Description

Which is the most innovative aspect of the experience?

Design thinking: For the design, validation and implementation of Manos a la Olla, an adaptive design process was carried out. For this process, several members of the municipal volunteer corps, promoters of the municipality's Youth Sub-department, allies of social organizations linked to environmental sustainability and other actors were convened. Through this process, it was possible to empathize with the problem of food waste. After designing, creating, prototyping and testing, the implementation and improvement of the initiative was launched. This has been constantly iterated, generating visible improvements and achievement of objectives.

• Design phase

• Action(s)

• Empathise

• Search for secondary information on the current situation linked to hunger and food waste

• Knowledge surveys on food waste in wholesale and retail markets

• Focus group with wholesalers and retailers

• Define

• Definition of intervention formats (canteens, shelters, and public squares)

• Definition of volunteer profiles and training workshops

• Definition of stakeholder involvement

• Conceive

• Planning the processes and procedures to execute the intervention formats

• Planning of the training workshops (syllabus, strategic allies, and other logistical aspects)

• Prototype

• A meeting of stakeholders (shopkeepers, volunteers, neighbours, chefs and others) was held. They were explained the designed proposal and asked for feedback, which was recreated on storyboards.

• Test

The first Manos a la Olla event was held in March 2019 in the district of Ancon. In this event we could test the procedures that were prototyped. Some were validated, others were removed from the chain of functions and some were merged.

To what extent is the procedure transferable?

Instructive and methodological guide:

An instructive guide has been designed so that this experience can be replicated in different spaces: municipalities, academic institutions, social or grassroots organisations, among others. The guide is intended to provide a precedent in the execution model for future municipal management, thus seeking its sustainability over time. In the same way, the instructive guide allows the diverse local actors to replicate the initiative in favor of citizens. This guide explains the formats used in the initiative, the different roles and functions of the volunteers, the degree of participation of the strategic partners and a protocol of Good Practices in Food Handling.

Management resolution:

The Metropolitan Municipal Government has the political will to strengthen the initiative through the necessary regulatory frameworks with the aim of promoting replication in other local governments in the country. The Neighborhood Participation Management, through a management resolution, has issued the creation of the Manos a la Olla initiative as a strategy for citizen participation. This resolution allows the initiative to be continuous over time, through budget allocation, management and impact indicators.

Why do you consider that the experience is feasible?

The feasibility of implementing the initiative took into account two main pillars. Firstly, the socio-economic aspect was considered. When the Manos a la Olla initiative was designed, metropolitan statistics on poverty rates and the presence of State-sponsored social programs were considered in order to determine the initiative's place of influence. Secondly, citizen involvement was analysed. Information was crossed with respect to the presence of neighborhood leaders or organized groups with whom to work. With this information, actions were designed to work together with citizens in order to promote the replication of the initiative. These actions included training workshops, raising awareness and active participation in the processes of food collection and transformation.

Which evaluation and accountability mechanisms were used?

Results

A matrix of indicators has been constructed in order to achieve the objectives set and to generate quarterly reports. 

• Volunteers participating in the initiative: 324 volunteers
• Beneficiaries for the delivery of food: 19,491 beneficiaries
• Awareness of wholesale or retail traders: 845 merchants
• Food collected in local markets: 18,868.9 kilograms
• Prepared dishes: 58,894
• Soup kitchens that received collected food: 40

Communications

• Web Notes: there have been 13 web notes in different media in Peru, including La República, Publimetro, Perú 21, Radio Nacional.
• Social media: 7 publications on social media have been made through the institutional fan pages of the Municipality of Lima.
• Videos: 6 videos have been made to inform the public. 
• Fairs: We participated in 3 university fairs where the initiative was presented to the students of the respective houses of studies. Likewise, within the framework of the Volunteer Day, we participated in the Patria Festival organized by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
• Community presentations: 8 editions of travelling fairs were held in 6 districts of Lima.

Returns to citizens

A field survey of 207 participants among shopkeepers, volunteers and community leaders was conducted before and after the activity. The aim was to validate knowledge linked to food waste in two moments and to analyse the impact of the initiative on citizens' knowledge. The development of the initiative strengthened the knowledge about food waste in more than 80% of the respondents.

Citizens have been given new knowledge about the circular economy and sustainability through the presentation of an initiative that can be easily replicated locally. This initiative showcasts the relevance of the management and participation of citizens in changing habits in the face of food waste. Once aware, they become agents of change that replicate what they have learned in their daily practices and in this way contribute to the reduction of the problem.

Conclusions

• This innovative initiative in the public management of Peru has allowed the collection of more than 18,000 kilograms of food and the preparation of nearly 60,000 food dishes. The promotion and spread in different territorial spaces of the country is managed through the replica guide.
• Dialogue is a key factor prior to the implementation of an initiative that sets a new trend in citizenship. As the activities progressed, we learned how essential it was to generate spaces for interaction with the various leaders.
• Subsequent visits are necessary to validate the trader's learning and awareness. Although the development of the activity is celebrated in the first instance, the sustainability of the practice in the people whose awareness has been raised must also be assessed. Subsequent visits were scheduled in some selected markets.