Beekeeping Human Centered Design ProjectMaria Berkowitz, Jessica Cotton, Diana Schulberg, Reid Williams

Nyamyumba, RwandaNovember 2017

Assignment 2.1Step 1: Questions/Comments/Takeaways

1. What were your big takeaways about the Class 2 Inspiration phase Readings? a. The article had a large focus on having an atmosphere of trust as well as asking

the target population what they wanted. The article also talking to experts and learning about the topic as much as we can. By looking at past experiences and past advice we can learn more about moving forward for the future.

2. Do you have questions about the readings? a. Most of the reading was straight forward the actual process of designing a

practical way of helping them move forward.3. Which research methods are you excited to try and why?

a. Using an empathetic method, mostly in interviewing the bee keepers to hear their challenges and issues. Also watching the beekeepers interacting and working with the bees and hives they have currently.

Step 3: Team Knowledge & Assumptions1. What are the aspects of the challenge that you already know a lot about? What are your

assumptions? a. We know that they lost a lot of bees due to pesticides. The pesticides were used to

kill the insects that were on the maize so when the bees came to pollinate the maize they ingested the chemicals. We also know that honey is a big resource and money maker in Nyamyumba. It is a new program, started about 2 years ago, and it has been successful so far. There are 2 seasons to the bees.

2. Where are the aspects of the design challenge where you need to learn more? What don’t you know?

a. Since we are entering into the project as outsiders, we need more information on the beekeeping logistics. Do people need more supplies? Are the hives healthy? How much honey do they produce? We don’t know a lot about the process they undergo, or what needs to be improved. Can they sell the honey elsewhere? Expand to Huye?

Step 4: Plan your researchA. People to Learn From

a. Beekeepersb. People that sell the honey

c. Cooperative leaderd. Town councile. Honey manufacturer

B. Experts to Speak toa. Cleniab. Leonc. Martin

C. In-Context Immersion Locationsa. Nyamyumbab. Hivesc. Supply chain locations (Huye, around Nyamyumba)

D. Analogous Inspiration Locationsa. Jess’s Uncle’s beekeepingb. Maria eats a lot honeyc. Famer’s markets

Step 5: Build an Interview GuideOpen General Questions:

1. When did you first start beekeeping?

Go Deeper Questions:1. Why do you like beekeeping so much?2. Would you want to sell your honey elsewhere?3. Collecting the honey process?4. What would help you with the beekeeping process?5. Do you think a label that says “Nyamyumba” would be helpful?6. Does it benefit the community?7. Weather is challenging because it effects how bees behave as they have to pollinate. It is

the main challenge right now. 8. The chemicals in the maize are also a problem because it kills off bees.9. Number of hives = 40 modern hives, 32 with bees in them. The traditional ones are used

to attract bees that are then transplanted to the modern hives. They have 6 traditional hives, which all have bees in them right now.

10. They have to buy bees from other beekeepers from traditional hives. It’s hard to find bees that aren’t contaminated.

11. Traditionally, women weren’t allowed to bee keep. Katrine trusted them and hired them. Katrine has given them opportunities they wouldn’t have normally. They all look the same with the suit on.

12. What do you want on the label?

Assignment 2.2Step 6: Conduct your Research

A. Learn from Peoplea. We were able to talk to Martin, who is a Mabawa liaison to projects they have

started. We were able to talk to him this past week. He gave us the following information:

i. Includes the pygmy population. Before, they just did pottery. Mabawa wanted to incorporate them in something besides pottery so they financed them to buy the bees and buy the house for honey production. Originally, the pygmies lived in the forest and had natural beehives that they then collected.

ii. Program is 3 years’ oldiii. As they get used to treating the bees, they are increasing their honey

productioniv. Seasonal crisis for the bees that yielded a smaller production this year. As

a result, they have to buy more bees because of the crisis. They buy from a traditional beehive and transfer the hive

v. They were beekeepers traditionally, so Mabawa figured they could modernize it and make it a revenue generating activity

1. Originally, the pygmies lived in the forest and had natural beehives that they then collected

vi. If the honey isn’t sold in Nyamyumba, they sell it in Butare and Kigali. Sometimes people from those places ask for the honey specifically and they sell it.

B. Learn from Expertsa. When did you first start beekeeping?

i. They organized themselves and Katrine supported them with money and gave them classes on how to treat bees. Some knew how to treat the bees in a traditional way, and some knew nothing. They are trained on the modern ways of beekeeping. Katrine bought modern beehives for the cooperative, the charged themselves to by families of bees for the hives.

b. Why do you like beekeeping so much?i. They enjoy the part of honey collecting because it is interesting to them.

Checking on the hives and seeing how much honey there is. c. Would you want to sell your honey elsewhere?

i. They don’t have enough honey to satisfy the market. Distribution isn’t a problem. They plan to expand the business, every month they set aside money and once they have enough money they will buy more bees.

d. Collecting the honey process?i. After packing the honey, they sell it in a store, not personally. They sell it

as a cooperative, not by each person. ii. Leon buys them plastics in Kigali.

e. What would help you with the beekeeping process?

i. Katrine promised them 12 bee families, they are still working on building up the program.

f. Do you think a label that says “Nyamyumba” would be helpful?i. They plan to do this; they think it will be very helpful.

g. Does it benefit the community?i. In this region it was hard to find honey, it wasn’t sold anywhere. They

would have to buy it in town, but the Nyamyumba beekeepers alleviated the supply problem.

h. Weather is challenging because it effects how bees behave as they have to pollinate. It is the main challenge right now.

i. The chemicals in the maize are also a problem because it kills off bees.i. How do you solve that? You buy other families; it is the only way. You

buy a queen.j. Number of hives = 40 modern hives, 32 with bees in them. The traditional ones

are used to attract bees that are then transplanted to the modern hives. They have 6 traditional hives, which all have bees in them right now.

k. They have to buy bees from other beekeepers from traditional hives. It’s hard to find bees that aren’t contaminated.

l. Traditionally, women weren’t allowed to bee keep. Katrine trusted them and hired them. Katrine has given them opportunities they wouldn’t have normally. They all look the same with the suit on.

m. What do you want on the label?i. Flying bee

C. Immerse Yourself in Contexta. We are going to observe the beehives and talk to the beekeepers there and ask

them all about their beekeeping. We also hope to interview them at Casa Mabawa on Tuesday, November 14th. We plan to take notes in the field as well as take pictures of the beehives.

D. Seek Analogous Inspiration a. Jess’s Uncle’s beekeepingb. Maria eats a lot honeyc. Farmer’s markets

Assignment 3Step 1: Questions/Comments/ Takeaways

1. What would you most like to discuss with the group about your experiences during the Class 2 Inspiration phase research? What was most surprising? What was the hardest part for you? What were your “aha moments”?

a. They were really nice and welcoming. They thanked us. We were surprised at how open they were to us making a label. The language barrier was the hardest part. It’s difficult to get across our exact meaning. Maria asked a question and they answered it in a way that was different than what she wanted. The label was our “aha moment”. Martin had told us a label wouldn’t happen for another 5 years, but the beekeepers seemed ready for it now.

2. Did anyone check out what other teams were doing on the Online Community? Would you like to share something inspiring you saw? Did you learn anything interesting from other teams around the world tackling your same challenge?

a. N/A, we did not have internet in Nyamyumba.3. What were your big takeaways from the Class 3 Ideation: Synthesis Readings? Do you

have questions? a. How they broke up the process into themes, ideas, and insights. Using specific

categories to arrive at a solution. It was interesting that they wanted us to take notes on post it rather than on a computer. Taking notes of every idea can help you arrive at the final solution.

Step 4: Create Insight Statements

1. Theme: Bee Problemsa. Insights:

1. Bees died because of pesticides2. Weather affects bee-haviour3. Money for bee families4. More hives then bees, Katrine promised them more bees

2. Theme: Marketa. Insights:

1. They have a lot of hives, including 6 traditional ones that attract more bees2. Supply < Demand3. They only sell their honey in one store4. They don’t have enough honey to satisfy the market

3. Theme: Futurea. Insights:

1. They have plans to expand in the future2. They want more supply

3. They are open to a label

Step 5: “How Might We” QuestionsInsight: They are open to a labelHow might we: How might we increase awareness of where honey is produced?Solution: Create a label

Insight: They need more bees because the bees died from pesticidesHow might we: How might we raise money to buy more bees for them?Solution: Fundraise with Linking Lives club at Virginia Tech

Insight: They only sell the honey in one storeHow might we: How might we increase their profit?Solution: Help them transport the honey to Huye

Assignment 4Step 3: Select your best ideas

Create a Label

Instinctively, how excited are you about this idea? 1 2 3 4 5

How innovative and different from what's out there does this idea feel? 1 2 3 4 5

How practical do you think this idea is? Does implementing it seem realistic? 1 2 3 4 5

Total: 14

Fundraise with Linking Lives at VT

Instinctively, how excited are you about this idea? 1 2 3 4 5

How innovative and different from what's out there does this idea feel? 1 2 3 4 5

How practical do you think this idea is? Does implementing it seem realistic? 1 2 3 4 5

Total: 11

Step 4: Gut Check

Design challenge: Increase awareness of where the honey is produced

HMW Question: How might we increase awareness of where honey is produced?

Selected Idea: Create a label

Post It:

Describe Idea: We want to create a label that says it is from the Nyamyumba honey house. Each honey jar sold will have a label on it. When it is sold outside of Nyamyumba, like in Huye, people will know where it comes from.

How will this idea have impact on the challenge you’re addressing?

When they sell the honey, people don’t always know where it comes from. So we need to increase awareness of where it is produced. By putting a label on the jars that says where it’s produced, we make people outside of Nyamyumba aware.

Step 5: Storyboard

Step 6: Determine what to Prototype

Step 7Create a model:

This is a label Jess drew for a honey operation in Christiansburg, Va. The label for the Nyamyumba beekeepers would be similar to this one.

Assignment 5Step 2: Create an Action Plan

1. Staffa. Creative people since we are doing a labelb. Project manager to facilitate communication between us and the beekeepersc. A few members of the beekeeping cooperative

2. Partnershipsa. Leon and Katrine from Mabawa as funding partnersb. Printing company as a capacity partner that prints all the honey labelsc. Linking Lives Club at Virginia Tech as funding partners to raise money

3. Fundinga. We will fundraise to get the first batch of labels printed in the hopes that sales will

increase from the labelsb. We hope it will shift to a sustainable revenue model since the labels will help

draw in more customersc. We will break even when the cost of the labels is equal to the revenue made from

honey sales

Step 3: Create a Pitch1. Succinctly, what is your project?

a. We wish to create honey labels for the Nyamyumba honey cooperative in order to attract new business for them and spread the word about their honey to neighboring towns.

2. Who do you need to pitch? a. Beekeepersb. Leon and Katrinec. Funders

3. What format(s) will your pitch take? a. Presentation with a prototype of a honey jar with a label on it to possible funders

and the Nyamyumba honey cooperative.4. What’s your short pitch? As you write it, think about how you’ll expand it into a larger

one. a. After meeting with the Nyamyumba beekeepers, we learned that a main concern

of theirs is that people don’t know about their honey. When they sell it in Huye it doesn’t say where it comes from. By creating labels for the honey jars, people that buy the honey will know where it comes from and will spread the word about where the honey comes from.