Awake was selected when the climate report for The Development Fund was to be digitalized and made searchable on areas in Norway.
We made dinklimaframtid.no, a site where you can see the consequences global warming will have on Norwegian agriculture and compare it to Malawi, a highly climate-exposed country in Africa.
In the climate report "Is our food security threatened? - Climate change and food production in Norway and Malawi." The Development Fund looked at what would happen to our food in a warmer world. All over the world, farmers are experiencing a climate that limits the growing cultivable conditions. They have to think new, but how? What does climate adaptation look like in practice, and what are the consequences if we do not change?
- We need to talk more about climate adaptation, says Jan Thomas Odegard, head of The Development Fund. - It gets far too little attention. Climate change is happening here and now, and it is urgent to do something. This applies here in Norway and in developing countries such as Malawi. Small farmers are at the forefront of climate change.
Dinklimaframtid.no
- When we were looking for an agency who could digitalize the food and climate report, Awake delivered by far the best offer. A cool and fresh agency that thinks about sustainability in a holistic way. Awake works single-heartedly with sustainable projects and puts climate and environment at the forefront. It has been incredibly fun to collaborate on this project, and we are really proud of the result, says Senior Communication Advisor Siri O. Kvalø in The Development Fund.
We are very pleased to have the Development Fund in our client base. To be able to work with an organization that fights hunger and poverty feels very meaningful. The Development Fund is a client who really puts climate on the agenda and creates good solutions for the future, says Marte Alstad Hansen, creative director in Awake.
On the site, you can enter your postcode and get specific information for climate change according to different temperatures of global warming. You can see the current situation, an increase of 2-4 degree temperature and over 4-degree. The Development Fund has also interviewed many farmers who are in the process of climate adaptation on their farms, both in Norway and in Malawi. - It is important for us to show that it is possible to adapt to climate change. And some of the solutions can so easily be integrated, continues a committed Odegard.
Personal stories and experiences from farmers
Einar Kiserud runs a dairy farm in Spydeberg in Østfold. His farm was hit hard by the drought in 2018. After this experience, he traveled to Malawi to learn more about climate change and climate adaptation. He met Esther and Collings, who runs a small farm in the north of the country. It was an eye-opening journey that resulted in the documentary Uår (shown on NRK in September 2019).
- We were completely unprepared, says Kiserud about the dry summer. - You have heard that the weather will be more extreme in form of wetter and warmer, not drier. It was a difficult time. I thought multiple times that I wanted to quit as a farmer. Kiserud explains how he now, among other things, try to spread the risk by extending the growing season.
Einar Kiserud. Photo: Julie Lunde Lillesæter
- I sow seeds for spring in the spring, rapeseed in late July, and seeds for autumn in September. This creates a more even risk for the season. Maybe not all three will be successful, but there is always one of those who will bring in a good harvest. The most important thing Esther, Collings, and I can agree on is that climate change makes it more difficult to produce food. People all around the world need food. Therefore, we must act now, Kiserud concludes.
Climate adaptation is possible if we start now
- We have gathered available information, plowed through countless research reports, and gone thorough research to create this website. Together with developer Yonas Sandbæk and designer Fredrik Stabenfeldt, Awake has helped us present the content in an accessible way for the user. All the source material is presented on the page, so people can dive into the background information if they want. This page is a collection of the best knowledge in the field, as of today, Odegard concludes.