Meitheal

Farming can be an isolated and somewhat disconnected profession and the need to create better social interaction in the space is evident. Farmers are absolute banks of knowledge but what exactly are they doing with that knowledge when farm succession and the presence of the family farm continues to decline? This 12-week individual project as part of my MA aimed to answer the question; how might we connect like-minded farmers in order to create a more sociable environment while allowing them to learn from and solve problems for each other?

Meitheal (meaning ‘group’ or ‘team’ in Irish) is a knowledge-based social network for farmers. Based off location and farm type, users are added to a digital discussion group where they can share insights, ask questions and organise physical meet-ups with other members. Through the app, users can also buy and sell, check market prices, check the weather, read the news from multiple sources, put up or help out with notices, jot down notes and set reminders. These are things that farmers are doing on a daily basis and what Meitheal is looking to do is be the centralised platform for all these things to happen in a secure and functional way.

While I’m in the process of re-jigging this page, check out this series of posts I put together. They detail my full process and thinking and I was uploading them weekly during the duration of the project. Also, check out the video below.

Check out more of my work and don’t be afraid to reach out to me via email (matthewjgaughran@gmail.com) or on LinkedIn 🗣