Evaluating the Benefits of a SNAP-Ed-Funded Community Garden Intervention Using Ripple Effect Mapping

In North Carolina, rural communities experience high rates of chronic illness due to health inequities exacerbated by the decline of major industries. Community gardens increase access to fresh produce and opportunities for physical activity and may offer additional benefits. These benefits can be difficult to measure as they are often unplanned or unintended. This article describes how we utilized Ripple Effect Mapping (REM), a participatory approach for evaluating complex interventions, to understand the impact of a SNAP-Ed-funded program. We purposively selected six community gardens to participate in 2-hour, facilitated REM sessions. On average, 15 people participated in each session. Participants developed a map of benefits using Appreciative Inquiry, mind mapping, and consensus-building methods. The map organized benefits across three levels: first ripple (individual), second ripple (interpersonal), and third ripple (community). In addition, participants coded benefits using the Community Capitals Framework. After the sessions, the research team extracted identified impacts into a matrix, aligned them with the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework, and developed digitized maps. These data corroborated findings from previous evaluations and offered insight into community-identified benefits not previously documented, including other types of capital generated by community gardens in rural communities. In addition, REM was an effective approach to measure and report several SNAP-Ed evaluation indicators, including LT11: Unexpected Benefits. Ultimately, the research team found REM to be an effective community-engaged method for understanding a complex intervention’s benefits while centering participant community voices and transferring ownership of the data to community partners, a key principle in equitable evaluation.

System-wide approaches to mitigate environmental and health impacts of water contamination

There is an urgent need to address the challenges of inadequate safe water and proper sanitation in peri-urban communities in low-income countries. Agencies have tended to focus on a single aspect of the challenge for service delivery, which ultimately fails to capture the full scope of the problem. In this study, 63 household surveys and 15 key informant interviews were conducted in a peri-urban area of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, regarding water and sanitation issues. Results revealed that 87% of households experience water scarcity issues. More than 50% of the homes were surrounded by swampy areas with sewage and stagnant pools, with 40% reporting water source contamination due to seepage and overflowing of sewage collection systems. Key informants reported water scarcity and poor water quality due to poor sanitation practices and a compromised water supply network. We found that a highly integrated approach that invests in cultural, social, political, human, financial, and built community capitals is needed to address these challenges. To accomplish this, the community must feel empowered and believe that they have control over their situation in ways that will effectively protect their health.

Systemic Innovation Areas for Heritage-Led Rural Regeneration: A Multilevel Repository of Best Practices

This paper presents the result of the analysis of the data gathered from 20 Role Models (RM) case studies regarding their successful heritage-led rural regeneration models. For the study and comparison of the narratives of these Role Models two tools were used: the Community Capitals Framework, which studied the transference of capitals in each process and the identification of six Systemic Innovation Areas that allow this capital transference. A multilevel repository of best practices has been developed allowing the identification of common features, mechanisms for mobilisation of capitals and required resources that will facilitate the replication in other rural areas. The results of this work support the acknowledgement of the contribution of culture, together with cultural and natural heritage, to economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability in rural areas reinforcing the role of culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development.

Dimensions of social and political capital in interventions to improve household well-being: Implications for coffee-growing areas in southern Colombia

This paper studies the influence of community capitals on well-being through a Community Capital Index (CCI) within coffee-growing families in southern Colombia. Our results show different farm typologies, with different levels of capital endowment translated into well-being that, in our case, were represented in the CCI. Specifically, social and political capitals positively affect coffee-growing families’ decisions in terms of life strategies. The results of this study increase our understanding of welfare enhancement and its relationship with capital endowment according to the type of coffee producer, having implications for the planning of more effective programs towards the improvement of quality of life.

Frontline Extension Professionals & COVID-19: Supporting Household Food Security & Building Resilience

The world was not prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. It has tremendously impacted health and food systems around the world and the depth and breadth of its long-term effects are yet to be seen. The rates of those that will be in poverty and food insecure are significantly higher than the predictions pre-COVID. People are coping in any way that they can, at times in ways that will have lasting impacts on their households and communities. A community’s ability to absorb, adapt, and transform in the face of crisis can significantly impact how it is able to survive and thrive during those challenging times. A frontline extension professional can equitably build assets and thus capitals, ultimately increasing household and community resilience. Keywords: COVID-19; food security; resilience; coping; Community Capitals Framework