Use of Home Farming for Public Education

Use of Home Farming for Public Education

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  Unexpected Encounters –Senses and Touching in Services and Care 4th Encounters Conference 17-19 March 2015, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland Title of Abstract: Use of home farming concept for public education Author: Dieu Phuong, Luong Theme for submission: Theme 3. Integrating Education and RDI for Empowered Wellness and Lifestyle Mode of presentation: Poster presentation EXTENDED ABSTRACT (about 4 pages excluding the list of references, in English) In recent years, there has been a strong resurgence of academic as well as in practitioner interest in solving one of the most pressing societal issues of our time: global food security. Even though advanced agricultural technology and expertise have significantly increased the food production potential of many countries and regions, hunger and malnutrition are still existing nowadays. In November 2013, a questionnaire about challenges in education in sustainability and climate in urban environments revealed a knowledge gap between climate change, education and economic growth. This research seeks to reform public education in sustainable urban environment project by presenting the concept of home farming as the core multidisciplinary component of the solution. Home farming refers to a concept of urban agriculture where people plant their own food at home to replace a part of their normal vegetable consumption. In the past, a self-sufficient cultivation used to be the key position in human economy therefore farming skills were crucial survival skills. Peasant farmers were the most respected occupation in the past society, only after scholars. Until the Agricultural Revolution & Industrial Revolution restructured the society, it changed people behaviour and consequently other physical structures. Technology spared people the agricultural works, alienated farms with modern society and subsequently drove farming skills apart from human’s life. 1 What are people perception towards home farming? In December 2014, a survey was conducted to test people’s interest towards the concept of home farming. A questionnaire was posted online in a forum for people living in Helsinki in five hours to collect answers from random participants about their habits and attitudes set for growing food indoors. Amongst 23 answers
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  Unexpected Encounters –Senses and Touching in Services and Care 4th Encounters Conference 17-19 March 2015, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland collected, the concept proved to be most attractive to unemployed people and people working in education industry among other 16 occupations, which totalled nearly 50% of the participants. In asking about which factor(s) made people most interested in home farming, the majority agreed that growing their own food was more healthy (64%), cost-saving (59%) and important for their children (55%). However, one third of the participants did not grow anything at home or even considered such activities before. The most popular reasons given were the lack of farming skills (45%) and time (32%). The survey uncovered public interest in urban agriculture with positive figures. The perceived benefits and occupations of the random sample participants showed that the concept of home farming can yield educational implications but the high percentage of people not practicing it demonstrated that there is still a gap between actual practice and awareness about sustainability projects. In finding out necessary mechanisms to bridge that gap, the participants were asked what would made them to consider home farming in the future. The open question attracted many viewpoints, of which the most prevalent answers were a product/ tool allowing them do farming in the most efficient way year-round and a course teaching them necessary skills to grow indoors. Combining the results with the above analysis, it is clear that public education do not provide sufficient knowledge for urban citizens to practice sustainable living. The approaches are fragmented: knowledge, skills and experience among key decision makers necessary to propose effective solutions are still missing. As a consequence, there needs to be an integrated approach to aid sustainable development and urban climate change (Sabatino, 2014). 2 How can home farming fit into the concept of sustainable living? Home farming is an effective tool to promote sustainable living. Central to the concept of sustainable living always comprises of three main factors: human well- being, environment and economy. This chapter explores how the concept of home farming fits into sustainable living. 2.1 Home farming and human well-being “You are what you eat”, it is the most fundamental lesson when it comes to growing a plant and caring for life quality. Home farming provides an example of a reliable model of a sustainable coexistence of humans and nature in the urban settings. Furthermore, it is the most decent way to get fresh, organic vegetable in a place where food can only reach consumers after long processes of transportation and storage. Internationally, there is surging interest in buying organic food and demand for cheaper and healthier products. Besides securing healthy urban agriculture, home farming plays a bigger role in promoting gift economy. It is a system of social relations, stressing local democracy, self-sufficiency and sustainable communal infrastructures and relations. The application of home farming in the urban society make human perceives themselves
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  Unexpected Encounters –Senses and Touching in Services and Care 4th Encounters Conference 17-19 March 2015, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland as being one part of a large self-regulating system through the give-back value and circulation of care. 2.2 Home farming and economy With the support of nowadays modern technology, home farming has become simple and cheap to apply, which makes it an effective method to scale up the influence of sustainability concept. The application of home farming breaks down the vast investment to build new, big vertical farms in the city into smaller home scales which can yield results in a shorter period of implementation. According to the UK Sustainable Development Commission, a sustainable economy should be regarded as the means for reaching a strong, healthy and just society that lives within environmental limits. Pietila (2009) asserted the importance of turning back to the indigenous economy, where the household is an asset in the hands of people. According to her, the richer the family is in practical skills and competencies of its members, the less dependent they are on the goods and services provided by the market. The statement further reinforced the priority to rehabilitate a self-sufficient cultivation in achieving a sustainable urban economy by minimizing the dependence on external entities. 2.3 Home farming and environmental education One major benefit of urban agriculture is the gradual repair of the ecosystems due to lesser wastage and disturbance to the natural resources. However, the efforts to transform urban centres into self-sustaining entities would be meaningless if the citizens do not recognize the importance of sustainable living themselves. Adopting the thinking that we can grow our own food is vital: integrating the issues in the syllabus with real life experience is the most effective method to educate people about sustainability. Home farming offers a personal approach to educate citizens about sustainability. In 2009, vertical farming was deemed as the solution to the food insecurity but with little room to scale up. The original concept describes a setting where plants are grown in glass high-rises, making use of city wastewater and urban spaces, reducing pollution. The challenge with this concept is it can only be considered by urban planners, the key decision-makers and it requires sizable capital to invest in the project. Sustainable living, nevertheless, is an ideology to be perceived by every person in the society. For that reason, the application and its impact on the recovery of natural environment should be conceivable on a smaller scale, per individual household. An integrated approach therefore is necessary to provide a tangible concept to make people grow their own food through home farming. 3 How can home farming be used to reform public education in sustainable urban environment project? Popularizing the concept of home farming is a major step to a sustainable future. It is an important part in the localization process of food production system as a
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  Unexpected Encounters –Senses and Touching in Services and Care 4th Encounters Conference 17-19 March 2015, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland part of urban agriculture to make city become self-sufficient entities. On the other hand, it changes people attitude towards sustainability through practical actions and creating common ground for people to exchange information in sustainability. When everybody works on the same platform and together recognizes the advantages of sustainable living, giving up over-consumption will come naturally and subsequently create an empowerment scenario for the poor people. Girardet, et al (1999) argued that the interrelated nature of food, agriculture, health and ecology must called for an integrated approach to urban agriculture and proposed the formation of municipal working groups that can deal with food issues from a total system perspective allowing for interventions that cross specific functions and needs within the neighbourhood. The facilitation of the education program would have to engage the collaboration of key stakeholders in the urban society and contain various features to convince people with different needs. Based on the study of Maslow’s hierarchy model and Aspiration management framework, the promotion of home farming can be accomplished through the combination of education and marketing as the framework presented below. The framework provides a corresponding enabling environment to actualize different stages of growth in human’s acceptance of sustainable living concept.
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  Unexpected Encounters –Senses and Touching in Services and Care 4th Encounters Conference 17-19 March 2015, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland In 2009, Dr. Achoka presented Uhai model, an indigenous African cosmology in relation to the environment, as a way to re-orient from the negative effects of human’s unsustainable living. The model emphasized on having a linkage between people, culture and nature. Due to the dynamic interaction and influence between these three components, the linkage was to provide a medium for information exchange governed by a set of philosophical and value principles. Applying Uhai model into designing a holistic approach for home farming concept, we have the following model: Home farming provides direction for the integration of sustainability knowledge, skills, values, and life practices into personal and communal living. With its practical views in multiple disciplines, the model ensures functionality of the built environment by working with decision-makers to introduce sustainability-related policies which are suitable to the organizations, ensure they are compatible with objectives of organizations and institutions and results are delivered. The collaboration with key stakeholders provides education to achieve a sustainable future for every citizen. The system needs to be developed on 3 main principles: - Social connection: there needs to exist a social linkage between urban citizens. The inclusivity requires to establish a systematic stakeholder engagement process - Goal actualization: all related stakeholders need to understand and have the same goals in achieving sustainability results. The integrity is necessary to actualize changes within the society. - Knowledge transference: sharing is caring, sustainable-related knowledge about new practices, products or programs from local public offices should be spread to all stakeholders. The knowledge-sharing process must be transparent.
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  Unexpected Encounters –Senses and Touching in Services and Care 4th Encounters Conference 17-19 March 2015, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland 4 Conclusion With the prediction of 10 billion people world population and 80% of which living in cities by 2050, there is a gap between global food supply and demand in the future. However, the problem of food shortage is not only a quiz to be solved for future generation but also a contemporary issue. According to The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, one in every eight person on the planet is suffering from chronic undernourishment. Not limited to that, analysing the survey’s results revealed a need for a linkage to aid sustainable development and urban climate change. The research addressed these issues by presenting the concept of home farming as the core multidisciplinary component of an integrated approach to reform public education in sustainable urban environment project. In the development of sustainable living, growing our own food is the prerequisite as it combines environmental considerations with sound economics. The paper also presented a framework for the integration of human economy, creation of human well-being and protection of environment. The model is to create a chain effect and the change is supported by common grounds in understanding, knowledge and pledge for the same goal. The cooperation results in partnership, reweighted policy and widespread education.
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  Unexpected Encounters –Senses and Touching in Services and Care 4th Encounters Conference 17-19 March 2015, Porvoo - Borgå, Finland Keywords (3-5): home farming, urban agriculture, public education, sustainable living References: Ulvila, Marko & Pasanen, Jarna (2009). Sustainable Futures, Replacing Growth Imperative and Hierarchies with Sustainable Ways. Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Helsinki. Strawbridge, Dick & Strawbridge, James (2010). Practical Self-Sufficiency, The Complete Guide to Sustainable Living. Dorling Kindersley, London. Kaivo-Oja, Jari (2004). Analyses of Historical and Future Problems of Sustainable Development. Tampere University Press, Tampere. Meadows, Donella; Meadows, Dennis & Randers, Jorgen (1995). Beyond The Limits, Global Collapse or A Sustainable Future. Earthscan Publications, London. Voss, M. Peter (2013). Vertical Farming: An Agricultural Revolution On The Rise. Hogskolan, Hamstad. Sabatino, D. Silvana (2014). Needs Assessment and Pilot Course for RESCUE project. RESCUE project, Lahti.