Inspiration: Our inspiration for this project dawned on us after doing research on different marginalized communities. We found that a large percentage of people in countries like India, China, and other smaller countries are large contributors to the raw minerals and resources we eat, and use everyday. However, we realized that we had limited knowledge on this topic, even though agriculture plays an important role in our daily lives. So, in order to promote awareness amongst ourselves, and others, we created Harvest Haven to both educate students and provide support for farmers.
What it does: Living in Silicon Valley, we are surrounded by countless technological companies developing cutting-edge devices. Yet, despite this exposure to innovation, we often overlook the vital blue-collar labor that sustains us—farming. It’s easy to take for granted the immense effort farmers put into growing the food we rely on every day. Our project, Harvest Haven, aims to bridge this gap by raising awareness of technology's role in modern agriculture. One of the biggest challenges farmers face is the unpredictability of weather when planting crops. Our simulation provides a controlled, data-driven environment where farmers can experiment with new techniques, optimize crop placement, and adapt to changing conditions without real-world risks. By leveraging technology to support farmers, we hope to enhance crop quality and yield, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and efficient agricultural industry for all of America.
How we built it: After having the idea set in our minds, we initially started coding our project on IntelliJ, in Java. Our idea was to use the sketching class, PApplet, to output a console with multiple screens, and buttons to go back and forth between the screens. Each screen was to have a different weather condition, and different interactive aspects to it. However, after a couple hours of trying to implement these ideas, we realized that the amount of libraries were getting confusing to manage, which led to a lot of interconnected bugs. Due to these issues, we decided to keep our ideas, but code them in JavaScript, which would be easier as it has simpler features for design aspects. We used Replit to code different screens, buttons, graphics, sounds, and more, which ended up being a lot more simpler than in Java.
Challenges we ran into: We encountered numerous obstacles related to coding, leading to disagreements over which platforms and programming languages to use. Some team members preferred one approach, while others advocated for different tools, causing delays in decision-making. Additionally, we struggled with the basic syntax, which further complicated our progress, as even simple errors led to debugging challenges. These setbacks highlighted the importance of establishing a clear coding framework early on and ensuring that everyone on the team has a solid understanding of the chosen language. Moving forward, better communication and collaboration will be crucial in overcoming these technical hurdles.
Accomplishments that we're proud of: Our team is extremely happy to finish Harvest Haven through all our best efforts. We were able to overcome many challenges after participating in our first hackathon. Furthermore, we were able to create cute graphics making the simulation interactive and aesthetically pleasing.
What we learned: Since this was our first hackathon, we learned a lot of new skills, one of the biggest ones being completing a project under a time constraint. In school coding classes, when given projects, you’re given numerous days to complete a project, but brainstorming, prototyping, and finalizing a project in just 8 hours was a valuable learning experience. In addition we learned more about the importance of collaboration, especially when we had bugs in our code, as it could take hours to debug code when working alone. Finally, we also learned the significance good method decomposition has when trying to work efficiently and manage our time wisely. With graphics, a lot of our code was fairly repetitive, so the more we turned those repetitive chunks into their own functions, the easier it was to save time when coding.
What's next for Harvest Haven: Our goal for Harvest Haven is to create a sustainable and thriving agricultural community that promotes environmental responsibility and food security. We aim to implement eco-friendly farming techniques, such as crop rotation, composting, and water conservation, to ensure long-term soil health and productivity. Additionally, we strive to support local farmers by providing resources, education, and a platform to sell their produce. Community engagement is another key focus, as we plan to organize farmers' markets, workshops, and volunteer opportunities to strengthen connections between growers and consumers. By prioritizing sustainability, education, and collaboration, Harvest Haven will become a model for responsible and prosperous farming.
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