Roots
The app that connects you with farmers migrating to cities, to help you build your dream home garden.
Project Brief - To identify core problems in one particular Indian state and help resolve it.
Duration - 2 months
UTTAR PRADESH
Choosing a state
and mapping it's issues
Magnitude of problem
Infant mortality rate
High migration to other states
Corruption
Slow pace in agriculture
High absenteeism in schools
External ability to resolve challenge
Unelectrified households
Slowest industrial growth
Facts & Figures
18.05
million
agricultural households in U.P, i.e. 3 out of 4 households are into farming.
INR 75000cr
worth outstanding farmer loans
5.8
million
people migrated from UP in search of jobs and ended up in the informal sector.
Initial brainstorming
Validating Hypothesis
1. Migrating farmers will be interested in being reskilled and work as professional gardeners.
2. City dwellers need professional help to make their home gardens.
Interviews with migrators from U.P.
"Abhi thode saal pehle aaye the mumbai kyuki zameen ka takleef tha gaon mei."
"Idhar abhi hum jhaad kaatne ka kaam karte h. Baarish ka season mei sab clear karna padta h toh zyada kaam tabhi rehta h"
- Kanhaiyya Lal
"Kheti season mei hum firse jaate h gaon, vahape mera bhai dhyaan rakhta h. Tab tak idhar driver duty par hu."
"Jo kaam pehle mila woh kar liya, esa kuch tha nahi ki driver banna h ya mali"
- Dubeyshwar Mahato
"Mera khud ka zameen toh ni tha gaon mei, dusre ke udhar kaam karta tha,"
"Jab mumbai aaya pehle 22 years pehle, nursery mei karta tha, kyuki gaon mei kheti kia hua tha toh yeh samaj aa gaya tha kaam. vaha se aur sikha aur ab logo ke ghar pe hi karta hu kaam."
- Ravi
Target audience
50-100% interest in gardening.
Owns a balcony/terrace/backyard garden
Visiting different types of gardens
This was done to understand the experience people have with gardening, their problems and needs. I visited 7 different gardens (Balcony, terrace, backyard, In-house, Zen gardens, Office garden)
Understanding users of the app- Creating User personas
Suhanee Varma, 28
Persona A
Working as a sports nutritionist in Pune. Lives in a bungalow and has her own garden in her backyard. Has a 1 year old baby and lives with her in laws and husband.
Goals
1. To be able to maintain a kitchen garden which can provide her with atleast 40% of her veggies
2. To have a record of her plants and make changes to the garden as per the season
Persona B
Ankita Thakker, 41
Lives in a 3bhk flat in Mulund along with her husband and 5 year old baby. Has her own business in educational counselling.
Goals
1. To set up a balcony garden
2. To learn more about gardening and be a part of the process.
Pain Points
1. Doesn't have enough knowledge to know which plants will survive and which will not.
2. Needs a gardener to maintain her garden as she doesn't have time and often forgets to water the plants.
3. Arranging her plants in a way that all are provided with adequate sunlight.
Pain Points
1. Doesn't have enough knowledge to know which plants will survive and which will not.
2. She has a very small space and wants to optimize it in the best possible way to plant more.
Design goals
Futuristic
Easy navigation
Playful
Concept testing
To understand how users feel about pre-visualizing their gardens I conducted a small activity, where they were asked to arrange the plants in a Garden. This also showed the lack of knowledge users have regarding placement of plants and it turned out they enjoyed creating gardens.
Final Concept
An App that helps users
1. Pre-visualize their garden
2. Connects them with re-skilled farmers to hire them as gardeners.
3. Suggests plants that suit them best.
4. An online store for buying plants.
Information architecture
Wireframes
Iteration 1
User feedback
1.This UI looks very childish
2. Look more like wireframes than a final prototype
Final Design System
Hit play to check video
UI
Visualize your garden
By answering a few questions Roots provides with the best garden options a user can have.
A user is now able to pre-visualise his garden before buying plants. This helps them be organised in their planting and also arrange the plants in a way that sunlight is adequate for all.
Consult gardeners
Filters help you choose the best gardener.
Your Profile
Shows details about the plants you have grown
Shop
Use surveys and filters to decide which plants are best for you.
