Khet खत: Board Game Development as a Knowledge Producing Mechanism for Agroecological Development in Nepal

Sustainable agriculture is a frequently weaponized phrase with a varying degree of intentions and applications world-wide. For Nepal, true sustainability lies within cultivating traditional indigenous agricultural practices in favor of imported western methods which are ill suited for the unique geography of Nepal and the longevity of the people and place they call home. Agroecology, or the focus on the importance of biodiversity conservation and attention to the greater natural balance lies at the heart of agricultural development and community building efforts which sustain Nepali agriculture at its core. By using board game play as a facilitator of cooperative knowledge production, ‘Khet’ was created to illustrate the facets of traditional agricultural development as well as the challenges facing many farmers in the status-quo. Gameplay allows players to see extensions of themselves on not just the board but within the learning space created. Interactive gameplay allows for true accessible immersion with the material and other players, fostering community which lies at the center of traditional agricultural development in Nepal. Each component of the game design and play mechanism relates to an important analysis or concept within Nepal’s complex agricultural development landscape. The board design utilizes step field topography as an homage to geography as the defining factor of Nepal’s development, self-developed swirl theory of agroecological development as the hierarchy of board movement, and a game-scale community seed bank as a structure for gameplay as well as the largest progressive points system for advancement within the game. Both positive and consequential factors effecting sustainable agriculture development within Nepal are represented through card prompts. This culmination of visual and conceptual analyses comes together to form Khet, a forward demonstration that alternative forms of analysis, especially ones that center physical cooperation with others, are viable and important forms of research with potentials to unite and educate many people from a variety of backgrounds and associations to the material presented.