And it’s a wrap

The past 2 weeks were all about testing our design and interviewing coffee farmers and factory managers. This week we moved back to Nairobi to interview several experts we had visited in our first trip as well, like Solidaridad, CMS and CRI (formerly CRF). Friday we finished our research by meeting up with Julius from UTZ and 2 people from TAHMO. And overall it seems that everyone we spoke to this last few weeks is very enthusiastic about the system we designed. There is a list of possible and/or necessary adjustments we will have to implement for our final design, but we believe it could become a very useful and very feasible system.

In Nyeri we mainly test the different aspects of the system we designed, using (paper and real-size wooden) prototypes and text messaging. In Nairobi we evaluated our design with experts, but also focused on implementation. Which parties could and/or should be involved? Who is going to pay and who will benefit? How (where, on what scale, when) should it be implemented? Should it be tested first? We wish we could provide you all the answers to these questions right here on this blog, but to make sure no one is going to steal our findings we will inform our partners about all this in our final report. But we can give you a small teaser of our conclusions:

-        It would be best to start a pilot set up somewhere in Kenya, to prove the added value of the weather stations and the operability of the forecast software on factory computers.

-        The wooden sign with the current weather forecast should not only be placed at coffee factories, since they are not visited all year long. There are several better places where the sign could also be placed, but then who will be responsible?

-        Every area in Kenya has its own languages. English and Swahili are usually fine, but we should keep in mind that in some less educated rural areas using these languages, or reading in general, could be a problem.

-        Coffee is cultivated throughout whole Africa, but of course not everywhere in Africa. For instance in Kenya the coffee is mostly cultivated in Central Kenya around mount Kenya.  TAHMO’s goal to place weather stations throughout Africa need to be taken into account when writing the implementation plan.

-        There are many players in the coffee market; the farmers, the coffee factories, the cooperatives, the marketing agents, the research institutions, the certifying bodies and the governmental parties. Favorable would be if all could benefit from this project. For us the task to figure out a way to make that happen.

-        The cooperatives we visited performed above average. They are well structured and have a good board. In the future the concept should be available for all the factories. So we need to learn from the factories we visited and maybe make an adaption for those less structured factories.

So this was the last blog from Kenya, the next one will be from the Netherlands where we will be finalizing our design and report in the next 4 weeks. We would like to thank all the people we spoke to in Kenya and all those who arranged our very valuable meetings we had. We would like to especially thank Julius from UTZ and Catherine from CMS for arranging most of our local contacts, as well as our reliable taxi drivers and comfortable place to stay in Nyeri. Thanks everyone and we will keep you posted!

Hiding in the coffee trees

‘Oh, what is that?’

‘It is a new sign that tells the weather information, brought to us by the mzungus (white people)’

‘That is really useful for me’

This is the start of the conversation we figured out some farmers had, when they were bringing their cherries to the coffee factory. Unfortunately, they did not have this conversation in English, but in Kikuyu, the local tribe language. So, we took the freedom to translate it ourselves. They were talking about the big wooden sign that we placed on the factory to test the part of the concept in which weather information is showed in a non-digital way.

The sign stood on a strategically chosen place, so that the farmers always needed to pass it. We tested it on two coffee factories and especially at one factory it was a big happening. Not because there was a sign on the factory, but because there were mzungus on the factory. Our presence took all the attention away from the sign. We ended up hiding between the coffee trees to see what was happening (we could actually do some picking in the meantime, if no one was near the sign). The factory manager was really proud of this new sign and she thought it was her task to inform everybody about it. Although it was nice that she was so involved, in the end we needed to ask her to stand away from the sign for a while, so we could see what was happening if the farmers were not informed or drawn to the sign by the manager. Luckily farmers also stopped at the sign when she was not there, and without exception they were positive about it. Several points of improvement came up, which we will process when we get back to the Netherlands.

At these same factories we tested the computer interface we designed with the factory managers. Before this test we had no clue if the managers were able to use a computer, but now we found out that they have enough experience to operate a program like the one we designed and more importantly: that they actually all have a computer at the factory. Of course the program is not yet perfect, so we found a few points of improvement.

On Wednesday we visited the Nyeri Hill farm, which is about the size of 400 smallholder farms. Paulien had already been there before, but for Jaimie and Wilco it was interesting to see the differences between this professional, structured coffee estate and the smallholder farmers we had visited before. The field manager of the estate reviewed our design and commented on it and together we figured out how our design could also be useful for coffee estates.

 On another note: we are happy to inform you that we have a visitor here in Kenya. Our coach from the TU Delft is now in Nyeri. He joined us on one of our testing days. He was lucky, because this was the day that we had two focus groups. These were held on two different factories, so he was able to attend the focus groups and to see the factories.

So with our coach there as well, we tested our wireless weather information system with some farmers (2 groups of 5 and 6 farmers, both groups received different types of messages) and we discussed the results and experiences these farmers had. Overall the system was well liked and also understood by the farmers. We got good insights in how they were using it and how we could improve it. All farmers were asking us when it would be officially operational, but all we could reply for now is that we hope it will be as soon as possible.

Next to improvements we could make, we also learned a lot about the context of our system and ways of implementation. For example, we saw that the position of the smallholder farmer is really weak compared to the power the marketing agents and buyers have. A whole new research towards positions of all stakeholders could be very useful, but unfortunately not in our reach during this project. Still, it is good to see our project in the bigger picture.

In our first visit to Kenya we told all the farmers that we would return to Kenya and so we did. Only this time we did not need to do interviews with all the farmers again. To not upset them (if you visit one, the word spreads) we paid a visit to all the farmers to bring them the photos of the first trip. The farmers really enjoyed having us over again, even if it was for only a short while.

At the end of every meeting we were asked the question: ‘When do you come back?’ It is hard to look a person in the eye and tell him that you are most probably not coming back, even if you really want to. We needed to explain several times that we are only doing this project for a half-year and that after that the company will take over. (But if we come to Kenya again, we will most certainly visit those nice farmers again!)

Hello? Hello?

Already a week ago, we saw our first glimpses of Kenya’s nature from the car, on our way to Nyeri. The last week past really quick, and it feels like we are already here for a month or so. Time flies when you are having fun!

Until now, we have met two farmers (from the first group), a board member of one of the coops, several people from the DeKUT university (also the farm manager of the university farm), two factory managers and ten more farmers separated in two different focus groups.

To describe the phone calls to those people (who did not know we were back in Kenya) when trying to arrange a meeting:

-        Hello?

-        Hello! This is Paulien speaking, from team Blend

-        Hello?

-        This is Paulien, from team Blend

-        Hello?

-        Team Blend, from the Netherlands

-        Hello?

-        We have visited you about a month ago

-        Hello?

-        From the Netherlands

-        …………. Ooooooh!!! REALLY?!

-        Yes!

-        When are you coming back?

-        We are already back in Kenya!

-        What?! Seriously? When are you coming to visit me again?

-        Well, this afternoon maybe?

-        Yes, yes, of course! You are always welcome!

Like we wrote earlier about the first farmer we have visited, the second farmer was also very happy to see us again, he showed us around on his farm and participated in a test about the USSD system. Both farmers were really excited about our system; something that gives them the opportunity to get weather information, advice about coffee farming and information the factory would like to share with its famers, at home. The second farmer was already explaining to us how he would arrange trainings and meetings to introduce every single farmer to this new system (“And I tell them all to come to mr. Kanja’s farm (which is his own farm) where they can see why my farm is doing better”).

In general, we can say that every single person so far reacted really positive to the system we have designed. The board member, factory managers and farm managers gave us some useful insights about the different parts of our system and (depending on their farming expertise) about the activities in farming throughout the year and the relations of those activities with different types of weather. See our previous blog for some recommendations.

During the two focus groups we arranged, we explained the most important parts of our system. We used SMS to test our idea for the wireless system. To the first group we explained that we would send them a text message with weather forecast for the next two days plus an advice about farming every evening and that they could use this information any way they want to. The second group was told that they could text us any time, after which we would replay with up-to-date weather information and an advice.

Although every single farmer was very used to calling with his phone, texting was a bit more difficult. We gave them a crash course in texting and after a while, they luckily understood how to set up a text message and how to send it to us (except for one, so we agreed that he could call us).

So far, we got at least one text message with a request from every farmer of the second group.

We are very curious to our next meeting with them, where we will discuss how they used the weather information and what recommendations they might have for us.

We also visited the CKCM (Central Kenian Coffee Mill) where the CMS (Coffee Management Services) organized an open day for all kinds of important people in the world of coffee. There were factory managers, board members, promoter farmers and many other people. After visiting several stands (promoting new kinds of coffee trees, chemicals, fertilizers and more) we were welcomed as special guests and could listen to the different speeches from the front row. Most speeches were in Swahili, but our driver took notes for us and provided us with a summary of what had been said after the speeches were done. We met some of the people that had helped us previously in our project and some that we are going to meet in the next couple of weeks, so all together it was an useful day.

Today (Sunday) we finished the big sign that we want to place at two factories on Monday and Tuesday. The sign will tell farmers what the weather for the next couple of days will be, and we will be testing how the farmers are going to react to it. Do they understand what is on it? Do they think it is useful information? Monday and Tuesday are picking days, so most farmers will visit their factory during the day to hand in what they have picked. We are very much looking forward to finding out how they are going to react!

There is so much more we have learned so far and even more we still want to find out, so please keep an eye out for our next blog. We will try to keep you as up to date as possible!

Back in Nyeri

A new phase for our project has begun, starting by sending a (mostly) new group to Kenya. After 2 days in Nairobi, Wilco, Jaimie and Paulien have now arrived in Nyeri where they will stay for the coming two and a half weeks. Paulien also joined the first trip, so she knows how the things come around in Kenya. This is really an advantage for the project, as we do not have to ‘reinvent the wheel’. Since she already knows a lot of our local contacts personally and knows a lot of practical things (like where to do groceries in Nyeri) we are able to start with the project right away. For us personally it is also nice, because we are introduced to the people by Paulien and they had a good experience last time, so they seem to trust and like us from the beginning.

Yesterday we had our first meeting in Nyeri at the Thiruku factory. Of course we started with a short tour around the factory, as Wilco and Jaimie only saw this on the pictures the first group brought with them. A difference with the first visit was that now it is high season, so there were a lot of farmers bringing their cherries. This time instead of one weighing scale there were two weighing scales available. After this tour we started with the interview with one of the board members. He knows a lot about cultivating coffee, as he has a flourishing coffee farm himself. We explained our concept and asked him what he thought about it and what his recommendations would be. He liked the concept and got some useful insights from him. Unfortunately, we are not able to put all those nice insights online as we have to be careful due to confidentiality. Some interesting points were:

-        Instead of only sending weather information we decided to also allow factory employees to send factory specific information. This visit showed us what kind of information the factory would like to send to the farmers.

-        We showed a picture of the sign is designed to communicate weather data to the farmers. The sign looked alright and communicated the right things, but the colour of the text (which is now black) needs to be changed into green or blue. Later we figured out that this was because it would draw more attention.  

-        The computer program was seen as useful. The factory employee will need a training to learn the program, but then he will understand it and he will be able to use it.

Today we visited the DeKUT University to get a second opinion from a coffee expert on our project. The University has its own workshop, so we showed the picture of the sign to the head of the workshop and he was more than happy to help us building it. Tomorrow we are able to pick it up, so we can use it for observation at the factory.

In the afternoon we went to see our first farmer to test the concept from a different perspective. Of course this time we got the whole tour around the farm and for Jaimie and Wilco it was so nice to see all these things in real life and actually know what the others had been talking about. The farmer was really enthusiastic about the whole concept and he understood quite well what it was all about. His wife even took notes and sometimes gave some cleaver insights. The best recommendation that the farmer could make was ‘bring this concept to the factory as soon as possible’.

When we were talking to this farmer it started to rain and we were looking at each other smiling. Why would any person smile if it is starting to rain? Well, this is because we predicted that it would rain in the afternoon around that time. We are keeping an Excel with the weather predictions for the next days. At the end of the day we fill in what the actual weather did. And so far the predictions are luckily quite accurate. At least a lot more accurate than the weather forecasts farmers are currently receiving via TV or radio.

From tomorrow on we are going to test our concept with farmers. They will receive daily text messages (from us) about the weather for one week and at the end of the week we will talk to them about their experiences. So the weather predictions being quite accurate is a great help.

In short, the second group is now in Kenya and already gained a lot of insights. We are thankful for everybody making this project possible. We will keep you all updated!