NicaAgua: Mobile Weather Monitoring for Rural Resilience and Sustainability
Jose Diaz
What if we told you that a mobile application is changing the game for rural communities in Esteli, Nicaragua? Developed by students and faculty in SCU’s Frugal Innovation Hub (FIH) in partnership with the Department of Environmental Sciences on behalf of the Association of Nicaraguan Social Development (ASDENIC), NicaAgua empowers farmers and communities by providing them with an advanced weather monitoring system. The primary objective of this innovative project is to give farmers and the community an advanced tool for predicting weather conditions accurately, leading to better decision-making and improved outcomes. The application, which was first implemented in 2020, is essential to the community's well-being, as their livelihoods depend on agriculture, and precise weather forecasts are critical to their success.
The NicaAgua app was developed through software engineering, machine learning, and community-based participatory research to provide local farmers with valuable weather and climate information. While the app's data can be overwhelming, the team actively aims to ensure it is user-friendly and helpful to the community. The app offers live weather data from local stations, forecast data at a community level, and simplified data visualization to aid farmers' decision-making. ASDENIC sends customized alert messages using the app, ensuring timely and relevant information for each community. NicaAgua aims to positively impact farmers' adaptability to climate change and increase productivity. The team continues to refine the weather pattern prediction application and remains committed to collaborating with the community for the app's success.
With the community's dependence on agriculture, the continued success of the NicaAgua application is crucial to the community's well-being. Crops such as coffee, maize, beans, and vegetables, rely heavily on rainfall and accurate predictions are necessary for farmers to grow their crops successfully. Additionally, the community's water supply also comes from these rains. They have a system in place where they catch water on the hills at the center of their communities, and there are tanks connected to springs that can support an entire village. Therefore, accurate, localized weather predictions are vital in ensuring that the community's agricultural practices and water supply remain sustainable.
The Frugal Innovation Hub is dedicated to creating innovative solutions that positively impact society through engineering expertise and social awareness. Their NicaAgua initiative exemplifies their commitment to sustainable and effective humanitarian solutions. The NicaAgua weather monitoring system empowers communities to adapt to changing weather patterns and mitigate risks associated with extreme weather events. Their work is a model for addressing global challenges through collaboration and innovation.
If you are interested in supporting this project, contact the team at fih@scu.edu.