Powering Local Resilience: Scaling HARVEY to Build Sustainable, Loadshedding-Resilient Peri-Urban Agriculture in South Africa
This project investigates HARVEY, a WhatsApp-based digital platform that enables peri-urban farmers in South Africa to coordinate produce sales with minimal technological barriers. Developed with Harvest of Hope and Stellenbosch University’s Computer Science Department, HARVEY operates effectively during power outages, a critical feature in the context of South Africa’s ongoing load shedding crisis. Through fieldwork in Cape Town, technical assessment, and stakeholder interviews, the project will evaluate HARVEY’s energy resilience, quantify its impact on food waste and emissions, and identify opportunities for system enhancement. Findings will inform policy recommendations on scaling low-energy, climate-smart agricultural technologies in peri-urban settings.
This grant is made possible by the Goldsmith Research Fund, a gift from Carl H. Goldsmith (W ‘88).
Leon Gwaka
Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Technology, InnovationLeon Gwaka is a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition working on the 1 World Connected project under the supervision of Prof Christopher Yoo. He is also a competition research fellow at Penn Carey Law.
