Abstract
M.Tech. (Industrial Design)
The importance of socially responsible design and participatory research methods for problem solving in developing nations is unquestionable. The aim of this design research project was to follow a similar path whilst developing a system that could contribute directly and indirectly to food security. In 2015, the author began developing prototypes for appropriate beekeeping technology for local urban farmers as a final BTech Industrial Design mini-dissertation project. The beekeeping technology system was intended to benefit low-income, small-scale farming communities, as well as promote sustainability in troubled beekeeping and agricultural industries. The intention of the cardboard and concrete beehives was to provide cheap, alternative and improved options in local beekeeping equipment. However, the outcomes represented only an initial solution that needed to be field tested and further developed into a more refined system, ready for implementation, requiring additional devices and resources for scaling the system in different markets. This MTech research project provided a group of small-scale farmers and expert beekeepers with beehives, production tools and other components to test over one season (spring to winter). Then through an iterative Human-Centered Design approach (to achieve: desirability, feasibility and viability), the appropriateness of the beekeeping technology was evaluated (to identify issues) and improved (to refine the solution). The results showed that the beekeeping equipment represented a significant improvement to existing wooden beehives and would be beneficial to farmers and beekeepers, provided the system, material, tool, product and business design was revised slightly to increase the potential success of the equipment. The outcomes - two alternatives of lightweight concrete beehives and the moulding tools necessary for producing the beehives - demonstrated the potential to allow individuals to produce their own equipment easily and at low-cost, while improving the safety and health of their bees – contributing to an overall increase in honey productivity. The study identified a gap in research on the field testing and development stages of appropriate technology leading to an implementation ready system – an area lacking in academic design research and Industrial Design. Appropriate Technology theories, the Capabilities Approach and Designing for Outcomes were used to create a theoretical framework to position the problem philosophically but also to encourage the delivery of tangible benefits through the research. In this way the study was able to simultaneously address the central problem and affect meaningful change in the lives of the participants, with the project leading directly into commercialisation.