Mobile Portland: Mobile Apps for Coffee Farmers: 10 Lessons Learned in the Field July 23, 2012

It's hard to build mobile apps. But it's even harder to build
them them for people very different from yourself – in this case,
coffee farmers in Tanzania. How do you go about building an app
for someone who's never before used a computer, smartphone, or
tablet? How do you convince a farmer to use your app when you
speak different languages, come from different contexts, and
have different needs? How can you ensure that your app is
creating a lasting, positive impact?

This month's Mobile Portland presentation shows how Sustainable
Harvest Coffee Importers faced these challenges, and what they
learned along the way. After deploying iOS apps and mobile
-optimized websites in coffee-growing communities around the
world, Sustainable Harvest has plenty to share. You might be
surprised how lessons learned in places like Moshi, Tanzania and
San Ignacio, Peru apply to Portland, Oregon.

Discussed:

* Developing for audiences who are new to mobile (and computers in
general)
* Deploying technology solutions in distant countries
* Choosing between and maintaining iOS/native and mobile-optimized
web app platforms
* Helping farmers have more sustainable
livelihoods, supported by mobile technology

Join us to learn about Sustainable Harvest's successes – and
challenges – in bringing mobile technology to coffee
cooperatives and farmers around the world.

About the Speaker

Ezra Spier [https://twitter.com/sh_ezra_pdx], Director of
Technology Solutions, Sustainable Harvest
[http://www.sustainableharvest.com/]

Ezra Spier designs and builds sustainable mobile technology that
improves the productivity and incomes of smallholder coffee
farmers around the world. He has presented Sustainable Harvest's
mobile technology work at the World Bank's International Finance
Corporation, and has visited coffee communities in Peru, El
Salvador, and Tanzania. A Portland native, Ezra is a graduate of
Oberlin College, where he majored in East Asian Studies.

Official Website: http://mobileportland.com/events/mobile-apps-coffee-farmers-10-lessons-learned-field