At Cosmic we are delivering a project with funding from the Prince’s Countryside Fund. This project is about reaching farmers that are most digitally excluded. We are improving digital literacy within the hard to reach and least engaged part of the farming community. The aims of the project focus on basic computer skills, getting connected, buying and selling online and marketing online. Through one-to-one sessions, we are providing longer term mentoring for individuals so they are able to embed their knowledge and apply it to their business. Our workshops will help to tackle rural isolation aiming to bring the farming community together.
Cosmic IT Trainer Nina Goodwin who is heavily involved in delivery of the project said;
“There is no doubt that those that we have worked with have really seen the benefits of using technology. Event by increasing confidence in being able to access things online. The ability to research is a clear benefit to the farmers we have worked with. They have been able to check up on the latest updates from DEFRA and RPA and event to see an up to date weather forecast is hugely beneficial.
It’s clear that some of the challenges around the new RPA systems have knocked the confidence of farmers who were already nervous about the ‘online’ world. Just from the people I have worked with so far it gives me real hope that through the guidance and support we are offering this will support the industry to adapt to the ever changing world on technology and help them to remain sustainable into the future.”
We have collated two case studies so far of farmers who have benefitted from these sessions;
Ann Tucker
We originally met Ann and her husband through the RPA session held in Glastonbury. They had purchased a HP laptop to complete the application process and wanted help using it. On the first session our trainer Nina Goodwin met with Ann and went through the basics of using a computer and using emails, sending attachments. Following the first session, Nina set Ann a task to send a couple of emails to her between appointments to get her practising. On their second and third sessions they looked at how to use the internet, how to search for news articles and local news. Ann also wanted to purchase some water butts for the farm. Nina took Anne through the stages and Ann made her first online purchase.
Sally Higgins
We originally met Sally through the RPA session held in Glastonbury. On our first visit with sally we looked at invoices as she wanted to make them easier for her customers to pay. We created a new invoice in Word, using pictures from ClipArt and the internet. Sally makes home jams and chutneys, so on the second visit wanted to create labels in Word instead of hand-writing them. We showed her how this could be done and set her a task to create her own for our final visit.
If you’re a farmer or you know anyone who might benefit from this, you can organise a one-to-one session or workshop, please get in touch with Lizzie Whitchurch in the Cosmic office by phoning 0845 094 6108 or email info@cosmic.org.uk.