After almost a year of working with young people, we are now
about to end our campaign in Aurora. The campaign mobilises young individuals
to serve as infomediaries for their parents. Infomediaries are people who
facilitate access to information for those who are having difficulty accessing
it. Our months of work in Aurora included classroom discussions coupled with
activities such as the infomediary quiz bee, putting up of rice garden, and
endless promotion of the extension platforms such as the PhilRice Text Center
and the Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank.
The infomediary quiz bee was a huge activity. The students
showcased their technical know-how on rice production, which really surprised
us. The photo below shows the practical exam as part of the quiz bee. The task
was for them to identify parts of a rice plant, and to differentiate rice
plants from weedy rice.
Aside from the practical exam, the infomediary quiz bee also
showcased their proficiency in using the offline version of the Pinoy Rice
Knowledge Bank. PRKB is a platform that contains most information one has to
know about rice farming in the Philippines. Hence, even if the students are not
knowledgeable about rice farming and even if they don’t have Internet access in
their area, they can still search for rice farming information through the
offline version of the Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank. The students were fast and
accurate in searching through the offline version of the PRKB.
The rice garden gave the participants hands-on experience in
managing a rice farm. We needed to do this to increase the confidence of the
students in discussing rice farming information to their parents. Rice gardens
in two participating high schools showcased varieties that can be planted in
their respective areas. This way, the students can recommend to their parents
the variety they see fit for their agroclimatic conditions.
After months of working with young people, we were so
pleased when we had the chance to converse with them regarding the campaign.
Not only did they relate to us experiences when they performed infomediary
roles, they were also very comfortable telling their stories to us—something we
did not see before. When we first came to Aurora, the students were rather
timid. They would not say a word to us. It is a big thing for us that the
students have developed the trust to tell their stories to us over the course
of campaign implementation. Not only we have groomed new rice farming
infomediaries, we have also gained new friends.
