Resilience Through Participatory Design: Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Among Indian Marginal Farmers
摘要
Permaculture farming offers a solution to global challenges, such as climate change, resource depletion, and food security. Marginal Indian farmers, comprising over 80% of the agricultural community, are central to this transformation. However, the complexity of sustainable farming poses obstacles to adoption. The primary challenge lies in the knowledge gap that marginal farmers face when incorporating permaculture principles into their practices. This year-long research, with farming families, delved into the complexities and hurdles faced by marginal Indian farmers during their transition to sustainable permaculture farming. The identified major challenge was the knowledge gap hindering permaculture adoption. This research led to the development of a participatory-based solution: a Mobile Application and a Physical Toolkit. This initiative empowers marginal Indian farmers to create sustainable farm designs, community building and promoting localization of food and resources for addressing current challenges and fostering the broader adoption of sustainable agriculture.