Exploration of digital tools for regenerative agriculture communities and introduction to permasoftware
Waltregny, Juliette (2025)
Diplomityö
2025
School of Engineering Science, Tietotekniikka
Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025080881526
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025080881526
Tiivistelmä
This thesis explores the role of digital technology in supporting regenerative agriculture (RegAg) practitioners, aiming to understand their values, needs, and challenges regarding digital tools. The study begins with a qualitative data collection phase based on semi-structured interviews with practitioners. These interviews reveal a nuanced relationship with technology: while it is generally welcomed, there is a clear preference for light-weight, background applications that do not disrupt the ecological and social dynamics of RegAg practices. Notably, interviewees frequently express the need for digital community hubs to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Building on these findings, a comprehensive review of existing digital tools relevant to RegAg and related fields is conducted, followed by a gap analysis. This analysis highlights a significant deficiency in dedicated, well-designed social platforms tailored to the needs of RegAg communities, particularly with regard to usability, rigor, and community relevance.In response, the second part of the thesis proposes a set of user-centered design requirements and presents a prototype aimed at addressing the identified gaps. This prototype serves as a practical instantiation of the study’s insights and exemplifies what a truly supportive digital tool for RegAg practitioners could look like. Furthermore, the prototype is critically evaluated through the lens of permasoftware, a concept rooted in permaculture and permacomputing principles, which emphasizes sustainable, inclusive, and low-impact software development. This final reflection opens the door to future research on how software can be designed in alignment with regenerative values.
Overall, the thesis contributes to the field by offering a grounded understanding of RegAg practitioners’ digital needs, identifying concrete gaps in current toolsets, and proposing both a conceptual and practical response that aligns with community-driven and ecologically mindful principles.
Building on these findings, a comprehensive review of existing digital tools relevant to RegAg and related fields is conducted, followed by a gap analysis. This analysis highlights a significant deficiency in dedicated, well-designed social platforms tailored to the needs of RegAg communities, particularly with regard to usability, rigor, and community relevance.In response, the second part of the thesis proposes a set of user-centered design requirements and presents a prototype aimed at addressing the identified gaps. This prototype serves as a practical instantiation of the study’s insights and exemplifies what a truly supportive digital tool for RegAg practitioners could look like. Furthermore, the prototype is critically evaluated through the lens of permasoftware, a concept rooted in permaculture and permacomputing principles, which emphasizes sustainable, inclusive, and low-impact software development. This final reflection opens the door to future research on how software can be designed in alignment with regenerative values.
Overall, the thesis contributes to the field by offering a grounded understanding of RegAg practitioners’ digital needs, identifying concrete gaps in current toolsets, and proposing both a conceptual and practical response that aligns with community-driven and ecologically mindful principles.