The MAIA Project is a collaborative effort by members of Skywoman's Design & Tech Incubator to map out and assess the methods, needs and pain-points of food aggregation services, with a focus on distribution models that promote regional food sovereignty.
The project will center around a series of technical interviews with food producers, distributors, retailers and others who either operate their own aggregation service or participate in one. This may take the form of a single- or multi-farm CSA, traditional food coops, an informal network of distributors and retailers, or more centralized food hubs where products from multiple farms are warehoused and sold through one or more distribution channels. The primary outcome will be a collection of interview materials, documents and case studies, made freely available under Creative Commons or a similar license, which will map each interviewee's user journey and the information architecture that underlies their operation.
Nate Chang, a User Experience Designer and Data Strategist, has graciously volunteered to guide the first series of technical interviews, but we're seeking participation from other designers, engineers and anyone else from the Skywoman community with an active interest.
These sessions will be technical in nature, with an aim towards forming a rigorous model of the aggregation process, but we also hope to share these materials and insights with a broader audience in the form of a public presentation when we conclude the first series of events. This should provide a more digestible and high-level view of what we learn — something of a capstone event for these initial interviews and design sessions — as well as a roadmap for future development, so stay tuned for that!
For more background on where this came from and where it's going, see the original post on the motivations and broader goals of this project.
We'll update this space as more events are confirmed, but the first few are listed below along with details for how to join the meeting room.
| Date & Time | Format | Subject / Participants | Facilitators | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 12, 2022, 5pm - 6pm EDT | Technical Interview | Kip Curtis from Ohio State University, who has been developing the Microfarm Project together with Walt Bonham and Jess Hudson of the Richland Gro-Op | Nate Chang, Jamie Gaehring | 8x8 Meet (virtual) |
| Sun, Aug 21, 2022, 2pm - 3pm EDT | Open Design Session | Review materials from Aug 12 interview w/ Kip Curtis & RGO | - | 8x8 Meet (virtual) |
| Sun, Sep 11, 2022, 2pm - 3pm EDT | Open Design Session | Prepare for Tianna Kennedy interview by reviewing her Jun 2022 interview on the Collaborative Farming Podcast as well as other materials already available on the 607 CSA. | - | 8x8 Meet (virtual) |
| Thu, Sep 15, 2022, 4pm - 5pm EDT | Technical Interview | Tianna Kennedy from Star Route Farm in Charlotteville, NY, who also owns and operates the 607 CSA serving dozens of farms and independent food producers in the Hudson Valley. | Nate Chang, Jamie Gaehring | 8x8 Meet (virtual) |
Click here to join the session, use one of the dial-in numbers together with the PIN below.
URL:
https://https://8x8.vc/gracchus/multi-farm-info-architecture
U.S. Dial-in: (209) 844-4600
Dial-in PIN:246 916 544
Look for more interview materials and other documentation to appear here shortly in the various subdirectories.
Currently this repository is in the public domain under the Creative Commons Universal (CC0 1.0). As material is added, another similar license may be adopted, but we intend to keep them free to use, modify and share.
