cauca, Colombia South America. At that time, a Human Centered Design – HCD approach was implemented in an extensive fieldwork with the community. Some of the tools of the HCD toolkit were used as part of the methodology.
In this first phase -HEAR- was possible to collect information in the way of stories in order to rescue specific work issues that later in the phase of CREATE allow the team group to define and translate that information in terms of problems, opportunities, insights, needs, themes and solutions –POINTS-.

From now the planning divides the project in six different and complementary phases using more than 17 steps in order to answer the five project objectives.

Phase 1: ENLISTMENT.
Duration: Between 8 to 10 days.
Main goal: To define forms, tools and the specific planning for the fieldwork.
Activities: Planning.
Location: Bogota.

Phase 2: HEAR RELOADED.
Duration: Between 10 to 12 days.
Main goal: To identify the context and the actors that will be part of the pilot redefining the problem and its specifications and defining what we are planning to do, with whom, and where.
Activities: Stakeholders analysis and 6 steps of the phase H from the HCD toolkit. Identify a design challenge, recognize existing knowledge, identify people to speak with, choose research methods, develop an interview approach and develop your mindset.
Location: Rio Nima.

Phase 3: CREATE RELOADED.
Duration: Between 8 to 10 days.
Main goal: To design based on the real conditions of the community trough the information that was collected on the workshops. Within this step the team-group will define the product and the amount of product that the community will cultivate including other technicalities.
Activities: 7 steps of the phase C from the HCD toolkit like: develop the approach, share stories, identify patterns, create opportunity areas, brainstorm new solutions, make ideas real and gather feedback.
Location: Rio Nima.

Phase 4: DELIVER.
Duration: Between 8 to 10 days.
Main goal: To execute the pilot with the chosen families.
To define the general conditions of the urban garden according to the traditions and heritage of the community, including -off course- the convenient diet for children.
Activities: 7 steps of the phase D from the HCD toolkit like: Develop a sustainable revenue model, identify capabilities for delivering solutions, plan a pipeline of solutions, create an implementation timeline, and iteration plan and create a learning plan.
Location: Rio Nima.

Phase 5: IMPLEMENTATIOS.
Duration: Between 36 to 38 days.
Main goal: To design and develop the urban gardens and plan the harvest.
Activities: fieldwork.
Location: Rio Nima.

Phase 6: CONCLUTIONS.
Duration: 10 days.
Main goal: To conclude and report the pilot.
Activities: Ending.
Location: Bogota.

What key relationship have you established that will help the successful implemantation of your project?
As background the team-group developed the “Design and Mobility Evening” (2010) with the participation of the: National University of Colombia (UN – the public largest and most prominent university in Colombia) and Help Manuel foundation (HM – a Dutch based NGO). Then in 2011 the “2nd design and Social Innovation evening” linked the UN with Andes University (AU – high quality private university), HM and DESIS network. Trough the third evening named: “Design, Creativity and Culture” the team-group establish a bond with the UN, AU linked with Javeriana University and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia. Based on this network the team-group is planning to approach the Ministry of Agriculture in order to have technical advice and founding opportunities.

Grupo Velada diseño.
Javier Ricardo Mejia Sarmiento

http://www.hcdconnect.org/stories/agriculturasoberania-alimentariaemprendimiento-entornos-productivos-palmira-colombia-south-america./