Rocks for Crops Community Interactive Calendar

Index

What is the community interactive calendar?

Why have a community interactive calendar?

How can it be used by NGOs or by small-holder farmers?

Part 1: Nutrient Deficiency Calendar

Part 2: Online Community Interactive Calendar

Links

Premade Calendars

Community Interactive Calendar

Resources for Diagnosing Soil Nutrient Deficiencies

Participatory Tools to Use When Creating a Community Interactive Calendar

Picture and Clipart Sources

Further resource information

What is the community interactive calendar?

The community interactive calendar links small-scale farmers with agrogeologists and soil scientists from Rocks for Crops. It aims to complement other information about plant nutrient deficiencies from agricultural extension workers, NGOs, or fertilizer pamphlets. Together, these information sources give farmers access to relevant and accurate information about soil nutrient deficiencies. The community interactive calendar is one way to help farmers improve soil fertility.

The community interactive calendar is a way for farmers, agricultural extension workers, and NGOs to work together and produce their own calendar. The community interactive calendar started from a project aimed at improving soil fertility and increasing communication between farmers and Rocks for Crops. But, calendars do not have to be limited in scope to addressing soil nutrient deficiencies. You can make a calendar to address any problem that is important to you.

Index

Why have a community interactive calendar?

The community interactive calendar was created to increase dialogue among farmers, agricultural extension workers, and scientists. The dialogue can help farmers understand how to improve the fertility of their soil. Better soils will increase crop yields and quality.

Through the community interactive calendar, farmers have the opportunity to contact nutrient deficiency specialists to obtain help in diagnosing and fixing soil nutrient deficiencies and toxicities. Agrogeologists and other scientists will learn the specific information needs and challenges facing farmers. They can then focus their research to address those needs.

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How can it be used by NGOs or by small-holder farmers?

There are two main components to the community interactive calendar:

Part 1: Nutrient Deficiency Calendar

The nutrient deficiency calendar is a ready-made calendar for 2006, 2007 or 2008. It can be downloaded as a PDF, printed, stapled or stitched together, and distributed to farmers. This is accessible to any business, organization, or individual with a computer, the Internet, and a printer. The steps are:

1. Click on the link to download the PDF calendar file.

2006 English Calendar 2006 Kiswahili Calendar

2007 English Calendar 2007 Kiswahili Calendar

2008 English Calendar 2008 Kiswahili Calendar

2. Print the calendar on legal (8 ½” X 14”) sized paper. It is best to print the calendar in colour. When printing from Adobe Reader, select Print from the File menu. In the print box, select the Properties button. Select the Paper tab. On the Size is option, choose legal. Click OK.

3. Stitch or staple the calendar together.

4. Make a hole so that it can be hung on the wall.

5. Please share with us your experience of using the nutrient deficiency calendar.

Download the Nutrient Deficiency Calendar Feedback Form here.

6. Enjoy!

Index

Part 2: Online Community Interactive Calendar

The second component allows organizations or individual farmers to create their own customized calendars. Small-scale farmers and local agricultural extension workers can work together to identify the plant nutrient deficiencies common in their community. They can also share possible solutions.

To make the calendar more appealing to community members, add local references. You can use photographs, artwork, and stories created by community members to make your community’s calendar.

Stories and pictures can be presented on a calendar page in many different ways. You can design your own pages or insert pictures and stories into the calendar template.

Download the Calendar template here.

It is important to include accurate information in the calendar. Such information can be found in the list of nutrient deficiency symptoms, causes and solutions.

Download the Information on symptoms, causes, and solutions here.

Here is one possible way to create your own calendar:

1. Talk to farmers and their families about the sort of problems they have with their crops. Try to include many types of farmers: men, women, youth, and the elderly. You may want to have a community meeting or meet informally with people. You can try one of the participatory tools described in one of the Seaga handbooks:

http://www.fao.org/sd/seaga/main4_en.htm

Participatory Tools to Use When Creating a Community Interactive Calendar

2. Find out what local farmers do to solve these problems using a participatory tool.

3. Diagnose the problems (for example: maize plants are unhealthy because the soil does not have enough nitrogen). You may need the help of an extension worker or an expert at ICRAF or Rocks for Crops. To do this:

n Photograph the problem plant

n Describe the visible symptoms

n Decide what questions need to be answered

n Send the picture, list of symptoms, and questions to:

o Peter van Straaten: pvanstra@uoguelph.ca, or

o Bashir Jama: b.jama@cgiar.org.

These people will help you diagnose the problem and suggest affordable local solutions.

4. Write some stories about the problems and solutions. Share them with several community members using a participatory tool. Change the stories to include their feedback.

5. Create your own calendar pages or use the template. Type the stories and solutions into the “insert text here” boxes. You can resize or more the boxes by clicking on the box edge.

Download the Calendar template here.

6. You can add your own pictures or get pictures from the internet. To insert pictures or clipart:

§ Go to Insert

§ Go to Picture

§ Go to From File

§ Select the photograph or clipart picture from its saved location on your computer.

§ Click Insert

You can move or resize the picture. You can move the picture behind the text by:

§ Right click on the picture

§ Select Order

§ Select Send to Back

There are many internet sources for agricultural clipart and nutrient deficiency photographs. You will want to save them on your computer as .JPEG files. Some useful websites are:

For artwork related to agriculture: http://www.developmentart.com

For photographs showing nutrient deficiency symptoms:

http://www.back-to-basics.net/nds/

http://www.nrs.mcgill.ca/whalen/nutrient/Symptom.html

http://www.ppi-ppic.org/ (search the site for ‘nutrient deficiency symptoms’)

7. Select the colours you want in your calendar. To change the colour of the template:

§ Right click on a box edge

§ Select Format Text Box

§ In Colors and Lines, choose a fill colour, line style and colour

§ Click OK

To change the font of the template:

§ Right click inside a box

§ Select Font

§ Select your font, size, style and colour

§ Click OK

8. Have several community members look at the pages for their visual appeal. You may want to modify the layout, choice of pictures and/or colour scheme based on their feedback.

9. Print the calendar on legal (8 ½” X 14”) sized paper.

10. Stitch or staple the calendar together.

11. Make a hole so that it can be hung on the wall.

12. Please share with us your experience of creating a community interactive calendar.

Download the Community Interactive Calendar Feedback Form here.

13. Enjoy!

Index

Links:

Premade Calendars: