Dinekko’ Guåhan: A Boardgame About Our Agriculture

One of the most rewarding parts of our work is engaging and educating students on tours of our Food Resiliency Hub. Seeing their faces light up when they walk under native trees they’ve never seen, eat delicious fruits they’ve never tasted, and learn about the different fruit trees that grow in our fruit forest and around Guåhan. It’s noticing these little moments students that give us glimmers of hope for a food sovereign future for Guåhan and the Marianas.

When thinking about other creative ways to engage students, a boardgame seemed like a fun and educational way to bring the experience of the Food Resiliency Hub to classrooms, libraries, and community spaces across the island.

Now in a smaller, more conveniently sized box, the second edition of the Dinekko Guåhan boardgame challenges players to travel across the island in a race to collect seedlings, saplings, and trees. The winner is the first one to grow a fully mature fruit forest, like the one we have thriving here at our Food Resiliency Hub. Players progress by correctly answering (or guessing) trivia questions with facts about the scientific insights, agricultural knowledge, and cultural significance of what grows here on Guåhan.

How tall can tronkon mångga’ grow?
What is the Chamoru word for the heart of the coconut?
How many fruit bunches can a banana plant bear?

These are just some of the interesting and fun boardgame questions that help deepen players’ understanding of local agriculture.

We are so grateful to our community partners at Guam Green Growth, Guam Department of Agriculture, and Smart Trees Pacific for their collaboration and support in making this boardgame possible. And a special thank you as well to Natasha Charfauros for designing the game!

We are so excited to get Dinekko’ Guåhan out to our community - stay tuned!