[Mesh] Script for garden mesh video

Sat Aug 12 17:32:22 PDT 2017

So this is one of the reasons why applying for this grant is so helpful -
it forces us to solidify the idea and begin thinking about where we might
go. There are a lot of discussions that need to happen and decisions that
will have to be made if we do continue this gardenmesh project - and this
grant application is helping us identify what issues are most important.

While I don't disagree with your concerns, I think we are severely over
complicating things in light of the fact that we are trying to win a grant
that has a specific focus - feeding 9 Billion people. This was never my
original motivation for the idea neither was designing these things as a
profitable business spin-off. I think we need to separate our group's
motivation for the project from how we frame it in order to find ways to
fund the project.

In terms of completing this particular grant submission on time, it is due
8pm Tuesday evening, what I need people in the group to do is read the
scripts I've sent you, watch the videos, and tell me where we can improve
our bid and what topics to stay away from. We will have plenty of time to
hammer out our stance on how the technology should be used once we have 25k
in the bank to play with - otherwise this whole discussion may be
meaningless.

Also, if anyone would like to help shoot or edit any film that would be
great, please contact me: mgabiati at gmail.com.

-Mario

On Aug 12, 2017 16:33, "G Gallo" <ggallo102 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Sierk and I were discussing the licensing of this project last night and
> determined that the gardenmesh repository as it currently stands has to be
> licensed as GPLv2 or later. This means that the code cannot be included in
> closed source applications and can never not be licensed as GPL (among many
> other considerations). Regardless, I don't see this licensing as a feature,
> but rather a requirement.
>
> Secondly, and I'm sure others feel the same, I would be completely against
> any suggestion of using data collection as method for generating revenue.
> If anything I would like to make it as difficult as possible to intercept
> data from these devices (implementing encryption, distributing data across
> the mesh, avoiding use of centralized servers/services). If the direction
> of this project leads to massive data collection network (even if it is
> just data from peoples' gardens), I would rather not be involved in it.
> Perhaps we should discuss the purpose of this project at the meeting on
> Tuesday?
>
> I appreciated Jorrit's suggestions (it's good to hear from you again!) and
> find them quite valid. Open-source means nothing without communication and
> education. I also do not feel terribly comfortable with economic
> motivations of the project. Jorrit's comments remind of the connotation of
> "cheap". Cheap, or free, often implies worthlessness? I feel like I come
> back to this concept too often, but have yet to hear good counter argument
> (other than free as in freedom (or libre)).
>
> Anyway, I would rather hold off on any further development of this project
> until we are able to have an open discussion with active members of
> sudomesh and can come to some sort of consensus on our mission.
>
> Thanks,
> -grant
>
> On Sat, Aug 12, 2017 at 2:52 PM, Mario Gabiati <mgabiati at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> So perhaps we should edit the script to reflect more about the
>> open-source aspect of the technology and the fact that we're publishing how
>> to make your own over the internet. People could wire their own sensors as
>> cheaply or expensively as they like and we could provide the software at
>> some nominal cost - the software aspect of the project is the most
>> innovative/important part and we could eventually monetize expansion of the
>> project through metadata analysis if users choose to share their
>> information (anonymously) with gardenmesh.
>>
>> Anyway, we're running out of time to finish and submit. Is anyone around
>> to help out today?
>>
>> -Mario
>>
>> On Aug 12, 2017 10:27, "Jorrit Poelen" <jhpoelen at xs4all.nl> wrote:
>>
>>> Hey y'all -
>>>
>>> Just got back from a 3 wk hike in Oregon wildernesses, so my response to
>>> the script is a bit delayed.
>>>
>>> Cool to see that gardenmesh project is active and developing in sudoroom
>>> and CCL communities.
>>>
>>> If I understand the script correctly, it roughly claims:
>>> (a) home gardening (similar to "victory gardens", https://en.wikipedia
>>> .org/wiki/Victory_garden) is the solution to feeding 9 billion people
>>> (b) if low-cost sensors where available, you would enable the creation
>>> of more "[...] sustainable home-use vegetable and community gardens in food
>>> deserts across the US [...]".
>>>
>>> Re: (a) -
>>> I'd at least expect a reference to Victory Gardens, a pretty successful
>>> effort that, without any sensors of sorts, has said to have produced about
>>> a third of veggies in the US during ww2 (via wikipedia, Kallen, Stuart A.
>>> (2000). The War at Home. San Diego: Lucent Books. ISBN 1-56006-531-1.).
>>>
>>> Re: (b) -
>>> First, I have some doubt that a cheap sensors enables the creation of
>>> victory gardens. I imagine that a lack of desire, willingness or skills to
>>> grow your own veggies cannot be solved by getting a "cheap sensor". Do you
>>> really think that a Garden Gnode in North India is going to help create a
>>> sustainable community garden?
>>> Secondly, I think that the idea of a "cheap sensor" suggests that there
>>> is a producer of cheap sensors and a group of consumers of those sensors.
>>> To me, this no longer embodies the idea I liked about this project in
>>> specific and sudomesh/sudoroom in general - a community project in Oakland
>>> that brings folks together to openly educate each other, socialize,
>>> experiment and get stuff working. In my mind, the idea of "cheap", creates
>>> some expectation that this project competing with other sensor producers
>>> (along the lines of Jehan's comment), which would create a dynamic of "if
>>> it doesn't work, call customer service", instead of, "if it doesn't work,
>>> come over, share what is going on and help figure out how to fix it."
>>> Also, if you choose to go for "cheap", I would like to mention that the
>>> cost of a sensor is not just the cost of the hardware. It also includes,
>>> software/hardware design and implementation, education, production,
>>> communication, office space, legal, customer service, etc etc. Taking into
>>> account these costs associated with traditional commercial exploitation of
>>> a market, you might find that a $50 sensor bought at walfart is not as
>>> expensive as you might think.
>>>
>>> I hope my comments are somewhat constructive and I am curious to hear
>>> thoughts of the community about this.
>>>
>>> thx,
>>> -jorrit
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, 2017-08-12 at 03:07 -0700, Divine Adesida wrote:
>>>
>>> Rough Script:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> Sorry, this is late. I had Jury Duty for most of the week.
>>>
>>> Everything I re-wrote/edited is in *Italics* and *bolded*.
>>> I also deleated a few things.
>>> Please feel free to use whatever you'd like.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Divine
>>>
>>> *Script*:
>>>
>>> Cell 1: My name is Mario Gabiati, *I'd like to share an idea that I
>>> believe will help** us* feed *the *9 billion and growing number of
>>> people across this globe.
>>>
>>> Cell 2: (we were planning to show some poorly producing community
>>> garden plots here as b-roll while I talked more about the program). Feeding
>>> 9 billion people on 100% industrialized agriculture is impossible *and
>>> unsustainable, but that is the path the global agricultural industry has
>>> been on until recently, with studies showing that more and more people*
>>> are turning to home gardening as a way to get fresher, more* nutritious
>>> *foods in their diets.* In the U.S., the* popularity of community and
>>> home gardening has increased over *200%** since 2008 (link
>>> <https://garden.org/learn/articles/view/3819/>)*, and now over a third *(Where
>>> does this statistic come from? Please cite your data)* of US households
>>> are growing *home-use vegetable gardens**. Now with the growing trends
>>> of home-use vegetable gardens, how can we feed the 9 billion plus people
>>> across the globe?** By learning to feed one. For me, this issue hits
>>> home as I have my own home-use vegetable garden and have always had trouble
>>> sustaining vegetable growth. I'd always wonder if I was using the right
>>> soil, if my vegetables had enough water or if the soil was receiving enough
>>> sunlight. Basically, I needed help or my vegetable garden
>>> wouldn't survive. **I began looking for monitoring devices that would
>>> analyze the data I needed from my garden and be easily accessible when I
>>> needed it, say to buy the next batch of garden soil. Unfortunately,
>>> everything I found sold in stores or an Amazon was too expensive, ranging *anywhere
>>> from 50-100 dollars! Imagine, however, if one could *monitor these
>>> home-use vegetable and community gardens* *with* nothing more than a $5
>>> sensor and* a* smartphone?
>>>
>>> Cell 3: (*M*: *now that I'm writing this out, we may want to change the
>>> order - the intent was to briefly touch on the world-wide implications of
>>> this technology, and our desire to bring it to nations where home gardening
>>> may mean the difference between surviving and starving. D: This isn't a bad
>>> idea I've kept it in because of the way I structred the above. *).
>>> *That* very low price to build our sensor means *affordable* technology
>>> in building *sustainable home-use vegetable and community gardens in
>>> food deserts across the US and Western & Eastern Europe.* *This
>>> technology could also be brought to places* where growing one's own
>>> food means the difference between survival or starvation; places like *Northern
>>> India and China, areas of the world where agriculture is the backbone of
>>> the economy and a high percentage of the population use cell phones.*
>>>
>>> Cell 4: (this will be b-roll of us installing the prototypes at East Bay
>>> Vivarium on Friday and/or lush community garden plots with our sensors
>>> in them). Incredibly easy to install, just activates and place - already I'*m
>>> receiving* real-time data.
>>>
>>> Cell 5: (*Info-graphic - yes!*).  This technology requires no
>>> configuration, it simply begins serving data as soon as it's installed,
>>> giving *an individual* real-time access to their garden's data. *Eventually,
>>> with the permission of each sensor's owner, our team would aggregate all
>>> the data received from every available* and* active* sensor to begin
>>> building comprehensive micro-climate maps that give suggestions on the
>>> * types* of plants and vegetables* that grow best in each *sensor's
>>> specific *region*.
>>>
>>> Cell 6: (closure, a reiteration of the feeding 9 billion theme) Feeding
>>> 9 billion people isn't such a huge problem *when it begins with
>>> learning to feed one. **Would you buy a sensor for $10 if you knew a
>>> sensor just like yours would be given to a family in India, Yemen or
>>> Rwanda?* *(**I picked countries that have a high % of their population
>>> that usages cell-phone, but also have a high agricultural backbone would
>>> actually use the technology)* Please visit our website below to learn
>>> more!
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 7, 2017 at 6:53 PM, Mario Gabiati <mgabiati at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Divine,
>>>
>>> Thank you for getting in contact, YES, I am very interested in your
>>> help! We were busy at the lab making the prototypes, so I apologize for not
>>> getting back to you then!  Here is a link to the gardenmesh video I showed
>>> you in the meeting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJJiGtuPJF4).  This
>>> version doesn't have any of the text overlays that you saw but I think it's
>>> helpful anyway. I have copied my cameraman Vassil, and the sudoroom
>>> listserve so we can all benefit from your wisdom!
>>>
>>> I obviously have no professional tools, but to help visualize what we
>>> want to put together, I've made a little 6-pc storyboard, nothing is set in
>>> stone though.
>>>
>>> The main points we want to make in the video about the idea are 1) the
>>> very cheap price, 2) the access to your own real-time data without any
>>> configuration, 3) our plan to build philanthropy into the business model -
>>> buy one, give one to a needy community, and 4) how this data can be used to
>>> make better choices
>>>
>>> In order to clench the NatGeo grant, we have to make it all pertain to
>>> feeding 9 billion people.
>>>
>>> Rough Script:
>>> Cell 1: Hi, I'm Mario Gabiati, and I'm here to tell you about a great
>>> idea that will help us feed 9 billion people, which sounds like a big
>>> problem, but it starts with feeding just one.  I was having a lot of
>>> trouble feeding myself from my own garden because I was guessing all the
>>> time; guessing what plants would do well in my garden, guessing they'd be
>>> okay when I left for work or on vacation.  I wanted to find something that
>>> would let me monitor my garden when I was away or sleeping, but nothing on
>>> the market could monitor everything I wanted, and were much more expensive
>>> than I wanted to spend; anywhere from 50-100 dollars!
>>>
>>> Cell 2: (we were planing to show some poorly producing community garden
>>> plots here as b-roll while I talked more about the program).  Feeding 9
>>> billion people on 100% industrialized agriculture is impossible and
>>> probably unhealthy, and studies show that people are turning to home
>>> gardening as a way to get fresher, more wholesome food.  The popularity of
>>> community and home gardening has increased substantially, and now over a
>>> third of US households are growing food! But what if we could grow even
>>> more food in our homes and community gardens using nothing more than a $5
>>> sensor and our smartphone?
>>>
>>> Cell 3: (now that I'm writing this out, we may want to change the order
>>> - the intent was to briefly touch on the world-wide implications of this
>>> technology, and our desire to bring it to nations where home gardening may
>>> mean the difference between surviving and starving).  The very low price to
>>> build our sensor means that we can bring this technology out of the US and
>>> bring it to places where growing your own food may mean the difference
>>> between survival and starvation or malnutrition.  Would you buy a sensor
>>> for $10 if you knew a sensor just like yours would be given to a family in
>>> Venezuela or Yemen?
>>>
>>> Cell 4: (this will be b-roll of us installing the prototypes at East Bay
>>> Vivarium on Friday and/or lush community garden plots with our sensors in
>>> them).  Incredibly easy to install, just activate and place - and already I
>>> can receive real-time data about my garden.
>>>
>>> Cell 5: (Info-graphic? white-board animation? i can use all the ideas
>>> you have!).  This technology requires no configuration, it simply begins
>>> serving data as soon as it's installed, giving you real-time access to your
>>> garden's data.  With your permission, we can aggregate this information
>>> with all the other sensors on earth and begin building comprehensive
>>> micro-climate maps that can help give you suggestions on what kinds of
>>> plants and vegetables to grow in your specific area.
>>>
>>> Cell 6: (closure, reiteration of the feeding 9 billion theme) Feeding 9
>>> billion people isn't such a huge problem when it's fun and easy to grow a
>>> percentage of your own food and these sensors make growing your own food
>>> much easier at a price that brings it into the reach of billions of people!
>>> Please visit our website below to learn more information, and lets mesh!
>>>
>>> [image: Inline image 1]
>>>
>>> Anyway, this is what I've got so far, let me know what your thoughts
>>> are!  Thank you!
>>>
>>> -Mario
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Aug 6, 2017 at 3:51 PM, Divine Adesida <divine.adesida at gmail.com
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Mario,
>>>
>>> It's Divine.
>>>
>>> We discussed that I would help with the script for the video this
>>> afternoon.
>>>
>>> Did you want to send me what you had?
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Divine
>>>
>>> --
>>> Divine Adesida
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Divine Adesida
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> mesh mailing listmesh at lists.sudoroom.orghttps://sudoroom.org/lists/listinfo/mesh
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>
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