Close interaction with communities never fails to yield surprises, from unexpected insights to impromptu serenades.
This is Part 3 of a 3-part series. Check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
“We can come into India and have all of these great intentions, but truthfully we’re outsiders,” says Tata Fellow Ron Rosenberg. “In order to actually have valuable conversations with the end consumer, we need somebody who knows them, who’s lived with them, who is them.”
In this video, we look at how our partnership with the Deshpande Foundation allows students to have meaningful interactions with small-acreage farmers in rural India, the people who will become the end users of the soil health solutions they are creating.
Using this method, solutions are designed with the active input of the people who will use them–the technology is created in response to their actual needs and desires, not in the vacuum of a far-off laboratory.
Oh, and you never know when someone might decide to sing for you!