Example Reflection – Storytelling

Challenge:

I come from a town in India from the state of Kerala, where we have a serious challenge with waste  management. Domestic waste created from households, hotels, hospitals and other industrial  activities has become a menace that the state government and local authorities are not able to  manage. This has polluted our water bodies including lakes, rivers and wells. Though Kerala state  Human Development Index (HDI) is comparable with developed countries, waste management has  become a herculean task.

Selection of Storey Telling as a tool:

Stakeholders in this challenge are numerous including general public, hospital and hotel staff and  authorities, customers and patients, industry management and staff, school and college going  student, elderly people, people living near to rivers banks and lakes etc.

We decided to create a story line that started with an interview with the a dozen of elderly people  between 60-80 who shares their personal stories explaining how beautiful, clean and pristine was  the river and water bodies were that they even used to drink directly from them. The story then  shows the current reality showing how filthy has the place has become. The story also includes  public behaviour, including the way they irresponsibly dump and discard the waste which is then  scavenged by dogs, crows and other creatures. It also shows how people gets disgusted by the  rotting smell and the mere sight of it. The story then shows the big ques in the local government  hospital where people are waiting with their young children for seeing doctor for the illness of fever  and contagious diseases.

The story then shows how people can convert their domestic waste into compost and biogas where  the benefit is twofold. The money saved on cooking gas and the vegetables and fruits that they grow  with the compost generated shows the smiling and happy families. We also added how the Japanese  society has cleaned and created a sewerage which is clean enough for fishes to be grown in that  where people uses these places for recreation and gatherings.

The story ends with hospitals without patients, clean and pristine streams and rivers, clean roads  and public places, people enjoying fresh local vegetables and fruits.

Application

We applied the story telling tool, which had real characters to explain the need of reducing,  reusing and recycling the waste created by individuals, residential areas, local business and  industries to highlight the importance of waste management. This documentary like story  telling was run on visual medias throughout schools, colleges, public places like bus and  train stations, parks and places of religious gathering including local masjids, temples and  churches. The awareness created was so huge that people realized and recognised the  importance of responsible waste management.    Insights:     We realised that when we add real stories that touch human emotions including fear, hope  and promise, stakeholders tend to react positively and the much needed change happens.

We also realised there could be more stakeholders to the challenge including people of  younger age (between 5-10) and should also gather their expectations and wants to create a  better society. E.g.: Would they like to play in a clean and pristine stream, would they like to  pluck fresh fruits that are grown on the streets while they go to schools etc. We also  realised that if we could add the financial benefit for the peoples and authorities associated  with waste transport and management, reduction in public health in terms of wasted days  due to sickness etc. We also thought of adding a happiness index if the ‘What if’ possibilities  are met.     Approach:     The selected tool is very promising, we may include visualisation that will help us to improve  it further so that stakeholder can have contribute more suggestion and ideas. We may use  virtual reality to show what is possible by working together.  To increase the conviction we may also add the financial benefits, the mental health  benefits of the overcoming the challenge.


Example Reflection – Storytelling Challenge : I come from a town in India from the state of Kerala , where we have a serious challenge with waste management . Domestic waste created from households , hotels , hospitals and other industrial activities has become a menace that the state government and local authorities are not able to manage . This has polluted our water bodies including lakes , rivers and wells . Though Kerala state Human Development Index ( HDI ) is comparable with developed countries , waste management has become a herculean task . Selection of Storey Telling as a tool : Stakeholders in this challenge are numerous including general public , hospital and hotel staff and authorities , customers and patients , industry management and staff , school and college going student , elderly people , people living near to rivers banks and lakes etc . We decided to create a story line that started with an interview with the a dozen of elderly people between 60 - 80 who shares their personal stories explaining how beautiful , clean and pristine was the river and water bodies were that they even used to drink directly from them . The story then shows the current reality showing how filthy has the place has become . The story also includes public behaviour , including the way they irresponsibly dump and discard the waste which is then scavenged by dogs , crows and other creatures . It also shows how people gets disgusted by the rotting smell and the mere sight of it . The story then shows the big ques in the local government hospital where people are waiting with their young children for seeing doctor for the illness of fever and contagious diseases . The story then shows how people can convert their domestic waste into compost and biogas where the benefit is twofold . The money saved on cooking gas and the vegetables and fruits that they grow with the compost generated shows the smiling and happy families . We also added how the Japanese society has cleaned and created a sewerage which is clean enough for fishes to be grown in that where people uses these places for recreation and gatherings . The story ends with hospitals without patients , clean and pristine streams and rivers , clean roads and public places , people enjoying fresh local vegetables and fruits . Application We applied the story telling tool , which had real characters to explain the need of reducing , reusing and recycling the waste created by individuals , residential areas , local business and industries to highlight the importance of waste management . This documentary like story telling was run on visual medias throughout schools , colleges , public places like bus and train stations , parks and places of religious gathering including local masjids , temples and churches . The awareness created was so huge that people realized and recognised the importance of responsible waste management . Insights : We realised that when we add real stories that touch human emotions including fear , hope and promise , stakeholders tend to react positively and the much needed change happens . We also realised there could be more stakeholders to the challenge including people of younger age ( between 5 - 10 ) and should also gather their expectations and wants to create a better society . E.g. : Would they like to play in a clean and pristine stream , would they like to pluck fresh fruits that are grown on the streets while they go to schools etc . We also realised that if we could add the financial benefit for the peoples and authorities associated with waste transport and management , reduction in public health in terms of wasted days due to sickness etc . We also thought of adding a happiness index if the ‘ What if ’ possibilities are met . Approach : The selected tool is very promising , we may include visualisation that will help us to improve it further so that stakeholder can have contribute more suggestion and ideas . We may use virtual reality to show what is possible by working together . To increase the conviction we may also add the financial benefits , the mental health benefits of the overcoming the challenge .