Helping The Farmers
Developing a volunteer coordination platform to assist farmers who have faced a shortage of manpower in the aftermath of the October 7th attack on Israel.
UX UI Design - Volunteer
My Role
Ahim Laneshek
Client
1 week
Timeline
In the aftermath of the October 7th attack on Israel, numerous farmers discovered that their Thai workers had returned to their homeland, leaving them with a significant shortage of manpower. In response to the attack, the entire nation united to demonstrate a generous spirit of giving without seeking anything in return.
Between the countless WhatsApp groups and independent initiatives, it became evident that there was a substantial communication gap between the demand for help and the individuals willing to offer assistance. To address this issue, I joined an incredible team of volunteers from Wix and Deloitte to enhance the Am Ehad website by introducing a feature that facilitates streamlined online registration for volunteers and enables farmers to efficiently manage their events.
At-a-Glance
Discovery
A couple of my friends reached out to me, expressing interest in joining an initiative focused on developing a swift solution to enhance efficiency in connecting volunteers with areas where their help is required. As we delved into our exploration phase, we discovered existing websites providing a partial solution, gathering links to WhatsApp groups or contact details for individuals in need, and facilitating direct outreach. We pitched our idea to establish a system enabling volunteers to register online for scheduled volunteering events and providing event management capabilities for those in need of assistance, the developers behind one of these websites decided to collaborate with us. We joined forces to integrate our concept as a feature into their existing platform.
Understanding the needs
As the farmer's crisis became regularly featured on the constantly streaming news channels, I reached out to my friend who owns a strawberry field near Kfar Saba. He confirmed the severity of the crisis, stressing that it was impacting farmers all over Israel.
Eager to offer help, I visited his farm and witnessed firsthand the dire condition of the fields.
My friend expressed concern about potentially losing the next harvest without intervention. Conversations with individuals who wanted to volunteer revealed a chaotic and inefficient system, leaving many willing helpers unsure of how to contribute effectively and those in need struggling to access assistance.
Define
Key goals & MVP
As timing was a crucial aspect of providing a solution for the farmers, we met to define the minimal viable product that would bring value to our users as soon as possible. The following are the most important aspects of our proposed solution:
Design
Volunteer Side
Initiatives Category
In the website's volunteering category under Agriculture, a list of initiatives will be available to choose from. After the initial stages of the pilot, a sorting and filtration system was added.
The same day our feature went live on the website, I entered my friend into the pilot, and he created his first event for the next day.
The very next morning, I got a call from him telling me that 150 volunteers arrived at his field. The volunteers that arrived that day and the following weeks every day saved his crops. This was the quickest and most gratifying result I have ever experienced launching a product into the world. Not only my friend has received huge value from this pilot, but months into the crisis, farmers around Israel still use this feature to receive help from the community while still recovering from losing the majority of their workforce.
Outcome
More Projects
Event Sign Up
The sign-up form will ask for the minimal personal info required for the event's managers and the number of volunteers who are planning to come. This way groups of volunteers would not have to each send a form.
Confirmation Page
Once the form is submitted, a confirmation screen is shown with a prompt to check the email for further information.
Manager Side
Manage Initiatives
Once the managers log in to their management platform, they see a list of their initiatives. These initiatives for the first phase of the pilot are submitted by the website's administrators.
Initiative Events List
Within each initiative, we will have a list of future events, displaying high-level data and how many volunteers registered for each event.
Manage Event
Managers will be able to edit each event, cancel it, or export a participant list for their convenience.
Create New Event
When creating a new event, the managers will provide all required information, that will then be presented on the website for volunteers to sign up to.
Events Page
Within each initiative, a list of all future events will be presented with high-level information about the event, such as; date, time, location, and available slots, with CTA to sign up.
