Phase 1: The project commenced with a comprehensive planning phase involving requirement analysis, market research, and site preparation for the hydroponic systems. 

The concept of using hydroponics for fodder production was born out of the urgent need for sustainable and efficient farming practices to combat ongoing challenges such as changing weather patterns and limited agricultural infrastructure in Tajikistan. Traditional farming methods have struggled to meet the growing demand for fodder, especially as these environmental and structural constraints intensify. Extensive research into innovative agricultural methods led to the discovery of hydroponics—a solution that offers enhanced productivity while minimizing the use of vital resources like water and land.

In collaboration with local partners, we identified vulnerable areas and conducted a survey in Matondoni village, Lamu, where traditional cookstoves are common. The survey assessed cooking needs and methods while raising awareness about the benefits of ICS for both mangroves and human wellbeing. Two cookstoves were initially set up to gather feedback from end-users over two months on their experiences, benefits, and challenges. Following this pilot, an additional 51 cookstoves were built to inform scaling efforts in other areas of Lamu.

A scoping survey was conducted along Kenya’s coast to identify efficient cookstove models, assess their sustainability, and recommend the best options for adoption. This survey provided insights into the need for cookstoves, suitable designs, and market considerations for effective community interventions.

Three-levels of a Co-living community

By implementing a three-level urban renewal strategy of shared neighborhood, shared courtyard, and shared building, the scattered and limited spaces in the Fayuan Temple area are organized.A top-down communal living system is established to solve the difficulties of residents' relocation, outdated infrastructure, and the protection and utilization of historical buildings. 

Shared Neighborhood

We analyzed the activity paths of different groups of people in the Fayuansi neighborhoods. The clear functional division of different areas leads to lack of intersection among various groups, which invisibly forms social barriers and is not conducive to long-term development of the city.

In the shared neighborhood, the entire block is taken as a shared space and considered as a whole, with a management center as the core to lead the co-living system. By dispersing the public functions throughout the block, the daily life of the local residents in the block has been transformed into a distinctive experiential tourism product. Overlapping activities are happening in composite physical spaces, which generates continuous energy for the neighborhood.

Shared Courtyard

The current living condition inside the courtyards is barely acceptable. Illegal construction such as kitchens and bathrooms has become a common phenomenon and the importance of public spaces are severely downgraded. There is hardly any public spaces left other than basic transportation space. 

Most of the young generations have moved out. Among the remaining residents , elderly and young children are the majority as well as some short-term tenants. The continuous reduction of vitality among the neiborhood has become an attention-grabbing problem.

While improving the overall courtyard environment, priority is given to ensuring the basic living needs of residents. This project adopts a four-step (evaluation, repair, demolition, and addition) measure of courtyard renovation. As the number of vacated households increases, existing illegal buildings will be demolished and public service facilities such as shared kitchens and shared laundry rooms will be added. These facilities will be integrated with internal courtyards and public green spaces to form a pubic core for the neighborhood.

Shared House

The vacant houses in the Fayuan Temple district are all made up with "rooms" with various ownerships. Using "room" as a basic unit for renovation is an effective way to reduce the risk of conflicts regarding property ownerships, and also flexible units can better adapt to the living needs of different types of people. By analyzing the dimensions of the courtyards, a 10-12 square-meter room unit was determined as a standard renewal module. The combination of dual and multiple units enables the possibilities for various functions such as long-term apartment, youth hostel, and Café etc.

During the 2019 Beijing International Design Week, we invited the local citizens from the nearby neighborhoods to participate in the workshop of "urban additions and subtractions" in order to collect public opinions and expectations for the renovation of Fayuan Temple district.

The followings are the conclusions that we drawn from the interviews and questionnaires collected from the workshop.

• For the multiple choice question of “What do you want to add to the district?” , pocket parks were selected the most by 19.78% of the participants.
• Many of the citizens complained that the space within Hutong (the Alley) was cramped and lack of greenery.
• The inhabitants of Hutong complained that the public restrooms and markets were relatively far, it can hardly meet the daily needs.
• Many of the inhabitants expected more communication and social space within the neighborhood.
• A majority of the inhabitants deemed that the amusement facilities for children and fitness equipment for the public were not sufficient.

The visitors of Hutong claimed that the hotels and recreational facilities were not sufficient to support the basic tourism needs.

In the framework of the project, in terms of achieving sustainable management of forest pastures, a District Pasture Commission (DPC) was established to discuss and make necessary decisions at the level of the administrative territory of Bazar-Korgon district. The Commission consists of directors of forestry services, heads of pasture committees, representatives of the district state administration, district department of agrarian development, and members of the district association of pasture committees.

The main task of the committee is to regulate the sustainable management of pasture resources at the level of one district. 

Meetings of the District Pasture Commission(DPC) are held as needed, but at least three times a year.

In the meetings of the District Pasture Commission at the district level, there are discussed urgent issues on pasture use, interaction between forest services, pasture committees and rural municipalities.

Decisions of the district pasture commission are recorded in the protocols and are required for all members of the commission.

Since the existence of the district pasture commission, many issues were discussed and decisions were made. The agenda of the DPC meeting mainly includes such pressing issues on pastures as:

The main issues of discussion at the DPC were the following:

• Information on pasture capacity and grazing rates
• Access to new pastures
• Timing of moving cattle to SLF pastures
• DPC's contribution to infrastructure development
• Provision of information on pasture users by pasture committees
• Allocation of pastures within forestry farms
• Procedures for issuing pasture tickets
• Collection and payment for pasture use
• Control of animal diseases
• Organization of resting places for livestock when moving to pastures
• Review of the implementation of the tasks to identify problems

All decisions of the District Pasture Commission are accompanied by relevant orders from the District State Administration, which gives the activities legal status and efficiency in the implementation of the decisions. 

  The  Grazing Management Plan is an important tool for improving the joint work of the local forestry and pasture committee and pasture users aimed at the development of joint management of forest pastures, conservation of forest ecosystems and rational use of lands of the state forest fund.

        The Grazing management plan in the forest areas  is developed annually by March 1, together with the pasture committee and the forestry committee and also involves pasture users  before the beginning of the grazing season.

The developed Grazing Management Plan, agreed with the Pasture Committee, is approved by the order of the Director of Forestry.

The implementation of the management plan is monitored by the forestry  and the pasture committee at least twice a year and monitoring is initiated by the forestry committee. During the joint monitoring they visit the pasture areas and check how the developed plan is implemented and determine the improvements that can be included for the next year.

The grazing management plan includes the following sections :

1.Chapter/ Introduction.

2.Chapter. Characteristics of the forestry, village and information about the pasture committee.

3 Chapter. Current condition of grazing (Information about the number of cattle of the shepherds).

4.Chapter. Determination of acceptable grazing load on forestry lands (Determination of grazing rates, distribution of number of livestock on grazed plots, mapping of plots).

5.Chapter. Planning the use of lands used for grazing (grazing schedule, assessment of grazing load, identification of problems and needs in grazing).

6.Chapter. Monitoring the implementation of the plan (data on the results of monitoring the use of land for the current year is entered).

A special feature of the training manual is that the material on pasture management, forestry and adaptation to climate change is based on the example of Kyrgyzstan, where teachers from Bishkek and Jalal-Abad have identified topics and offer a new methodology for teaching sustainability standards. 

In the frame of the project a teacher manual on Education for sustainable development and biodiversity had been developed.

The manual consists of the following 4 technical chapters each with elaborated exercises and teaching aids as well as one methodological pre-chapter:

1. Education for sustainable development
2. Forest
3. Pasture
4. Climate

The manual is designed to address gaps in the school curriculum with regard to teaching about the environment, using Kyrgyzstan as an example. "When it comes to teaching materials on the environment, they often do not address this area in relation to our country. For example, pasture and forest management systems in Kyrgyzstan.

The start of our information campaign was preceded by a survey among the communities in the project area. We used this approach to objectively assess the attitudes and use of local people's knowledge about the state of the forest, their understanding and perception of the consequences of the current environmental situation, and their willingness to change consciousness and behaviour. First we interviewed 214 respondents in 4 rural districts to determine their level of awareness of the project's thematic areas and their preferences for the choice of information sources/channels/activities that would be effective in increasing their environmental knowledge. 

The target groups selected were: 

1. Representatives of local authorities at the rural district, village level (village administrations, forestry); 

2. Representatives of social institutions (schools, kindergartens, hospitals, first aid points);

3. Representatives of different associations and groups: religious (mosques), pasture committees, water users associations, political parties, NGOs etc; 

4. General population: dependent users of natural resources (focus on pilot communities): forest users, pasture users, product processors, etc.; women, elderly, people with disabilities.

The results of the survey showed that the level of environmental awareness and readiness to change the consciousness and behaviour of the population was below average (on a scale from 1 to 10 it was 4). The planned information campaign should have raised the level by at least 3 points. According to the results of the final KAP survey conducted among 332 residents in the two districts within the project area, the score would be 7. Thus, the level of environmental awareness was 10 points after the end of the project. 

Kassandra is a platform designed to enhance climate change decision-making through the power of generative AI. It facilitates the acquisition and consolidation of data from various sources, such citizen engagement workshops, archive searches, surveys, or even IoT devices and urban applications, allowing for a comprehensive view of a city's environmental landscape.

• Data Acquisition: Kassandra collects diverse data related to climate, resource usage, and urban dynamics, acting as a central hub for this information,
• Data Transmission: The platform efficiently transmits this consolidated data to a virtual environment, making it accessible and easily understandable for decision-makers.
• Data Analysis: By integrating with advanced analytics tools, Kassandra supports real-time insights, enabling city planners to visualize trends and make informed decisions regarding resource management.
• Scalability: The platform’s seamless horizontal scaling allows for accommodating increasing data needs as cities grow and evolve.