As part of the GRAID research project, the food team at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition (CST) convened two T-labs (Transformation Labs) designed to interrogate and strengthen an alternative food system in the Western Cape, South Africa. The first was held at Grootbos Nature Reserve from 27-30 November 2016 and the second at Nine Oaks in Paarl 19-21 July 2017.
As they are now writing a report and feeding back to the participants who have dedicated a substantial amount of time to this process, it seems a poignant time to offer some reflections on T-labs as a process and, in particular, on the challenges of convening ‘safe’ spaces for immersion in wicked problems.
Read Laura Pereira’s blog below where she explains the idea of a ‘Transformation Lab’ (T-lab) and how this has been used to address food systems in South Africa:
