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F e at u r e

Saying yes to a designed network of farmers and consumers is bringing together French communities and covering grocery bills for network leaders.

Natalie Ortiz, Graduate, MSC, International Business and Design Management, Salford, UK

31© 2012 The Design Management Institute

Agriculture schemes (CSAs)—are regenerating important links between food and agriculture and farmers and citizens. At present, it is clear that the design field has been broadened by expanding its capabilities and roles beyond inventing products or making them look good to become a thinking tool for achieving innovation in the private and public sector. A new gen-

beeps and heats. The consumption of food plays a part in heart disease and diabetes, just for starters. Sounds dramatic—and it is.

Luckily, social and sustainable innovations around food, as well as the design of sustainable cities, are popular themes, especially in devel-oped countries. New services—for example, Community-Supported

It’s no secret to anyone that French people adore food. No secret to anyone either that food production is becoming more and more toxic and fake, that distribution chains are longer and extremely oil-addicted, that food preparation consists fre-quently of taking plastic boxes out of a big electric device and putting them into a smaller electric device that

La Ruche qui Dit Oui: Reconnecting Communities with Foodby Natalie Ortiz

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eration of designers is emerging that is willing to create sustainable and so-cial change. It’s possible to identify an interest in designing systems and ser-vices (not just apps) that aim to ad-dress social and environmental issues with a focus on the development of solutions based in local communities and contexts in which the designer “empowers individual and other social actors (service providers, institutions) to generate social quality.”1

La Ruche qui Dit Oui (French for “the hive that says yes”) is the brainchild of a French industrial designer and chef, Guilhem Chéron, who had decided to dedicate more of his time to observing food issues and thinking of food-related sustainable solutions that could support commu-nities. It is a network of farmers and customers that encourages easy access to local food, thus empowering com-munities and stimulating their social fabric. The service allows anyone in France to start his or her own hive, or ruche, with neighbors and friends—and to create a sustainable business by doing so.

La Ruche is designed around a tool—a complex but easy-to-use website on which each member has an online account (Figures 1-3). The

1. N. Morelli, “Social Innovation and New Industrial Contexts: Can Designers ‘Industrialize’ Socially Responsible Solutions?” Design Issues, vol. 23, no. 4 (Autumn 2007), p. 9.

Figure 1. A typical ruche home page (in this case, a Paris ruche) before login. At top, there is an expla-nation about the products offered, a link to a video that explains how the ruche works, and photos from other ruches that provide a general idea of the concept. There is also a brief introduction to the ruche’s leader, the location and dates of distribution, and some photos. Interested users can access a subscription form.

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Figure 3. From this ordering page, users can filter their choices by producer, product variety, or special selection made by the ruche leader. Users can also choose “organic only” and specify categories like fruits and vegetables, dairy, meats, bakery, beverages, seafood, home goods, delicatessen, beauty and body care, and pets. Subscribers can see product photos and descriptions, producer information and details, and members’ reviews. They then select a quantity and add their choices to a shopping basket. Shoppers pay online through PayPal or credit card.

Figure 2. This is the home page for users who are already subscribed to an active ruche. At top, dates are specified for the next product distribution; interested users can choose the week’s produce here. There is a news feed where members can post messages, updates, news, and photos. Members often submit recipes made with ruche products, which also appear here. The notifications column gives updates on new farmers and members that are joining the network, as well as links to various social media outlets.

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producers (that is, farmers, cooks, and other entrepreneurs) post their prod-ucts online. Products include cheeses, meats, breads, honey, fruits and vegetables, homemade soups, natural beauty products, and wine. The mem-ber consumers choose the products they want for the week (there is no mandatory fixed contract, so if you don’t want to buy that week or are on

vacation, you needn’t), and they pay online. The ruche leaders organize and set the date and place of delivery (Figure 4). Producer and consumer meet each other while trading the products. They may even improvise lunch together afterward.

A ruche can include 100 to 1,300 families, 15-plus producers, and 120 or more products for sale (Figure 5).

Each ruche has a local leader in charge of inviting new members to join the ruche, and also of finding local producers who are willing to offer their harvest for sale (Figure 6 on next page). Leaders are responsible for creating a group culture of sharing and ethics; they assume a community manager role while developing them-selves as new entrepreneurs. They teach the producers and the members how to use the website and how to post products, and they organize the food delivery day. The service is designed in a way that allows the leaders to earn an income from it. The business model of La Ruche qui Dit Oui can be summarized thus: The producer receives exactly the price he asks for; 20 percent is added to this price; and from that 20 percent, 10 percent goes to the leader of the com-munity hive, 7 percent to the Ruche headquarters, and 3 percent for pay-ing taxes and bank fees.

Figure 4. Delivery day: A meeting between farmers and consumers in a Paris ruche. (Note: All images are property of La Ruche Qui Dit Oui.)

Figure 5. A ruche typically includes around 15 farmer producers who serve a network of families with an offering of around 120 products ranging from fresh produce and meats to homemade soups.

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Guilhem Chéron officially launched La Ruche qui Dit Oui in early November 2011 with 177 participants and seven ruches spread across the country. These seven ruches and participants were part of the design process and had been planning and organizing themselves since spring 2011. In December, one month after they opened, the number of official ruches had grown to 20, with 35,738 participants.

This network of farmers and customers weans people away from the supermarket habit, regenerates relationships with neighbors, and supports local producers.

What do the bees value?

The accelerated growth of La Ruche qui Dit Oui and its geographic expansion highlights that it is able to respond to a specific need and that has been designed maintaining a very

user-centered perspective. Some of the key aspects valued by the mem-bers (leaders, producers, and consum-ers) are described as follows:

The leaders/entrepreneurs: I interviewed leaders of various ruches all over France and was told that La Ruche offers an income of approxi-mately 200-400 euros per month ($250-$500), depending on the ruche’s performance and location. Currently, the goal is to offer the lead-ers an income that is enough to cover household food expenses. In fact, ruche leaders see themselves as bud-ding entrepreneurs. Some enjoy the idea of creating a sense of community in a society in which individualism is rampant and where roughly 40 percent of the adult population lives alone. This represents a real challenge, but also a great opportunity. For oth-ers, motivation lies in watching the ruche grow, and being able to grow with it, knowing that participation and effort is based on respect for the environment, healthy habits, and honest trade.

The consumers: People value quality. They know and can taste the difference in an apple produced five kilometers away and one that came from New Zealand and has been refrigerated for weeks. They value traceability. And although not all the

Figure 6. Each ruche is organized around a local leader who solicits new members and encourages local producers to offer their products for sale.

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ruche idea gives to this wider network is a key driver making this service dif-ferent from others, and represents a transition to a more connected society and a more sustainable lifestyle.

As of this writing, there are around 100 ruches within the larger network, with more than 300 in the process of startup (that is, finding

tating a financially sustainable trade. Not only that, but the improvement in income makes it easier for farmers to grow according to the guidelines of organic agriculture, which is good for everyone (Figure 7).

For everyone involved, the ruches offer a sense of belonging to a larger community, and the support the

products are officially certified or-ganic, they can at least see the practice as ecologically sound. Meeting the farmers and (if they wish) visiting the farm reassures them and creates value for the whole community.

The producers: Conventional food trade has reached a twisted and unethical peak. Farmers commonly receive only 5 to 15 percent of the final price of what they produce. La Ruche pays them more fairly for their labor. At the same time, it acknowledges their importance and reintroduces meaning to their work. On a more practical level, the service offers them the possibility of deliv-ering to several ruches in the same area. Yves de Rochefort, a producer of organic vegetables, says he delivers his products to five different ruches, three in his home area of the Loiret and two in Paris, which is a journey of about 40 kilometers (65 miles). (In general, producers travel no more than 30 km to deliver, but there is not much food cultivated near Paris, so it is an exception.) De Roche-fort says his goal for 2012 is to be able to sell “entirely and only within La Ruche qui Dit Oui.” The ruche network allows producers to deliver to all their accounts in one Saturday, because the ruches are close and accessible. This facilitates transport while saving energy, as well as facili- Figure 7. Producers’ testimonials.

NICOLAS THIRARDOrganic farmer anddairy producer

“La Ruche allowed meto go from a seasonalcontract to become afull time employee”

€ 7924 of revenueOct. 2011—Jan. 20123 ruches in Paris

VINCENT LEPOTTIEROrganic farmer

“Selling in a market is the equivalent of 44 hours of work for an income of € 2,400. The Ruche is 18 hours of work for an income of € 1,800.”

€ 23,409 revenueOct. 2011—Jan. 20123 ruches in Paris

YVES DE ROCHEFORTOrganic farmerFlour, bread, and pasta

“In 2012 my goal is to pass everything to the Ruche.”

€ 15,742 revenueOct. 2011—Jan. 20125 ruches, 2 in Paris and 3 in Loiret

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farmer, for example, chances are they will come back for more, and that farmer will be able to manage his harvest accordingly. Indeed, the likeli-hood of customers coming to know the farmer personally tends to cement the relationship.

From a shopper’s point of view, it can be said that La Ruche appeals especially to the type of people who are sensitized to food and sustain-ability issues and would not have a problem paying a higher price for better quality. Ruche prices are not overly high in comparison to some French organic stores, and in some ruches they are even lower than found in the average supermarket. This sensitive issue is omnipresent and continually discussed within the network. It is an issue that may be solved with the passage of time: In other words, as more people buy into the ruche, as more communities subscribe to the system, it becomes more financially and environmentally sustainable.

Convenience is another issue. The website is very easy to use and allows everyone to choose and pay online, but the delivery holds to a spe-cific schedule in each locality (ideally, no more than a 5- to 10-minute walk for customers). This requires ruche members to commit to shopping at a regular time each week.

On the producer’s side, the fact of not having a definite, fixed contract involves some insecurity and uncer-tainty, especially in the early stages of the ruche. The producers must specify the minimum amount of product to be sold to justify making the delivery trip; if that minimum cannot be ful-filled, the transaction simply can’t be made. That uncertainty opens farmers to the risk of a production surplus, of food not sold and possibly going to waste. The surplus problem is often reduced with the passage of time, as consumers begin to adjust their routines to coincide with food that is seasonal. Moreover, once customers taste good tomatoes from a particular

local producers and consumers, places to deliver, and meeting regulation and sanitary norms). Ruche leaders receive guidance and training from the La Ruche qui Dit Oui manage-ment team. At the moment, there are around 30 ruches opening each month, and about eight application requests are received each day (Figure 8). The La Ruche core management team includes a designer, a web inter-face specialist, a project developer, and a community manager.

Challenges

Of course, not everything is bees and honey. The ruche idea does present some difficulties.

In Construction

Ruches Opening In May 2012

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8 opening requests/day

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Figure 8. The ruche idea is really taking off, with subscriptions growing by leaps and bounds.

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of a new idea, a new type of designer, and a new type of service that gener-ates value for people without compro-mising the needs of the environment in which they live. The ruche network is an example of what Ezio Manzini calls SLOC: small, local, open, and connected. It’s the story of a designer and a designed service in transition toward something more human, more fair, and more rich in values, meaning, and coherence within the environment.

Suggested reading

Manzini, E. “Small, Local, Open, and Connected: Design Research Top-ics in the Age of Networks and Sustainability.” Journal of Design Strategies, vol. 4, no. 1 (Spring 2010).

Ortiz, N. “A New Sustainable De-signer: A Case Study of Collab-orative Organizations and Creative Communities.” Masters thesis, University of Salford-Euromed Management, 2011.

Thackara, John. In the Bubble: Design-ing in a Complex World (Cam-bridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005). n

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feasibility, but not necessarily focusing on economic value as a final goal; the goal may rather lie in the value a ser-vice can generate for its users and the communities in which they live. Good design management always means the ability to manage teams of people and to facilitate processes and tools that can exploit and expand their creativity and vision—to design efficient, fast, appealing, and productive services that are as simple and natural as pos-sible for the people involved. Sustain-ability goes further in its need for environmental consciousness and a long-term perspective. But one of the most important aspects for designers involved in social innovation and en-trepreneurship is the ability to look at the bigger picture and strive to solve problems where they originate—to focus on solving problems rather than consequences.

Guilhem and the La Ruche qui Dit Oui team (Figure 9) are examples

the role of the designer as an entrepreneur in social and sustainable innovation

Many designers, especially young and emerging designers, see their role as reframing and finding a balance be-tween what customers need and want and what is best for society as a col-lective and common entity. They hope to make their work more meaningful and to contribute to making the world a better place in which to live. At the same time, design is increasingly rec-ognized by business as a process that aids in conceptualization and visual-ization of communications, products, and business strategy, not to mention services. This case study is part of a larger research project focused on understanding social and sustainable innovation and the emerging role of the designer in this area.

Designers hoping to create sustainable innovation, like any designers involved in innovation, must learn to observe problems and develop innovative solutions through researching a subject, a service, a group of people—by understand-ing what works for them and for the environment. They do this by talking to people and by being empathetic, by living and getting involved with them in order to understand the context in which they operate. Sustainability may mean having a vision of business

Figure 9. Guilhem Chéron (center, with strawber-ries) and the original La Ruche qui Dit Oui team.