Challenge:

• Concept of 'mornings' is subjective in terms of it start and end time. 5am for me, 8am for you 

• Having a researcher shadowing a family in the mornings feels unnatural, intrusive and disruptive

• Morning behaviours are often routinised, ritualistic and on auto-pilot making it hard for participants to talk about

• Multiple logistical challenges: cultural norms and gender sensitivity, security concerns in northern Nigeria, connectivity issues
   

Approach: mixed methods

We enabled mums ​with point of view cameras as well as data packs on their mobile phones to engage them in a self-ethnographic exercise showcasing mornings - minute by minute, as they played out - from their first person point of view, over weekdays and weekends. 

 

This rich audio-video data then guided our areas for exploration and reflection during scheduled 1:1 interviews in their homes. As mums looked back at their recordings and reflected on their mornings in the 1:1s, we also engaged in home and retail audits to supplement our understanding of Nigerian way of living, of mornings and morning meals in Nigeria. With the help of our local partners, we managed to make in-roads and cover otherwise hard-to-access areas in northern Nigeria. 

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Insights - supported with rich photo-video evidences - were then translated into an extended draft for local teams to deep dive into, as well as a succinct summary report for global teams, outlining:

• Life and living in Nigeria, guiding morning behaviours

• Mums' rituals, emotions and cognitions in mornings

• Role of morning meals, and milk in mornings

• Inherent tensions - articulated and unarticulated - and related opportunity spaces