571
our senses (Tønnessen 2012). This can evoke an emotional response that conventional approaches to agricultural extension communication often lack. In turn, these
emotions can help shape our understanding of the world around us (Ribeiro 2017).
Furthermore, knowledge comes from the process of creating, interpreting, and
reflecting upon the stories and the underlying meanings they hold. This is true for
both storyteller and audience (Jamissen and Moulton 2017); often what we see and
hear can offer meaning instead of, or in addition to, conventional measurements.
The participatory and collaborative process of DS can strengthen relations
between project partners, in this case, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
(NMBU), students and faculty of Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural
Resources (LUANAR), and subsequently, the extension services and project beneficiaries – the storytellers. The experience helps build trust and rapport between partners. Furthermore, it highlights how relatively simple technologies can be used to
effectively educate and communicate in today’s digital world. However, this can
still prove challenging, for example, in areas that lack electricity. The methodology
therefore needed to be flexible and adaptable, in the context of our project goals but
within our means and resources. Nevertheless, as Ribeiro (2017) claims, even using
the simplest of modern technologies can help increase digital literacy, knowledge,
and information.
The method also needed to encourage dialogue and discussion with participants.
This moves away from structured interviews, surveys, or questionnaires and digs
deeper into the meanings attributed to the phenomena being explored. Shor and
Friere (1987) claimed that dialogue evokes reflection, and the ensuing narratives
express subjective realities. It was our task to plant a seed and allow the beneficiaries to become storytellers. It was also our task to present the stories from the storyteller’s perspective (Alterio and McDrury 2003). Therefore, they could both share
their experiences with their peers and provide new or previously overlooked insight
into the subject matter, that is, project-specific goals. Alterio and McDrury (2003,
p. 157) claim that insights gained through listening to and discussing stories can
help “discover new ways to understand past actions or find appropriate professional
responses to situations”.
Photography has long been a useful tool in research situations, in particular
social anthropology. Photographs can be used in different ways throughout the
research process. They can raise questions and help develop insight into the subject
matter (Collier and Collier 1986); they can be illustrative and informative; and they
provide a lasting visual record that can be revisited and scrutinised, connecting the
viewer to the data (Szto et al. 2005). Moreover, inserting photographs into a research
situation can help inspire dialogue and discussion, induce responses from participants, and encourage reflexivity and participant subjectivity (Davey 2018). Through
collaborative interpretation, they help attribute meaning to phenomena, offering
questions about the nature of reality from different perspectives (Pink 2013). Thus,
we anticipated that an image/discussion dynamic could elicit both the narratives we
sought for the stories as well as the dialogue, reflection and understanding among
peers and other target groups that we hoped would result from the finished stories.
Digital Storytelling as an Agricultural Extension Communication Tool in Smallholder…
our senses (Tønnessen 2012). This can evoke an emotional response that conventional approaches to agricultural extension communication often lack. In turn, these
emotions can help shape our understanding of the world around us (Ribeiro 2017).
Furthermore, knowledge comes from the process of creating, interpreting, and
reflecting upon the stories and the underlying meanings they hold. This is true for
both storyteller and audience (Jamissen and Moulton 2017); often what we see and
hear can offer meaning instead of, or in addition to, conventional measurements.
The participatory and collaborative process of DS can strengthen relations
between project partners, in this case, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
(NMBU), students and faculty of Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural
Resources (LUANAR), and subsequently, the extension services and project beneficiaries – the storytellers. The experience helps build trust and rapport between partners. Furthermore, it highlights how relatively simple technologies can be used to
effectively educate and communicate in today’s digital world. However, this can
still prove challenging, for example, in areas that lack electricity. The methodology
therefore needed to be flexible and adaptable, in the context of our project goals but
within our means and resources. Nevertheless, as Ribeiro (2017) claims, even using
the simplest of modern technologies can help increase digital literacy, knowledge,
and information.
The method also needed to encourage dialogue and discussion with participants.
This moves away from structured interviews, surveys, or questionnaires and digs
deeper into the meanings attributed to the phenomena being explored. Shor and
Friere (1987) claimed that dialogue evokes reflection, and the ensuing narratives
express subjective realities. It was our task to plant a seed and allow the beneficiaries to become storytellers. It was also our task to present the stories from the storyteller’s perspective (Alterio and McDrury 2003). Therefore, they could both share
their experiences with their peers and provide new or previously overlooked insight
into the subject matter, that is, project-specific goals. Alterio and McDrury (2003,
p. 157) claim that insights gained through listening to and discussing stories can
help “discover new ways to understand past actions or find appropriate professional
responses to situations”.
Photography has long been a useful tool in research situations, in particular
social anthropology. Photographs can be used in different ways throughout the
research process. They can raise questions and help develop insight into the subject
matter (Collier and Collier 1986); they can be illustrative and informative; and they
provide a lasting visual record that can be revisited and scrutinised, connecting the
viewer to the data (Szto et al. 2005). Moreover, inserting photographs into a research
situation can help inspire dialogue and discussion, induce responses from participants, and encourage reflexivity and participant subjectivity (Davey 2018). Through
collaborative interpretation, they help attribute meaning to phenomena, offering
questions about the nature of reality from different perspectives (Pink 2013). Thus,
we anticipated that an image/discussion dynamic could elicit both the narratives we
sought for the stories as well as the dialogue, reflection and understanding among
peers and other target groups that we hoped would result from the finished stories.
Digital Storytelling as an Agricultural Extension Communication Tool in Smallholder…