MICROGRANTS

2012

MicrograntsIDEO.org is proud to have supported eight projects from across

the globe as part of our first class of HCD Connect Microgrants.

Our Microgrant recipients used human-centered design

methods to tackle agriculture challenges from Peru to Ethiopia.

Assisted by a panel of six experts with agriculture, social sector

and design backgrounds, IDEO.org selected seven Microgrant

projects to receive $5,000 research grants (to assist in the

“Hear” stage of the human-centered design process) and one

project to receive a $10,000 implementation grant (to assist in

the “Create” and “Deliver” stages of the HCD process).

As the first cycle of Microgrants came to a close, recipients

were asked to summarize and their experiences in the field by

publishing reflection stories on the HCD Connect platform. Here

are those stories.

Designing a groundwater Meter

school Food gardens in nicaragua

increasing Farm Produce Value

getting Value from Waste

community centers for Farmers

the Pepper shredder

Microloans for Farmers

M-Farm: text Messages for Farmers

3

Designing a grounDWater

Meter

This team from Stanford used their HCD Connect Microgrant to fund a project using human-centered design to create a low-cost device – called the Paani Meter – that measures groundwater availability in rural India.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/groundwatermeter

4

One of the most fantastic things about the HCD Connect platform

is that it has facilitated knowledge transfer in the HCD community

enabling me to leverage off a plethora of existing knowledge. So,

thanks again to everyone who has been in touch and to IDEO.org for

giving us this opportunity to share, learn, and grow!

In the context of the HCD process, the main lesson that I’ve learned

is how valuable the Hear component is in design thinking. Building

empathy for your end-user is an invaluable key stepping stone for

building a strong foundation to tackle your design challenge, and

should not be overlooked. When I reflect back on each of the trips

I’ve made back to India over the past 4 years, I’ve seen how more

and more empathy work has given me additional observations

and subsequent insights that have reframed my original challenge

towards something tangible and desired by the people we are trying

to actually design for. Although, I’ve been working on my design

challenge for three years now, the HCD process has provided me

with focus, insight, and a path for moving forward!

One of the biggest insights gained from the HCD process is how

important farmer-to-farmer knowledge transfer will be in tackling

our design challenge. This key insight was a product of many obser-

vations I made during my deep dive trips to India and the discus-

sions that I’ve had with many users on the HCD platform. Moving

forward with this insight, we now have a multitude of “How Might

We” statements to brainstorm around to find potential solutions to

our original challenge: “How can rural communities manage scarce

water resources such that food security can be achieved?”

Building off our key insights, brainstorming, themes, and frameworks

that we’ve developed in the past three months, we’ll continue to

journey deeper into the Create portion of the HCD process in the

upcoming months. In March-April, I’ll be returning to India to conduct

a brainstorming session with our NGO partners and para-hydrolo-

gists (local farmers who have been trained to use the Paani Meter) to

create new frameworks, brainstorm new solutions, and begin proto-

typing and testing.

I invite you all to keep following us on our venture and continue to

share your invaluable suggestions and comments!!

KnoWleDge transFer

It has been an incredible three months! I’ve learned an extraordinary

amount through the HCD process. One of the most pleasant surprises from this experience has been the

feedback that I’ve received from the larger HCD community. Many of the “A-Ha” moments that have come in

the past three months have been from comments, suggestions, and

personal stories from other HCD Connect users.

DESIGNING A GrOuNDWATEr METEr

by Melissa Rohde

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school FooD garDens in nicaragua

This project received Microgrant funding to conduct human-centered design research exploring sustainable ways to create school garden programs that meet the dietary needs of students in rural Nicaragua.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/foodgardens

6

Over the past three months, our team has engaged in the human-

centered design process, challenging assumptions and attempting

to collect stories to better understand the place of food security and

nutrition in the Nicaraguan culture, and how school gardens mapped

onto those perceptions. Through HCD methods such as Individual

Interviews, Group Interviews, Beginner’s Mindset, and In-Context

Immersion, we were able to glean a wealth of information. Further-

more, my Nicaraguan design team has developed a new knowledge

of the HCD methods, which they hope to continue using in future

Fabretto initiatives. Following this research phase, we met again as

a team to synthesize our data, reconstruct people’s stories, discuss

lessons learned, and ways we can move forward into future pilot

projects.

After mapping out some key interviews, we began to group our

observations by stakeholder, so as to understand all the different

perspectives and themes observed. Overall not many participants,

especially parents, knew very much about food security and nutri-

tion. School gardens, while successful, do not function perfectly;

their success depends on a variety of factors, such as the attitude

of students and parents, teacher dedication, parent participation,

and good technical assistance.

Our next step was to discuss the idea of community gardens, as

both interviews and team insights helped us understand that

implementing community gardens would be extremely difficult. The

cultural climate of Nicaragua lacks ‘collective sentiment’ because

people often do not trust each other, partially due to the unresolved

conflicting political ideologies from the civil war. My team indicated

that if we found a community where there was ‘confianza’ (trust)

and good communication, perhaps a community garden could work.

Our design team then brainstormed some next steps that emerged

from our Hear process. First off, parents need to be more integrated

into the food security and nutrition efforts that occur within schools.

Also, the culture of nutrition needs to be enhanced for both parents

and students. Additionally, we began to think of ways in which we

could make gardens more useful and productive, such as utilizing

organic fertilizer, recycled goods, or establishing markets to link

student produce to value chains. Many teachers suggested that

this would motivate the community to work more with the current

school gardens.

We leave the ‘Hear’ phase with some How Might We statements,

which really get at the heart of a prototype towards which Fabretto

hopes to continue working. How might we use school gardens to

educate rural communities about nutrition? How might we incorpo-

rate nutrition programs more fully into schools, leveraging poten-

tial partnerships? How might we further engage parents in school

garden and nutrition efforts? We look forward to continuing the

HCD process to create prototypes and solutions to these challenges.

taKeaWays FroM the

hcD ProcessThe HCD connect storytelling and

Microgrant process was particularly rewarding as it allowed our team to make

connections and see the bigger picture. Our participants were able to identify the challenges to food security and nutrition

SCHOOl FOOD GArDENS IN NICArAGuA

by Jeannette Rowland

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increasing FarM ProDuce

Values

Nitin Sisodia, a Stanford trained bio designer, leads a team using human-centered design to identify new methods for increasing crop productivity and processing effectiveness in rural India.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/farmproduce

8

realizing that the real insight to problems lies within the community,

we used the HCD process to ensure that the end users served as our

inspiration. We interacted closely with and engaged farmers, their

families, policy makers, traders, officials, and urban consumers.

Among our favorite HCD Hear methods, we used In-context Immer-

sion, Sacrificial Concepts and Expert Interviews to establish a

connection with the farming community and gather local knowl-

edge. We went through the entire HCD Toolkit with a local farmer

who is also a part of our team to help us refine and use the tools in

a manner that is appropriate to the local culture. During the Create

phase, Extracting Key Insights and Creating Frameworks were key

methods used to identify opportunities. Having a multidisciplinary

team helped us interpret the needs, synthesize potential solutions,

and bring clarity to many aspects of the project.

Because the market plays such a critical role in deciding how

sustainable the business solution might be, our mentor suggested

that we get input from local traders, marketing professionals, and

the end consumer. These conversations took our project in a whole

new direction, and helped us screen our needs for market feasibility.

Our findings have led us to identify 56 needs and opportunities in

a variety of fields from service and infrastructure to awareness and

resource availability. We then prioritized these needs based on feasi-

bility in central India, sustainability, impact, reducing wastage, and

increasing livelihood.

One of the biggest challenges that we have identified during the

HCD Microgrant process is the potential difficulty of implementa-

tion, and therefore we see that implementation of our solutions will

need additional resources and expertise. We will be looking for some

funding support as well as talented and passionate people to join our

team. To address this challenge, we are seeking collaboration with

research institutes, government bodies, MP minor forest produce

cooperative, cooperative societies and NGO’s which are closely

working with farmers.

When brainstorming final solutions, we went for quantity first, along

with maximum impact. We then evaluated these for human, manu-

facturing, financial, and technological capabilities. On the whole, it

has been a rewarding experience for all of us and we are already

getting set for the next phase, where we will conduct pilots with the

prototypes of our solution.

our exPerience

With hcD in central

inDiaThree months using the HCD process

brought us through the Hear and Create phases to find 56 unique

insights. Alongside the biodesign process, we used HCD tools to make

observations, analyze stakeholder priorities, find insights, and phrase

needs.

INCrEASING FArM PrODuCE vAluES

by Nitin Sisodia

9

getting Value FroM Waste

This team from MIT used their HCD Connect Microgrant to fund their project in Kenya exploring new ways to create charcoal briquettes from various types of agricultural waste.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/takachar

10

lessons FroM the

FielDIn the past intense six weeks, the

months of Hear research and design prototyping finally came to fruition.

Our team moved to Kenya and implemented the designs together

with our community partners. Throughout this experience, we

learned as much from our community partners as from ourselves.

using the HCD methodology, we have worked on various aspects of

the charcoal process, ranging from effective drying, to smoke scrub-

bing, to optimal briquetting. Indeed, there are many stories to be

told. I have selected two stories that illustrate the poignant points in

the design process.

The first story relates to smoke scrubbing. The need to reduce smoke

led us from testing various scrubbers to a new kiln design called

TluD. Before we left for Kenya, we made sure that we were familiar

with all the underlying theories of TluD, and built and tested some

small-scale prototypes. However, all our pre-trip preparation did not

actually prepare us all that much. Once we tested prototypes in the

field, our first full scale models and trials were not successful and had

to be stopped prematurely. But these trials taught us what important

changes needed to be made in the process. In fact, there is a certain

rhythm and instinct about the charcoal process that only comes with

practicing many times and learning from errors. This is something

that our community partners and us learned together slowly over

time. In a sense, this discovery process is human-centered design

at its prime, in which we were learning as much about the TluD

process as our community partners were. ultimately, with all the

learning, we were able to drastically reduce the carbonization time to

about 20 minutes, from the original 2 hours.

The second story is about the design of a more efficient briquette

press. While this is something that our community partners have

always expressed a need, before we came to Kenya, we had been

rather at a loss regarding how best to approach the design process.

In particular, our gut feeling told us that there are so many different

designs out there that our task was more about searching and adapt-

ing a promising design, rather than about trying to design something

from scratch. With so many different parameters to consider, we were

often paralyzed in the design process. Finally, it was a member of

the local community who first came up with the design of a manual

ten-briquette press. In this case, we were merely the facilitators of a

design process that originated from within the community.

All in all, we are proud to be able to develop a modular TluD design

that not only dramatically reduces the carbonization time, but also

increases the waste-to-charcoal conversion efficiency. We demon-

strated the products at different sub-locations surrounding the forest

in Kenya, and now after discussion with our community partners,

there are definite plans to scale up this production commercially.

Therefore, this human-centered co-design process with our commu-

nity partners is just the beginning of a journey, and we remain

excited to see what development may come out of this ongoing

dialogue.

GETTING vAluE FrOM WASTE

by Kevin Kung

11

coMMunity centers For

FarMers

After observing poor communication and information exchange among farmers in the jungle region of eastern Peru, this team used their HCD Connect Microgrant to explore designs for new platforms connecting farmers in the region.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/centersforfarmers

12

Following the microgrant period, we are working on the first trial of

our registry and platform, SousSource.com, due to go live later this

month. This initial phase will focus on testing intermediary functions

(i.e. translation) as well as the types of information required by each

category of buyer. In the next stage we will leverage crowd-sourced

resources for logistics and resource sharing by facilitating an online

community. While our energies are focused very much on the future,

we wanted to briefly reflect on our learnings thus far.

With a desire for maximum impact and an acknowledgement that

the system is highly interdependent, our initial tendency was to

think big. It is difficult to isolate and solve for one component (be

it financing, capacity-building, or transportation) in isolation. For

example, it is not helpful to find buyers if there are no means of

getting the product to market. Yet, as our understanding of the

system deepened, we were able to reduce the design challenge

scope and thereby define a specific area of impact to test.

What started as a broad question has been filtered down from “how

to create an economic development solution that incorporates envi-

ronmental sustainability” to a narrow design challenge, “how to facili-

tate connections between small- and medium-sized producers and

sustainable suppliers.” By connections we mean three generic steps

in initiating an engagement: 1) Finding a potential trading partner,

2) learning about their offering and capabilities, and 3) Initiating

the conversation. Our hypothesis is that buyers seek direct trade

relationships to ensure both quality inputs AND social and environ-

mental responsibility.

We noted in one of our first posts on HCD Connect that designing

a solution to address a social challenge is distinct from a logistics or

engineering problem. understanding the system requires an under-

standing of history, perceptions, incentives, and fears, as well as the

many objective factors. Similarly, as the HCD Toolkit aptly notes,

the interview and observation techniques used to gain that under-

standing must be as nuanced as the subjects and context. Indeed,

success of the solution is contingent upon the methodology and

care used to design it. In the process of interviewing, diagramming,

and collaborating, we have developed rich relationships with many

individuals and communities that will ultimately be influencers and

stakeholders in the solution.

In the coming weeks, we will be sharing our supply-sourcing

prototype with stakeholders and potential users. Their reactions

will direct where we go next, along the lines of the learning loop

method outlined in the HCD Toolkit. Because many of our users are

new (both in buying and selling), our strength lies in our ability to

leverage our shared resources to solve these varied design chal-

lenges. More than a service or marketplace, we are a community of

learners, designers, and creators, wanting to use our unique skills to

MoVing ForWarD

Based upon what we learned during the HCD Microgrant cycle as well

as a year of research, analysis, and collaborative brainstorming, our

service will address the needs of small-scale buyers and suppliers for

assistance in connecting, learning, and coordinating.

COMMuNITY CENTErS FOr FArMErS

by Nancy Zamierowskiand Michael Kuntz

13

the PePPer shreDDer

The Pepper Eater team used their HCD Connect Microgrant in Ethiopia to perform user testing for their device, which efficiently and cost-effectively processes peppers.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/peppershredder

14

Project leader roger Wilson returned from his six-week trip to Ethi-

opia with plenty of insights and new connections. One resounding

positive result has been that the prototypes have exceeded one of

the project’s original goals of improving the health and comfort of

users. unlike manual processing, the shredder does not produce

irritating pepper powder that could escape into the environment.

Consequently, the operator is exposed to a very small amount of the

“berbere effect” (the negative health consequences resulting from

exposure to the hot pepper oils and dust) compared to the discom-

fort associated with even walking through the berbere area of local

markets.

We feel lucky to have connected with two fantastic manufacturing

partners, Selam Awassa Business Group (SABG) and Selam Children’s

village. Along with input from users in the field, the relationship with

these organizations allows true Participatory Co-Design driven by

organizations that have in-depth knowledge of local markets. For

example, we were concerned about finding a supplier of main bear-

ings for the pepper shredder; the general manager of SABG knew

that the pre-assembled bearing units on our uS-built prototypes

would be prohibitively expensive. It is far cheaper to import bearing

components separately and assemble them in Ethiopia. This type of

knowledge of local markets and importing logistics could result in an

estimated 50% cost reduction for a shredder made in Ethiopia rather

than in the uS, even without including savings on import duties.

SABG will also be working on a design for the input hopper on the

top of the device to deal with a problem that roger encountered:

“the unit shreds pepper so fast that one person is continually busy

filling the hopper of the machine, and there is too much spillage!” A

higher-volume hopper will allow for easier operation for a single user

and improve the safety of the device by providing a larger barrier

between the user’s fingers and the cutting disks.

With another learning loop behind us, we’re looking forward to

the next steps in the “Deliver” phase of the project. launching a

pilot production run with SABG will place the pepper shredder with

extreme and mainstream users in the farming communities around

Awassa. longer-term monitoring during the pilot will give insights

into questions that could not be answered with short-term user

testing. One concern is that a highly efficient tool like the pepper

shredder will disrupt local markets and have unintended community

impacts. If an entrepreneur or group with a pepper shredder can

process as many peppers as eight women who previously used a

mortar and pestle, what is the net effect on the community? Further-

more, during village testing, men were attracted to this new tech-

nology and frequently volunteered to crank the device. With wide-

spread availability of the shredder, will men begin to take over this

traditionally women’s-only occupation? regular visits from Selam’s

field workers during the pilot will provide servicing for the devices

counting DoWn

to Pilot ProDuction

We successfully closed another Learning Loop through user

testing, where the pepper shredder prototypes were received

enthusiastically by users and performed well during field testing.

Now, we prepare for pilot production with new manufacturing partners.

THE PEPPEr SHrEDDEr

by Scott Sadlon

15

Microloans For FarMers

This team used their HCD Connect Microgrant to conduct human-centered design research in Uganda with farmers and other community stakeholders to better understand how they might best structure an agricultural-specific micro lending program.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/microloansforfarmers

16

using the HCD methodology has proven to be invaluable towards

researching potential loan program structures. A final product is only

as good as its usability, and an amazing solution means nothing if it

is not feasible or well-suited to the people it is intending to help, as it

will not be well-adopted. I am excited at the prospect of continuing

to use the HCD Toolkit to help this project move forward into the

Create and Deliver phases.

Among the most important methods used, we relied heavily on

Group Interviews, Community-Driven Discovery, Expert Interviews,

and Sacrificial Concepts. Group interviewing not only gave us feed-

back about desirability and feasibility, but also sparked new inno-

vative ideas. Community-driven discovery was crucial in that the

community knows the problem the best and can highlight what solu-

tions have been tried and what does and does not work. learning

from organizations that have tackled similar problems was crucial

in pinpointing what needed to be addressed. We found that there

is a fine balance between taking the word and advice of the experts

and applying it to your own community to fit their needs and wants

(each community is different!). What was most helpful about expert

interviews were comparing and integrating them with the feedback

we got from group interviews. Sacrificial concepts proved incred-

ibly useful to get more concrete, measurable (and therefore more

useable) answers from community members. Before developing

questions as hypothetical models, potential loan participants had

difficulty comparing the importance of certain program aspects.  

What I found to be a wonderful secondary effect of the HCD process

was community empowerment. Making the community part of the

process and an inclusive part of the decision making, empowers

them and gives them a greater sense of ownership in the program

itself. Having the community involved means there will be a higher

likelihood of adopting the program and keeping it running long after

I’m gone.  

Furthermore, the HCD Connect and microgrant process proved

helpful in getting good big picture feedback. After a lengthy time

being so fully engrossed in detail, it’s incredibly hard to step back

and see larger thematic components that could be addressed in a

way different from how you’ve been going about it. Having the HCD

Connect community there to point things out and ask constructive

questions forces you to think about directions or problems beyond

what you’ve been addressing.

Some Create steps and prototype testing have already begun. In addi-

tion to brainstorming project specifics with the potential loan program

staff of urCSF, we addressed some larger scale thematic questions

based on our group, individual, and expert feedback. Overall, I’m

excited to move forward integrating all of our Hear feedback and

ideas into prototypes of loan structure agreements, schedules, and

additional, innovative services in the upcoming months!

reFlections on the hear

PhaseLooking back at the progress made

during the past several months, I cannot imagine doing this project

without human-centered design. By having such an increased level of

concentration on the community that we are designing for, I believe that

our research was better focused to create a successful and long-

standing solution.

MICrOlOANS FOr FArMErS

by Jacqui Wattsby Jacqui Watts

17

M-FarM:text Messages

For FarMers

The M-Farm Team has developed a mobile pricing platform for rural farmers in Kenya and used their HCD Connect Microgrant to fund human-centered design research allowing them to better understand how they might attract additional buyers to their mobile platform.

HCD Connect Page: http://tinyurl.com/mfarmkenya

18

learning quickly that interviews with buyers would not be easy, we

looked to our next target group, middlemen (aka brokers). Our indi-

vidual interviews touched upon how they trade, their greatest chal-

lenges, and what their experience with technology is like.

Our plan is to work with brokers to increase the transparency of the

agribusiness value chain so as to create direct markets for farmers.

To get the best and most adequate feedback, we’ve worked with

brokers from many different regions in Kenya.

Interestingly enough, what our human-centered design “Hear”

research uncovered was that technologies differed between

middlemen and buyers. The most widely used technologies for the

middlemen were radio while the buyers tended to prefer email.

Phone calls were cited by both. For M-Farm, this means that the

tools developed for middlemen and buyers should probably be

customized to account for the difference in technology usage

patterns.

This project continued to focus on mobile phones due to monetary

transaction convenience. Some of the middlemen had used M-Pesa

and enjoyed it because it was “step-by-step” and met an immediate

need for them - cash on hand.

One of the major challenges cited by middlemen was trust. As they

usually do not have formalized agreements with farmers from whom

they are sourcing, an ongoing problem is that they often go to a farm

and find that the produce they were expecting to find had already

been sold to another. Most middlemen stated that the farmers have

an established relationship with certain middlemen whom they trust

to pay them, “an unwritten understanding.” Another middleman

explained that in order to make sure he fulfills his promise to the

farmers who trust him, he will even take out a loan to pay them back

for their produce within the stated timeframe.

Based on our research, it appears that the middlemen are a more

uniform group with similar needs and challenges. Since M-Farm has

been working successfully on an agency model for a while now, our

next step in scaling is to create awareness amongst people in the

value chain, like these middlemen, so that they can have a formal-

ized relationship with farmers. This will require us to refine our model

accordingly. Our aim is that the more the agents use the M-Farm plat-

form, the more we shall increase transparency for both the farmers

and the buyers in order to meet their unique and specific needs.

MiDDleMan aFFair

When we started our IDEO.org funded human-centered design research, our aim was to better understand how to convert the M-Farm Selling Together model from a manual process to an

automatic one, with a focus on buyers as users of the M-Farm platform.

M-FArM: TExT MESSAGES FOr FArMErS

by Linda Kwamboka