Permaculture, Final Capstone Paper 5-26, Hope - Never Ending Food

• participation in a Permaculture Design or Permaculture Nutrition course
• living within walking distance of a Permaculture demonstration plot
• working / living at a Permaculture demonstration plot
The questionnaire included both open-ended questions, which provided context and
elucidation, and closed ended questions, which were analyzed quantitatively. The Daily Practices
questionnaire (Appendix C) was created by partnering with key members of the PNM who
assisted in the articulation of Permaculture definitions and practices. The data collection tools
were designed to:
• gather demographic and socio-economic information,
• determine levels of adaptation
• identify barriers/constraints to Permaculture practice adoption as well as coping
strategies in addressing these constraints; and to
• gather information regarding participant food and nutrition security to determine the
relationship of Permaculture adoption to this important measure of household
wellbeing.
The questionnaire and interview guide were pre-tested and modified based on pre-test
results. In a few instances, minor changes were made once actual data collection began in order
to facilitate understanding and to account for minor inconsistencies the pre-testing failed to
reveal. A Chichewa translator was used, when necessary, to interview participants. All
participants read or were read, the Letter of Informed Consent in accordance with the Internal
Review Board. When necessary, the letter was verbally translated into Chichewa. All
participants were given a chance to ask questions and were informed that they could withdraw
from the study at any time. No participants declined to participate. All participants received a
copy of their signed Letter of Informed Consent.
The preconfigured questionnaire and interview were conducted at the same time. The
interview and questionnaire were typically conducted at the home of the participant and, when
21