Nishant Sharma’s research while affiliated with Parsons School of Design and other places

Permaculture farming is a pivotal solution to the pressing global challenges of climate change, resource depletion, and food security. In India, where over 80% of the farming community comprises marginal farmers, transitioning to sustainable practices is crucial yet challenging. The primary barrier to this transformation is the significant knowledge gap these farmers face in integrating permaculture principles into their agricultural practices. A year-long study, engaging directly with farming families explores the intricacies and obstacles encountered by marginal Indian farmers transitioning to sustainable permaculture farming. The research identifies a critical knowledge gap as a major impediment to adopting permaculture, leading to the developing of a participatory-based permaculture toolkit. This toolkit aims to revolutionise sustainable agricultural practices among marginal Indian farmers who confront the dual challenges of ecological degradation and economic vulnerability. Employing a participatory design methodology (Sanders, 2012), the study involved farmers co-creating a toolkit that amalgamates permaculture principles with localised agricultural practices. The research provided deep insights into the farmers' needs, preferences, and specific challenges through workshops, interviews, and hands-on sessions. The findings highlight the toolkit's success in enhancing the farmers' understanding and implementation of sustainable practices, evidenced by their understanding towards permaculture farm design collaboratively. Also, the initiative fostered stronger community ties, promoting knowledge exchange and mutual support among participants. This research not only underscores the tangible benefits of a participatory approach to permaculture in enhancing the livelihoods of marginal farmers but also contributes to the discourse on sustainable agriculture globally by offering a model that is both scalable and adaptable. The successful field study underlines the potential of participatory-based tools in empowering farmers towards ecological resilience and a sustainable agricultural future, facilitating sustainable farm designs, community building, and localising food and resources. This initiative represents a significant step towards addressing current challenges and encouraging the widespread adoption of sustainable agriculture practices.

Permaculture farming has emerged as a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to agriculture, and promoting its adoption among marginal farmers can positively impact their livelihoods and the environment. This paper explores a participatory design approach for promoting the adoption of permaculture farming among marginal farmers in India. The proposed approach involves understanding the needs and challenges of marginal farmers, educating them about permaculture principles and practices, providing access to resources, establishing demonstration farms, creating farmer networks or communities, and providing market linkages. The paper draws on data from fieldwork conducted in rural areas of India, where interviews and focus group discussions were held with marginal farmers, government officials, and experts in permaculture farming. The participatory design approach involved working closely with farmers and other stakeholders to co-design and implement interventions tailored to their specific needs and contexts. The research reflects on the role of the participatory approach in promoting change and engaging with communities beyond academia. It highlights the benefits and challenges of collaborating with communities in research and how such collaboration can lead to more impactful and sustainable interventions. The proposed participatory design approach can help increase the adoption of permaculture farming techniques among marginal farmers in India and can serve as a model for promoting sustainable and community-driven change in other contexts.

The organized food delivery business is valued at around INR 630.61 Bn in India by 2025. What generic design insights can designers derive from this sector to aid in the delivery dimension of the business? In addition, how can the differently abled be integrated from a design perspective within this ecology? Our current field study explores this question in the form of design ethnographic research in Mumbai. The study was conducted in the first quarter of 2022 in the Powai, Bhandup, and Mulund areas in Mumbai. Based on the field study, a few prominent insights were discovered, ranging from their delivery practices to the use of materials, along with issues of electronics usage, terrain, and weather. In addition, a few generic challenges are identified, and recommendations are provided for mobility and vehicle designers who will be designing for this sector. These include issues surrounding vehicle design, behavioral understanding, user interaction, and product design. In effect, this study also contributes toward the broader themes of digitalization in India and inclusive design.KeywordsAccessibilityMobilityOnline food deliveryDesign EthnographyPlatform economy

Promoting sustainable farming practices such as permaculture among marginal farmers in India is crucial for building a more resilient agricultural system that can adapt to the impacts of climate change. Therefore, it is crucial to educate the next generation about the significance of environmental sustainability if these practices are to be genuinely successful. This paper explores the benefits and strategies of early permaculture education for children in India. Introducing children to permaculture principles during their hypnosis period can create a generation of eco-literate individuals who understand the importance of sustainable farming practices. We discuss various strategies that can be used to teach permaculture to children, including storytelling, gardening, nature exploration, and games and activities. We also examine the role of formal schooling in promoting permaculture education and the importance of integrating permaculture principles into the curriculum. Lastly, we address the possible effects of early permaculture education on the Indian agricultural sector, including higher adoption of sustainable farming techniques, improved food security, and increased environmental sustainability. Our research shows early permaculture education is crucial for creating a more sustainable future in India and elsewhere. By planting the seeds of sustainability in children's minds, we can help cultivate a brighter, more sustainable future for the next generations.

Agriculture is the most important occupation for most Indian families. It is a vital sector in India's economy, contributing 16% to the Gross Domestic Product and 10% to total exports. India is a leading producer of wheat, rice, pulses, and spices. However, there is a significant gap between agricultural production and storage capacity, leading to food waste and uneven availability of food grains. This problem is particularly acute for marginal farmers who cannot afford storage facilities. To address this issue, a participatory design study was conducted with marginal farmers to gain insights and aspirations for designing affordable and mobile storage solutions. The participatory design approach involved the active participation of farmers in the design process, using prototypes and mockups created using available materials. The mockups and prototypes were used as a medium for the farmers to express their ideas, problems, and solutions related to post-harvesting and storage. This process played a crucial role in gaining a deeper understanding of the farmers' needs from their perspective, and helped to design affordable and mobile storage space for marginal Indian farmers. The research was an essential step towards improving the storage capacity for marginal Indian farmers, reducing food waste, and ensuring a more efficient storage of food grains. The use of participatory design approach allowed a more tangible and practical approach to understand the farmers' requirements and design solutions accordingly.

Agricultural practices have changed drastically in the past few years, and they had a huge impact on our planet. There is a need to shift towards sustainable ways of producing food. Permaculture is frequently described as a design system, and design thinking is the methodology of applying a system of design. However, the design thinking processes are missing in permaculture courses and more generally in practices of permaculture. India has more than 70% farmers belonging to the small and marginal category, where permaculture farming could be a boon in the transition towards sustainable farming. However, currently, there is no adoption model or government policy that promotes permaculture farming. Permaculture is a design system that has three ethics and twelve design principles documented by Bill Mollison in his permaculture design manual. There is a lack of publically accessible evidence that permaculture ideas work, which places limits on the adoption of the design system. A case study of wheat and soya bean in an Indian village shows that there is a need for the proper adoption model in the initial phase, as farmers cannot afford it without using chemicals fertilizers and hybrid seeds or GMOs. There are many design challenges in the adoption of permaculture at social, environmental and economic aspects. The Lack of knowledge and experience among the new generation of farmers makes it more difficult to adopt in the Initial stage. The focus of permaculture education is too limited in its application of permaculture as a design system. Primarily focusing on the individual and what they can do, there is little attention given to broader applications of the permaculture design, such as community development, community economics, and the importance of localized food systems. A narrow focus limits the understanding of the permaculture design system, which in turn limits its adoption among Indian marginal farmers who have the potential to adopt such sustainable farming system.KeywordsDesign for sustainabilityAgriculturePermacultureDesign systemSustainable farming

Effective on‐road safety requires proper maintenance of vehicles. In the trucking sector in India, there is a need for supporting predictive maintenance to decrease downtime and improve safety. Improving maintenance in this sector involves certain challenges. First, most trucks are owned by small‐scale fleet owners (trucks < 5). Second, maintenance is often handled by small‐scale mechanic workshops. The fault diagnosis is very often limited to recognition by the driver and later reassessed by the mechanic by relying on the feel or the sound of the vehicle. Third, a majority of stakeholders in this sector—drivers, mechanics, and owners—have low levels of education. Despite these challenges, with the increase in the rate of digitalization, in the future, it will be easier to monitor the health of the parts of a truck. In addition, there is a developing trend of mobile phone and internet penetration in India that has leapfrogged a majority of Indians into becoming “emergent users” of information technology. Therefore, this article shows that sociotechnical approaches such as ecological interface design can be used to develop mobile interfaces for supporting predictive maintenance through health and usage monitoring of trucks for small‐scale fleet owners in India. To develop the interface, a field study was conducted at several sites in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The insights were used to develop scenarios and the abstraction hierarchy, which were later used creatively to develop the interface design for emergent users.