Role-playing game to create learning about farming in an area surrounded by national park

Abstract

Farming in area surrounded by national park is a major concern in developing countries. Increasing farmer’s
capacity for adaptive management is critical important for sustainable farming in limited areas. This study used roleplaying game with low-formal education farmers inhabiting Phu Kao-Phu Phan Kham National Park, north-eastern Thailand for the objectives: i) to improve the understanding of interactions among key components involved in the farming is surrounded by the park, and ii) to improve the adaptive capacity of farmers by sharing experiences and learn about possible impacts of farming in national park area, and being able to collectively identify feasible actions to cope with the uncertainties of the future. Gaming and simulation field workshops were conducted in three villages. Players understood the game and learned through a variety of methods, and by sharing their experiences, they were able to identify actions to avoid future forest encroachment. The players also learned about uncertainties throughout different scenarios, including extreme drought, free trading and an increasing human population. They learned that forest encroachment might not increase their crop yields if natural disasters and their income are unlikely to increase if they continue to still spend high on family. After the game, all of the players changed their attitudes by confirming that they would not encroach upon the forest. Moreover, they were enthusiastic to learn more about soil quality improvement and cassava growing using the role-playing game. In addition, they asked researchers to create new games to be used with them in the near future. We may conclude that this simple role-playing game can be used effectively with farmers to increase awareness on farming in such areas. However, follow-up field workshops with new role-playing games proposed by the farmers, are required to promote knowledge sharing network on farming and better empowered to manage their adaptability.