Participatory Design for Sustainability processes. Experiences with Family Farming in Argentina

GONZALEZ INSUA MARIANA; EDURNE BATTISTA

World Sustainability Series

Springer

Año: 2022

2199-7373

Sustainable Development and Design for Sustainability (D4S) emerged in Argentina with a strong focus on Local Development, especially tackled by institutions and research and development (R&D) centers. In this regard, Food Sovereignty is one of the main topics in which Family Farming (FF) is a key social actor that represents the 67% of the food supply in the country. This paper aims to describe the participatory design process and the methodologies for two cases of D4S applied to FF. The former case, led by the Research and Technological Development Institute for Family Farming - Pampeana Region (INTA-IPAF) and La Plata National University (UNLP), describes thedevelopment of returnable packaging for the distribution of fresh vegetables in direct marketing channels. The latter case, led by the Higher Institute of Technical Training N 151 (ISFT N151) and Mar del Plata National University (UNMDP), describes The Colors of Mar del Plata Agriculture, a project that seeks to generate a system to obtain colorants from fruit-horticultural waste and to develop new sustainable value chains with local identity in the Popular Economy sector. This paper demonstrates the potential of participatory design in sustainable development and the key role of national agencies and Universities in leading processes of technological change.