GABRIEL FARAGO
SPROUT SPOT
SEED GERMINATION &
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
FOR HAIDA GWAII
Focus: Social Design & Cross-Cultural Collaboration
Duration: 8 Months
Skills: Project Management, Collaborative Design Workshops, Researching, Presentations, Sketching, Physical Prototyping, User Testing, 3D Printing, Sewing
Software: SolidWorks, KeyShot, Photoshop, GravitySketch
I am very thankful to have received recognition for my 4th year capstone project. During the celebration of my grad show and Carleton's 50th anniversary of the School of Industrial Design, I received the Wim Gilles Memorial Award for Form-giving. I also attended ACIDO Rocket 2023, where I received the Benifitting the Future Award, sponsored by Copernicus Educational Products.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM THIS PROJECT
I learned how to listen and distill meaning from observations. I also learned how to communicate and collaborate with children from an indigenous community. Finally, I learned how to conduct informative, collaborative and engaging design workshops.
Sprout Spot is a 3D printed seed germination and educational system for the remote, first nations, island community of Masset, BC. This project would have been impossible without the intense collaboration with the warm and welcoming students and staff at Gudangaay Tlaats’gaa NaaySecondary School.
OPPORTUNITIES IN MASSET, HAIDA GWAII
FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
Giving the community the ability to control what they grow and eat.
Due to poor growing conditions and the expensive daily costs associated with living on a remote island, healthy and fresh foods are costly and hard to come by. Residents’ diets and overall health have changed.
LOCAL MANUFACTURING
By using 3d printing the community will shatter supply chains and save money.
As seen in recent years, supply chains are fragile. Masset relies on weekly ferries to deliver almost all goods, supplies, materials and food. Designing a system that allows them be self sufficient and independent is critical. The community will learn new skills and interact with new technology too.
EDUCATIONAL ENGAGEMENT
Designing a portable and personalized system will allow students to learn anywhere and get the community involved.
When I visited Haida Gwaii in February of 2023, I realized that students were not engaged and had some difficulty participating and attending class. A system that engages, inspires, and provides students with a sense of ownership and responsibility will make a significant impact in their lives. The portable system will allow them to take their learning wherever they see fit.
4 months of intense group research allowed me to learn about Masset and inform my design direction. Research included, demographics, cultural values, climate, local foods and plants, language, traditions and heritage.
Here are my experiments with wool seed sleeves and seed germination. I tested different materials, wicking shapes, and plants too. Lettuce and sage were the most successful.
I've been using GravitySketch since 2019, its been a great tool in my workflow.
THIS IS WHEN I PIVOTED MY DESIGN
When I traveled to the island and lived in the community for a week during February of 2023 my eyes were opened to another world. It was such an amazing experience, I conducted cross-cultural design workshops and went on tours of the community. It helped to see first hand how the community lived, because I learned things I couldn't have researched. Up until this point I was solely focused on the efficiency of the seed germination environments; but then it shifted.
IT ALL CHANGED WHEN
One student mentioned "I wish I could grow a pet strawberry plant in my room."
Here I learned how important it was to create a portable system that extends the learning environment beyond the confines of a classroom. This allows the students to participate in experiential learning wherever they see fit, and strengthens educational engagement.
I reworked my physical prototypes, shrunk the overall size down and focused on portability. Here is my full scale 3D printed PETG prototype with germinated sage and lettuce seedlings in the wool seed sleeves.
A portable device needs a docking station. The wall unit will be installed in a classroom at GTN secondary school, or in their greenhouse. This acts as a hub where students can store the Sprout Spots.
