Abstract
UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 aims to create 'a world free of hunger by 2030'. However, as food insecurity continues to intensify on a global scale, particularly affecting marginalized communities in developing countries such as South Africa, we are at a critical juncture. Small-scale urban farming (SSUF) can contribute to food security by increasing local food production and enhancing the accessibility and distribution of fresh produce in marginalised communities. SDG2 Target 2.3. seeks to double the agricultural productivity of small-scale food producers by ensuring they have secure and equal access to land and resources. SSUF, however, faces numerous challenges. Effective resource management and access to appropriate off-grid technologies are issues faced by many SSUFs in South Africa and similar developing contexts. This has been identified in this paper as an opportunity for an industrial design intervention. Developed for a practice-based MA Industrial Design research project, this paper presents a proposed theoretical framework for the development of sustainable and appropriate innovations for SSUF in developing contexts. The authors provide a contextualisation of the problem and project focus to frame and justify the proposed hybrid approach. We then provide an overview and discussion of the guiding design theories of 'Appropriate Technology,' 'Design for Sustainability,' 'Design for Socio-Technical Systems,' and 'Participatory Design'. While each theory individually contributes to the project, we argue that a hybrid framework is necessary to successfully and sustainably address the identified problem. We conclude by providing a detailed description of the hybrid framework. While this framework was utilized in a study focused on the development of an organic matter processor, the primary aim of this paper is not to document the project's outcomes through the application of the model. Instead, we seek to motivate the need for such a hybrid theoretical model and its suitability for application to various appropriate technology innovations in SSUF.